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SPECTACULAR
Magazine
September/October 2009
AREA HBCU
HOMECOMING
ACTIVITY GUIDE
THE U.S. CONSTITUTION:
FRIEND OR FOE?
HAYTI THE
HERITAGE: THE
LEGACY OF BLACK
AMERICA
PEACE MISSIONARY
BAPTIST TURNS 35
SHAW UNIVERSITY — ON THE MOVE WITH
NEW INTERIM PRESIDENT
DR. DOROTHY COWSER YANCY
COVER STORY ON PAGE 11
www.spectacularmag.com
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
3
lence laws and improving services for our
seniors. The following information highlights just some of the legislation that we
have passed this session to help us achieve
these goals.
FRO M THE OFFICES
_Youth employment protections will be
enhanced by requiring the labor commissioner to report on youth employment
enforcement activities under a new state
OCTOBER ‘09 LEGISLATIVE REPORT
law (S.L. 2009-139). The law will enhance
the safety of children in the workplace by making more information available on
One of our chief responsibilities in the General Assembly is to work to level the
workplace violations.
playing field for all the people of North Carolina. Children, seniors, minorities and
other often vulnerable groups sometimes face challenges they cannot address on
_The fine for first-time violators of the state’s child labor law will be doubled
their own and they need our help. Our caucus set goals to help these people
from $250 to $500. The law (S.L. 2009-351) also creates a $1,000 to fine a comwhere we could. This month I want to share some of these successes with you.
pany up to $14,000 for workplace safety violations that injure a worker younger
SOCIAL JUSTICE - We worked to provide fairness in the criminal justice system, than 18, which is double the amount of the previous maximum fine. There are
regulations in place that bar young workers from performing a host of hazardous
equal access to justice, compensation to those who have been wronged by the
jobs, and this law is meant to act as a stronger deterrence against employer viostate and protection to victims and vulnerable populations. The following informalations.
tion highlights some of the legislation that we have passed this session to help
us achieve these goals.
_The Nicolas Adkins School Bus Safety Act has been signed into law (S.L. 2009147). The new law allows evidence from automated camera and video recording
_The North Carolina Racial Justice Act has been signed into law (S.L. 2009-464).
systems to be used to detect and prosecute drivers who pass stopped school buses.
The intent of the law is to provide fair imposition of capital sentences by lessenThe law is named for a 16-year-old student killed in Rockingham County earlier
ing the change that the death penalty will be imposed based on race. The law
this year after a driver who passed his stopped school bus struck him with her
applies retroactively for the first year. Opponents worry the change will delay pendcar.
ing executions and clog the court system, but that has not been the experience
in Kentucky, the only other state with a similar law.
_A new state law amends the procedure for obtaining a domestic violence protective order or civil no-contact order and clarifies the enforcement and applica_A new state law will provide free forensic medical examinations for victims of
tion of a penalty enhancement if a defendant commits an offense while under a
rape and sexual offenses (S.L. 2009-354). Victims could previously be held respondomestic violence protective order (S.L. 2009-342). The law also supports the develsible for a co-pay or portion of a deductible payment. The law also encourages
opment of a statewide domestic violence protective order notification system and
victims to seek compensation for other medical expenses related to the rape or
directs the appropriate entities to study state oversight and coordination of servsexual offense from the Victims Compensation Program Fund.
ices for victims of sexual violence.
_We have ratified legislation intended to help prevent racial profiling by law offi_We have passed legislation to clarify domestic violence laws regarding when a
cers by changing how they collect traffic statistics (SB 464). The legislation also
law enforcement officer shall arrest a person who has knowingly violated a valid
provides that when a law enforcement officer arrests an adult who is supervising
protective order. (S.L. 2009-389).
minor children, the minors must be placed with a responsible adult approved by
the parent or guardian or with social workers if an adult is not readily available.
_We passed a new law to clarify that a Silver Alert may be issued for a person
of any age (S.L. 2009-143). The Silver Alert System is a statewide system used to
_The state will be required to collect, maintain and publish statistics on the use
notify people about missing persons believed to be suffering from dementia or
of deadly force by law enforcement that results in death under a new state law
other cognitive impairments.
(S.L. 2009-106).
_This year’s budget includes $250,000 for planning efforts associated with providing compensation to persons sterilized by the state’s Eugenics Sterilization Program
(HB 20). In North Carolina , more than 7,600 people were sterilized between 1929
and 1978 by the state’s Eugenics Sterilization Program. Some of the victims of the
program were disabled or mentally disabled, but others were victimized simply
because they were poor or black.
_A new anti-bullying law has been ratified by the General Assembly and signed
into law (S.L. 2009-212). The legislation requires public school districts to approve
anti-bullying measures that name specific groups as possible targets. The legislation defines bullying as behavior that places students or school employees in fear
of harm or damage to their property.
_The state’s 2005 Anti-Identity Theft Protection Laws will be expanded under a
new state law (S.L. 2009-355). Consumers in North Carolina can now be issued a
security freeze on their credit at no cost. The law will do a number of other
things as well, including authorizing certain court officials to remove Social Security
numbers from documents on their Web sites and compelling businesses and government agencies to report all security breaches, not just those that affect more
than 1,000 people, to the Attorney General’s office.
CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND SENIORS - We worked to protect our children and seniors by strengthening child labor laws for our youth, clarifying our domestic vio4
SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
_Taking indecent liberties with a student would be added to the list of sex offenses that require registration under the sex offender and public protection registration program under a bill that has been ratified by the General Assembly (HB
209).
_We have passed a new law to ensure that violence in schools is reported to
the local superintendent or the superintendent’s designee (S.L. 2009-410). The law
also requires local boards of education to adopt a policy on notification to the
parents or legal guardians of students alleged to be victims of any act required
to be reported to law enforcement and the superintendent.
_ Convicted sex offenders can now be banned for life from contacting a victim
under a new law (S.L. 2009-380) that has been signed by the governor. The permanent no-contact order can be issued by a judge at the request of the district
attorney.
I hope you will contact me if you have questions, or if I can be of service. Thank
you as always for your support and your interest in our state.
Larry D. Hall
Please remember that you can listen to each day’s session, committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly’s website at www.ncleg.net. Once on the site, select “audio,” and
then make your selection – House Chamber, Senate Chamber, Appropriations Committee Room or
Press Conference Room.
From The Publisher’s Desk...
GET READY - CHANGE IS A COMIN’
When a new columnist or writer comes on board at Spectacular
Magazine, I always introduce them to the readers in the section in
which their work appears. Now that I have added to the Spectacular
Magazine’s Senior Executive Staff, I want you to get to know the
new members of my team.
I would like to introduce the new Vice President of Operations for
Spectacular Magazine, Mr. Gary
Jones. Jones possesses a B.A. in
Business Management from
Shaw University and a MBA
from the University of Phoenix
where he is currently a doctoral candidate. He will be
responsible for evaluating and
developing procedures and
techniques for maintaining
high standards of product
quality and reliability. Mr.
Jones will achieve this by
determining and enforcing Gary Jones
through functional groups productivity and quality requirements in accordance with real company needs based on state-of-the-art product development.
Mr. Jones will also serve as Spectacular Magazine's Entertainment
Editor. He is the founder of Y-Rag Entertainment Music Group, a
creative outlet for artists to expose their talent through networking schemes, independent promotions, marketing and management
as well as providing an opportunity for artists to be viewed. Y-Rag
Entertainment is supported by leadership tactics of the founder, a
pioneer in promotions and marketing.
Mr. Jones has extensive experience in the entertainment industry
having worked with record labels, radio stations, and clubs as a DJ,
as well as, with theatrical productions and concert promotions. This
experience has afforded him the opportunity to obtain wide-ranging knowledge of several entertainment genres. Jones believes success is the reward that will be granted through hard work, trust,
loyalty and faith. With strong leadership skills gathered from experience and education Jones will bring new ideas and perspective to
Spectacular Magazine while maintaining the status quo.
Each month Mr. Jones will bring you the "Unsigned Artist of the
Month," a feature on an independent recording artist that Jones
feels has talent and music worthy of major exposure; and "Ear to
the Streets" highlighting a hot DJ and his play list. Readers, please
check out the first installment of Unsigned Artist of the Month on
page 46 and Ear to the Streets on page 47.
Also joining the Senior Executive Staff as Marketing & Sales Director
for the Triangle is Ms. Angie
Steele.
Ms. Steele, a Shaw University graduate, is a seasoned professional
with experience executing programs, media and public relations
strategies across diverse indusPhyllis D. Coley
tries, including technology, and
entertainment. Over the years
she has helped businesses maximize their exposure by securing
national radio and television placement, and print media.
Ms. Steele is also a freelance
writer and an advocate for positive children's programming.
She has a passion for television
programming and has managed
the live production of a major
television ministry here in the
Raleigh/Durham area with programming aired locally. She has
written stage plays, and is the
producer of a children's animation series called the Adventures
of Warner D.
Angie Steele
As Marketing and Sales Director, Ms. Steele will be in charge of all
sales activities, departments and personnel involved in Sales and
Marketing for the Company. She will provide leadership of the sales
department, while maintaining focus on the company's strategic
goals; develop and/or maintain and improve business relations with
all customers of company; seek out and target new customers and
new sales opportunities; and initiate action plan to approach and
secure new business for the Company.
Having worked in Human Resources in major corporations for many
years, Ms. Steele will oversee all hiring, training and firing of personnel involved in Sales and Marketing while establishing performance goals for all sales department employees, and monitoring performance on a continual basis.
Together Mr. Jones, Ms. Steele and other members of Spectacular
Magazine's Senior Executive Staff will participate in the development and execution of the Strategic Plan for the Company. Get
ready ‘cause change is a comin’ to Spectacular Magazine. You’ve
seen some of it with the new look. With God’s grace and your
continued support, more changes (and growth) are coming.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
Phyllis Coley
[email protected]
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
5
SPECTACULAR
MAGAZINE
PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
PHYLLIS COLEY
FEATURES EDITOR
GRACE GRAHAM
HEALTH EDITOR
DR. SHARON ELLIOTT-BYNUM
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
GARY JONES
COLUMNISTS
STELLA J. ADAMS
MIN. CURTIS GATEWOOD
LARRY HALL, ESQ.
MICHELLE LAWS
LAMONT LILLY
IRVING JOYNER, ESQ.
DR. ARCHIE D. LOGAN
DEL MATTIOLI
REV. JAMES SMITH
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
APRIL MIAL
VALERIE JOSEPH
WIL GLENN
PHOTOGRAPHERS
CHRIS HINTON
PHYLLIS COLEY
LAWRENCE DAVIS III
LAYOUT/DESIGN
MARILYN FISHER
TAMARA HINTON
DISTRIBUTION
LAWRENCE DAVIS III LELIA ROYSTER CHARLES STREET
Spectacular Magazine enlightens, empowers and
entertains African Americans with features, columns,
commentaries and calendars. Spectacular
Magazine is published monthly and distributed free
in Durham, Wake, Guilford, Orange, Granville,
Vance and Person counties.
In This Issue
Another Perspective
22
Business & Finance
40
Commentary
9
The Slammer: Not Worth Paper its
Print on
Ear to the Streets
46
Entertainment
43
Features
Dr. Harold Martin
13
NCCU Shepard Library
16
Peace Missionary Baptist
19
St. Aug “The 411”
17
Dr. Dorothy Cowser Yancy
11
From The Publisher’s Desk
5
FYI
25
Health
39
Homecoming Activity Guide
23
Legal Eagle Advisor
36
Lifestyles
42
News Briefs
29
Political & Civic Affairs
36
Religion
19
Rightchus Truth
7
State & National
33
Talkback, Too
4
This Is Your Life
42
Unsigned Arist of the Month
45
What’s Up Doc?
39
COVER PHOTO
WCP Communications, Inc.
Features
Editor
Contributing
Writer
Grace Graham
April Mial
Deadline for all submissions is the
18th of each month.
Contact us at: [email protected]
Post Office 361
or by mail at:
Durham, NC 27702
919-680-0465
Mail subscriptions are available for $25.00 per year. Second
class postage is paid in Durham, NC.
PRESIDENT - CEO
Phyllis D. Coley
VICE PRESIDENT - OPERATIONS
MARKETING/SALES DIR. -TRIANGLE
Angie Steele
6
SPECTACULAR
Gary N. Jones, MBA
MARKETING/SALES DIR. -TRIAD
Ron “Big E” Eldridge
Sept./Oct. 2009
The Rightchus Truth
by Lamont Lilly aka ‘Rightchus’
[To: George Jackson and 12 years for 70 bucks]
“The Negro is shut out and ignored, left to grow up in ignorance
and vice. Only in the gambling dens and saloons does he meet
any sort of welcome. What wonder does he fall into crime? To
have Negro blood in the veins makes one unworthy of consideration, a social outcast, a leper…”
Frederick Douglass, 1893
For American Negroes, 1893 marked an era in which people of color were handed Hell on Earth by the
dozens in plain daylight. It was no secret
then that niggers (field or house) belonged
in the back and well out of sight. For
many Negroes today, the vile realities
our ancestors experienced are ones most
of us couldn’t dare fathom. We’ve
never experienced the draconian
socialization of slavery as Douglass did. We’ve never lived Jim Crow or
sharecropping servitude. Today we live free - able to determine our own
destiny. Or do we?
It was upon ratification of the 13th amendment that the emancipation of
the Negro had come to pass….so we thought. However, in spite of such
proclamation, the old Black Belt simply devised a new system of physical
and social bondage. It was called the Convict Lease System. By way of
imprisonment, free labor was poured into the hands of privately and federally owned brick manufacturers, railroad, mining and farming operations.
For Negroes of the South whom were able to avoid such manipulative
exploitations as sharecropping, Convict Leasing served as a crueler, more
profitable form of oppression. The newly freed field hands needed to be
replaced. As now “legal slaves,” young boys, men and women worked in
grave conditions from can’t see morning to can’t see night. Some were
sentenced to terms in excess of twenty years hard labor for such diminutive criminal acts as fist fights & saloon brawls—for hog stealing and concealed weapons. The more able-bodied Black Men to bear state shackles,
the more money made. The more money made, the more inclined the state
and prisons were to catch more niggas!! These enterprises not only assumed
charge of convict livelihood—they were awarded the discretion to work
them to death… literally! In return, they paid their respective state governments hefty sums for such expendable tools of revenue. See the pattern of motive here?
The years of 1865-1910 were pivotal in forming the phenomenon we now
know as DMC (Disproportionate Minority Confinement). In N.C. the Black
prison population increased from 121 inmates in 1870 to 1,302 persons in
1890. In G.A. there was a tenfold increase in the incarceration of blacks
from 1868-1908. Black Men were cash crops then, just as now! And many
those “offenders” weren’t criminals. They were victims—nowhere near guilty
of the acts of which they were charged. But if “June Bug” did steal one
of Mr. Charlie hogs, I’m sure he deserved it for all the free labor he stole!
If one were to observe the American justice system as we do today, through
media, they would very well be inclined to believe that all Black Men are
criminals. Yet, white boys commit just as much crime as we; if not more.
You just don’t hear about it. Very seldom are their mug shots smeared in
periodicals and plastered on the news. It’s got to be awful extreme. And
KING ALFRED’s PLAN:
Code Red—Code Red!!
if you do see an ofay on the news for a wrongdoing, you can believe it’s only for a split second. If you blink—you’ve missed him. But a
Negro, oh…his photograph is huge. They let
his face sit and cover the whole damn screen
so it can marinate. This is the psychological
warfare designed to create fear, and propagate
notions of the savage “Killer Negro.” This is how
propaganda infiltrates minds. It’s fascinating
how America indicts everyone except herself.
How many of you all knew American law enforcement
actually began as the slave patrol? Typically non-slaveholders, these bounty lawmen were charged with recapturing escaped runaways, as well as monitoring and
dispersing the Chitlin Whispers or nighttime meetings.
Paddyrollers became patrollers and were the same
persons who swiped husbands for midnight lynchings.
Unfortunately, Negroes have not learned!! The same problem is still taking-out more black families every year. Whether whip or rope—revolver
or taser, a lynching is a lynching. Instead, the new [Bull Connor] perpetuates Driving While Black and Crack v. Powder. We think the system has changed, but it hasn’t. I’m glad the “Big Bad Harvard Token,”
Skip Gates got arrested. Some Negroes get high-up on the hog and forget they niggas too. How do you think the pigs treat Bro. J.J. and RayRay, who don’t have PhD’s? How did “justice” treat Michael Jacobs &
Sean Bell—Daryl Turner & Basir Farrell? Like niggas…that’s how!! Has
anyone ever asked themselves, “Why are Black Men always accidentally
gettin’ killed?” Fact is, all Black Men are prey of the American
justice…even your son. The genocide of Black People is happening all
over America. It’s been happening! Don’t tell me the past is the past.
Black Folk are still living [Willie Lynch], and [King Alfred] is being manifested as we speak! Who do you think they made [Rex-84] and [Garden
Plot] for?
Any intelligent brotha or sistah should only expect America to continue her
lashing of the Negro. What angers me is that we as Black People continue to assist in disenfranchising members of our own community. It isn’t
white folks who’re disappearing—IT’S US. The answer to Black Men and
crime is not to lock us up. The answer is discipline, spirit, cultural identity, love and education. One doesn’t need a doctor to realize that if you
remove the head, the body (woman & child) will eventually wither. This
process of social beheading has occurred since the first bead of black sweat
graced a Mississippi cotton field. First, Jim Crow…now the prison complex.
Yet, as a community we bash our ex-offenders.
For the average working class Black Family, a high-priced private attorney
generally isn’t an option. Negroes are normally stuck with an overworked
underpaid public defender. But white folks…they pull strings. They tap
resource pools and all of a sudden Luke and Andrew’s records are expunged.
Their troubles are deemed as mere mistakes. While Jamaal and Omar aren’t
afforded the opportunity to pass Go—they go to jail. However, Mr. Charlie
understands that one day his daughter will need a son to marry.
Meanwhile, black intellectuals are still putting heads together trying to figure out why sistahs can’t BUY a husband!! Hell, Lamont Sanford could figThe Rightchus Truth continues on page 37
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
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SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
GUEST COMMENTARY
THE SLAMMER: DOESN’T DESERVE THE PRICE OF PAPER IT’S PRINTED ON
By Pandemonium aka Gabriel
Isaac Carnetti, a.k.a.
Dash Dangerfield, is the
latest in a long line of
leeches to suck the
blood of the poor. Once
a petty criminal, incarcerated for a year after
being convicted of larceny, marijuana possession, and breaking and
entering, Carnetti now
profits from publishing he’s driving around in the car with you, and you
mug shots of mainly don’t know this stuff.” Does it sound like the
Pandemonium aka Gabriel
poor Floridians, North hypothetical best friend is innocent, or guilty?
Carolinians, and Ohioans in The Slammer.
These are not celebrities, athletes or politiThumbing through back issues of Carnetti’s cians. They are not public personalities of
publication, The Slammer, it is
means. The majority of the people feaeasy to understand why its cirtured in The Slammer are poor,
culation is high. Nosy people
“...T he Slamm
black or Latino. They lack the
er
,
it
is
with small minds are often
easy to un
funds for proper legal representaderstand
intrigued by the misfortune of
why its circul
tion
and usually have to rely on an
ation is
others. The corny captions,
high. Nosy pe
overly
burdened public defender
ople with
unfunny cartoons and shoddy
system. The deck is already
small minds
are often
editorials disguise the fact
stacked against them.
intrigued by th
that Mr. Carnetti is a college
e misforgraduate and the son of wellWhat happens if a person whose
to-do parents. His failure to be
mug shot is printed is found not
accepted to law school after his incarceraguilty, or has all charges dropped
tion did not derail his crime fighting aspira- against him? Does Mr. Carnetti print a retractions. According to an interview with The tion, correction, or a story about the wrongful
Christian Science Monitor, Carnetti’s legal charges? No. Is he worried that printing these
expertise was developed by sitting in the mug shots could eventually taint a jury? No.
courthouse where his mother worked and Furthermore, many of the people featured
going home to watch “Law and Order,” “Perry seem to have drug and alcohol problems.
Mason” and “Matlock.” Add a little Jerry These people need serious rehabilitative help,
Springer and The Slammer is the final product. not ridicule. Their lives are already hell.
According to the mission statement printed
inside the cover of each issue, The Slammer’s
purpose is to “inform the public of suspected
criminal activity in the community; to assist
law enforcement in deterring crime and solving
cases; to foster public involvement in matters
of public safety and awareness; and to satisfy
the natural curiosity of its readers.” The latter
seems to be the true intent of the magazine.
Although the mission statement includes the
caveat; “not every arrest leads to a conviction.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in
a court of law,” the de facto result, in the mind
of the reader, is that these people are guilty.
Reading quotes from The Slammer readers in
the Christian Science Monitor article seems to
reinforce that conclusion. For example, Omar
None of the people who are featured in The
Slammer get to tell their side of the story. None
of them have the opportunity to rebut the
charges against them. Carnetti is not interested in journalism, he is a coward.
If The Slammer merely printed mug shots of
wanted suspects, convicted criminals and sex
offenders, along with the poor restaurant ratings, it would fulfill its initial stated purposes
and might be worth the dollar price printed on
its cover. Since its true purpose is to humiliate
the defenseless, it doesn’t deserve the price of
the paper on which it’s printed.
Born and raised in Iowa, Pandemonium aka Gabriel moved to NC upon graduation from
Iowa State University to attend NCCU School of Law. He has been a musician since the
age of 6 and a poet since the age of 11. Pandemonium follows up successful independ-
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
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SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
COVER STORY
SHAW UNIVERSITY — ON THE MOVE
WITH NEW INTERIM PRESIDENT:
DR. DOROTHY COWSER YANCY
RALEIGH - Gone are the days when the hire of a university
president was based primarily on
a lifetime of scholarship and academic credentials. Gone, too,
are the days when a university
president was expected to focus
only on internal governance and
maintaining the institution’s status quo. Across the United States,
it has become increasingly necessary for university leaders to raise
funds that will be used to protect
and grow the institution. And
while this is often looked upon as
Dr. Yancy
another full-time role, the effort
must be balanced with the challenging demands of daily campus issues and concerns.
This is only one of the reasons why Shaw University’s
Board of Trustees decided to appoint Dr. Dorothy Cowser
Yancy, a native of Alabama, to serve as interim president.
June, 2009 marked a new beginning at Shaw, when Dr. Yancy
became the University’s first female president. Living up to
her reputation, she hit the ground running, by immediately
reviewing the University’s academic programs and analyzing
the financial state of the school, in an effort to determine the
best possible course of action for eliminating debt and raising
the money necessary to take the University into the future.
Dr. Yancy is no stranger to hard work; particularly in an
educational setting. She served as the twelfth president of
Johnson C. Smith University and was also the first female
elected to hold that post. During her tenure as president of
Johnson C. Smith University, Dr. Yancy completed two significant capital campaigns. The first campaign, ‘Campaign for
the 90’s,’ took place from 1993-1998 with a goal of $50 million. At the close of the campaign she exceeded this goal, raising $63.8 million. The second campaign, ‘Pathways to
Success,’ was launched in October 2000 with a goal of raising
$75 million. At the close of the campaign in June of 2007, she
exceeded the goal again, raising $81.5 million. Under her
leadership the University endowment more than tripled from
$14 million to $53 million. For these achievements, she has
been heralded as one of the best fundraisers nationally.
Founded in 1865, Shaw University is the oldest historically black college of the South. Shaw is a private, co-educational, liberal arts university affiliated with the Baptist Church.
The University awards degrees at both the undergraduate and
graduate levels. Just like most institutions of higher learning,
Shaw University has experienced many challenges; particu-
larly during the recent tough economic climate. Under
Yancy’s leadership, however, these challenges are being
turned into opportunity.
Since Dr. Yancy arrived at Shaw University, “the overall
atmosphere has changed for the better,” said Samantha
Canteen, who is a Senior Theatre major. Canteen, along with
many other returning students, have noticed the changes that
are taking place at Shaw, and they are excited about the university’s future. The changes that are being made, however,
do not often come without growing pains. Dr. Yancy wants
to make the growth as painless as possible.
“It is my goal to employ new, innovative, and ambitious
strategies to help Shaw University develop the next generation
of students, who will successfully complete college and prepare themselves for the global economy.” said Dr. Yancy.
“But these strategies will obviously mean that the ship must
be run much tighter and where necessary, we must cut back,”
she added.
Attorney Willie Gary, who serves as Chairman of the
Board of Trustees at Shaw University said, “The Board [of
Trustees] has complete faith in Dr. Yancy’s ability to lead
Shaw University, and we are excited about what she has
already done and what she will do for Shaw in the coming
days ahead.”
Dr. Yancy has earned the respect of the higher education
community throughout her career. She served as a professor of
Dr. Yancy continues on page 12
Dr. Dorothy Cowser Yancy greets students, staff and alumni on the steps of Estey Hall with Shaw University
Chairman of the Board Trustees Willie Gary (left) on her
first day as the first female President of the university. Photo:
courtesy of the New 17
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
11
DR. YANCY continues
Dr. Dorothy Cowser Yancy (above) stops to talk with student as she walks across the campus. In spite of all her successes, Dr. Yancy remains humble, and the students at Shaw University feel right at home with her. It is clear that they believe
in her leadership and she believes in them.
history, technology and society and in the School of
Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta)
from 1972-1994. At Georgia Tech, she was the first African
American to be promoted and tenured as a full professor. She
also served as associate director of the School of Social
Sciences. She previously taught at several institutions, including Albany State University, Hampton University, Evanston
Township High School, and Barat College, where she was the
Director of the Afro-American Studies Program. Dr. Yancy
was the first American to lecture at the Academy of Public
Administration and Social Studies of the Small Hural in Ulan
Bator, Mongolia, in 1991.
In scholarship, as well as leadership, Dr. Yancy has
excelled. She has published over forty articles and labor arbitration cases in academic journals, including “Dorothy
Bolden, Organizer of Domestic Workers; She was Born Poor
and She Would Not Bow Down,” Sage, “Public Sector
Bargaining in the South: A Case Study of Atlanta and
Memphis,” Industrial Relations Association Proceedings,
“William Edward Burghardt Dubois – Atlanta Years: The
Human Side – A Study Based upon Oral Sources,” The
Journal of Negro History, and several articles on Black
Women in America: A Historical Encyclopedia.
In addition to her scholastic contributions, Dr. Yancy has
contributed widely to civic and professional communities. She
was the first African American to be appointed Special Master
for the Florida Public Employee Relations Commission, was
a member of labor delegations to the Soviet Union and Europe
in 1988 and 1990, is the former president of the Association of
Social and Behavioral Scientists and of the Atlanta Chapter of
the Industrial Relations Research Association, and she is a former member of the Executive Council of The Links, Inc.
In spite of all her successes, Dorothy Cowser Yancy
remains humble, and the students at Shaw University feel
right at home with her. It is clear that they believe in her leadership, and she believes in them.
“Through quality instruction and a personal commitment
to hard work, our young people can go on to achieve successes that they never imagined,” said Yancy. She added, “Our
nation is faced with many economic challenges and our
HBCU’s are being hit particularly hard as a result. At Shaw
University we are sensitive to that fact and are committed to
coming up with creative ways in which we can keep our students moving toward reaching their goals.”
A former member of the National Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities Commission on
Financing Higher Education, the American Council of
Education Commission on Women in Higher Education, and
the U.S. Air Force Historically Black Colleges and
Universities/Minority Institution (HBCU/MI) Board of
Advisors, Dr. Yancy has armed herself with the necessary
information to move Shaw University to new heights, and
based on her performance thus far, the sky is the limit.
12
SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
Written by Tanya Wiley, Chairman & CEO of WCP
Communications, a professional creative agency based in
Winston Salem, NC.
Cover Story
DR. HAROLD L. MARTIN
NEW NC A&T STATE UNIVERSITY CHANCELLOR ‘YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN’
GREENSBORO – Perhaps Thomas Wolfe would not have been
able to go home again after his novel You Can’t Go Home Again
was published, but that is certainly not the case with this Winston
Salem native and NC A&T State University alumnus.
Dr. Harold L. Martin, Sr., former chancellor of Winston
Salem State University, assumed the position as the twelfth
Chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
University on June 8, 2009. Since 2006 he has served as senior
vice president for academic affairs of the multi-campus
University of North Carolina.
“It’s good to be home,” Dr. Martin said at the press conference to announce his acceptance of the position.
UNC President Erskine Bowles placed Dr. Martin’s name in
nomination on May 22nd during a special meeting of the Board
of Governors held on the A&T campus in Greensboro. Dr.
Martin, 57, succeeds Stanley F. Battle, who in February
announced his plans to step down for personal reasons.
In recommending Dr. Martin to the Board of Governors,
Bowles said: “There is not a doubt in my mind that Harold
Martin is absolutely the right person to lead North Carolina A&T
today and in the years ahead. Harold Martin is a proud Aggie he personifies Aggie Pride. He is not only a graduate of A&T;
he has also been a faculty member, dean, and provost at A&T—
he knows this institution inside and out. He is of North Carolina
A&T. And he fully understands and appreciates the university’s
rich history, and he is passionate about the larger role it can play
in the life of this city and this state, and its potential to change the
future of so many North Carolinians.”
As chief executive and administrative officer of the institution, Dr. Martin’s job is to provide visionary leadership that establishes long range strategic plans in consultation with its various
constituencies; assert strategic leadership to develop innovative
approaches for expansion resources and ensure the fiscal and academic vitality of all colleges and schools.
“Since I arrived I have been out and engaging the faculty,
staff and administration focusing on how we can improve what
we do to enhance the quality of the educational experiences for
our students,” Dr. Martin said. “Quite frankly, that’s the core of
what we do.”
He has also been spending time in the community facilitating collaborative relationships between A&T, the community,
media, businesses, corporations, government, alumni, donors, the
University of North Carolina System, and the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro and other educational institutions. Dr.
Martin demonstrates a high level of campus visibility, political
savvy, civic and community involvement, and cultivates diverse
internal and external relationships.
Often seen in the cafeteria and student union talking to students, Dr. Martin says he is encouraged to hear about their high
goals and aspirations and how they envision North Carolina A&T
preparing them to meet those goals. He is, on the other hand, disturbed about their concerns about the quality of services on cam-
Dr. Harold L. Martin
pus and what the students described as the ‘Aggie Shuffle.’
“I was disappointed to hear how Aggie was linked to something as disappointing as the phrase ‘Aggie Shuffle’ because I
think we, without compromise, must do better and will do better.
It is simply unacceptable for us to, as I shared with our students,
not to take more seriously our commitment to enhance quality of
services rendered to the students we serve. It is my hope that the
‘Aggie Shuffle’ takes on something much more positive and
memorable as opposed to long lines and seemingly intentionally
running our students from place to the next as they complete such
important things as registration for classes, getting their books
and preparing for a positive and healthy experience.”
One other issue that Dr. Martin said he plans to address
immediately is the recent crime issues that have surfaced on the
campus and close proximity of campus that impacts the students,
faculty and staff.
Dr. Martin plans to provide the leadership needed to take
A&T to the next level of excellence in delivering the highest quality of education and life preparation possible, ensuring that stuDr. Harold Martin continues on page 15
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Sept./Oct. 2009
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Sept./Oct. 2009
Feature
DR. HAROLD MARTIN continues
dents are prepared to become competitive global citizens.
degree programs and enhanced the quality of overall academic
“There are large numbers of universities that are competing
programs.
for the same bright students that we seek to serve. These young
Dr. Martin served as a strong community leader while at
people have options today,” Dr. Martin explained. “We have to
WSSU and participated in several local citizen initiatives.
begin to benchmark ourselves immediately so we have a sense of
The A&TAlumni Association has recognized Martin as Alumnus
where we are against these peers and begin to shape our plans for
of the Year (1976), while Virginia Tech has inducted him into its
the future for this institution.”
Academy of Engineering
He provides fiscal manageExcellence (2008) and honored
ment for a multi-million dollar
him with its Distinguished
budget and demonstrates a high
Graduate Alumni Award (2004)
level of commitment to all
and the Bradley Department of
aspects of A&T’s culture.
Electrical
Engineering
“There are fiscal issues that
Academy of Distinguished
need to be addressed. We need
Alumni Award (1998). He was
to begin to strengthen the
awarded an honorary degree
processes that correct those
from Wake Forest University in
issues even more expeditious2007.
ly,” Martin acknowledged.
A native of Winston-Salem,
“Quite a bit of progress has
Martin is married to Davida
been made already.”
Martin, an A&T alumna who
Dr. Martin became the
serves as county attorney for
Senior Vice President for
Forsyth County. They have
Academic Affairs at the
two sons: Harold, Jr., a busiUniversity of North Carolina in
ness consultant in Atlanta, is a
July of 2006.
He
holds
graduate of Morehouse College,
undergraduate and master’s
Harvard Business School and
degrees in electrical engineerYale Law School; and Walter, a
ing from A&T and a doctorate
graduate
of
Hampton
in the field from Virginia
University,
attends
the
Polytechnic Institute and State
University of Maryland Dental
University. He joined the A&T
School.
faculty in 1980 and was named
North Carolina A&T State
chairman of the Department of
University
Electrical Engineering in 1985
Founded in Greensboro in 1891,
after a nine-month stint as actNorth Carolina A&T State
ing chairman.
University is a doctoral/research
Four years later, he was
intensive land-grant university.
named dean of A&T’s College
With a student enrollment of
of Engineering, a post he held
more than 10,000, it houses one
until being named vice chancelof three schools of engineering
lor for academic affairs in 1994.
within the University of North
From 1987 to 1994, he also
Carolina and offers doctoral
served as an adjunct faculty
degrees in related disciplines.
member in North Carolina State Dr. Martin (left) talks with members of the Student A&T is the nation’s leading proUniversity’s Department of Government Association. He has spent a lot of time getting ducer of African American engito know the students and hearing about their aspirations as
Electrical and Computer well as their concerns.
neering graduates. It also offers
Engineering.
a wide range of baccalaureate
In 2000, Dr. Martin was tapped by then UNC President
and master’s degree programs with emphases in engineering,
Molly Corbett Broad to provide stable, interim leadership for
technology, and the sciences. In partnership with government
and industry, A&T’s faculty conduct basic and applied research in
Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) following the resignaan array of fields, including engineering, transportation, and agrition of the Chancellor. Sixteen months later, he was elected to
culture. A&T was the nation’s first historically black university
the position on a permanent basis by the Board of Governors.
to be named an Engineering Research Center (ERC) by the
During Dr. Martin’s six-year tenure at WSSU, enrollment
National Science Foundation, securing a five-year, $18-million
nearly doubled, freshman SAT scores climbed by nearly 70
grant for biomedical engineering and nano-bio applications
points, and the campus underwent a dramatic physical transforresearch. A&T is also collaborating with the University of North
mation made possible by the 2000 Higher Education Bond
Carolina at Greensboro in the development of the Gateway
Program. He guided the reclassification of WSSU from a bacUniversity Research Park, which will support cutting-edge work
calaureate I to a master’s II institution, created a School of
in life and physical sciences, engineering, and technology.
Graduate Studies and Research, established seven master’s
Feature
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
15
SHEPARD LIBRARY AND NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL
UNIVERSITY CENTENNIAL WEB GO HAND IN HAND
DURHAM - It was quite a coup for North Carolina Central
University's James E. Shepard Memorial Library when it was
chosen as one of ten libraries to take part in the HBCU
Library Alliance and Cornell University Library Digital
Initiative. A grant of $450-thousand was given to Cornell
University and the HBCU Library Alliance to establish the
first historically black colleges and
universities library to chronicle the
founding of America's HBCUs.
Under the leadership of Dr.
Theodosia T. Shields, director of
library services, and in support of
the undertaking, the Shepard
Library has produced an online
collection of photographic images
of people and structures that were
fundamental in the early developDr. Theodosia T. Shields ment of North Carolina Central
University. Currently, the collection contains 70 photographs of
Dr. James E. Shepard,
the founder and his
family, presidents,
chancellors, early student life, buildings
and other notable
individuals. Over the
next several months,
80 images will be
uploaded to the university library site.
NCCU launched
its Centennial Website
last month to commemorate the 100th
birthday of the school.
The site, located at
www.nccu.edu/centennial, offers an
online portal to the
past and into the
future of the institution. The archival
library images can be
accessed through the
Centennial site or at
contentdm.auctr.edu.
Charlie Nelms,
chancellor of North
Members of team that Carolina
Central
worked with Dr. Shields University said, "This
pictured above: (Top)
Project
Coordinator university has touched
Vernice Faison; (middle) a myriad of lives and
André Vann, coordinator strengthened commuof university archives, and
worldwide.
(bottom) Stephanie D. nities
Fennell, assistant project James E. Shepard, the
founder of this institution was a visionary. He looked into the
future and saw what education would mean to people of color.
And, 100 years later, NCCU is a testament to his insight."
A key component of the Website is that alumni can add
their thoughts, stories of achievement to the archives and legacy of the university. All visitors to the site are invited to tell
what role NCCU played in their personal histories. "NCCU
invites students, alumni, and the public to learn more about
the university's mission and its storied history," said
Centennial Committee Co-Chair Bill Evans. "The site will
serve as the central portal of information throughout the
Centennial for events, including cultural and educational
opportunities."
North Carolina Central University is the first publicly
supported liberal arts college for African-Americans and this
year, U.S. News & World Report ranked NCCU among the
top ten HBCUs in the country. As NCCU celebrates its
Centennial Year, a diverse student body of more than 8,500
students is enrolled in programs such as law, business, library
science, nursing, education, and biotechnology.
16
coordinator.
SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
Feature
WAUG 750 AM ADDS NEW SHOW:
“THE 411” PUTS LISTENERS IN THE KNOW
RALEIGH—Saint Augustine’s College’s historical radio
station WAUG continues to sign on each morning at the
break of dawn.
On this particular morning, Program Director John
Low and Katrina Dix, Director of External Affairs for the
College—are hosting the radio station’s newest morning
show called “The 411”, which airs from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
on 750 AM. Their banter this day is a mixture of talk about
job searches amid the recession, creating and maintaining a
clean image, “digital dirt”, and job leads and tips. Though
this is her day off, Dix is still snazzy, hair in place, sitting
alongside her fellow announcer veteran Low. Low’s just
been informed that this is Dix’s day off.
“You’re just here for the 411?” he asks incredulously.
“Just the 411 today, John. I wouldn’t leave my buddy
hanging!” Dix says in her upbeat, broadcast-ready tone
known to many across campus. And before leaving the studio, she lends her voice to a 30-second promotional, called
a “promo” in the industry.
At 8 a.m. sharp Monday through Friday, they cue up an
old-school music lead-in to the 30-minute program. While
Dix announces, Low multi-tasks, cueing up promos, advertisements, checks the current weather, and maintains audio
levels, all the while intermittently making eye contact with
his co-host.
Just recently, listener call-ins were added, allowing listeners to contribute to the discussion. The line-up varies
from day to day. On Headline Mondays, the two discuss the
weekend’s breaking news; on Tuesdays, in-studio guests
are apart of the show to share information to listeners about
local businesses which are making a difference in the community from free healthcare to information on the
Innocence Project; on Wednesdays, guest Danette Reid
calls in with “Mid-Week Motivation” for 30 minutes of
positive inspiration; on Thursdays it’s Career Corner
Thursdays Low and Dix provide information on job openings and tips to help job seekers deal with the frustrations
of job hunting; on Fridays, listeners are given a slate of
upcoming events & enjoy a few laughs with local comedian Less Long.
The show takes preparation and planning.
“You don’t just pop in here. If you do, you’ll sound like
you did,” Dix says with a laugh.
Dix facilitates special events at the College, but also
brings a radio broadcast background to the job. She worked
for WUSL Power 99 FM in Philadelphia as a news reporter
and public affairs assistant, while co-hosting a weekend
public affairs talk show. Dix also co-hosted a weekly cable
television talk show in Philadelphia for Univision. Her
radio background dates back to a stint at West Chester
University in Pennsylvania, where she earned a Bachelor of
Arts degree in Communications.
“I was a DJ and had my own shift bringing music to my
fellow classmates and the surrounding community in
Pennsylvania,” said Dix. “It’s good to be back doing what
I started out doing in college. I started as an intern with
Power 99 and put my best foot forward while I was there.
The staff recognized my skills as I demonstrated initiative
Feature
John Low and Katrina Dix
and desire to learn the business. It paid off by my landing
my first job… at the number one urban station in the
Philadelphia market. I would encourage all young people to
take advantage of internships and seize any and all opportunities to learn skills which may open future doors.”
Low, a veteran broadcaster, has been in the radio broadcast business for 40 years including his first part time radio
job at the age of 15.
“Being a local businessman who advertised on the station, (my father) purchased an hour of time on a Saturday
morning so I could have my introduction to being a dj. It
was a memorable birthday gift! The manager said I did
well enough to get some extra time. At seventeen, I
returned to this manager and asked for a part time job,
which he granted,” said Low.
Low has held numerous jobs in radio with various formats to include Christian, pop, country, rock, and oldies.
During his career, he has held positions as Program
Director as well as Music Director. Now with WAUG for a
little over three years, he manages the role of multi-tasking
Program Director, which requires “a mix of administration,
creativity and mad studio skills,” he said.
Dix hopes the broadcast will become a popular choice
among listeners, so she signs off with gratitude. “We know
you have choices in the morning, thank you for tuning into
“The 411 w/John & Katrina”, until next time, peace and
blessings.”
Saint Augustine’s College
Saint Augustine’s College is the first historically black
institution to own and operate an on-campus commercial
radio and television station. The major coverage area for
the radio station is Raleigh and Wake County. The television station, Time Warner Channel 102, reaches 385,000
households in 19 counties including the surrounding counties of Raleigh and Durham, Cumberland, Wilson, Moore,
Hoke, Wayne, Granville, Vance and Robeson, which
encompasses the Florence/Myrtle Beach DMA.
The call-in numbers are (919)546-9284 and (919)516-4878. The
show is also streamed daily at power750.com. WAUG’s program
line-up can be found at http://waug750am.com.
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
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Sept./Oct. 2009
RELIGION
PEACE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
CELEBRATES 35 YEARS
Rev. William E. Daye, Pastor of Peace Missionary Baptist Church for 35 years.
By Wil Glenn
Contributing Writer
DURHAM - Let’s take a trip back in time. What were you
doing in 1974?
Maybe you need a reminder. President Richard Nixon
resigned from office that year. Hank Aaron broke Babe
Ruth’s homerun record. Bell bottoms and butterfly collars
were the attire of choice.
Oh, and gas prices nearly doubled.
Maybe that’s why the members of Peace Missionary
Baptist Church decided to walk to the site of their new
church for their first service.
Thirty-five years later, on July 26, 2009, the congregation celebrated “35 Years of Peace,” with a special program, attended by several local dignitaries at the current
facility at 2608 Apex Highway in Durham.
Peace has a rich, interesting history. The church was
founded under the leadership of the current pastor, Rev.
William E. Daye, and 19 members who stepped out on
faith to go forward with the establishment of the new
church. These members included: Nora M. Daye, Weldon
Alston, Charles E. Dunham, Alvis O. Grady, Sr., Laury D.
Grady, Henry Hubbard, Della H. Hubbard, Joseph Jones
Jr., Barbara W. Jones, Lucious S. Knox, Gladys G. Knox,
James P. Shipman, Juanita R. Shipman, Nathaniel Sutton,
Sr., Pursell K. Sutton, Ernest F. Tapp, Gloria W. Tapp,
Junious M. Waddell and Nannie R. Waddell.
The first service the church body held was actually on
Sunday, July 28, 1974, at the Scarborough and Hargett
Memorial Chapels and Gardens. That day 131 people
attended and 119 joined. The first offering was $476.33.
By December 31, 1974, Peace had grown from its original
19 members to a total 198 members. Peace continued to
gather at Scarborough and Hargett until December 1974,
when the members purchased an existing church building,
the former First Freewill Baptist Church, located at the corPeace continues on page 21
Sept./Oct. 2009
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20
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Sept./Oct. 2009
Religion
PEACE MISSIONARY continues
purchased for its erection. In January 1994, Peace gathered
at the site of the new church at 2608 Apex Highway (Hwy
55) for a worship-filled ground breaking event with many
friends and city leaders in attendance. Construction on the
$1.4 million, 600-seat project began one month later in
February. One year later the construction was completed
and on July 9, 1995, members walked more than two miles
from the East Main Street location to the new edifice,
recalling the ceremonial march from Scarborough and
Hargett Memorial Chapel and Gardens to the East Main
Street building more than 20 years earlier.
Rev. Daye, the only pastor the church has ever had,
feels blessed to have been able to lead such a congregation
for so many years.
“I’ve always felt like this church was ordained of God,”
said Daye, sitting in the church office. “That He was behind
Rev. Daye and members walk to the site of their new
it. And I’ve been blessed to be the one to go forth with it.”
church for their first service in 1974.
Submitted photo
And what about the name – Peace?
ner of East main and Holman Streets in East Durham for
As the original members of Peace contemplated a
$60,000. On Sunday, December 1, 1974 members walked
name for the new fellowship, one member, Gladys Knox,
and motored ceremonially from the Scarborough location
declared “I don’t mind what we name it as long as we have
to 1212 East Main Street for their first service in the new
a little peace.” Thus, the new church was christened Peace
church. Seven years later, in 1981, Peace completed payMissionary Baptist. By a unanimous vote, Rev. Daye was
ment on the church.
formally called to be the pastor.
But the church continued to grow.
“We’ve been blessed over the span of 35 years as much
Between 1981 and 1994 Peace saw its ministries diveras any church. And I’ve always encouraged the congregasify, reaching still higher heights of spiritual maturity,
tion to grow in faith,” Daye continued. “Growth still takes
Christian service and church development. Among its
place, and we have a happy congregation.”
many vibrant ministries, the music ministry at Peace has
Rev. Daye, an enthusiastic 80-year-old, can be
enjoyed a reputation, both near and far, for musical exceldescribed as a traditional leader who sternly stands behind
lence and inspiration for many years and has earned severthe idea of continuously studying God’s word – in Sunday
al local and national awards and distinctions for its excepSchool, Bible Study or prayer meetings. He’s also noticetional talents in gospel music.
ably fond of the church’s motto, “But seek ye first the kingBy 1991, Peace had reached its seating capacity at the
dom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
church on Main Street and building a new church was soon
shall be added unto you.”
unavoidable. A new modern church structure was
After 35 years, Peace Missionary Baptist Church condesigned and an expansive south Durham property was
tinues to expand its ministries and its influence. With several new, innovative auxiliaries flourishing and a body that continues to
grow steadily in membership (over
800 on the church roll) and dedication
to Christian living, Peace is one of
Durham’s major congregations.
With nearly 50 years in ministry
and showing no signs of slowing the
pace of his preaching or pastoral activities, Rev. William Daye continues to
serve the Peace Baptist Church as its
sage and beloved leader. He continues
to be one of the most sought-after
mentors of preachers in the state and
Southeast region. Because of his
unyielding commitment to the cause
of Christ, a commitment shared by his
wife of more than 55 years, First Lady
Nora Daye, Peace continues to prosper
and find more and more favor.
Congratulations to the congregaThe current site of Peace Missionary Baptist Church at 2608 Apex Highway (Hwy tion on 35 years of Peace.
55) in Durham.
Religion
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
21
ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
by
Rev. James W. Smith
MOVE BEYOND
SELFISHNESS
As a pastor, I get to witness the
hurt, pain and suffering as well as
the happiness and joy of so many
people. I am especially moved when I see the devastation of folks who have no healthcare and the
financial strain placed on so many as a result of rising healthcare cost. As a result of what I have seen
and witness, I have come to the conclusion that not
only is health care a political concern but it is a
moral concern. No one should have to make a decision regarding his/her health based on financial concerns. Over the past months, I have been thinking
very seriously about healthcare. I have been trying
to figure out why some folks are so adamantly
against affordable healthcare as the President has
laid out for the country.
Frankly, the answer came to me last Sunday as I was
in Sunday School. We were talking about Ezra, who
was a Priest in Israel. The commentary stated that
the leaders of the people of Israel had come to Ezra
with a report of the people’s sin. They were intermarrying with their pagan neighbors and copying
their practices. God had commanded the people
not to intermarry with the surrounding nations. He
did this because He knew that such unions would
lead the people into sin. As the intercessor for the
people, Ezra prayed for the people and his prayer
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made it clear that the nation’s guilt extended to
everyone. Both the civil and the religious leaders
were as guilty as the common people.
After we had read the above, we engaged in a discussion with particular emphasis on the statement,
“Ezra’s prayer made it clear that the nation’s guilt
extended to everyone.” I am not sure how this got
us into the healthcare discussion but I think it was
the thinking of many that what affects one affects
the whole.
Well, one of the participants said to me,“Rev. Smith,
as I talk to folks, I find that most folks want affordable healthcare. They think their family members
ought to have it. They think their friends ought to
have it. As a matter of fact, they think everybody
deserves to have affordable healthcare and that it
should be a fundamental right.” I looked at him and
said, “Well, what is the problem then.” He said,
“Well no one wants their income taxed to pay for
it.”
And there lies the problem. Until all of us come to
the realization that what affects one affects the
whole, and that maybe Ezra’s prayer has some significance, “That the nation’s guilt extended to everyone.” I think it is time that we all realize that we are
better when those around us are better. It is time
to move beyond selfishness.
Dr. James W. Smith
Church Consultant, Inspirational/Motivational Speaker
Author, “Deal By Me
Email: [email protected]
LIVING YOUR FAITH:
PRACTICAL PIETY
By Rev. Dr. Archie D.Logan
WILL
RETURN
NEXT
MONTH
Appointments only
22
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Sept./Oct. 2009
Religion
HOMECOMING EVENTS
FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
(FSU) HOMECOMING 2009
FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY VS SAINT
AUGUSTINE’S (HOMECOMING GAME)
Luther Nick Jerald’s Stadium 2:00 pm
For tickets contact the FSU Ticket Office @
(910) 672-1724 or buy online at eTix.com
FRIDAY, October 30th
SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY ALUMNI BREAKFAST
Dudley Multipurpose Room – Campus
8:00 am – 10:00 am
31ST ANNUAL RICHARD E. MOORE MEMORIAL GOLF
TOURNAMENT
Grandover Resort
8:30 am Shotgun Start
For more info call Shaun Johnson (336) 433-5570
FAYETTEVILLE - FSU will celebrate homecoming the
week of October 18th – 24th. A weeklong of
events for both students and alumni are being
planned and will culminate with the football game
on Saturday Oct. 24th at 2 pm against the Falcons of
St. Augustine’s College. Alumni activities are planned
for October 22nd – 25th and include:
THURSDAY, October 22nd
SENIOR ACADEMY BREAKFAST
910) 672-1463
ALUMNI MEET AND GREET
(252) 442-7241
FRIDAY, October 23rd
FSU ATHLETIC CLUB JIM SCURRY MEMORIAL GOLF
TOURNAMENT
(910) 672-1724
ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME & CLASS REUNION BANQUET
(910) 525-4196
ALUMNI AFTER 5
STUDENT - ALUMNI - CORPORATE DONOR
NETWORKING SOCIAL
(877) 544-2603
(For those unable to attend the Hall of Fame-Class
Reunion Banquet)
NIGHT WITH MS. ALUMNI
(252) 442-7241
SATURDAY,
October 24th
9:00 AM
HOMECOMING PARADE
D. Hector McEachern, a
retired Wachovia Bank executive and Fayetteville State
University (FSU) alumnus,
will serve as the Grand
Marshal for the 2009 FSU
Homecoming Parade. The
parade will begin near
downtown Fayetteville and
make its way down
Murchison Road to Luther “Nick” Jeralds Stadium.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES ALUMNI REUNION
BREAKFAST
Memorial Student Union - Exhibit Hall – Campus
8:30 am
NATIONAL ALUMNI AWARDS RECOGNITION RECEPTION
910) 488-9478
2009 HOMECOMING GALA
(240) 997-5311 or (704) 287-9791
HOMECOMING SCHOLARSHIP DANCE
(252) 442-7241
SUNDAY, October 25th
NATIONAL ALUMNI FELLOWSHIP BREAKFAST (BUFFET)
(252) 442-7241
For more info visit www.alumni.uncfsu.edu/homecoming or call (910) 672-1462.
NC A&T STATE UNIVERSITY (A&T)
HOMECOMING 2009
F.D. BLUFORD LIBRARY ARCHIVES 5TH PICTURE PARTY
Bluford Library Rm 201 – Campus
9:00 am – 4:30 pm Archives staff: (336) 285-4176
AGGIE “NO TAP” ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP BOWLING
TOURNAMENT
Gate City Lanes - 1st shift begins 9:30 am
ALUMNI WELCOME DESK
Desk 1 - Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel
10:00 am – 12 noon
THE RONALD E. MCNAIR BACCALAUREATE
ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM
Open House Reception
Suite 212 Murphy Hall – Campus
11:00 am – 3:00 pm
VENDING - Sponsored by NC A&T Alumni
Association, Inc.
Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel / Pre Function Area
11:00 am – 1:00 am
SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCES HOMECOMING KICK-OFF
Webb Hall - Front Lawn Campus
11:30 am – 2:00 pm
SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY ALUMNI LUNCHEON
Smith Hall Lobby – Campus 12 Noon – 3:00 pm
NC A&T STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI
ASSOCIATION, INC. INFORMATION
Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel Desk 1
1:00 pm – 9:00 pm
TAILGATE INFORMATION
(910) 672-1670
GREENSBORO - For over 80 years, A&T’s Homecoming
tradition has welcomed alumni, friends and families
back to campus for a spirit-filled week of activities
and events. This year’s Homecoming Week celebration (October 25th - November 1st) has something
for everyone!
FSU- MARYLAND & CHARLOTTE CHAPTERS ANNUAL
ALUMNI TAILGATE & BLOCK PARTY (LIVE DJ)
Tailgating Parking Lot between Knuckles and Taylor
Bldgs 11:00 am – until
ALUMNI SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
THURSDAY, October 29th
FALL CONVOCATION
Harrison Auditorium/Campus 10:00 am
ALUMNI RECEPTION *INVITATION ONLY*
Sponsored by Office of Alumni Affairs
Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel 6:00 pm
AGGIE ALUMNI ENTREPRENEUR NETWORK
INFORMATION SESSION
Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel, Auditorium 1
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
NURSING LEGACY: COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE
Room 308 Noble Hall - Campus
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Symposium
2:45 pm - 4:00 pm Reception
4:15 pm - 5:00 pm Affinity Group Meeting
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION FIRESIDE CHAT AND RECEPTION
School of Education Bldg. 160 - Campus
2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS ALUMNI REUNION
Merrick Hall Lawn - Campus 2:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Sept./Oct. 2009
Homecoming continues on page 24
SPECTACULAR
23
HOMECOMING continues
HOMECOMING
FOOTBALL
GAME
A&T VS.
BETHUNECOOKMAN
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY ALUMNI HOMECOMING
RECEPTION
Dudley Building 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
THEATRE ARTS PROGRAM
“Sister’s Keeper” by Gary Hooker
Paul Robeson Theatre
4:00 pm & 7:00 pm
Aggie Stadium
1:30 pm
Contact: NC A&T
Ticket Office
(336) 334-7749
CHANCELLOR’S DONOR RECEPTION *INVITATION
ONLY*
Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel
Imperial Ballroom ABC 6:00 pm
THEATRE ARTS PROGRAM
“Sister’s Keeper” by Gary Hooker
Paul Robeson Theatre
Cost: $10.00
4:00 pm & 7:00 pm
ALUMNI CONCERT / SPONSORED BY NC A&T
FOUNDATION
Auditorium I
9:30 am – 11:00 am
VENDING – Sponsored by NC A&T Alumni
Association, Inc.
Pre Function Area 8:00 am– 11:00 am
For more info visit
http://www.ncat.edu/~newsinfo/homecoming/2009/
NC CENTRAL UNIVERSITY (NCCU)
HOMECOMING 2009
VICTORY CLUB STEWARDSHIP EVENT *INVITATION
ONLY*
Imperial Ballroom D
9:00 pm – 1:30 am
HOMECOMING HARVEST DANCE
Sponsored by NC A&T Alumni Association Inc.
Guilford Ballroom 9:00 pm – 1:30 am
THE TEMPTATIONS REVIEW FEATURING “DENNIS EDWARDS”
Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel / Guilford Ballroom
3121 High Point Road - Greensboro
Reception 6:30 pm ~ Show 8:00 pm
As a part of the Elegant Evening...savor a New York
City Supper Club atmosphere, you will dine and
enjoy the exquisite buffet cuisine, all inclusive. The
event will begin with the buffet reception from 6:30 pm followed by the show
that starts at 8:00 pm.There will be
table seating only! Contact: Darlene
Norman / NC A&T Foundation (336) 4335560
SUNDAY, November 1st
ALUMNI CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
Sponsored by Office of Alumni Affairs
Imperial Ballroom A
8:00 am - 9:00 am
AFFIRMATION SERVICE
Sponsored by NC A&T Alumni Association, Inc.
SATURDAY, October 31st
SCHOOL OF NURSING TELOCA
BREAKFAST
Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel / Colony
Ballroom BC
7:30 am – 10:00 am
VENDING – Sponsored by NC A&T
Alumni Association, Inc.
Pre Function Area 9:00 am – 1:30 am
F.D. BLUFORD LIBRARY ARCHIVES 5TH
PICTURE PARTY
Bluford Library Rm 201 – Campus
9:00 am – 1:00 pm Archives staff:
(336) 285-4176
SATURDAY, October 24th
EAGLE JAM 2009 HOMECOMING
CONCERT
Join the students and the Eagle family
for an evening of fun and dance during
the Pre-dawn Dance. Local artists will be
featured.
7:00 pm Location: TBD
MONDAY, October 26th
CHOIR BALL
The Choir Ball is a variety show with
members of the University Choir showcasing their talent in song and dance.
Meet many of today’s top artists
through the imitations of talented choir
members. Only one show will be held
for Homecoming 2009.
7:00 pm B. N. Duke Auditorium
SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY GAME DAY
TAILGATE
Aggie Stadium
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION PRE-GAME PICNIC
School of Education – Campus
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
SPECTACULAR
FRIDAY, October 23rd
CENTENNIAL COMEDY SHOW
The comedy show will feature Kevin
Hart, Benji Brown, and Corey Holcomb.
7:00 pm McDougald-McLendon Gym
MR. & MISS NCCU CORONATION
You will find royalty at its best when
Chavery McClanahan and Tremain
Holloway are crowned Mr. and Miss
NCCU. The royal court and organization
queens and kings will be presented in a
setting of royalty. Please dress for the
occasion.
HOMECOMING PARADE
8:00 am
Contact Number: (336) 334-7792
24
DURHAM - NCCU celebrates homecoming activities
October 24th - November 1st with a full schedule of
events. The university, founded in 1910, has also
kicked off its year-long centennial celebration that
will culminate with a Convention and Gala in July
2010.
Sept./Oct. 2009
Homecoming
HOMECOMING GUIDE continues
Society of Golden Ea g les Tea Cele br a tion 4-26-
Tye Tribbett
TUESDAY,
October 27th
LYCEUM PROGRAM
Grammy nominated
gospel artist, songwriter, producer, director and singer, Tye
Tribbett, will perform at
this program.
7:00 pm McDougaldMcLendon Gym
WEDNESDAY, October 28th
THE CENTENNIAL REVUE FACULTY AND STAFF VARIETY
SHOW
New on this year’s schedule is the Centennial Revue,
a variety show by faculty and staff.
and cheerleaders will be present to witness this sad
occasion for the Marauders.
2:00 pm
Ruffin Hall Amphitheatre
TRIBUTE TO ERNIE BARNES
NCCU will honor noted artist
and alumnus Ernie Barnes
with an exhibit of his work.
Barnes famous 1971 Sugar
Shack appeared on the television sitcom Good Times
and on the cover of the
Marvin Gaye album, I Want
You. 3:00 pm Art Museum
SGA FASHION SHOW
Presenting the fashion troupes of NCCU in rare form.
They design the clothes and choreograph the routines.
7:00 pm
McDougald-McLendon Gym
FOUNDER’S DAY – SOCIETY OF GOLDEN EAGLES
INDUCTION
The Class of 1959 will be inducted into the Society of
Golden Eagles. Dr. Mattie Giles, ’59 will be the
Founder’s Day Convocation speaker.
10:00 am
SOCIETY OF GOLDEN EAGLES LUNCHEON
Members of the Society of Golden Eagles will gather
for their annual luncheon. The society members, 50year graduates, will welcome the class into the fold.
This event is invitation only.
12:30 pm
Sheraton Imperial Hotel
HOMECOMING GOLF TOURNAMENT
1:00 pm Hillandale Country Club
CLASS REUNION REGISTRATIONS
2:00 pm Class Headquarters
For more info: (919) 530-7820
MOCK FUNERAL
The Eagles will host a mock funeral for the Central
State Marauders. The NCCU football team, coaches,
Homecoming
ALL-CLASS REUNION BANQUET
The 11 reunion classes will unite for an elegant
evening of dining and dancing. Each class will present a Centennial gift to the university.
6:00 pm
Sheraton Imperial Hotel
PAN-HELLENIC STEP SHOW
The 9 fraternities and sororities of the Pan-Hellenic
Council will do their thing in the annual step off. A
winner will be declared from the sororities and the
fraternities. 7:00 pm McDougald-McLendon Gym
HOMECOMING PARADE
The parade will begin at Pearson
Elementary
School
on
Fayetteville Street travel to
Lawson Street, ending at the
Mary Townes Science Building on
campus.
10:00 am
Fayetteville Street
HOMECOMING FOOTBALL GAME
NCCU VS. CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY
O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium 1:30 pm
Contact: NCCU Ticket Office (919) 530-5170
The NCCU Eagles will take on the Central State
University Marauders from Ohio. Prior to the game,
enjoy E-Town, the pre-game show, half-time activities with the NCCU Marching Band, and the postgame show with the Central State University
Marching Band.
ALUMNI DANCE
All alumni are invited to attend the
annual
Alumni
Dance. Sandy B. and
the All Stars will be
the featured band
for the evening.
Doors will open at
8:00 pm. 9:00 pm
Sheraton Imperial
Hotel
Sandy B. and the All
DANCE SHOW
NCCU dance troupes will perform in this showcase of
talent. 8:00 pm
Gospel Concert
The NCCU Worship and Praise Choir will celebrate
their anniversary with a concert featuring college
and university gospel choirs. Choirs will be represented from various colleges and universities
throughout North Carolina.
4:00 pm
B. N. Duke Auditorium
For more info: http://web.nccu.edu/homecoming/
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
25
SAINT AUGUSTINE’S COLLEGE
(SAC) HOMECOMING 2009
RALEIGH - Homecoming week, to be held October
11th - 17th, always reunites alums, friends and constituents to reminisce and participate in the weeklong celebration. This year’s theme is “Welcome To
The Good Life.”
GREEK STEP SHOW
8:00 pm Emery Gymnasium
Cost: $20.00 in advance $25.00 at the door
CASINO NIGHT- “ FALCONS NIGHT IN VEGAS”
8:00 pm - 12:00 am North Raleigh Hilton Ballroom
FALCON FOUNDATION,
INC. HALL OF FAME
DANCE
Live Entertainment EnVision Band
9:00 pm
Sheraton Hotel
Downtown $40.00
(202) 488-9289
ALUMNI OF GAMMA
EnVision Band
OMICRON CHAPTER OF
KAPPA ALPHA PSI, INC. AND GAMMA XI CHAPTER OF
AKA, INC. 60TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
(In partnership with the Falcon Foundation, Inc.)
9:00 pm - until
Registration: $100.00 ($50 will be donated to
the George “Pup” Williams Athletic Complex)
(202) 726-2977 or (910) 488-9289
FALCON, FOOD AND ALL THAT JAZZ BREAKFAST
Class Gift Presentations
8:00 am
Martin Luther King Jr. Ballroom
(919) 516-4343
MONDAY, October 12th
ALUMNI DAY
“2K Walk/Run” In Memory of Fallen Falcons
7:00 am Emery Gymnasium
See Homecoming 2009 website for route
TUESDAY, October 13th
FASHION SHOW
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm Seby Jones Auditorium
Cost: $3.00 in advance $5.00 at the door.
MIDNIGHT MADNESS - PEP RALLY
11:00 pm - 1:00 am
Martin Luther King Jr. Mall
MISS SAINT AUGUSTINE’S COLLEGE CORONATION
Theme: Unity
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Emery Gymnasium
CLASS OF 1960 FISH FRY
Meadowbrook Country Club
8025 Country Club Drive Garner, NC
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
RSVP to(919) 550-2586 or (919) 516-4343
HOMECOMING PARADE
9: 00 am
(919) 516-4661
FALCON TAILGATE
12:00pm - 2:00 pm
Broughton High School Stadium
Tailgate Parking $10.00
On site cooking, alcoholic beverages and smoking
are prohibited
( 919) 516-4343
SAINT AUGUSTINE’S COLLEGE FALCONS
VS. LIVINGSTONE COLLEGE BEARS
2:00 pm Broughton High School Stadium
723 St. Mary’s St. Raleigh, NC $20.00
SAINT AUGUSTINE’S COLLEGE/ FALCON FOUNDATION,
INC. ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT
7:00 am Meadowbrook Golf Course
8025 Country Club Drive Garner, NC
Cost: $45.00 To register call (919) 516-4092
FALCON FOUNDATION, INC. HALL OF FAME ATHLETIC
INDUCTION CEREMONIES
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Sheraton Hotel Downtown
$60.00 in advance $75.00 to attend both the
induction ceremony and dance following.
(919) 616-5208
SPECTACULAR
FALCON CABARET DANCE
Sponsored by Dynasty 5
9:00 pm
North Raleigh Hilton
Ballroom One – DJ Skills
Ballroom Two - Live Jazz and Old School Celebration
(919) 516-4343
NATIONAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 75TH ANNIVERSARY
GALA
8:00 pm - 1:00 am
Holiday Inn Crabtree
(919) 516-4343
For more info www.st-aug.edu/homecoming/2009
SHAW UNIVERSITY (SU)
HOMECOMING 2009
STUDENT HOMECOMING PRE-DAWN PARTY
12 midnight - 4:00 am
Emery Gymnasium
CHAPEL SERVICE
9:00 am Traditional Episcopal Service
10:30 am Ecumenical Service
The Historic College Chapel
26
STUDENT COMEDY SHOW & HOMECOMING CONCERT
9:00 pm - 11: 00 pm
Emery Gymnasium
$20.00 in advance $25.00 at the door
(919) 516-4074
Sept./Oct. 2009
RALEIGH - Shaw University’s Homecoming is a festive
occasion in which the entire campus becomes
involved. It is a time when alumni return to the
University to renew old acquaintances and enjoy the
festivities of the week. This year’s Homecoming will
take place the week of October 18th - 25th. The
theme is “The Year of the Bear.” Among the major
attractions are the Crowning of Miss Homecoming,
the Homecoming Concert, the football game, and a
fraternity and sorority “step show.”
MISS SHAW CORONATION/CROWNING OF MR. AND
MISS HOMECOMING
GREEK SUNDAY Thomas J. Boyd Chapel
WEDNESDAY, October 21st
FASHION SHOW
8:00 pm
Spaulding Gymnasium
THURSDAY, October 22nd
ALUMNI/STUDENT MEET-N-GREET
“Building on a Legacy of Greatness”
ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME
BANQUET
FRIDAY,
OCTOBER 23RD
FOUNDER’S DAY
CONVOCATION
W/SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO
ELLA BAKER ’27 - CIVIL
RIGHTS AND HUMAN
RIGHTS ACTIVIST
Ella Baker
Homecoming
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23RD
50TH CLASS REUNION BREAKFAST
RALEIGH/WAKE ALUMNI CHAPTER GOLF TOURNAMENT
Riverwood Golf and Athletic Club
Clayton, NC
Registration: 7:30am to 8:55am
Shotgun Start: 9am
Format: 4-Man Captain's Choice
Cost: $100 per Person $400 per Team
Contact: Mr. Arnold Evans (919) 418-0713
WINSTON SALEM STATE
UNIVERSITY HOMECOMING 2009
SHAW FAMILY REUNION
WELCOME BACK TRIBUTE TO GREEKS
favorite traditions.
WINSTON SALEM Homecoming 2009 October
24th
to
November 1st - celebrating the mighty Ram tradition. There will be lots of
great times packed into
the week - football, parties, music and reunions;
students and fellow
alumni sharing their
COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Day of community service within the Winston-Salem
community.
KICK-OFF HOMECOMING PARTY
Doors open 8:30 pm Gaines Gym
Featuring The Dream, Dorrough, and The New Boyz
LIGHTING OF THE SIGN
8:30 pm Thompson Center
NAA WINE & CHEESE SIP
ALUMNI BANQUET
NAA/WSHA CONCERT AND DANCE GREEK STEP
SHOW
SHAW VS LIVINGSTONE
MONDAY,
October 26th
COMEDY SHOW WITH
DERAY, ROZ G AND
MICHAEL COMBS
7:00 pm, K.R. Williams
Auditorium
TUESDAY,
OCTOBER 27TH
CASINO NIGHT
DeRay
7:30 pm Whitaker
Gym
First Homecoming Casino Night presents all the
excitement of Vegas on campus featuring live entertainment and prizes
CORONATION
7:00 pm K.R. Williams Auditorium
Crowning of Miss and Mister WSSU
ROYAL BALL
9:30 pm McNeil Ballroom, Anderson Center
A formal ball to celebrate crowned royalty
4:00 pm
Millbrook High School
2201 Spring Forest Rd.
Raleigh, NC
RALEIGH/WAKE ALUMNI CHAPTER’S “A BEAR FAMILY
AFFAIR” DANCE
SHAW GOSPEL CHOIR REUNION CONCERT
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25
25TH REUNION CLASS SUNDAY
Thomas J. Boyd Chapel
“SUNDAY’S BEST” TALENT SHOWCASE
For more info www.shawu.edu/HomeComing/index.html
Homecoming
WREATH-PLACING CEREMONY
8:45 am S.G. Atkins Statue
FOUNDER'S DAY CONVOCATION
9:45 am K.R. Williams
ALUMNI CHECK-IN AND REGISTRATION
11:30 am - 5:00 pm Thompson Center 207
MINI PARADE AND PEP RALLY
2:00 pm, Clock Tower
ALUMNI HALL OF DISTINCTION INDUCTION, RECEPTION
7:00 pm Benton Convention Center
CROWNING - MR. AND MISS ALUMNI
ALUMNI GALA
Attire: After Five
PARADE
10 am downtown Winston-Salem
Starts at the corner of Fourth and Poplar streets
ALUMNI CHECK-IN
12:30 pm
Bowman Gray Stadium tailgate area
WSSU VS. HAMPTON UNIVERSITY
2:00 pm Bowman Gray Stadium
NPHC HOMECOMING STEP SHOW
7:30 pm K.R. Williams Auditorium
A crowd favorite!
This year’s show
includes members
of our own
National PanHellenic Council.
RAM VICTORY
EXTRAVAGANZA
10:00 pm
Benton
Convention
Center
Celebrating in
three different
rooms to suit dif-
RETURN TO SERVE
9:00 am - 4:00 pm campus and Thompson Center
Alumni volunteers meet with students to offer
career guidance
MR. AND MISS ALUMNI TEA
3:00 pm Sundance Hotel and Spa
Traditional Queen’s tea recognize past queens and
the new Mr. and Miss Alumni. Event is invitation only.
CLASS OF 1959 50TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER
6:30 pm Embassy Suites, Gaines Room
THE RED AND BLACK AFFAIR
9:00 pm Millenium Center
A night of music; guests are asked to dress in red
and black or upscale nightlife attire.
ferent dance and musical tastes.
* Afros and Bell Bottoms, DJ Syd
* Black and White Affair, DJ 360
* Jazz Lounge, "Rip" and "Joe D"
Casual dress.
WORSHIP SERVICE
10:00 am
For more info http://www.ramhomecoming.com/
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
27
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
28
NEWSBRIEFS
ANNUAL ISLAND FIRE PAGEANT
HELD IN GARNER
Briefly...
AREA ELEMENTARY EDUCATOR TO
TAKE HELM AT GLENN ELEMENTARY
DURHAM - Dr. W. Renee Carmon has been named
Principal of Glenn
Elementary School. She
replaces Reginald Davis,
who recently accepted a
position in the AlamanceBurlington School System.
Dr. Carmon has served as
associate principal of
Cameron Park Elementary
School in Orange County
Schools since 2005. She performed her principal
internship at Hillandale Elementary in Durham for
one year prior to that.
2009 Island Fire Pageant Contestants
By Victor Payne
Contributing Writer
GARNER, NC - Pan-Master, Vaughn
Audain, played Steel Drum of positive
vibrations to welcome attendants to the
10th Island Fire Pageant held at the Garner
Historic Auditorium on Saturday, July
25th. The Island Fire Pageant is the RTP
area known Caribbean Cultural festival
aimed at multi-cultural education and fam-
ily fun-filled entertainment.
The 10th Island Fire pageant opened
with a prayer for best spirit and competition of contestants plus successful evening
by Arvian Duval. The Master of Ceremony
was Terrence “Positive” Nelson, a senator
of US Virgin Islands and brother of Island
Fire Pageant founder, Mrs. Duval. The
pageant Contestants came from both far
(US Virgin Islands, Florida) and near
Pageant continues on page 30
Before interning, Dr Carmon taught first and second grades at Hope Valley Elementary in Durham
over the course of nine years. She also has taught
at Eno Valley Elementary in Durham, in Orange
County Schools and in San Antonio, TX.
Dr. Carmon holds three degrees - a bachelor's in
early childhood education, and both a master's
and a doctorate in education leadership - all from
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
DURHAM MAYOR TO HEAD NATIONAL
MAYORS’ HEALTH TASK FORCE
DURHAM — The National Conference of Black
Mayors (NCBM) has selected Durham Mayor William
V. “Bill” Bell to chair the
NCBM Health Task Force.
As chair, Bell will lead a
Call to Action to member
mayors to pass resolutions
supporting health care
reform legislation.
The National Conference of
Black Mayors represents
more than 650 African-American Mayors across
the United States and collectively, its membership
represents over 48 million citizens.
Bell
A&T PROFESSOR RECEIVES MENTORING AWARD FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA
GREENSBORO - Dr. Goldie Byrd, a Nathan F. Simms
Endowed Professor in the biology department at
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
University, is one of more than 100 science, math,
and engineering teachers and mentors named by
President Obama as recipients of two prestigious
Presidential Awards for Excellence. The educators
will receive their awards in the Fall at a White
House ceremony.
The Presidential Award for Excellence in Science,
Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, awardPictured: Winners during the Caribbean wear category of the Pageant
Sept./Oct. 2009
Briefly continues on page 30
SPECTACULAR
29
PAGEANT continues
BRIEFLY continues
ed each year to individuals or organizations, recognizes the crucial role that mentoring plays in the
academic and personal
development of students
studying science or engineering and who belong to
minorities that are underrepresented in those fields.
Africans, Jackson also will be an anthropology professor in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. She has
studied genetics, demographics history and dietary
patterns and researched health disparities.
Conducting research in Africa, she cofounded the
first human DNA bank on the continent. The bank has
archived more than 2,000 DNA samples, which will
help with studies of African heritage.
Candidates
for
the
Presidential
Mentoring
Award are nominated by colByrd
leagues, administrators, and
students from their home institutions. The mentoring can involve students at any grade level from elementary through graduate school. In addition to
being honored at the White House, recipients receive
awards of $10,000 to advance their mentoring
efforts.
Already, Jackson has spearheaded development of a
periodic e-newsletter from the institute, Carolina
Catalyst, which she said is being distributed to black
alumni and faculty, staff, students and institutes
across the country that work in the area of African
American research.
DURHAM SUPERINTENDENT EARNS
REGIONAL SUPERINTENDENT HONORS
Harris
RALEIGH - Durham Public Schools
Superintendent Carl E. Harris is
the 2010 Central Carolina
Regional Superintendent of the
Year. Harris was selected by his
peers for this award at a meeting in July. This recognition
makes him a nominee for North
Carolina Superintendent of the
Year.
LOWE’S GROVE MIDDLE SCHOOL
TEACHER WINS NATIONAL HONOR
DURHAM - Lowe’s Grove Middle School teacher Jamila
Bowser has been named the
national 2009 SECME Teacher of
the Year. Each year, SECME, Inc.
(formerly the Southeastern
Consortium for Minorities in
Engineering) recognizes outstanding K-12 educators who
have demonstrated leadership
ability in advancing student
Bowser
development and outcomes in
the areas of science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics.
Bowser was cited for having demonstrated exemplary accomplishments in building and/or sustaining a
successful SECME school program through creative
and enriching curricular/extracurricular activities,
thereby increasing the number of historically underrepresented students who are interested in, and academically prepared for, studies in science, technoloDr. Harris became Superintendent of Durham Public gy, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).
Schools on July 1, 2006. He previously served as
Deputy Superintendent. From 1999 until 2004, Dr. Bowser was recognized at an “Evening of Elegance” celHarris was Superintendent of Franklin County ebration sponsored by the ExxonMobil Foundation held
at the Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences in July.
Schools.
The Central Region is a 15-member district composed of the following school districts: Caswell,
Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin,
Granville, Halifax, Johnston, Nash-Rocky Mount,
Orange, Person, Vance, Wake, Warren and Wilson.
Dr. Harris earned a doctorate degree in Education LONGTIME HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATOR IS
Administration from North Carolina State University, NAMED PRINCIPAL OF HILLSIDE
where he currently serves as adjunct professor. He DURHAM - Hans D. Lassiter has been appointed
also holds a Master of Arts in Education, a Master of
Principal of Hillside High School.
Administration, and an Education Specialist degree
He comes to Durham Public
in Administration and Supervision from East Carolina
Schools from the North Carolina
University, along with a B.S. in Health and Physical
Department of Public Instruction
Education from Southwest State University.
where he has served as a high
school turnaround consultant for
JACKSON TO DIRECT UNC’S INSTITUTE
the past year.
OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN RESEARCH
CHAPEL HILL - Fatimah L.C.
Jackson has been appointed
director of UNC’s Institute of
African American Research,
which advances and connects
scholarly investigation on campus of the history, experiences,
biology, culture and thought of
people of African descent, particularly black Americans. The
Jackson
institute conducts research;
holds conferences and seminars on research findings; awards competitive research grants; and offers
fellowships for faculty and internships for students.
Prior to serving at DPI, Lassiter
was principal of Southern Lee
Lassiter
High School for three years. He
was principal of Perquimans County High School for
the previous two years. In the early part of this
decade he was assistant principal of Southern Vance
High School, while simultaneously serving as an
instructor at Vance-Granville Community College.
(Raleigh) to represent different Island
nations (St. Kitts & Nevis, Trinidad &
Tobago, US Virgin Islands, St. Martin and
Antigua). The Mister and Miss Island Fire
Pageant featured Junior (under 17) and
Adult (18-45) categories in Caribbean
Wear, Talent, Educational Forum and
Formal Wear competitions.
The multi-talent event included
Caribbean Comedy (Abbey Kyat), Poetry
(Empress Auset), hip-hop dance (Brital
Hodge and Garian Duval), group dance
performance (Crucian Bangalang), kid
performer (Ariana Duval) and esquisite
fashion show. Senator Nelson, Island Fire
Pageant MC, laced program transition
with funny Island inter-generational
“Jumbie” Ghost /Pirates stories and conscientious positive attitude life messages.
The 10th Island Fire Pageant crowned
Britnique Hodge its Junior Queen and
Miss Island Fire 2009 went to Rane
Rawlins (US Virgin Islands) and the
crown for Mr. Island Fire-2009 was won
by George Somerszaul (Trinida &
Tobago). Amanda Prentice (St. Kitts &
Nevis) was 1st Runner -up to Queen title.
Pageant judges were Vincent Payin,
Felicia Anderson, Tonya Smith and
Hopemarie Clark.
which he also holds a master’s degree in school
administration. He earned his first master’s degree,
in history, from North Carolina Central University
and a bachelor’s degree in political science from
North Carolina A&T State University.
DURHAM’S BUDGET DIRECTOR NAMED
PRESIDENT OF N.C. BUDGET ASSOCIATION
DURHAM – Bertha Johnson, director of the City of
Durham’s Department of Budget & Management
Services, has been elected president of the North
Carolina Local Government Budget Association (NCLGBA).
Johnson was elected to office on July 24, 2009, at
the Association’s Summer Budget Summit, held at the
School of Government at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. Johnson will serve a oneyear term with the professional organization, which
promotes the budgeting profession through education, networking, and advocacy.
Johnson, appointed Budget and Management
Services Director in May 2008, managed the department’s operations as the interim director since
January 2008. She has more than 17 years of experience and has been with the City since October 2005.
Prior to coming to Durham, she was an adjunct professor with School of Business at North Carolina Central
University (NCCU), the director of budget and finance
with the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics and
Lassiter began his career in the early 1990s as a social the finance director for the City of Roxboro, N.C.
studies teacher at Hillside, where he taught for three Johnson holds a master’s in Public Administration
years. He also taught at Southern High School.
from NCCU and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting
Lassiter is scheduled to complete his doctorate in from Elon University.
education administration and supervision later this SUMBIT ANNOUNCEMENTS BY 15TH OF MONTH:
An expert on the health of African Americans and year from North Carolina State University, from [email protected]
30
SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
Newbriefs
SPECTACULAR MAGAZINE PUBLISHER TO
RECEIVE TABJ HUMANITARIAN AWARD
RALEIGH - The Triangle
Association of Black Journalists
(TABJ) will host its scholarship
gala event "A Celebration of
Excellence", on October 10th at
the Marriott Raleigh City Center.
The keynote speaker will be
Orage Quarles, News and
Observer
President
and
Publisher.
A
special
TABJ
Humanitarian award will be
awarded to local community
Phyllis Coley
leader and journalist Phyllis
Coley for her contributions to the community, her support of
the African American community here in the Triangle by
upholding the traditions and legacy of its leaders.
Phyllis Coley is the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of
Spectacular Magazine and President of Another Coley Event.
The Durham native and North Carolina Central University
alum began her career as a corporate trainer for ITT in New
York City and went on to become Promotions and Marketing
Director for the #1 radio station in NYC. While at the radio
station she discovered the rap group Kid 'n Play and managed
them for five years.
Moving back to Durham in the early 1990's, Ms. Coley
produced a nationally syndicated television show, The Electric
Factory, for two years while working as News Director for
FOXY 107/104. After the birth of her son, Ms. Coley went to
work for Durham Business and Professional Chain as
Business Development Director, establishing workshops and
other projects for member businesses. She was asked to join
the Board of Directors in 1996 and served as Secretary of the
Board for three years.
Two black newspapers, The Charlotte Post and The
Winston Salem Chronicle, approached Ms. Coley about establishing an African American weekly newspaper in the
Triangle. In March 1998, the first issue of The Triangle
Tribune hit the streets. She served as General Manager and
went on to become Associate Publisher of the Tribune, while
holding the position of Vice President of the N.C. Black
Publishers Association.
During that time Ms. Coley worked with the City of
Durham to re-establish the Holiday Parade and continued as a
consultant to the City of Durham. She left the Tribune in July
2002 to start her own business, Another Coley Event (ACE).
ACE has been and continues to be the planner for major
annual community and corporate events such as Durham's
Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade, the Annual
Durham Juneteenth Celebration, the Bull Durham Blues
Festival, the Aggie-Eagle Football Classic, and the HBCU
Think Tank with Tavis Smiley; she served on the Advisory
Board of Radio One's Women's Empowerment & Networking
conference for three years and is one of the founding members
of the Triangle United Way's African American Leadership
Initiative.
Having served as Publisher of the General Baptist State
Convention's newspaper The Baptist Informer and NCCU's
Alumni Association's newspaper Straws from the Eagles'
Nest, Ms Coley felt there was a void in highlighting the
achievements of African Americans in the Triangle. In April
2002 she began publishing ACE Magazine and launched
Spectacular Magazine in November 2004.
Recognizing another void, the lack of pertinent and truthful information on issues that affect the African American
community, Ms. Coley launched Spectacular Magazine Radio
Show in March 2009.
Ms. Coley is the proud mother of one son, 16 year old
Lawrence Davis III.
This exciting, elegant and enlightening evening will be
hosted by TV Journalists Gerald Owens and Tisha Powell. The
event starts at 6pm, followed by dinner and awards at 7pm.
Over the last four years TABJ has given thousands of dollars in scholarship money to aspiring journalists through their
Scholarship Gala which is the main source of revenue for the
organization's scholarship fund.
TABJ, the local affiliate of the National Association of
Black Journalists is an organization of reporters, editors, photographers, and other media professionals working in the
Raleigh-Durham area.
32
SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
Newsbriefs
STATE & NATIONAL
$250,000 PROJECT WILL
FORM AFRICAN-AMERICAN
HERITAGE MUSIC TRAIL IN
KINSTON
World renowned local musicians including Melvin Parker,
Dick Knight, Sadatrius Boxley-Brown, Wilburt Croom and
Maceo Parker perform at the Community Council for the
Arts during the announcement of a $250,000 grant for the
African-American Music Project.
KINSTON, NC - Although Kinston, Lenoir County and this
portion of eastern North Carolina is home to legends in the
blues and jazz fields, many locals are not aware of it.
An announcement at the Kinston Community Council
of the Arts on September 17, 2009 may change all that.
The N.C. Department of Transportation allotted
$250,000 to the new African-American Heritage Music
Trail, an endeavor that will be based in Kinston and will
include stops in eight counties: Lenoir, Greene, Jones, Pitt,
Wayne, Wilson, Nash and Edgecombe.
The project, which will help educate cultural visitors to
those eight counties, will include interactive video and audio
kiosks at dozens of sites. The trail is expected to be completed by 2011.
Visitors will begin at the arts Council building on Queen
Street and continue to the sites all over ENC, where they will
discover the music and talent that originated in this area.
The trail is a dream come true for arts council director
Sandy Landis, who led the effort to bring the concept to life
over the past five years.
“These are creative economies in action,” Landis said.
“This is using the arts to help with community development.”
Landis was part of the announcement ceremony that
included N.C. Secretary of Cultural Resources Linda
Carlisle, Lenoir County Economic Development Director
Mark Pope and Mary B. Regan, the executive director of the
North Carolina Arts Council.
Carlisle stressed the importance of cultural tourism to
North Carolina — and gave a lot of credit to Landis for putting legs under the idea.
“If not for Sandy Landis, we’d probably be announcing
this project in another part of the state,” Carlisle said.
Before the ceremony began, an all-star ensemble of area
FAMU PRESIDENT GETS
$113,750 BONUS
By Caryn Wilson - Black College Wire
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Florida A&M University President
James Ammons will be awarded a
salary bonus of $113,750 following a
unanimous trustee board vote in May.
Trustees relied on the legal wording
of Ammons’ contract to award the
bonus check. The contract authorizes
the board to grant a performance bonus
of 25-35 percent.
“We have a responsibility of honoring all legally binding contracts and not
James Ammons
picking and choosing which contract
we honor and which we do not,” said Bill Jennings, chairman
of the board of trustees.
Other trustees didn’t agree.“Maybe you all have something different in Florida than we have in North
Carolina…we’re laying off teachers,” said Trustee Robert
Brown, founder and CEO of B&C Associates Inc., a public
relations firm in High Point, North Carolina.
The economic downturn, which was not up for discussion
during the meeting, has caused administrators to cut almost
$16 million from FAMU’s 2009-2010 operational budget.
“I just think...the best way we can help our people right
now is to make sure everybody keeps their jobs,” Brown said.
The state of Florida covers $225,000 of Ammons’ annual
salary of $325,000, while the FAMU Foundation covers the
rest. The board chose to award Ammons a 35-percent performance bonus.
Florida Atlantic’s Frank Brogan and Florida State’s T.K.
Wetherell have opted not to take recent bonus awards. There is
no word yet on whether Ammons will accept the bonus.
music greats — including Maceo and Melvin Parker, Dick
Knight, Sadatrius Boxley-Brown and Wilburt Croom —
entertained those in attendance with an impromptu jazz performance. Following Carlisle’s speech, the ensemble played
for another 10 minutes until Maceo Parker, who headlined
his own world-famous band after playing with the likes of
James Brown and Ray Charles, took the microphone to share
his memories of growing up in Lenoir County.
He regaled the assembled group with tales of his and his
brother Melvin’s first meetings with Brown and thanked
those who helped him as he was growing up in Lenoir
County.
Those are the kind of stories Landis and Pope are hoping will be learned by visitors to the new music trail — and
will encourage new owners of new companies to locate in
this area.
“Having this here will help enhance the quality of life,”
Pope said. “Sites and buildings are nice when recruiting
companies, but you have to sell the whole package. This
helps enhance that whole package.”
By Bryan C. Hanks - The Free Press, Kinston, N.C. Reprint permission granted
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
33
MOTHER MADE THE DIFFERENCE
By
Dr. Alvin Augustus Jones
Ray Charles’ inspiration and firm
foundation was his mother.
Before telling the world during a
Diet Pepsi soda commercial that
they got the right one baby uh-huh
or before the Georgia Legislature
made his version of Georgia On My
Mind the official state song and
even before being one of the original inductees into the
Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, The Kennedy Center Honors,
or Grammy Lifetime achievement award, he was simply
Brother Ray.
Brother Ray was born Ray Charles Robinson on
September 23, 1930 in Albany Georgia. His father’s
name was Bailey and his mother’s name was Aretha. It’s
unclear whether his parents were married or were
together in common law. It was a mystery to him, especially since he was raised by his mother and his father’s
wife. As a child he called Aretha “Mama” and his father’s
wife Mary Jane, “Mother”. Ray Charles accepted the
arrangement and was bathed in love and affection by
both women. His natural mother was strict and he was
spoiled by the other.
During his early years he said that he was poor with a
capital “P”. Despite poverty in many ways, he felt that
life was good and offered many blessings. For instance,
he said in his autobiography entitled Brother Ray, that
country folk don’t miss anything on the pig. They ate the
ears, feet, insides and outsides. He ate everything on the
hog except the oink. He enjoyed, pig neck bones,
chitins, collard greens, rice smothered with onion gravy,
cabbage with thick pieces of ham, and sweet watermelon. He said they ate well, even though they were poor.
If we had chicken, it had to be on Sunday, our Church
Day. He said, “Oh yes, Lord, mama believed in going to
church. Ours was Shiloh Baptist Church and I liked it best
for the singing.” He goes on to say “Church was simple:
preacher sang or recited and the congregation sang right
back at him. There were hardly any accompaniments.
We didn’t have a piano in church until I became much
older and the services were basic and raw. That’s how I
got my first religion and my first music.”
Ray Charles loved music. At the age of three he learned
how to play the piano. At the age of five, his life changed
when he witnessed his only brother George, drown. Just
a few months after this, his eyes started tearing. It wasn’t real tears, but matter that was thick, it was mucus.
Some mornings it was so thick that his eyes had to be
pried open. This lasted for two years and then he
became blind at the age of seven.
34
SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
These and other circumstances started him on a road to
become one of the world’s most beloved singers and
musicians. He had to overcome poverty, blindness, lost
of his parents, drug addiction, a tangled romantic and
the pervasive racism that existed in America. By the age
of 32, he was considered a genius. He musical style combined the influences of gospel, jazz, blues, pop and
country music. His career spanned for more than half a
century. He remained in complete control of his life and
his music. He allowed nobody to tell him what he can
and can’t do.
As an expert of achievement and folly, your success is important to
me. If I can assist you in any way, please write me at Dr. Alvin
Augustus Jones P.O. Box 9, Oxford, NC 27565, email me at
[email protected], call 919-693-3540 or listen to me daily from
6AM-10AM on www.dralvin.com on WCBQ-AM 1340/WHNC-AM
890.
REP. LARRY D. HALL
APPOINTED TO ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
Commission to examine economic growth and
development issues and strategies
RALEIGH - Rep. Larry D. Hall has been appointed to the
Joint
Legislative
Economic
Development
Oversight
Committee.
The Joint Legislative Economic
Development Oversight Committee
is responsible for studying the
budgets, programs, and policies of
the Department of Commerce, the
North Carolina Partnership for
Economic Development, and other
State, regional, and local entities
involved in economic development.
Rep. Larry D. Hall
“I am pleased to have this opportunity to serve on this committee,” Rep. Hall said. “This
appointment will allow me to serve both the House of
Representatives and the people of my district who have a
strong interest in economic development issues.”
Among other things, the Committee will analyze legislation from other states regarding economic development,
analyze proposals produced by the Economic Development
Board, and study any other matters that the Committee considers necessary to fulfill its mandate.
Rep. Hall is an attorney living in Durham County and is
serving his third term in the House of Representatives. He
is also Chair of the Homeland Security, Military, and
Veterans Affairs Committee and is vice chair of the House
Committee on Financial Institutions.
State & National
COMMUNITY WORRIES AS 9 WOMEN
VANISH FROM NORTH CAROLINA CITY
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (AP) — They spent their nights jumping
in and out of strange cars, trolling otherwise empty streets lined
with decaying storefronts and boarded-up homes. Many sold sex to
support drug habits or children left in the care of worried, hardworking grandmothers.
Even when they were picked up for drugs or prostitution,
nights in jail looming, they called home to let their families know
they were OK. Then, one by one, the calls stopped.
Since 2005, nine women who lived at the edges of the poor
community in this small North Carolina city have disappeared. Six
bodies were found along rural roads just a few miles outside town,
most so decomposed that investigators could not tell how they died.
At least one of the women was strangled, and all the deaths have
been classified as homicides. Three women are still missing.
Police will not say whether they suspect a serial killer, but people in the community about 60 miles northeast of Raleigh do, and
they’re impatient with law enforcement efforts to investigate the
slayings.
After the latest body — that of 31-year-old Jarneice Hargrove
— was found in June behind a burnt-out house that was once a
crack den, local law enforcement and state police formed a task
force. In July, the FBI got involved.
But friends and family say it didn’t happen soon enough.
“We got someone out here that’s snatching up females,” said
Stephanie Jones, a 28-year-old nursing student. “I mean, next person could be your grandmother, it could be me, it could be my
mother, it could be my daughter.”
Jones, who knew two of the victims, has founded a group that
is raising money to publicize the slayings and search for those still
missing. She says the cases are being swept under the rug because
of the victims’ lifestyles.
The lead investigator, Sheriff James Knight, said he cannot
comment.
Rumors swirl about the identity of the killer, if there is just one.
Some say he is an ex-military man or an ex-police officer because
he leaves no evidence. Others believe he is exacting revenge on
local women after contracting HIV from a prostitute.
Forensic psychologist Dr. Michael Teague said the killings are
probably the work of one person.
“You’re talking about a man who didn’t finish high school,
probably doesn’t have a regular job, probably not married or in a
stable relationship,” he said.
Vivian Lord, chairwoman of the criminal justice department at
the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, said that if one killer
is responsible, he is likely trying to cleanse the world of prostitutes
or deliberately picking victims he knows won’t be missed.
If it’s the latter, he chose wrong when he killed Ernestine
Battle. Her sister, Tynatta James, 64, remembers the February 2008
day the family reported Battle missing. It had been less than 48
hours since they last heard from the 50-year-old, but she always
checked in, even from jail.
“We knew something wasn’t right because she hadn’t called,”
James said.
A month later, a man putting up a wire fence around his property down a rural stretch of road outside town found a badly decom-
State & National
A billboard shows information about 9 women who are missing
or dead in Rocky Mount, N.C., Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009. Since
2005, nine women who lived at the frayed edges of the poor
community here have fallen victim to what some consider a
serial killer. Six of their bodies were found decomposing along
rural roads just a few miles outside town; three women are still
missing. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
posed body. The bodies of two other victims were found in the
same area in 2007 and 2009.
In May, a DNAtest identified the remains as Battle’s. She was
wearing only her underwear and police told James she was probably strangled, but they couldn’t be sure because animals had
dragged away a small throat bone that typically breaks when someone is killed that way.
“I’m still frustrated,” James said. “I didn’t really feel like they
were doing all they could. I just feel like they recently started to get
involved in the cases after the last lady.”
For Alecia Johnson, the killings were a wake-up call. She
knew most of the women: They all walked the streets of Rocky
Mount together. She said she didn’t wait for police to catch a killer.
She stopped after the body of the first woman, 29-year-old Melody
Wiggins, was found dumped in the woods in 2005.
“I used to walk these streets and jump in and out of cars. But
then when that first girl Melody got killed I stopped that because I
knew he would kill another,” said Johnson, 41. “I hate for that to
happen to her, but it probably saved my life. I have five babies.”
Counting the names on one hand, she added, “There’s probably five or six girls left around here that will jump in and out of cars.
He really did kill the whole neighborhood.”
Jones’group has raised enough money to post billboards with
the faces of the missing and slain women. Now she is raising more
to organize search teams for those whose bodies have not been
found.
Juray Tucker, the mother of 37-year-old Yolanda Lancaster,
missing since February, said she wants to help with fundraising but
doesn’t get much time now that she has to care for her daughter’s
children.
“Every day, every minute, every hour, I’m worried,” she said.
“It’s constant on my mind and there ain’t nothing I can do, ain’t
nothing I can do.”
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
35
POLITICAL AND CIVIC AFFAIRS
LEGAL EAGLE ADVISOR
by Professor Irving Joyner
NCCU School of Law
THE UNITED STATES
CONSTITUTION: FRIEND OR FOE
On September 17, 2009, many people
around the country celebrated
“Constitution Day” as an opportunity
to show appreciation for our constitution and to educate the public about
the powers, protections and prohibitions contained in that document. The
federal constitution describes the roles
and functions of the federal government and the protections which are
guaranteed to citizens and the States in
which they reside. The federal constiIrving Joyner
tution co-exists with the separate constitutions of the fifty (50) states and territories which constitute
the United States of America.
The federal constitution has been in existence for over two-hundred and thirty-three (233) years and despite its long history, it
is a total mystery to many citizens. In fact, many of the individuals who have ben elected as federal, state and local legislators
have a limited and inadequate understanding of it. In addition,
there are many people and organizations which are engaged in
a continuing campaign to alter the scope and powers provided
by the constitution usually to the detriment and interests of the
individual rights which the constitution provides.
It is certainly important to acknowledge at the outset of this discussion that the original constitution enacted in 1776 endorsed
slavery and used its existence as a method of doling out political power within the federal government. The original constitution did not prohibit the use of slavery and was not intended to
protect the rights or interests of people of African descent. In
fact, several of the drafters or “founding fathers” were accompanied by their slaves who attended to their needs.
In the original constitution, the drafters provided that the federal government would tax slaves as the property of slave-owners and gave to southern politicians additional political power
based upon the number of slaves held in each State. In addition, the federal government, under the concept of States’
Rights, gave to each State the right to define the contours of
slavery and regulate it as a social institution.
It is also important to know that throughout the United States,
including the southern States, many free Africans and their
decedents lived. Some of these free Africans also owned slaves.
One of the largest population of free Africans and their decedents lived in North Carolina. Many of the free Africans were the
sons and daughters of White slave-owners who operated businesses and owned property in the States. Any distinctions
which was thought to have existed between free and enslaved
Africans were clarified in the landmark case of Dred Scott v.
Sanderford where the United States Supreme Court declared
that it was not the intents of the “founding fathers” that any
Africans and their decedents would ever become United States
citizens. As such, the Court explained, neither the federal nor
State governments were required to provide any protections or
resources to the decedents of Africans anywhere in the United
States. In Dred Scott’s situation, the decision meant that he did
not even have the right to file a lawsuit in federal court to challenge his slave status.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, Congress enacted the 13th,
14th and 15th Amendments to the federal constitution which
mandated that the decedents of Africans who were born in the
United States were declared to be citizens. These constitutional amendments also provided that no State could enact laws
which discriminated against the newly enfranchised African
decedents based upon their race or national origin and guaranteed to these new citizens the right to vote. Once again,
Congress did not intend that these constitutional provisions
were to apply to social discrimination and the interactions
between individual citizens. Therefore, separate legislative
enactments were adopted in an attempt to promote the social
equality of all citizens. In subsequent decisions by the United
States Supreme Court, most of those legislative enactments
were declared to be unconstitutional.
Despite, this negative race-focused history, the amendments to
the original constitutions offered important and critical protections to citizens as they were defined at the time. These amendments certainly were important additions for racial minorities,
women and poor people following the passage of the 13th, 14th
and 15th amendments. In theory, constitutional protections
apply equally to all citizens. In practice, the reality for racial
minorities and poor people lag far behind the theoretical protections which are supposed to exist for all citizens.
With respect to the practical application of constitutional protections to all citizen, a significant divide exists. In large part,
this divide is due to a lack of knowledge on the part of citizens
regarding the many precious rights and protections which
presently exist. This lack of knowledge allows people who seek
to deny or undermine these constitutional protections a wide
opportunity to exploit citizens. It is difficult for a person to know
that they can or should fight to protect a right when they have
no idea that the particular right exists In addition, the State and
federal governments are often able to exceed the powers which
the constitution has granted. As a result, constitutional rights
are violated on a daily basis and vulnerable citizens are abused
and misused.
The rights which are guaranteed represent a contract between
the United States and State governments with each individual
Legal Eagle Advisor continues on page 37
36
SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
Legal Eagle Advisor continues
citizen in this country. Of critical importance to the masses of
people are those rights which are contained in the amendments to that constitution. Those guarantees are classified as
individual rights and include freedom of speech, the right to
privacy, freedom of press, right to counsel in criminal proceedings, the prohibition against illegal, seizures, arrests and
searches and the right to due process. In the abstract, may
people have a general understanding of these rights, but consider them to be murky. The scope of these protections generally become more clearly defined as they are applied to citizens on a daily basis. Over the years, many citizens have been
engaged in efforts to protect these rights and to insure that
racial minorities, women and poor people are protected.
These hard-fought victories are in danger of being eroded
because too many citizens don’t view these rights and protections as being important or necessary.
The dangers of not knowing about constitutional protections
are readily apparent when citizens are confronted by police
officers in the street or in their home. Many people, along with
police officers, wrongly assume that a police officer possesses
a lot more power and authority than actually exist. In these situations, many citizens are not aware that they are not
required to answer the officer’s questions or submit to an
entry or search of a car or a residence without a warrant. How
a person responds to such acts is voluntary and need not
occur merely because a police officer is involved. This lack of
knowledge has resulted in the abuse of the rights of people
where police officers exploit the ignorance of those persons
who have been illegally stopped or searched.
At a recent Constitution Day program at North Carolina
Central University, Chancellor Charles Nelms called for mandating constitutional law classes for all students. This proposal is absolutely necessary since most students have no idea
about the protections which the constitution provides.
Nevertheless, the proposal is short-sighted in that it is not
directed to mandatory classes for all citizens. Although, the
proposal advanced by Chancellor Nelms can not be applied to
all citizens, the student population should be required to
know what obligations and prohibitions exist for our government. Once this mandate is enacted, students at North
Carolina Central University should also be required to go out
into the community and provide this information to citizens
within our communities.
Constitutional rights become a foe if they are not voiced and
protected by the people. The failure to protect these hard won
rights creates precedents which will have adverse effects on all
citizens. In the effort to promote the general welfare of all citizens, the constitution can be a friend, but only if, people
understand their rights and are willing to fight for them. In
addition to North Carolina Central University, local groups,
organizations, churches, social, political and civic clubs and
families should eagerly join in efforts to educate individuals
about our constitution.
Irving Joyner
[email protected]
Political & Civic Affairs
Rightchus Truth continues
ure that out. Black Men are either locked up or locked out!!
That’s exactly why I view the offender and talented bright-eyed street “thug”
as untapped potential. One of our most heralded cultural leaders was once
a rotting slum criminal. Before Malcolm Little became Malcolm X, the ghetto’s most beloved Commander-in-Chief resided at both the Massachusetts
State Prison and the Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Norfolk. From
Boston to Harlem and points in between, Little peddled drugs, pimped prostitutes, stole, gambled and normally “packed heat.” Yet, through the knowledge of culture, mind and spirit, Malcolm Little became the most noble shepherd of high morale the American Negro has ever seen. Yeah, he may have
had a budding organization behind him, but Malcolm also credited the support of close friends and family for his post release progression. It was
they who aided in providing shelter and employment upon his release as
an alternative to crime.
Speaking of Little, much respect to Bro. Darius Little, who’s currently campaigning for the city council seat of Ward 2. I first learned of Little, from
reading a brief clip in the Herald Sun. The article did a job researching
his criminal past, yet somehow failed to reference Darius’s body of community contributions that have no relation to crime. Not that I’m endorsing
him, but I do respect his willingness to stand and be counted; to serve. It
seems to me that as a Negro in America, even when you do attempt to
“right your wrongs,” you still get lynched.
Pending circumstances, the ex-offender deserves the opportunity to expiate,
to provide for their families, and to stand as men and women. It is our
responsibility as village council, to welcome them back. Family must
embrace and show warmth—not wrath and resentment. There’s been scores
of black artists, activists and entrepreneurs who’ve been incarcerated. Many
of our pastors and clergy have even come in close contact with American
justice. Paul Robeson & W.E.B. Dubois were hassled for years by the CIA
and FBI. And the Honorable Judge Greg Mathis tours the country detailing
his arrests as an Errol Flynn gang member. Mathis’s life-journey took him
from the Wayne County Jail to the 36th District Court of the State of
Michigan.
Mathis, Malcolm and countless other ex-offender political & civil servants,
should serve as examples that everyone deserves a second chance. And as
a Black Man in America, maybe even a third. If any of you have ever lived
or worked in the anomic ghettos of urban America, you’d understand that
many times, survival comes first and choice comes second. Though we must
not make excuses for ignorance and poor decisions, we must also dissect
the Negro plight from both a micro and macro perspective. Children of
underclass don’t choose poverty and crime. Most individuals we cast as
“thugs,” simply need a little love, direction and a job. They aren’t heinous
criminals. They’re lost souls neglected, begging to be found. I’m sure those
of you who are Bible scholars haven’t forgotten that Jesus too was cast as
criminal. It was he who said, “He that is without sin among you, let him
first cast a stone…”
So let us not cast aside our Dreams Deferred. Do not sever the knees of
those who’ve made mistakes in a place that aims its efforts toward propagating Black demise. Remember, these are our sons and our fathers—
our daughters and our sisters. Adopt and embrace our fallen. Roses grow
tall among rocks every day. All they need is a little hope, a drop of water
and a glimmer of light. Arm your mind! Resist [KKing Alfred] and [FFight
the Power]!
Bro. Rightchus
[email protected]
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
37
38
SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
HEALTH
radiation therapy and hormone therapy. There
are two types of surgery, lumpectomy (breast
conserving) or mastectomy (removal of the
entire breast). Chemotherapy and radiation kills
cancer cells. Tamoxifen is most widely used
hormone therapy. It works blocking estrogen (a
female reproductive hormone).
OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER
AWARENESS MONTH
The first week in October has been amazing! Three of my colleagues
and I were honored to have trained at the Harold P. Freeman
Patient Navigation Institute in Harlem, thanks to the Duke Breast
Wellness Clinic and Durham Health Innovations. Dr. Freeman himself initiated the training. He published results showing that the
combined interventions of cancer screening and patient navigation
increased the 5 year breast cancer survival in poor women in
Harlem from 39% to 70%. This was perhaps the best news I have
received in the "war" against breast cancer in a while. Patient
Navigators serve patients on a personal basis by reducing and /or
eliminating barriers to cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment.
Our team plans to develop this model in Durham to improve health
outcomes and better quality of life in our community
Early detection and treatment offer the best chance of surviving
breast cancer. When it is confined to the breast the 5-year survival
rate is over 95%. Your 3-step early detection plan includes:
1. Monthly breast self-examination- starting by age 20
2. Clinical breast exam - by a trained medical professional at least
every 3 years starting at age 20 and yearly after age 40
3. Annual screening mammography for women starting at age 40.
(Women under age 40 at high risk should consult your physician
about having a mammogram early)
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE FOLLOWING WARNING SIGNS:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Lumps, hard knots, thickening in any part of the breast
Unusual swelling, redness or increased warmth of your breast
Change in the size or shape of your breast
An itchy sore or scaling area on your nipple
Pulling in of your nipple or other parts of your breast
Nipple discharge that starts suddenly
Unusual localized pain in the breast
The most common forms of treatment are surgery, chemotherapy,
There are many organizations locally joining
forces to fight against Breast Cancer. To provide education and
training we have the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen
and Cancer Information Service .The Community Health Coalition
has a Sister Project offering free mammograms in the community.
The Comprehensive Cancer Control Branch of NC and the National
Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer offer a variety of resources
as well. The Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program afford
women who meet the Federal Poverty Guidelines of 250% with no
insurance the ability to receive pap smears and mammograms.
Project Uplift, is our community initiative funded by the Office of
Minority Health and Health Disparities which offers free education,
self breast exam demonstration, physical activity and nutrition and
screening.
The Jeanne H. Lucas Education and Wellness Center, Durham's first
Free Clinic collaborates with numerous partners to offer a continuum of care to uninsured and underinsured individuals. Women can
get free clinical breast exams and pap smears. The Durham County
Health Department and Lincoln Community Health Center are
providers for Durham. If the woman has a suspicious mammogram
she may be able to receive her MRI through the Duke Navigator
program. If the diagnosis is confirmed and the appropriate treatment is started, we are able to refer the Breast Cancer Survivors
to the Sisters Network Triangle for support. Circles of Care (a collaboration of Project Compassion, Duke Institute on Care at the end
of life, UNC Health Care and the Community Health Coalition) will
recruit and train support teams through churches and families to
provide intentional, ongoing care for persons with advanced stages
of cancer. Durham and surrounding areas have the unique ability
to offer this continuum of care to these affected by this challenging disease. Through all of these collective efforts we hope to do
as Dr. Freeman has charged us to do which is to " keep our eyes
on the sparrow"(the patient) by eliminating all barriers to quality
cancer care.
God Bless,
Sharon Elliott-B
Bynum
"Beloved I wish above all things that you prosper and be in Good Health…."
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR 39
BUSINESS & FINANCE
THE MIND OF THE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED
By Devin D. Brown
Recently I’ve given a lot of thought to
what I see as glaring differences
between the so-called “haves” and
“have-nots.” Over and over, I have
asked myself what exactly it means to
be “economically disadvantaged?” The
Small Business Administration describes
economically disadvantaged as those
people who are, “socially disadvantaged
individuals whose ability to compete in
the free enterprise system has been
impaired due to diminished capital and
credit
opportunities as compared to
Devin D. Brown
others…who are not socially disadvantaged.” Okay, I understand the definition, but what does it really mean?
As a former banker and current credit and housing counselor, I often
encounter individuals who fall into this category. They typically come to
see us when they have no idea what else to do. They often cite extensive debt, past due bills, or damaged credit as their “problem.” My experience in financial services has taught me one important truth; that those
instances surely are a problem, but they certainly are not THE problem.
True financial problems generally tend to stem from either a lack of
access to resources or an unwillingness to participate in the free enterprise system. In other words, it’s easier to sit on the sidelines and watch
than it is to join in the game. It actually takes planning and discipline
to be financially fit.
So where does this leave us? According to city-data, Durham actually has
a higher median income than the state average, but at the same time
18% of Durham’s residents lived below the poverty line. This was 4%
higher than the state average. Ultimately, we want to move as many
people as possible above that line, then keep them above it. To keep
individuals out of financial distress, we must start dealing with the problems at the root. Let’s first examine the behaviors of those in need and
attempt to alter the mindset. In his book, “Secrets of the Millionaire
Mind,” author T. Harv Eker states that “rich people…think differently
about money, wealth, themselves, other people, and life.”
I am not advocating that our goal should be to become rich, we should
instead simply focus on maintaining a healthy financial well-being. To
do this, we sometimes have to take a step backward to remind ourselves
of the difference between what constitutes a need, and things that can
be considered wants. As elementary as this may sound, in my professional experience, I still see a large number of cases where clients either
have forgotten this lesson, or have basically chosen to ignore it. Once
we’ve established which products and/or services fall into which category, we can then organize and prioritize. Lastly, in order to keep ourselves on track, we have to monitor our spending. Poor tracking can lead
to significant losses in terms of late or missed payments and fees
incurred as a result.
So what we are actually talking about here is consumer behavior, or the
psychology of an individual’s (or group’s) decision making process as it
relates the consumption of good and services. In our efforts to improve
the financial lives of our clients, we work with them to develop a comprehensive plan that not only addresses the immediate concern, but also
speaks to the root causes and overall behavior. The end goal is to develop an achievement plan that will allow the client to address the behavior that caused the issue to arise in the first place.
For more resources and educational information on personal finances,
housing issues, and your rights as a consumer, check out:
Bankrate.com
HUD.gov
FTC.gov
Devin D. Brown
Devin D. Brown is a Financial Counselor with Consumer Credit Counseling Services of
Durham, a division of the Durham Regional Financial Center. He can be reached at
(919) 688-3381 or via email at [email protected]. Visit the website www.drfcenter.org for consumer education and wealth building opportunities.
Sources:
SBA Website: http://www.sba.gov/localresources/district/sc/opportunities/SC_SCDO8A.html
Eker, T. Harv (2005) Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. HarperBusiness
City-Data.com: http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Durham-North-Carolina.html
40
SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
LIFESTYLE
THE QUEST FOR
THE CROWN
This is
Your Life...
BY
DEL MATTIOLI
WOMEN AND
RETIREMENT: PUT SOME
“LIFE” IN THE MIX
Planning for retirement is a complex undertaking for
all of us, but for women, it’s especially challenging.
One reason is that women live longer than men, so
they have more years of retirement to prepare for.
Another is that they spend more of their active years
out of the workforce — in many cases, raising children or caring for aging relatives — which gives
them less opportunity to build up retirement savings
and private pensions.
As a result, women wind up more dependent than
men on Social Security to pay for retirement, and
Social Security often isn’t enough. On average, it
pays just 40% of what a wage earner made in her
working years.1
But as a woman, you can improve your prospects for
a secure retirement through smart long-term planning:
Amanda McCoy, National Miss Teen Essence USA 2009
RALEIGH - Plans are being finalized for the 2010 Miss
Black North Carolina USA Scholarship Pageant that will
take place November 12th – 14th in Raleigh. Young ladies
18 to 27 from across the state will compete for the opportunity to represent North Carolina at the National 2010
Miss Black USA Scholarship Pageant.
“We are excited this year to roll out a new component,
the Miss Black North Carolina Talented Teen pageant,”
says Anthony O. Vann, Executive Director of Noire
Productions, Inc. “This competition will mirror the Miss
Black North Carolina competition; it will however allow
an opportunity for Miss Black NC USA to gain a Teen sister. Miss Black North Carolina USA Talented Teen will
also spend an exciting year of service throughout the state
of North Carolina, as well as represent North Carolina in
the National Miss Black USA Talented Teen Pageant in
2010,” says Vann.
The Talented Teen pageant will be held in conjunction
with the Miss Black North Carolina USA Pageant. Special
guest will be the current reigning National Miss Black
USA, Shayna Rudd and National Miss Teen Essence USA
Quest for the Crown continues on page 43
• Start saving on a regular basis. Even $20 a week can
add up to a decent nest egg, especially if you start
young.
• Take retirement into account when choosing a job. Ask
potential employers if they offer a retirement plan
and/or pension plan. Find out how they work. Look
for employers that match at least part of your contribution to a retirement account.
• Work as long as you can. The longer you earn income,
the more time you have to amass savings. The older
you are when you stop working, the fewer years of
retirement you’ll need to budget for. Delaying the
start of Social Security benefits up to age 70 will
result in a larger monthly check, too.
• Purchase a life insurance policy. Permanent life insurance provides guaranteed death benefit protection
for your loved ones in the event of your death.
Additionally, it offers valuable “living” benefits and
tax advantages. For example, as a policyholder,
you can access accumulated cash value through
loans and withdrawals2 to supplement your retirement income. Plus, these funds can also be used for
college expenses, as collateral for a small business
loan, or any other happily anticipated or unexpected event.
Using life insurance is a little-known option that can
be a big help for women down the road.
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
41
Quest for the Crown continues
2009, Amanda McCoy.
The Miss Black North Carolina USA Scholarship competition was founded in 2005. It was developed to promote
cultural, social, and leadership status on a state and national level, within the African American Community. It
exists to provide personal and professional opportunities
for African American women to promote their voices in
culture, politics and the community. It is also one of the
nation’s leading achievement programs for AfricanAmerican women. It is the official state preliminary to the
National Miss Black USA Scholarship pageant.
(www.MissBlackUSA.org)
Precious Wilson is the current reigning Miss Black
North Carolina USA 2009. Miss Wilson is a native of
Durham and the daughter of Mr. Vernon & Mrs. Charlotte
Wilson. A graduate of Charles E. Jordan High School, she
became a volunteer, activist, and mentor from a very early
age. Having prevailed through medical complications from
birth, Precious firmly believes God placed her on this Earth
for a purpose greater than her own. After completing an
undergraduate degree in Sociology and Sports
Management from North Carolina State University, Miss
Wilson has decided to further her education by working on
a Master’s in Business/Sports Administration, in efforts to
continue in her pursuit of becoming a Sports &
Entertainment Attorney.
Anthony O. Vann, Founder and Executive Director of
Noire Productions, Inc. has been promoted to Director of
Development for the National Miss Black USA Pageant
organization. Vann now oversees the state pageants
throughout the United States. Kimberly Vann-Hunt serves
as State Director for the Miss Black North Carolina USA
Organization, as well as State Director for the newly added
Talented Teen Division. Both reside in Knightdale, NC.
“We are just happy to be able to offer this opportunity
to African-American women in North Carolina. The program is one that has no limitations; it has proven to be the
tool that young women need to open doors to climb the ladder of success. We’ve had young ladies who have secured
full scholarships, national magazine spreads, television
show offers, paid internships in Gambia, Africa, and the list
goes on. In 2007 we were afforded the opportunity to travel to Gambia, Africa for 2 weeks where the National Miss
Black USA pageant was held, and there are talks of the
2010 National pageant being held in Ghana. So as you can
see, this program has been presenting opportunities of a
lifetime to young women in the state of North Carolina,”
says Vann. “My prayer is that more corporations and sponsors would realize the significance of such programs as this
and the value that it adds to the community and show more
support, however until that day comes we will continue to
do the best we can with what we have, and what we have
is a lot of “determination” to see these young ladies succeed.”
Registration is now open for the 2010 Miss Black NC USA
Scholarship Pageant and the Miss Black USA NC USA Talented
Teen Pageant. Young ladies 18 to 27 and 13 to 17 should visit
www.Noireproductions.com or call (919) 261-9768 for more info
on how to register. Vendors and Sponsors are also welcome.
42
SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
Lifestyles
ENTERTAINMENT
HAYTI: THE HERITAGE
DOCUMENTARY IN
PRODUCTION
Mike Wiley in “Blood Done Sign My Name”
Writer/Producer Jaisun McMillian (left) and "Anatomy of a
Woman Abused" featured actor Kelvin D. Allen on the set
of "Tarheel Talk" Fox 50 TV. The two have teamed again to
produce the documentary Hayti: The Heritage.
Source: www.nextcat.com
DURHAM - Triangle Virtual Media and It Ain’t Magic
Productions, subsidiaries of McMillian Entertainment Co.,
LLC, an independent production company, have partnered
with Kelvin D. Allen & Associates, to develop projects
designed to educate, inform, inspire and empower the next
generation. They are currently in pre-production for a docudrama, Hayti: The Heritage.
This 56-minute documentary will explore the history and
decline of the Hayti Community in Durham, North Carolina
through the use of personal and dramatic first hand accounts
and historic imagery. There will be discussions on how future
Hayti: The Heritage continues on page 44
MIKE WILEY ONE MAN
SHOW “BLOOD DONE SIGN
MY NAME” AT ST.
JOSEPH'S PERFORMANCE
HALL OCTOBER 22ND
DURHAM - St. Joseph's Historic Foundation will present
Mike Wiley in "Blood Done Sign My Name" for two
shows October 22 at 10:30 am for the Heritage Arts for
Youth Performance and 7:30 pm for the general public at
the Hayti Heritage Center.
Based on Tim Tyson's award winning memoir, much
like song Blood Done Sign My Name, is meant to acknowledge America's painful racial history, "that our freedom
and dignity, if we still have any, has been paid for in blood,
that we have a contract with our ancestors not to let their
sacrifices be in vain."
“Daddy and Roger and ‘em shot ‘em a nigger.” Those
incendiary words, spoken by ten-year-old Gerald Teel in
the spring of 1970 were merely a harbinger of the turmoil
smoldering on Oxford, North Carolina's dark horizon.
Henry “Dickie” Marrow, a 23-year-old U.S. Army veteran
whose wife was pregnant with their third daughter, had
been beaten down and shot to death in the street by Robert
Teel, his 18-year-old son Larry, and Roger Oakley, Teel's
21-year-old stepson for allegedly making a remark to Larry
Teel's wife.
The men were acquitted of the crime by an all-white
jury, despite testimony by two black eyewitnesses. Roger
Oakley, Teel's stepson, actually confessed to shooting the
gun but was never indicted. But it was the Teels' acquittal
for their hot-headed hate crime that launched Oxford into a
season of violent reprisals.
Formerly of Theatre IV and Shenandoah Shakespeare
Express, Mike Wiley has more than ten years in theatre for
young audiences, plus film, television and regional theatre.
Hayti circa 1946 (Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper)
source: www.endangereddurham.blogspot.org
Mike Wiley continues on page 44
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
43
HAYTI: THE HERITAGE continues
MIKE WILEY continues
generations of African American children are at risk of being
less prepared for the future because they know so little truth
about their past.
This spell-binding story of Hayti is brought to life through
the camera lens as it captures every detail of emotion from the
people who lived in Hayti and still feel the pain of loss and, to
some, even betrayal.
Hayti was once considered a model for African-American
communities around the country. Today, there is very little evidence left as a reference to show the great community that was
once Hayti.
Many of the Blacks who settled in Durham were former
slaves and their descendants. Across the railroad tracks not far
from downtown Durham, these settlers began to thrive and the
community flourished. They had their own hotel, theater, specialty shops, service providers, everything they needed right in
their own neighborhood. Over one hundred fifty businesses
lined Pettigrew and Fayetteville Streets.
Hayti was home to North Carolina Mutual Insurance
Company, Lincoln Hospital, and after 1910, North Carolina
College for Negroes, later North Carolina Central University.
For African-Americans traveling through the Jim Crow South,
Hayti was a valued stopping place.
Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway performed there.
Hayti also had a home-grown music scene in the Piedmont
Blues, nurtured by native sons like Blind Boy Fuller and Bull
City Red. But Hayti’s value to African-Americans lay as much
in its very existence as in its entrepreneurs and musicians.
The Piedmont Blues music theme for the documentary,
performed by blues men John Dee Holeman and Billy Stevens,
sets the perfect tone for a journey back into the early history of
Durham and Hayti.
In the days of segregation, Hayti was a place where
African-Americans could eat in restaurants, practice their
trades, and call each other “Mr.” and “Mrs.” In 1911, when
Booker T. Washington visited Hayti, he found “a city of Negro
enterprises” whose citizens were “shining examples of what a
colored man may become.”
Hayti: The Heritage will tell the story of how an AfricanAmerican community rose up in the face of institutional racism
and became a powerful economical force; how Parrish Street
in downtown Durham came to be penned the “Black Wall
Street” and Durham, a “Black Capitol” of the South.
After integration, when successful African-Americans
relocated to the suburbs, Hayti began to suffer economically.
The African-American dollar left and never returned. Urban
renewal of the 60’s dealt the final blow. In 1958 the Durham
Redevelopment Commission adopted a plan to renovate 200
acres of Hayti. Citizens whose homes and businesses were
demolished for the renovation were promised compensation as
well as new buildings. Today, in the place of homes and shops,
runs the Durham Expressway.
Hayti: The Heritage will be a vital educational resource. It
is important that we encourage our next generation to look
back, so that they can learn from the past how to achieve success in the future.
To donate to this project, in-kind or financially, contact
Jaisun McMillian at (919) 749-0609 or email [email protected].
A gifted playwright and actor, his overriding goal is
expanding cultural awareness - for all audiences - through
dynamic portrayal of pivotal events to unveil a richer picture of the American experience.
An Upward Bound alum and Trio Achiever Award
recipient, Mike is a graduate of UNC/Chapel Hill's M.F.A.
program. His repertoire of powerful, acclaimed works
includes One Noble Journey in which he portrays more
than 20 characters in the true tale of Henry “Box” Brown
who mailed himself to freedom in a crate labeled “This
Side Up;” Brown vs. Board of Education encapsulating the
impact of the pivotal ruling for desegregating schools;
Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart, with penetrating lessons
of courage and leadership from heroic African American
athletes; Dar He: The Lynching of Emmett Till, chronicling
the 1955 Mississippi murder, trial and confession of the
men accused of the horrific death of 14-year-old Emmett
Till; Tired Souls documenting the days following Rosa
Park's refusal to relinquish her bus seat, and the accounts of
those who held tight to their bus money and walked for
freedom for 381 days; and Tuskegee, the absorbing story of
the fearless first black fighter pilots of WWII.
44
SPECTACULAR
Sept./Oct. 2009
The morning performance admission is $5 for students, teachers
and chaperons admitted free with group, reservation requested;
the evening performance adults $15, students $10. Tickets can
be purchased on the web at www.hayti.org, at the Hayti Heritage
Center or call (919) 683-1709 ext. 21.
Entertainment
unsigned artist
of the month
Lil MaQ
“Get Wit It”
Although Durham, N. C. native Christopher Lawrence Denny, aka
Lil’MaQ (pronounced Lil’Mack), first realized his passion to sing
at the young age of 10; his parents, Cecil and Felicia Denny, recognized it much sooner. Now the world gets to experience this
17 year old rising star; Lil MaQ’s first CD “Get Wit It” was
released digitally in January 2009.
Frayne Lewis, son of three-time Grammy winner Ramsey Lewis, who produced several tracks on the album
said, “Lil MaQ’s sound is reminiscent of Usher and Justin Timberlake. He creates a new sound for the future
of Pop/R&B.”
Regarded as a child prodigy, this triple threat – singer, song writer and dance sensation, Lil MaQ wrote and
co-wrote more than 10 tracks on the album. The first single “Boyfriend” debuted May 2008 and has
already received widespread acclaim in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana.
“Boyfriend” broke the top 20 on WZHT (Hot 105) in Montgomery, Alabama. Hot 105 air personality Michael
Long said the single is “groundbreaking and represents a new flavor for the R&B industry.”
Lil’MaQ, at the age of 13, placed first in K97.5 Brian Dawson’s “Who’s Next” Talent Competition in 2005.
Since then he has been developing a loyal following and fan base. His MySpace page has received more than
1 million views since May 2008. The video, which was shot on location in Chapel Hill, N.C., has received over
500,000 views on YouTube. Lil’ MaQ describes shooting his first music video as, “everything I ever thought
it would be.”
Lil MaQ has aspirations to launch into producing, management and acting. His early start in the music world
not only gives him an advantage as a singer, but also, the opportunity to continue perfecting his art as a
performer.
Lil’MaQ’s unique way of correlating the emotional ties from a song through to his performance heightens
this young artist into a league all of his own. Lil MaQ’s soulful sound and picturesque story line is one that
appeals to all genres and age groups, and is quickly recognized by the first note. With the completion of his
debut album, he is destined to grace the music industry with his refined lyrics, stunning performances,
southern boyish charm and infinite vocal genius.
The next singles to stay tuned for are “Get Wit It” and “Thank You”.
Gary Jones
Entertainment Editor
If you would like to be featured as Unsigned Artist of the Month, email cd as an mp3, along with photo, bio and contact info to:
[email protected] - Artist selection is at the sole discretion of Gary Jones, Entertainment Editor.
Entertainment
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
45
A MONTHLY FEATURE HIGHLIGHTING THE HOTTEST
DJ’S AND THEIR TOP 20 PLAYLIST
E AR T O T HE S TREETS
DJ
DUTCH MASTER
DJ Dutchmaster (Clayton
Stephen) is a 24 year old
Bronx, New York native who
migrated to North Carolina
with his mother in 1998. He
states, "We loved NY, but
during that time there was a
spike in New York City gang
violence and many young
people my age were being
killed and injured as a
result. My mom wanted better for me and we packed up
and left during the summer.
Since then, I had many hustles from clothing design,
graphics design and making
mix tapes. I started making
mix tapes while attending
College."
SONG
LABEL
1. Swagg So Contagious
M. Dot
2. Swagg Surfing (Super Mix)
FLY, Fabolous, Juelz Santana,
Red Cafe
Justyle Ent.
Def Jam
3. Every Girl
Lil Wayne Drake, Jae Millz,
Gudda Gudda , Mack Main
Young Money
4. Up & Down
Chris Millz
Crown County
5. I Think I Luv Her
Gucci Mane
So Icey Records
6. TRAP
Novelist The KINGPEN
Kingpen Prod.
7. 5 Star B!#*h
Yo Gotti / Pitbull
INEVITABLE ENT.
8. Walk Dat Walk
Dorrough
9. Bust It Open
Lil Will
10. She Bad
Troop 41
11. Dancin’ On Me
Jim Jones / Juelz Santana / Webstar
Byrd Gang Records
12. Don't Know Y'all
Yung Dro
Grand Hustle
13. O Digga
Million Dollar Man
9 Deuce
14. I Do It RMX
Real Dynamite / AceHood / Ike
Shiest / DJ Khaled
Hazardous
Records
15. Trickin
Mullage
Grand Hustle
16. Wetter
Twista
17. NC Takeover
Gully Mack, Chris Millz, Kingpen,
Ike, Shiest, Real Dynamite
18. Breakin Up
Gucci Mane/Mario/Sean Garrett
19. One Night
Chris Millz
20. Futuristic Love
Yung LA / Ricco Barinno
SPONSORED BY
DJ
Dutchmaster
has
become one of the most
known up and coming DJ's
in the area. He performs at a
variety of events and venues.
46
ARTIST
SPECTACULAR Sept./Oct. 2009
Hazardous
Records
Crown County
If you would like to be featured in
E A R T O T HE S TREETS
send your Top 20 playlist , along with
your photo and brief bio to:
[email protected]
All information was submitted by featured DJ; Spectacular Magazine is not
responsible for incorrect information.
Entertainment
RADIO SHOW
ALSO HEARD ON:
WCBQ - 1340 AM
Oxford, NC
WHNC - 890 AM
Henderson, NC
Produced by:
“Special Gee”
Greensboro, NC
on the campus of
NC A&T State Univ.
WOOW-AM 1340
Greenville, North Carolina
FOR MORE INFO CALL 919.680.0465 OR VISIT www.spectacularmag.com
Sept./Oct. 2009
SPECTACULAR
47

Spectacular_Mag_Sept..

Transcription

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