EB3BEZSG625^QBe'dXi
^ Salem ~ ggtiTV 1 New ?flTISf5 ?*?U
h-ball team ^ESiflHk I ReStore has QUI H
. is on fire J its < irand CI Bap
this season Opening L.
Sec Page BIO -See Page BI REAI~^
pp_M| ^ SEE OUR AD ON A10
The Chronicle
Volume40,Number23 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, January 30, 2014
School
Board
hopefuls
emerge
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE __
Democrat Deanna Taylor has
announced her intentions to run for one
of the two School Board District I seats
up for grabs this year.
One District I seat is open, as
Republican John Davenport has
announced he will run this year as an at
large candidate rather than in the heavily
Democratic district, which includes
much of East and Southeast Winston.
The other District I
incumbent,
Democrat Vic
Johnson, has not
yet said if he will
seek reelection.
Taylor, a
teacher's assistant
at Forest Park
Elementary, is the
wife of City
Council Member
James Taylor.
Three years ago,
she was one of the
candidates the
School Board con
sidered to replace
Geneva Brown.
(The Board ulti
mately chose
Davenport.)
"I've always
loved being with
children and work
ing with children,
and when Ms.
Geneva Brown decided to step down, that
was just another opportunity, another
way that I would be involved in chil
dren's lives," said Taylor, a North
Carolina Central University alumna. "I
came up a little short with that, but I
knew I would be back with the next elec
tion."
As an educator and the mother of
three school-aged children, Taylor
believes she will bring a fresh perspec
tive to the Board of Education.
"Not only am I helping my own chil
dren, I'm helping all of our kids," said
the 32 year-old. "1 can be that parent
voice on there, as well as the educator's
voice right now. 1 can bring that perspec
tive."
If elected, Taylor says she would
focus on increasing diversity within
schools systemwide, enhancing commu
nication between board members and
parents and expanding the already suc
cessful magnet school program.
Although she doesn't fancy herself as a
politician, Taylor, a native of
Fayetteville, admits she has learned a
few tricks of the trade from her husband,
who has served on the Council since
2009.
"I've learned to listen and be open
minded and find out what people want
and do your best to try to get it done,"
said Taylor, who, per state law, would
have to give up her teaching job if she is
elected. "...1 am extremely excited. I
have my community supporting me -
they're behind me - my family's behind
Sec School Board on A9
Johnson
Taylor
Photos by I j?yla Ciarms
(Left) Dr. English
Bradshaw speaks
during the recent
discussion as
Linda Dark sits by
his side.
(Below)
Moderator Dr.
Rosemary Millar
facilitates the dis
cussion.
'Separate but Equal'
Winston-Salem recalled
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
Though it is largely viewed as an era of
separate and unequal treatment, some
blacks recall Jim Crow with a degree of
fondness.
"Segregation kept us from going to the
businesses that we wanted to go to. What
that did in turn was make us more self-suf
ficient," said Jerry Lee Hanes, who joined
Dr. English Bradshaw and Linda Dark for
a Jan. 23 panel discussion - "A
Community Within a Community: The
African American Experience in Winston
Salem Before Integration" -at the New
Winston Museum.
Hanes, a city native and visual artist,
has created more than 50 paintings depict
ing the city's history, particularly its black
history, during the 1950s and '60s. HisP
exhibit, "Winston-Salem's Legacy, from [*
My Perspective," is currently on view at n
the New Winston, which is dedicated to [J,
promoting and preserving local history.
Dark, a former nurse and active mem- n
ber of Friends of the Oddfellows Cemetery %
Restoration Project and the Society for the
Study of African American History, which
shares the facility on South Marshall Street ,
with the museum, says segregation often i
bred ingenuity among citizens of East?
Winston.
"People did whatever they had to," she I
recalled. "They hustled to be a part of the F
citizenship and the economic vitality of the ?
city." , I
Although students in African American "
See Panel on A8
Well-Travelled
i 1 em
Photo by Liyla (farms
Winston-Salem's own Abdullah Rahman recently
returned from touring Russia as part of jazz singer
Michelle Walker's ensemble. Read more on page A3.
BOE mum on
Coffman's ouster
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
Citizens hoping to make their voices heard about the Forsyth
County Board of Elections' firing of its director. Rob Coffman.
left the Forsyth County Government Center with their questions
unanswered Monday evening. ??
The Board of Elections' regularly
scheduled meeting on Jan. 27 had been
moved to the Multi-Purpose Room
upstairs to accommodate the larger than
normal crowd of attendees, which num
bered around two dozen. Many of those
present at the meeting were seeking
answers about the termination of
Coffman. who served as director of
Elections for more than seven years.
During the 4:30 p.m. meeting, the
three-member board voted to postpone
the public comment session to another
meeting and discuss the appointment of
an interim director in a cioseu session lmmcuiaiciy anei mc puu
lic portion of the meeting. Fleming El-Amin, the lone Democrat
on the board, asked that the Board inform the audience of the date
when the public comment would be allowed, but Board Chair
See BOE on A2
Bradley
_ . j: . . .1.. ? r. .l.. i_
m
? n
2. j$ ?
i lit?
T 1 ^ j/j a
I slisl
Community leaders address city's crime stats
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
The city's crime rate dropped in every category except homicides,
Winston-Salem Police Chief Barry Rountree told members of the news
media Monday at the Public Safety Center.
As a whole, violent crime was at a five year low in 2013, and the
number of homicides - 15 - was identical to that of 2011 and below
2009's homicide rate of 16, the highest number since 2008. liven in its
worst years, the city's murder rate has ranked well below that of com
parable cities like Greensboro, Durham and Charlotte, Rountree said.
See Crime on A2 C
Jordan
Photo by l.ayla Garms
hief Barry Rountree talks about crime in the city.
c
HHHHHHBHHHK?
J2J ASSURED
IIISTORAGE
of Winston-Salem, LLC
4
CO
??MB ^
??? (n
u
?
V0