NAACP sup
porters and
staff members
gather from 91
of the 100
counties in
North Carolina
for the NAACP
State
Conference last
weekend.
Photo# By Mayeew
Mitchell
Attorney Lani
Guinier speaks
at the NAACP
N.C. State
Conference on
Saturday, Oct.
10.
Dr. Mendez wins Minister of the Year
Award from N.C. NAACP conference
Attorney Lani
Guinier speaks
at event
BY MAYEESA MITCHELL
FOR THE CHRONICLE
The 72nd annual
NAACP N.C. State
Conference concluded on
Saturday, Oct. 10 with an
address from Attorney Lani
Guinier at the Freedom
Fund Awards held in the
Winston-Salem Embassy
Suites Grand Pavillion
ballroom.
During the Freedom
Fund Awards, the N.C.
NAACP recognized the
Rev. Dr. John Mendez of
Winston-Salem with the
Minister of the Year award,
Rep. Larry Hall with the
Political Trailblazer award
and fourth Vice President
of the Board Courtney
Patterson with the District
Director of the Year award.
Barber presented
President's Awards to
Linda Sutton, of Winston
Salem, and Kim Porter for
community organizing in
the fight for voter's rights,
Leroy Lewis for his dedica
tion as part of the security
team for many years and
the Rev. Gatewood for his
dedication to the American
Journey for Justice.
Additionally, Mitchell
County NAACP was rec
ognized as New Branch of
the Year. Jessica Frank was
recognized as Youth of the
Year. Griffeth Chapel AME
Zion in Bumsville, North
Carolina was recognized as
Church of the Year.
Guinier, an attorney,
author and professor best
Mendel
known
for her
principal
stand i
after i
being
nominat- ]
ed for
assistant i
aftnrnpv
general
for Civil
Rights in 1993, spoke to i
the audience of NAACP 1
staff members and support- i
ers from 91 of North
Carolina's 100 counties
about a theory called 'the 1
miner's canary.' N.
"When the canary thi
gasps for breath, it is not a of
call to fix the canary," Di
explained Guinier. un
'Because the canary's res- "tl
piratory system is more an
vulnerable, when the
canary has difficult breath- Bi
ing, it alerts others to the en
growing toxicity of the ev
atmosphere in the coal sai
mines. Thus, the goal is to mi
fix the atmosphere in the C(
mines to benefit the miners sli
as well as the canary." in
The Rev. Dr. William J. M
Barber, president of the or
C. State Conference of
: NAACP and a member
the national Board of
rectors, said of Guinier's
conventional speech that
ley invited a professor
d let her teach."
During the night,
irber informed the audi
ce about upcoming
ents, such as the anniver
ry of the 13th amend
ent to the U.S.
institution, which freed
ives in the United States,
December and the 10th
ass Moral Monday rally
i Feb.13.
Adams calls GOP Tea Party 'gangsters' before NAACP
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRONICLE
Saying that, "Our
nation has been hijacked by
insensitive right-wing radi
cal Tea Party folks at the
local, state and federal
level, so drunk with power
that they're deliberately
making it difficult for our
working families, for our
elderly and our children to
survive," US Rep. Alma
Adams ( D-NC-12) told the
72nd annual N.C. NAACP
Convention luncheon
Saturday that "we've got to
get angry enough to act."
Adams, who began
serving in Congress last
year after many years as a
state lawmaker from
Guilford County, also chid
ed her Republican col
leagues in the House for
their recent turmoil over
who will replace outgoing
Speaker John Boehner,
especially after House
Majority Leader Kevin
McCarthy (R-California)
bowed out amid controver
sy last week.
"If you've been keep
ing up with everything, you
know that the House has
gone to hell," Adams said
to laughter. "There are 40
Frpp.rlom Pannis
members in the
House ... I call
them gangsters,
who are disrupting
everything. This
group wants to tie
up everything, even
the increases in the
debt ceiling, cuts in
Social Security and
Medicare and
Medicaid ... they
even want 10 gei na or
Obamacare, and everything
else that's made a differ
ence."
"They want to defund
Planned Parenthood, as a
matter of fact, they even
tried to shut down the gov
ernment just to shut down
one organization. So you
know what I'm dealing
with in Washington."
Adams said she's "dis
gusted" by the negative
politics she's seeing in
Raleigh with the
Republican-led N.C.
General Assembly, and the
GOP-led Congress. She
said that the hard-fought
for civil rights gains of the
past are now being I
"stripped away," requiring
the NAACP and others to i
ctnv in thp fioht i
V "t>*" I
for justice and I
equal rights.
"It's time to ]
recommit," she
said. "It's time I
for us to get re
engaged, build ]
some bridges |
and form some i
bonds so that I
we can recap- !
tore our losses,
ana protect our progress. ]
Adams said: "Looking i
at what's going on in state i
legislatures across the 1
country, including our own,
and observing the insensi
tive actions of the U.S.
Congress, and its impact on
our state and nation,
they're just devastating,
with long-term ramifica
tions. And I'm convinced
that at the end of the day,
we've got to get angry
enough to act."
"In the final analysis,
what happens tomorrow
will be up to us, and how
we prepare today." Adams
said, adding that "We know
why this crowd continues
Adams
i f 1
to fight our president."
"Our people are pawns
in a dangerous game of
partisan politics that's
being played in
Washington, and we're
paying the price for
Washington's dysfunc
tion."
Adams noted that com
placency because of prior
progress is keeping people
Prom taking back the power
that has been gradually
syphoned off from them.
"It's clear that as a peo
ple, we've got to pump it
up," Rep. Adams said,
reminding all of the impor
tance of investing in all
children for empowerment.
She also recommended that
African-Americans regain
that sense of community
that helped them succeed
during the civil rights
movement.
"Power controls every
thing," Adams said, noting
that blacks need to get
more involved in voting to
control the politics and
economics that bring about
positive change.
Adams paid tribute to
the work of her close
friend, Guilford County
Commissioner and
NAACP Board member
Carolyn Coleman, N.C.
NAACP Pres. Rev. Dr.
William Barber, and the
work of the NAACP to
bring about justice and
equality.
Adams also announced
that she has filed a House
bill to name a local post
office in Winston - Salem
after the late author Dr.
Maya Angelou, who lived
there until her passing last
summer. Adams says she
has the full support of the
13-member North Carolina
congressional delegation.
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Rep. Adams introduces legislation
to name Winston-Salem post office
after Maya Angelou
chronicle Staff report
U.S. Rep. Alma S. Adams (NC-12,
which includes Winston-Salem) has intro
duced House Resolution 3735, legislation
to name the post office located at 200
Town Run Lane in Winston-Salem after
Dr. Maya Angelou.
Winston-Salem was Angelou's primary
residence and final resting place. She
called Winston-Salem home for more than
30 years.
"I admire Maya Angelou a lot, and one
of the things she says I'll never forget is
"People won't always remember what you
say, and people may not always remember
what you did, but they'll remember how
they made you feel,' and that is so impor
tant, and I remember how she made me
feel," Adams said at the North Carolina
National Organization of Women meeting
on Oct. 10.
Adams' legislation would rename the
Center City post office to that of the Maya
Angelou Memorial Post Office.
The legislation is cosponsored by
every member of the North Carolina
House delegation: Representatives G.K.
Butterfield (NC-01), Renee Ellmers (NC
2), Walter B Jones (NC-3), David Price
(NC-4), Virginia Foxx (NC-5), Mark
Walker (NC-6), David Rouzer (NC-7),
Richard Hudson (NC-8), Robert Pittenger
(NC-9), Patrick T McHenry (NC-10),
Mark Meadows (NC-11), and Oeorge
Holding (NC-13).
NOW bonds and
from page A1 build some
bridges. And
we need to
continue to do that," said Adams. "It's
absolutely necessary that women are play
ers at the tables, from the classroom, to the
board rooms, from the state house, to the
United States house, and in 2016, all the
way to the White House."
Mini Timmaraju, national women's
outreach director for the "Hillary for
America" campaign, and one of the
keynote speakers, told the audience:
"It's personally really critical to me that
when we're reaching out to women across
the country, we're talking about all
American women of every generation."
Timmaraju pointed out Clinton's expe
rience of working for women, children and
the middle class. NOW has recently
endorsed the campaign. There are "Latinos
for Hillary" and "African-Americans for
Hillary" alongside the "Women for
Hillary" mottos. She also mentioned of
how technology, especially emails, are
essential of getting more people involved
for support.
During the session of panel discus
sions, Madeline Coffey, junior at Wake
Forest University spoke about the younger
generation and the Black Lives Matter
movement.
"I really think it's important that we
start focusing more on people of color and
supporting black rights and Black Lives
Matter, and move toward focusing on
Millenials and working with Millenials,"
said Coffey.
NOW is pushing for North Carolina, as
well as other states to ratify the Equal
Rights Amendment. The Equal Rights
Amendment was written by suffragist
leader Alice Paul, and was first proposed
and introduced in U.S. Congress in 1923. It
was passed by Congress in 1972, and on
June 30, 1982, ERA received only 35 of
the 38 state ratifications.
For more information or to join NOW,
go to www.triadnow.org. To learn more
about the Equal Rights Amendment, visit
www.NC4ERA.org or email
info@nc4era.org.