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November
Volume 10
17,
&
2000
Number
11
Serving Catholics
I
n
$
Western North Carolina
in
the Diocese of Charlotte
woman
Greensboro
d
i
in
witnesses years of Knights
change
reach out K
By
of C, public
Staff Writer
school combine to get operation for
student
3
...Page
Election
saga continues
9
...Page
Local
ALESHA M. PRICE
News
explores death penalty .Page
5
Pearline
Thompson
has always admired and respected Catholicism. While growing up in Greensboro, she thought that the religion held a special place within the hearts of those who followed the faith. However, Thompson did not grow up Catholic and did not have much exposure to the religion. "I can remember the priests and
nuns when I was growing up, and I thought they were scary with their robes and habits. They were looked upon with suspicion by my people who had very little understanding of the religion," said Thompson. "But they, the Kaflicks, as we said in our Southern dialect at the time, were curious to me, and I wanted to know more about them." This initial curiosity prompted her to convert to Catholicism later in her
Asheville conference
—
GREENSBORO
life.
Born in the early 1930s, Thompson grew up in an era of segregation and watched the country and her city change from a place where the races did not mix in all aspects of life to one where her oldest daughter attended the first integrated classes at the same high school she attended.
"Greensboro was very segrewere most Southern towns
Aquinas Luther gathering
gated, as
addresses topic of justification ..Page
7
ANN ALBERTS
Correspondent The building up on
MURPHY —
adjacent to
.Page Editorials
10
& Columns ...Pages
12-13
The Season of Advent
William Catho-
the
hill
lic
Church once was the home
St.
for a
But now it is known as the Bishop Begley Center for Economic Development and is the site for some very important changes for many people who live in western North Carolina. Melissa Block, Director of the Office for Economic Opportunity, along with the advisory board to the Office, has been diligently working on a number of projects for Cherokee, Clay, Graham and Swain Coun-
Murphy Readings
family.
ties.
The ever-widening income gap
begins
December 3
back then, and we care of one another.
grew up taking I
didn't
know
the
Depression was going on, and I didn't know we were poor because we had the same things as everyone else," re-
membered Thompson. She grew up in a predominantly African-American neighborhood as the only child born to a stay-at-home mother and a father who worked in various positions for the railroad. She was raised in the Congregationalist faith, now known as United Church of Christ, and was very active in her birth church. Her parents were able
to send her to Lincoln University of Missouri, established as a historically
black college and university, or HBCU, where she majored in journalism.
She met many African-American Catholics while at school and wanted to know more about the religion. "They seemed so sincere, caring and steadfast in their faith and sure of
what they were doing.
Neumann
I joined the Club, an organization for
See
THOMPSON,
page
4
Without equal opportunity, there is no economic justice, say development center officials By JO
Every Week
Photo by Joann S. Keane
in
no more evident than in this region, where once families could live a decent life on the the United States
is
available industrial jobs.
As indus-
awarded $18,800
tries
gram has
behind. The Office of Economic Opportunity has, as its purpose, to be a to bring force for positive change about a diverse economic base and an
grantees in the four counties served. Through this program the Diocese of Charlotte hopes to support organizations that are already working toward economic justice for the people
have moved away, communities and working families have been left
—
just
to 12
Graham and
educated and stable workforce in far western North Carolina. The office is an outreach of the Diocese of Charlotte's Office of Justice
of Cherokee, Clay,
and Peace. to dedicate a pool of funds for small grants to support burgeoning eco-
Family Resources of Cherokee County received a grant of $2,000 for a project called Family Support Self-Determination Network's
nomic development
Course.
Some months
ago,
it
was decided
activity in these
four counties — with
priority to be given to projects which promote sustainable economic developmen and systemic change. And now, the first cycle of grants have been awarded. The Office of
Economic Opportunity's Growing Opportunities Small Grants Pro-
Swain Counties.
The programs
to
be supported
are as follows:
The project will serve CheroGraham and Swain Coun-
kee, Clay, ties
and will immediately and directly 45-50 people. The course pro-
affect
vides recipients, including the disabled, with marketable job skills and
See
GRANTS,
page
11