‘By sitting down, these students stood up for equality.’ BY TEVIN STINSON THE CHRONICLE In recognition of the 60th anniversary of the first sit-in victory in the state, last weekend hun dreds gathered in down town Winston-Salem to remember the 21 college students who made his tory.. Less than a month af ter students from NC A&T State University staged their historic sit-in at a Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, on Feb. 23, 1960, 11 students from Winston-Salem Teacher’s College (now Winston-Sa lem State University) and Photo by Tevin Stinson . Current students from Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University during a sit-in vigil honoring the 60th annivesary of the local sit-in movemement started by students from the two univerisites. 10 students from Wake Forest College (now Wake Forest University) staged their own sit-in at a local lunch counter downtown. Although the students were eventually arrested and charged with trespass ing, three months later the courage of those students led to the desegregation .of all lunch counters in the city. On the day of the vig il, current students from both universities came to gether just as they did 60 years ago. When discuss ing the historic moment, WFU president Nathan Hatch said the same cour age those students had Last weekend more than 200 people gathered at the corner of Fourth and Liberty Streets for a vigil honoring the college students who led a sit-in movement that intergrated lunch counters in Winston-Salem. in 1960 still resonates throughout the community today. Hatch said, “The world we know today is better because of the peo ple who came before us, particularly these brave ' students. “By sitting down, these students stood up for equality. By banding to gether, they broke clutches of injustice, and by taking action, they changed the course of the community. May that courage be what inspires us and continue to work towards bettering this city and community for all.” Before presenting a proclamation to Victor Johnson, the only living student from either school who started the sit-in movement, WSSU Chan cellor Elwood Robinson also shared his thoughts. Robinson, who grew up in a small rural North Carolina town, said he still remembers the sting of segregation and those who were willing to take a stand against injustice. Robinson said the courage those students and others throughout history have shown is what motivates him to keep the fight alive. “It’s deeply rooted in our memories, the pain associated with segrega tion,” Robinson continued. “I still remember deep in my soul and it motivates me every day.” After the proclamation was read, guest speaker Jonathan L. Walton, dean ofWFU’s Divinity School, delivered the keynote ad dress. Following Walton’s address, students from two universities and others in attendance marched from the Millennium Center, located at the corner of Trade and Fifth Streets, to the corner of Fourth and Liberty Street, where the historic marker honoring the sit-in victory is located. Once the crowd of about 200 arrived at the marker, the names of the 21 students were called and current students from the two universities sat down in chairs meant to represent the peaceful pro testors who changed the city of Winston-Salem for ever. The crowd erupted in applause when Victor Johnson’s name was called and he joined the students. Parkland PTSA honors students with 3.0 GPA BY TEVIN STINSON THE CHRONICLE It’s no secret that high school can be challeng ing. With pressure from parents, teachers, peers, and the added pressure of social media, one could argue that being a high school student in today’s climate is more challeng ing than ever, which is why last weekend the Parkland High School PTSA (Parent (WILSON ' NcU/ Teacher Student Associa tion) held a special cere mony to honor those who are facing those challenges head-on. When discussing the event, PTSA president Karisa McDaniel said they just wanted to do some thing to honor the students who are facing the chal lenges of high school with grace. “All of our money and our hard work is dedicated to giving back to the chil dren because maintaining a 3.0 GPA or higher is hard to do when you’re in high school. It’s not easy,” Mc Daniel said. “You have so many different programs- going on. You have chil dren that are working, kids that are doing afterschool curriculum, athletic pro grams, it’s tough to main tain that GPA and balance www.wschronicle.com all that at one time. So again, kudos to you all.” During the celebration held on Saturday, Feb. 22, students who are currently maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA (Grade Point Aver- ' age) were presented with a certificate marking their accomplishments. Before receiving their certificates, Parkland alumni Deshay- wn Middleton encouraged the students to keep up the good work. Middleton, who is a graduate of Norfolk State University where he was a standout defensive line- man before taking his tal ents to the CFL (Canadian Football League), encour aged the students to be lieve in themselves. Mid dleton, who is the younger brother of NFL player Doug Middleton, also told the students to take advan- Photo by Tevin Stinson Karissa McDaniel, Parkland High School PTSA president, presents a student with a certificate during a special celebration on Saturay, Feb. 22. tage of everything Park- land has to offer. “One thing I want you guys to do is believe in yourself. When you be lieve in yourself, it goes a long way and you can achieve anything you put your mind to,” Middleton continued. “I just want you guys to stay determined, have perseverance and to believe in yourself, be cause I believe in you.” Following the keynote address, the students who were recognized for their achievements enjoyed food and music with their peers and family.

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view