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COMMUNITY Also Sports, Religion and Classifieds
NOVEMBER 6, 2014
AT THE INTERSECTION OF YESTERDAY & TOMORROW
BY T. KEVIN WALKER THE CHRONICLE
Community Calendar
Veterans Day Luncheon Veterans HARRY Community Outreach, along with Goler Memorial AME Zion Church, will host its 6th Annual Veterans Day Luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 11 from 12:30 – 4 p.m. Veterans, with proper military identification, will be served a spaghetti meal, free of charge at the Goler Family Enrichment Center, 620 N. Patterson Ave.
Anderson worship The A.H. Anderson Class of ’69 is asking classmates to come together for the morning worship services on Sunday, Nov. 16 at Hanes Christian Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, 819 Highland Ave. (with hostess Cynthia D. Acker) and on Sunday, Dec. 21 at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, 4129 Northhampton Drive (with host Slyvester “Pete” Rainey).
Poetry party Winston-Salem Writers, Barnhills and Press 53 will present “4 Poems and a Party” on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. at Barnhills, 811 Burke St. The program will include readings from poets Scott Owens, Terri Kirby Erickson, Keith Flynn and Donna Wallace. Their work has been placed throughout the Arts District this month as part of Poetry in Plain Sight.
Mammograms A mobile mammography screening vehicle will be at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 950 File St., on Saturday, Nov. 15 from 9 a.m. - noon. Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance will be accepted and some scholarships will be available for those with no health coverage. Appointments are required. Call the church office at 336722-2325 to make an appointment or for more information.
In the years to come, the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter will develop the area that was the Belews Street community, making it fertile for bio-tech firms and high-tech startups. But innovation is nothing new to the area. Decades ago, the African-American denizens of Belews (pronounced Blues) bucked expectations and the iniquity of segregation to start sucessful businesses and institutions of their own. “Black people had small businesses, and they supported the community,” State Sen. Earline Parmon said Oct. 26 as the city unveiled a marker proclaiming Belews’ historical significance near the corner of East Third Street and Research Parkway. Parmon is among the many leaders who were in reared B e l e w s . Though even the smallest remnants of the community disappeared more than 50 years ago, Parmon can still picture the old neighborhood. “Camel City Cab Company and Safe Bus were over there,” she said, using a hand to point. “D.W. Andrews ... our first black plumber ... was there.” City of W-S Photo by Jeffrey Toomer AfricanLinda Dark speaks. American families began settling the Belews Street area at the beginning of the 20th century. Its proximity to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.’s once thriving downtown operation made the location ideal; many in Belews worked in tobacco factories. Schools, churches and businesses of all stripes emerged as the community thrived. But a happy ending for the community wasn’t to be. Years before integration sounded the death knell for successful black communities across the South, Belews was sacrificed for the construction of Highway 52. (Today, that highway and Business 40 intersect near what used to be the heart of Belews.) Bella Bailey is a longtime member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church, which used to be in Belews. She recalled the effort it took to relocate the church, which now stands off Martin Luther King Jr. Drive near what is left of Belews Street. “We sold a lot of dinners and had a lot of revivals,” she said. When eminent domain came a-knocking, Jimmy Jordan packed up his family and relocated to New York City. He lived in the Big Apple for 20 years before returning to his hometown in 1978. “There was nothing anyone could do about it, absolutely nothing that could have been done,” Jordan, See Marker on B9
Photo by Kevin Walker
Dr. Eric Tomlinson shakes hands with a former Belews resident.
City of W-S Photo by Jeffrey Toomer
Artists sought Storefronts WinstonSalem is looking for artists interested in creating unique art installations for downtown. The theme for this series of installations is “Finding Art in Science.” Artists are invited to come to an information session on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. or Saturday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. in the Hanes Conference Room at the Milton Rhodes Center on Spruce Street. Information is also available on the website at www.storefrontsws.org.
Caregivers’ event A free Lunch & Learn for Caregivers is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 20 from 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at Senior Services, 2895 Shorefair Drive. Marquita Massenburg See Community on B3
The marker stands in the shadow of downtown.
Photo by Kevin Walker