OPINION
The Chronicle
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www.wschronicle.com
Ernest H. Pitt
Donna Rogers
Elaine Pitt
Publisher/Co-Founder
Managing Editor
Business Manager
Our Mission
The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the
residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County
by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth
to power, standing for integrity and
encouraging open communication and
lively debate throughout the community.
Support Hunger
Action Month
by spreading
food for thought
Many people might not think about it, but hunger
is a devastating condition. Without food, human bod
ies, including our brains, deteriorate and eventually
die. It's such an important issue that nonprofit and
religious organizations as well as governments spend
a lot of money working to alleviate it.
For instance, programs help children in school
get food when they might not be able to. Yet those
who don't have enough food to eat many times are
stigmatized by society.
September is Hunger Action Month. Second
Harvest Food Bank of Northwest N.C. is enlisting
local businesses and others to help raise awareness of
hunger during the month and to show support for the
organization's work and local food assistance agen
cies across the region.
"So many people that we speak with are shocked
to learn how significant a problem hunger is right
here in our community," said Jenny Moore, market
ing and PR manager for Second Harvest Food Bank.
"What we've witnessed over and over again is that
once people know, they find ways to help. Awareness
is key. That's why we're asking everyone we know
to pledge to tell someone about hunger."
Throughout Hunger Action Month, Second
Harvest Food Bank will be holding a number of spe
cial events to provide an opportunity for interested
people and groups to connect with others who are
invested in supporting and creating solutions to
address hunger plaguing our communities.
The Chronicle participated in one event the food
bank organized with Wake Forest University and
others that drew 160 people. The event, called
Feeding Change: an Interactive Community
Conversation on Hunger, was held on Thursday,
Sept. 10, at the Innovation Quarter.
The event featured conversations that centered on
three questions:
1. How might we enhance access to healthy food
and nutrition education for needy children and adults
in the Triad?
2. How best to engage neighborhood residents -
across the Triad - to address food insecurity, both in
their own neighborhood (as appropriate) and in the
larger community?
3. How might we reduce the perceived stigma
associated with dependence on food stamps, emer
gency pantries and similar sources of fcxxi assis
tance?
Wake Forest University Provost Rogan Kersh
served as the emcee for the evening. People moved
from table to table to discuss one question at a time.
Media representatives served as moderators at each
table.
The experience was eye-opening. As different
people traveled to each table, different experiences
and ideas were revealed.
At one table, it was revealed that a student gave a
meal to a student in his class.
At another table, which had Question 3, about the
stigma of efforts to reverse hunger, a point was
made: Many more people are using food stamps,
emergency pantries and similar sources of food
assistance because of the lagging economy since
2008. So, the stigma of using those assistance vehi
cles might not be as bad as before then.
Still, another surprise was when people at the
tables admitted they had needed some sort of food
assistance at some point in their lives.
Kersh said that suggestions to fight hunger would
be compiled from the discussions at the tables and
combined into a document. He said the project is a
year-long one.
Some solutions suggested as the groups reported
to the body as a whole involved conducting social
experiments in which people go hungry for a while
to understand how it feels, forming talent banks in
which people are paid for their work in food, bring
ing food trucks to communities and educating people
who serve the hungry and those in the community to
restore the dignity of those who need help.
Hunger is a serious matter that affects a great deal
of people. Take action during Hunger Action Month
and beyond to make sure it is minimized in your life
time.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Jesse Jackson's
mother dies;
CBC offers
condolences
To the Editor
The Congressional Black Caucus
(CBC) Chairman G. K. Butterfield
(NC-01) released
the following
statement on the
passing of Mrs.
Helen Burns
Jackson:
The mem
bers of the
Congressional
Black Caucus
are saddened by
tne passing ot
Mrs. Helen Bums Jackson, the moth
er of Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson.
Mrs. Helen Jackson was a kind
and compassionate woman who
stood beside her family as they cham
pioned equality and justice for all
Americans. We offer our heartfelt
sympathies and prayers to the
Jackson and Bums families during
this time of bereavement.
U.S. Rep. G. K. Butterfield
North Carolina District 1
Washington, D.C.
Congratulations,
W-S Chronicle
for 41 years
in community
To the Editor:
I would like to congratulate
Ernest H. Pitt for publishing The
Chronicle for the past 41 years,
which is longer than the life span of
most residents. In the past 41 years,
several African- American newspa
pers have come and gone. The
Chronicle has stood the test of time.
Many of us, including Mr. Pitt, prob
ably will not be around the next 41
years. We pray that the Chronicle
will be around in one form or anoth
er.
As an historian, I appreciate
Publisher Pitt giving a history of the
origins and transformation of The
Chronicle, because it is important
for readers to know the evolution
The Chronicle went through to get
where it is today. Once again, Happy
41st Birthday to The Chronicle.
Dr. Lenwood G. Davis
r
Local organization
mobilizes for the
Million Man March's
20th anniversary
To the Editor
The Winston-Salem Local
Organizing Committee (W.S .L.O.C)
has established a committee of cross
community, local, civic, national,
political and faith-based organiza
tions to plan and attend the 20th
anniversary commemoration of the
Million Man March, "Justice or
Else," on Oct. 10, in Washington
DC.
The 20th anniversary of the
Million Man March, "Justice or
Else," is a national movement for
justice. All are invited to this
momentous event.
The W.S.L.O.C's purpose is to
plan and implement community
activities and participate in events
leading up to and beyond the March
with the ultimate goal of creating a
local agenda to address concerns
related to economics, education,
health, criminal justice and policy.
For bus information visit
www.wsjoe.com or contact Akil
Razzak at 336-817-3958 or Dana
Muhammad at 336-354-8278.
You may also purchase tickets at
Nation's Discount Store, 805 Akron
Drive, Winston-Salem Monday
through Friday, 4-6 p.m.
Winston-Salem Local Organizing
Committee
As march ends,
voting rights still
on mind of
N.C. NAACP
To the Editor:
Marchers, led by the national
NAACP, were scheduled to conclude
a historic journey from Selma,
Alabama, to Washington, D.C,. on
Sept. 16. They were scheduled to
convene on Capitol Hill to advocate
for a multi-pronged racial justice
agenda, including passage of the
Voting Rights Advancement Act of
2015. The Advancement
Project worked closely with local
grassroots partners - including New
Florida Majority, the North Carolina
State Conference of the NAACP and
New Virginia Majority - to ensure
the Voting Rights Advancement Act
included key fixes to the Voting
Rights Act (VRA). The
Advancement Project released the
following in response to the organ
ized advocacy efforts:
Despite the passage of the mon
ster voter suppression law in North
Carolina, the race-driven gerryman
dering of voting districts and contin
ued attacks against the poor and
those who can't afford to buy off
Congress, North Carolinians are
going to send a resounding message
that our lives, our votes, our jobs
and our public schools matter more
than partisan politics and money.
North Carolina State Conference
of the NAACP
President Rev. Dr. William J.
Barber n,
convener of the Forward
Together Moral Movement
We support all who advocate for
the swift passage of the Voting
Rights Advancement Act. This bi
partisan measure is the only bill that
will fully protect voters of color
in states where there is an ongoing
history of discrimination in voting:
Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona,
California, Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana, Mississippi, New York,
North Carolina, South Carolina,
Texas and Virginia. x
The Advancement Act also
includes essential protections in all
states, by requiring federal review of
voting practices that are known to be
discriminatory, before they are test
driven in elections, and does not
exclude strict voter ID laws. The
tenants of a just democracy require
that all eligible voters have free and
fair access to the ballot box. The
Advancement Act provides direly
needed protection for the most
sacred of our rights; the right to
vote. We applaud the efforts commu
nities around the country are making
to support this legislation, and we
support organizers as they march on
to Capitol Hill.
Katherine Culliton-Gonztilez,
Advancement Project Director of
Voter Protection
Advancement Project is a multi
racial civil rights organization.
(For more information about the
Million Man March
go to www.justiceorelse.com)
Butterfield
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