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OP/ED <ve\?bri% U(T Ernest H. Pitt T. Kevin Walker Elaine Pitt Blair Hutchinson Publisher/Co-Founder Managing Editor Business Manager Office Manager Photo by Kevin Walker Kalvin Michael Smith's dad, August Dark, hugs Darryl Hunt as Larry Little looks on from nearby. Cooper Does Not Deserve Our Vote It is a forgone conclusion that Attorney General Roy Cooper will run for governor next year. He's all but interviewed interior decorators to redo the Governor's Mansion. Cooper's also been given the gold medal by many prominent Democrats, even though he has yet to suit-up for the 2015 primary race, where he will face at least one challenger - former State Rep Ken Spaulding. N.C. Democratic Party Chair Randy Voller drew complaints from the head of the party's African American Caucus and others earlier this year when he declared Cooper the next governor, without so much as a mention of the much-respected Spaulding. Thankfully, in our system, the peo ple, not the kingmakers, decide who wins elections. We certainly understand why many are excited to the point of overzealousness about Cooper. Three years under Gov. McCrory's regime will do that. But Cooper has to run on his own record and not simply as the McCrory alternative. And his record is not spotless. It is shameful, in fact, as it relates to Kalvin Michael Smith, the black Winston-Salem man who is serv ing a decades long sentence for a crime he surely did not commit. The chickens will come home to roost for Cooper. The attorney general's callousness toward Smith and his bla tant disregard for the truth will come back to bite him in the backside next year - if not in the primary, then cer tainly in the general election. The playbook Winston-Salem Police and prosecutors used for Smith was the same one they followed when Darryl Hunt was charged and convicted 30 years ago. The cooked-up charges against Hunt ? who, like Smith, was a black man accused of a heinous crime against a white woman - nearly cost him his life. Yet, our local law enforcers are still somehow under the illusion that their system of justice is solid - infalli ble, even. We expect Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill and his acolytes - who include African American assistant DAs who should know better - to see their work through rose-colored glasses. After all, he and his folks complained the loudest about the now defunct Racial Justice Act, arguing that there's no such thing as racial bias in the crim inal justice system. Despite the tact black men wrongly convicted of mur ders, rapes and other nasty crimes are being exonerated almost monthly, O'Neill and Company would still have you believe that the system is color blind, that the blindfold on Lady Justice never slips to allow her a peek. O'Neill's livelihood depends on keeping up this absurd ruse. He runs a factory whose finished product is prison-bound, shackled black men. The majority (white) population rewards this work with'their votes, and not just for O'Neill. It is quite likely that yet another one of O'Neill's assistants, Ted Kazakos, will be elected to the District Court bench this fall to, of course, rule blindly and impartially. O'Neill's a lost cause, but we expect more from Cooper. He owes black vot ers for his long tenure as attorney gen eral. (All elected Democrats, in fact, owe black voters for their jobs.) His decision to stand by Smith s conviction in the face of overwhelming evidence that the wrong guy was charged is akin to giving the black community the mid dle finger. In essence, he is telling us that a black man isn't worth his time and undeserving of an all-out effort to find the truth. Compare and contrast his actions in regard to Smith to those he took when it became clear that a black woman was lying when she accused white Duke lacrosse players of rape. Cooper swooped in like Superman to take over the investigation; saw that Mike Nifong, the DA who dared to charged rich white boys for raping a black woman, was not only disbarred, but jailed: and gave the nod of approval for a multi-million settlement for each of the accused players, though none scarcely saw the inside of a jail cell. Smith is seemingly undeserving of such heroics. Cooper has received criticism from Republicans for his refusal to defend the ban on same-sex marriage that state . voters passed a couple of years ago. We want to know why he can't assert such boldness in the Smith case? Why can't he refuse to defend this unjust verdict and insist on a new trial for Smith? The answer is obviously politics. Cooper fears Willie Horton-style cam paign ads next year from his critics more than he fears losing black support. Every black voter should be offended by that. Democrats like Cooper are so used to getting black votes without even working for them that black voters have become afterthoughts, something to think about maybe after the soccer moms and Hispanics are shored up. Cooper needs a wake-up call. Black voters must send him the message that it is not OK to sacrifice one of ours for the sake of his political career. Kalvin Michael Smith, after all, is our brother, father, cousin, uncle. If Cooper won't stand up for this black man, he'll remain seated and tight-lipped when it is our loved one's fate on the line. Besides, if Cooper has no strong convictions and lacks the passion to stand for what is right and just, replac ing McCroy with him would be a zercv, sum game. AG Roy Cooper DA Jim O'Neill I Campus Celebration * 4. Salem College Photo Lorraine Sterritt, who is in her first year as president of Salem College, is surprised by her new Salem Family with a birthday cake on Aug. 28. The former dean for Administration at Harvard College and Harvard University Arts and Sciences fac ulty member became the col lege's 20th presi dent on July 1. Isler from page AS approach to wellbeing; create new synergies among campus partners; and help students, faculty and staff develop healthy habits and build a sense of resilience that will carry them forward through the ever-unfolding challenges of a rapidly changing world," said Vice President for Campus Life Penny Rue. Roman Isler's appoint ment is made possible by a gift from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina to Wake Will: The Campaign for Wake Forest to establish an endowment for this posi tion, support the transfor mation of Reynolds Gym, and fund related program ming and faculty research. As a Wake Forest alumna, Roman Isler has deep ties to the Wake Forest and Winston-Salem communities. Prior to her tenure at UNC, she spent 15 years in Winston Salem. including time at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "While wellbeing is a new, formal initiative, it is not new to Wake Forest. 1 know that from my under graduate experience and even my time at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine," said Roman Isler. "Maintaining well being and balance is cen tral to my own profession al and personal lifestyle. 1 look forward to using my experience as a researcher, a faculty mem ber, a collaborator and a former Wake Forest stu dent to advance the University's mission to educate the whole person UU d promote wellbeing among the entire campus community." Roman Isler earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master s in public health from the University of South Carolina and a B.S. from Wake Forest University. ECSU from page A4 Americans. In 2007. Jones was named Benedict's Vice President of Sponsored Programs and Research (later restructured as Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Sponsored Programs). In 2009, she was promoted to Senior Vice President of the university. Under her leadership, the dollar value of new grants increased by 50 percent over a two-year period. In July 2010, Jones returned to Maryland to become Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Bowie State University, a public histor ically black university. In December of that year, she was named a Special Assistant serving the University System of Maryland. She returned to the private sector in fall 2011. Over the course of her career. Jones has secured and administered more than $100 million in pro-, posals, grants and con tracts from the federal government and private sector companies, includ ing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Department of Defense. Department of Energy. Department of Transportation, National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health Jones has two young adult children who are graduates of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Winthrop University. Ross Bennett from page A4 will be held at the Center at noon. Belle Ringer Awards will be presented to radio personality Sybil Wilkes; Grassroots Productions Limited's Elizabeth Betty Darden Ward Cone; Lonza execu tive Lavada Watson; Dudley Products' Eunice M. Dudley; Burger King franchisee Jacqueline G. Ford; and artist Synthia SAINT James, who will also be featured at an exhibit and reception at 7 p.m. at Bennett's Steele Art Gallery. SAINT James has been commis sioned to create the piece. "Bennett Belles." On Friday, Sept. 26, a program focused on social activism will be held at 11 a.m. at Annie Merner Pfeiffer Chapel. At 7 p.m., the Miss Bennett College Coronation will be held in the Chapel. In addition to Fuse-Hall's Investiture Ceremony Saturday, Sept. 27, the True Blue Scholarship Gala, which costs $125 per person, will be held at 7 p.m. at the Koury Convention Center/Sheraton Greensboro Hotel. L.T.D. will perform. On Sunday, Sept. 28 at 11 a.m., the Founders' Day service will be held at 11 a.m. in Annie ~Mejmer Pfciifer Chapel. Bisntrp Vashti McKenzie will speak. McKenzie is the presiding prelate of the 10th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which includes the entire state of Texas. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.bennett edu/inaugu ration or call 336-517 2243. m buyjouses ^foMi Ttrrtfctt Efafitfii f T an ?ill ? " wnwfn %Psa. tint Fropefty Uptidt Down (toJUMk OM Hah Call Tb? Acflaa Lisa Sit 112*1711 KralPcoplrRralHomat.com <$ a Loved One Struggle on the Stairs? LIMITED TIME OFFER! $250 OFF* PURCHASE OF A NEW STAiRUFT! umm Octobw SI, 2014 800-862-9614 IACORN ISTAIRLIFTS Imagine The Difference You Can Make A DONATE YOUR CAR 1-800-337-9038 FREE TOWING ' TAX DEDUCTIBLE Help Prevent Blindness Get A Vision Screening Annually I Heritage nor ?Hi Blind ( Vburtlon Vbwdwr fo (V?? 20Dwttmiom"'
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Sept. 18, 2014, edition 1
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