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Vol.XXXVIII NO.50 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, August 9, 2012
Black turnout
could make or
break Obama
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
Black voters turned out
like never before in 2008 to
help elect the nation's first
African American president.
Here, in North Carolina,
African American voter
turnout increased by 127,000
from the previous presiden
tial election in 2004. It was
aI A -1 - A
inai surge mai
helped to give
then-Sen. Barack
Obama the slim
14,177-vote victo
ry he needed to
carry North
Carolina, a long
time Republican
leaning state.
Analysts say
that black voter
turnout, especially
in swing states
11Ke iNonn Carolina, could
mean the difference between
victory or defeat for
President Obama in
November. In mid July, the
National Urban League
released "The Hidden Swing
Voters," an extensive report
about the role of the African
American electorate in 2012.
Because African Americans
had the greatest increase in
voter turnout in 2008, that
demographic will also likely
experience the greatest
decrease this time around if
numbers return to their norm,
the Urban League speculates.
This could mean that the
Obama campaign will strug
gle in states like N.C.,
Virginia and Ohio, where
African Americans tipped the
scales in his favor just four
years before, the report theo
rizes.
Dr. John Dinan, a political
science professor at Wake
Forest University, said North
Carolina may in fact favor
Republican Mitt Romney
over Obama this election sea
son. He believes that some of
the energy the campaign gen
erated in 2008 was due to the
historic nature of the race,
and may be difficult to dupli
cate this time around.
"North Carolina was just
a surprise win for Democrats
in 2008. There's always the
likelihood that in a normal
election year, that a state
would revert back to its nor
mal pattern," said
Dinan, who has
taught for over IS
years. "...That's the
challenge of the
Obama campaign,
to try to reduce that
drop-off and try to
keep people ener
gized."
Cameron
French, North
Carolina press sec
retary for Obama
Barber Johnson
for America, said the Urban
League report confirmed
what the Obama campaign
already knew.
"I think the report shows
just how powerful the
African American communi
ty can be in this election, and
in any election," he com
mented. "It's really a call to
action."
French said the campaign
is thinking outside the box to
reach African Americans
across the state through ini
tiatives like the Barber Shop
and Beauty Salon (B&B) pro
gram - which provides shops
with literature and voter reg
istration drop boxes - and
the Congregation Captain,
where members of faith
based organizations work to
engage other people of faith.
"The centerpiece of our
campaign is grassroots
organizing and grassroots
organizing doesn't necessari
ly happen in a field office,"
French said.
See Election on AS
Photos by Todd Luck
Members of the Carolina Renegades practice last week.
For the Love of the Game
No frills team offers athletes another chance to shine
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The Carolina Renegades
football team is ready to take it
all this season.
The Renegades is a local
non-profit semi-professional
team that plays in the Central
Carolina Football League
(CCFL). The players don't
play for money because they
aren't paid a dime. Some are
no spring chickens, way past
their football-playing prime;
others squeeze in practices'
around their busy job sched
ules.
Head Coach Dale
Glossenger, who owns the
team with his wife Sandy, said
his guys are motivated by their
love of the game and the thrill
Players (from left) Al Washington, Dwayne Ijames and Marques "Bus" Newman.
of victory that playing well
can bring.
? "That's truly why these
players are out here," he said.
The Renegades squad is
heavy with veterans. Many of
the players have suited up for
colleges, the Arena Football
League (AFL) and European
leagues. They started the sea
son, which runs from July
through October, with a 44-0
victory over the Rowan
(County) Rampage and a 22
See Renegades on A5
Lartey hoping to use Goler successes as bishop
BY LAYl^V GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
After 20 years at the helm of Goler
Memorial AME Zion Church, Dr. Seth
Lartey is assuming a new title and
embarking on a new chapter in his life.
Lartey, a native of Monrovia,
Liberia, will soon be making a tri
umphant homecoming to the Mother
Land as the African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church's newly-elected
bishop of the Western West Africa
Episcopal District. The married father
of three was consecrated as the 100th
bishop during 49th Quadrennial of the
General Conference of the AME Zion
Church in Charlotte on July 24.
As bishop, Lartey will preside over
6,700 congregations and roughly
100,000 people in the West African
nations of Ghana, Togo, Liberia and the
Ivory Coast. He and his wife Jacqueline
plan to divide their time between Africa
and the United States - where their
children will remain - and Episcopal
ftlcFW
Dr. Seth Lartey is leaving Goler
Memorial for a new challenge.
headquarters in Ghana and Liberia.
"I feel excited because it helps me
link North Carolina, and Winston
Salem specifically, to where I am
(now)," said Lartey. "We will have a
platform for evangelism, education,
economic development and empower
ment."
Lartey said he will encourage his
congregations to reach beyond the walls
of their churches and think beyond the
boundaries of traditional evangelism
and outreach. He plans to bring a
greater focus to basic human needs such
as feeding the hungry, caring for wid
ows and building communities.
"The church can no longer be just a
call to worship and a benediction type
of an institution ...We will return to
basic Christianity that looks at being
your brother's keeper," Lartey declared.
"We want people to experience the
Kingdom of God here so when they get
to Heaven, they will recognize it."
James Hunder, another Liberian
native and member of Goler Memorial
for the past eight years, says the
See Lartey on A6
Blind kids gain keys to independence at unique camp
Elisha Simmons practices
walking with a cane.
I ?
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Last month, blind and visually
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key survival skills in a newly
built school house designed
especially for them.
Winston-Salem Industries for
the Blind has held the SEE
(Student Enrichment
Experience) camp for the last
five years, but this was the first
summer it took place at Tracy's
Little Red School House, a facil
ity named for the late educator
T__ * /-i n - L -? - ?
iracy Lynn Lanagnan mat is
located on IFB's campus off of North
Point Boulevard.
The School, which opened this sum
mer, is enhancing the camp's mission to
teach blind and visually-impaired youths
to function independently.
Its floor makes mobility and orienta
uon training simpler oecause it is
lextured so that it feels and
sounds different when tapped
with a cane. The school's com
juters are equipped with software
hat reads words from the screen.
Another room is equipped
with a washer and dryer, a fold
jut bed and a kitchen. There,
instructors teach life skills such
ts doing laundry and cooking,
fhere's even an art room and a
Viars \
playground with a bench swing in the back
of the school. SEE activities were not lim
See SEE on A6
Photos by Todd Luck
Instructor Jill Wilson (standing) asks Jacob Gerancher (far left) to
tell her which bottle is which.
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