BUSTA’S PERSCWOF THE WEEK
The East Side Story
BY BUSTA BROWN
THE CHRONICLE
“Back in the 1800s, after slavery, there
was no health care for African-Americans.
As more job more opportunity came about
in Winston, more African-Americans
moved here, and so there was a need for
health dare. There was no health care, so
people were using the old home remedies
to treat each other.”
Dr. Peggy Valentine, dean of Health
Sciences at Winston-Salem State
University, is about to give us a serious
history lesson on one of the most impor
tant moments in the Twin City. She’s going
to share with us how health care came
about in East Winston. It’s a phenomenal
story, so hang on for the ride.
Dr. Valentine continued to take me on a
history ride that I shared with my children
immediately after leaving her office.
“There were no black physicians, no black
nurses, until Winston-Salem State was
formed in 1892. So Simon Green Atkins,
our first president, had the vision, not only
to make this a great community for
African-Americans, but to also provide
health care.”
She paused for a second, smiled at me,
and softly said, “Did you know on this
campus, that the first hospital in Winston
Salem was bom?”
That was the first time I’ve learned this
history about Winston-Salem, and it blew
me away. I got so excited, I began chanti
ng, “Chew tobacco, chew tobacco, chew
tobacco spit, if you ain’t a Ram, then you
ain’t ...” Of course I didn’t say the last
word of the chant, but I did get a laugh and
a big smile from this extremely intelligent
and dignified dean of Health Sciences.
That was fun.
After we had a little fun, she continued,
“The hospital was called Slater, and it last
ed for 10 years. It was wonderful because
there were people of color who cared
about health care and wanted to make a
difference to keep them healthy so that
they could have a better quality of life.”
She told me that RJ Reynolds deeded
the land to the University, but Slater
Hospital fell on some tough times finan
cially. Winston-Salem State had several
fundraisers to keep the hospital going. One
of their most successful was when Booker
T. Washington was invited to speak.
Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was
the dominant leader in the African
American community. The University
raised $1,000, and it kept the hospital
going, but money ran low again, so they
Dr. Valentine
had to close after 10 years.
One day as Dr. Valentine looked
through the University’s archives, she was
inspired to keep the legacy alive, with hon
oring the African-Americans who brought
health care to East Winston. On Nov. 17 at
WSSU’s Anderson Conference Center
at 5 to 8 pan., Winston-Salem State will
honor the “Healthcare Legends of East
Winston.” These are individuals who
have made a profoundly positive impact
on the health and wellness of the residents
of East Winston. RSVP to 336-750-2570.
To learn more, check out my interview
with Dr. Peggy Valentine on our
YouTube.com channel @ Winstonsaiem
Chronicle.
Dean Valentine is the dean and profes
sor of the School of Health Sciences with
oversight responsibility of educational
programs in Clinical Laboratory Science,
Exercise Physiology, Health Care
Management, Nursing, Occupational
Therapy, Physical Therapy and
Rehabilitation Counseling. She has admin
istrative responsibility for the Rams Know
H.O.W. mobile clinic.
Her clinical experiences include regis
tered nurse and physician assistant. She
received the Doctor of Education degree
from Virginia Tech, the Master of Arts and
the Bachelor of Science degrees from
Howard University. She is listed in Who's
Who of American Women and was hon
ored as Educator of the Year by the
American Academy of Physician
Assistants. She was elected Fellow in the
Association of Schools of Allied Health
Professions, and the Howard University
Senate honored her for outstanding contri
butions to the African Diaspora. Dr.
Valentine has conducted research on
homeless and minority issues. She has
published in refereed journals, textbooks
and manuals. She is the founding editor-in
chief for the Journal of Best Practices in
Health Professions Diversity. She serves
on the board of trustees for Novant Health
and is secretary/treasurer.
WFU chemistry majors teach students science basics
BY TEVIN STINSON
I~HE CHRONICLE
Students from Speas
Global Elementary School
last week received a sci
ence lesson they will
remember for some time,
thanks to upperclassmen in
Lindsay Comstock
Ferguson's "Kitchen
Chemistry" class at Wake
Forest University.
While on a visit to
Kaleideum North on Friday
Nov. 3 students from Speas
learned the basic principles
of chemistry by using items
you can find in the
kitchen. Dancing popcorn,
a jelly bean taste test, and a
colorful lemon volcano
were all part of the fun and
the curriculum for
Comstock-Fergu son's
advanced chemistry class.
Students in the class
learn about food science
and how working in the
kitchen uses the fundamen
tals of chemistry. With the
project at Kaleideum, stu
dents designed hands-on
experiments to make chem
istry fun and relatable for
young children. Several
students enrolled in the
"Kitchen Chemistry"
course said they decided to
take the class because it
was different.
"It's very different from
other courses offered by the
Chemistry Department,"
said senior chemistry major
Karleigh Smith. "It's cool
to learn about food science.
I enjoy cooking but learn
ing the science behind
cooking is different than
just following the direc
tions."
During a brief inter
Carla Erb, a senior chemistry major at Wake Forest University, helps students
from Speas Global Elementary School with an experiment at Kaleideum North
on Friday, Nov. 3.
view with The Chronicle,
Comstock-Ferguson dis
cussed the course and the
response it has received
from students. She said the
food chemistry course
serves as a refresher for
upperclassmen.
She said, "The students
realize pretty quickly that
there is some really funda
mental chemistry that
we've learned in all our
other classes that are
applied here, it's just a dif
ferent system."
As for the students
from Speas, Comstock
Ferguson said the kitchen
chemistry experiments pro
vide the opportunity for
them to see that ordinary
things they have at home
can be science.
"That's the hard part for
kids: They don't understand
that science is in their lives
every day. Whether it’s
chemistry, or biology, or
physics, they just don't see
it, so this provides an
opportunity for them to
see," Comstock-Ferguson
said.
While the students
enjoyed the experiments
and other attractions at
Kalideum North, several
parents said they were
excited to see their children
get amped up over science.
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