WS Chronicle

By Felecia Piggott-Long, Ph.D.

More than 50 reading enthusiasts gathered at the Malloy/Jordan East Winston Heritage Center (MJEWHC) on Saturday, Oct. 5, to meet the local authors of four new books.

Wilma Clark introduced Linda Scales Dark, the author of “William Samuel Scales: African American Businessman in a Segregated Town.”  Constance Smith introduced author Devin Freeman and illustrator Trajan Baker who presented “Building a Better Block with Brandon.” LaRue Cunningham introduced Mary N. Grisson and Marice Freeman, the authors of “Little School in the Woods.”  Carolyn Parker introduced General J. R. Gorham who wrote “Sharecropper’s Wisdom: Growing Today’s Leaders the Old-Fashioned Way.”

Carolyn Parker, president of Friends MJEWHC, expressed the importance of the occasion.  “I am so happy to see everyone today. I welcome you to our annual meeting. Today is going to be a wonderful day,” said Parker. “Authors from the local community will share information about their books. We will open by pausing for a moment of silence, asking God to throw His arms of protection around the southeastern United States, especially the state of North Carolina.” 

Liturgical dance and gospel music were included in the entertainment for the gathering. Jada Pierce and Aziah Hauser, students from Winston-Salem State University, presented a liturgical dance to the tune “That’s My Portion.” Baba Joseph Anderson of The Healing Force sang an original psalm titled “Many Waters Cannot Quench Love.” 

Alisa Sanders and Melissa Ledbetter explained the programs and services of the Friends organization and the purpose of the group and provided the audience with copies of the calendar of events for the Malloy/Jordan Library, which includes the community puzzle table, the book club, and Fire Prevention Week. The library also holds Kwanzaa each year, provides children’s book bags, activities when school is closed, summer reading program, computer training classes, and so much more.

Linda Dark wrote about her paternal grandfather who opened several businesses in the Jim Crow South. He was the first African American to open a bondsman company.  “He had to get Black people out of jail for loitering, drunkenness, making too much noise,” said Dark. “He had to get them out of jail so they could go to work at Reynolds.”

William Samuel Scales  opened Lafayette Billiards, a funeral home, and a sandwich shop called Scales Café which was close to the R. J. Reynolds Factory.  “At my grandfather’s restaurant, the Black men could eat, talk to each other, have a bowl of soup, maybe a salad,” said Dark. “Black people could go to these businesses and be respected. We were not respected at Thalheimer’s or Arcade. We would be watched like hawks.”

Grissom and Freeman wrote about their grandfather who built a little school house in 1908, deep in the woods so it would be safe from the attacks of those who did not want African Americans to be educated.  “He wanted his children to go to school, so he built them one. He never had a school to attend. He built  a school on his own property. It was in operation for over 40 years in Rowan County. More than 1,300 students attended the school over the years,” said Freeman. “Following a family reunion in 2010, my mother looked at the abandoned school and she said we needed to save it.”

General Gorham shared uncommon wisdom from his father who was a sharecropper. He offered the audience three quotes to remember. “My father said, ‘Boy, you are becoming your company.’ I started watching who I was hanging around. When I was in the National Guard, I started hanging out with first lieutenants, captains, colonels, and before I knew it, I was the first African American general in the National Guard,” Gorham said. “My Dad taught me that if you are willing to do what others are not willing to do, you will go where others cannot go. Also, If you play now, you will have to pay when you get older.”

In the book “Building a Better Block with Brandon,” Freeman and Baker tell an inspiring story about children who develop character by solving community issues by putting solutions they design into action by working together. Freeman just graduated from North Carolina Central University with a degree in political science, and Baker just completed his master’s degree at Hampton University in architecture.

President Parker was pleased with the outcome of the annual meeting.

“The program was so enlightening; I learned a great deal. I thank each author for coming, and I encourage the guests to become a friend to the library. This organization is a gem that is a well-kept secret,” said. Parker.