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GREENSBORO — Days after giving a public voice to same-sex couples raising children, the response was crushing for Bob Page, then considered one of the most successful gay businessmen in America.

"There were nights I couldn't sleep because of some of the comments people made about our family," Page said of the newspaper story in 2000 that featured him, partner Dale Frederiksen and their adopted Vietnamese twins.

In the barrage of letters to the editor that followed in the News & Record, some people said Page's family had every right to happiness. But others were downright cruel — going as far as to say the couple's idea of family would ruin the lives of their beloved children.

The criticism, however, didn't stop Page and his partner from appearing in a "We are gay and we are your neighbors" billboard campaign several years later.

"I won't get this quote right, but 'to those who have much, much is expected,' " said Page, the founder of Replacements Ltd. "I feel very strongly that those of us who are in a position have got to push ourselves to do it."

It is this passion and compassion in the fight against bigotry that earned Page this year's Brotherhood/Sisterhood Citation Award, given by the Greensboro branch of the National Coalition for Community and Justice.

The other recipient is the late Claudette Burroughs-White, the former Greensboro City Council member who was a junior at Woman's College (now UNCG) when she joined the historic Woolworth's sit-in protest in Greensboro that contributed to the desegregation of lunch counters in the South.

Burroughs-White, who died in September, leaves behind a legacy that includes the closing of the White Street Landfill in the northeast Greensboro neighborhood where she grew up. People in that community believed the landfill caused higher-than-average rates of cancer and other diseases among residents there. Burroughs-White organized community meetings and, in 2001, the council voted to close the landfill.

"She was a drum major for justice," said Yvonne Johnson, a close friend and fellow council member.

Page and the Burroughs-White family will receive the awards at a fundraising dinner Thursday at Koury Convention Center honoring the group's mission, which is fighting bias, bigotry and racism through education, conflict resolution and advocacy.

A good listener

Claudette Burroughs-White's life exemplifies NCCJ's ideals, says Susan Feit, the group's executive director.

"Any time there have been controversial issues in the community, she could be found trying to bring people together over their differences," Feit said. "She helped them listen to each other and helped build bridges of understanding."

Burroughs-White witnessed firsthand the inequities of life — segregated Southern life — but also learned that kindness could supersede difference. One of the first five black women to attend her college, she did not live on campus but with her family in northeast Greensboro. But the white owner of Yum Yums near campus always made room for her to study.

"She said those are the kinds of things ... she would never take for granted," said her sister, Loreatha Graves.

"In our community the expectation was not focused on self, but for the greater good, and when one person achieved, it was important to look back and lift up" the next person, she said. "That was my sister."

Making a difference

Page grew up in Rockingham County, where he always saw his parents doing for others.

"My parents were poor but they believed it was important to give back to the community and to help other people and care about others," Page said. His dad grew enough food to feed other families.

Page has never forgotten those early lessons in kindness. His company's workforce comprises of a rich array of ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds. He was active, for example, in integrating refugees from the former Yugoslavia into Guilford County.

"There were all these reports of ethnic cleansing and war atrocities. ... I think without question Bob was very moved by these stories," said Andrew Spainhour, the company's general counsel.

The company hired more than 100 people and offered English as a second language classes on the clock.

Page says he feels it's important for people who are gay to know they can live an enjoyable and fulfilling life.

"There are so many kids who grow up thinking they are not good people if they have an attraction to the same sex," Page said. "That's painful to me. The suicide rate among young gays is far higher than it is for straight kids. ...

"So many things happen for a reason," Page said, "and I feel like, having had Replacements, that I was meant to do something with the success."

Contact Nancy H. McLaughlin at 373-7049 or nmclaughlin@news-record.com