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The Chronicle
Volume43,Number 12 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, November 26, 2015
Lawmakers urge black Democrats to unite
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRONICLE .
"I know that if I don't protect my free
dom, no one is going to be as interested in
it as I am."
And with those words, state Senate
Minority Leader Dan Blue (D-Wake)
urged members at Nov. 14th's Bi-Annual
Convention of the State African-American
Caucus of the NC Democratic Party
(AAC-NCDP) in Chapel Hill to come
together, and organize for the crucial 2016
elections.
North Carolina will see March primar
ies, in addition to gubernatorial, presiden
tial, congressional and legislative races.
With Republicans already in charge of the
Governor's Office and in the majority of
the state General Assembly, Sen. Blue and
other black Democratic Party leaders made
it clear at the AAC-NCDP Convention that
turning out the vote was crucial to stopping
what many believe to be regressive GOP
policies.
Blue made it clear that despite protes
tations to the contrary, many of the laws
passed by the Republicans in the
Legislature, and signed by Gov. Pat
McCrory - like the 2013 voting restric
tions, and 2011 redisricting plans "stack
ing and packing" black voters into a hand
ful of voting districts - are racially based
and inhibit the rights and citizenship of
African-Americans in North Carolina.
Blue said there are currently 16
Democrats in the state Senate and they've
identified eight seats that they feel are
winnable to give them the majority in the
50-member state Senate come 2016.
Because each campaign could cost
upwards of over $1 million to fund, the
See Unite on AS
Blue
Hall
Photo by Tcvin Stinson
Just ahead of the holiday s.eason, the Chris Paul Family Foundation and the Triad Dream Center come
together to provide 100 families with food for seven to eight meals.
Organizations unite to
provide food to families
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Just ahead of the holidays, the Chris Paul Family
Foundation joined forces with the Triad Dream Center
(TDC) to provide 100 area families with boxes contain
| ing food for seven to eight meals.
During the event held on Saturday, Nov. 21., over 30
volunteers worked tirelessly to fill the boxes to ensure
families in the Triad have food during Thanksgiving.
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The families were pre-screened and selected from vari
ous community organizations in the area. The meals
were provided at TDC, 3650-J N. Patterson Ave. in
Winston Salem.
"In this economy - and the times many are facing
today - a family dinner together is a very important
weapon against the many challenges that try to tear fam
ilies apart," said TDC's executive director. Pastor
See Food on A4
Question: What are
you most thankful for?
BY TORI P. HAYNESWORTH
FOR THE CHRONICLE
"What I'm thankful for is life, because people take
life for granted, and I feel like you should live every
moment like it's your last. Like, don't be so picky, have
fun, enjoy."
See People on A9
iA Li
Saquorya Thomas,
Winston-Salem
A tape, more
documents
emerge in case
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRONICLE
Editor's note - This is Part 3 of The Chronicle's
examination of what happened to elderly Winston-Salem
citizen Napoleon H. Wilson, and how he was allegedly
abused while under the guardianship of the Forsyth
County Department of Social Services, and allegations
that his estate was illegally mishandled under the auspices
of the Forsyth County Clerk of Superior Court 's Office.
This examination is part of a larger series of sto
ries by The Chronicle probing growing evidence of mis
management at the Clerk's Office dating back at least a
decade, that may have resulted in "the pattern and prac
tice" of assets and properties of elderly or disabled
African-Americans being squandered, and black families
being hurt.
More disturbing documented evidence has come to
light in the case of Napoleon H. Wilson, an 81-year-old
Winston-Salem native who was allegedly tricked out of
his hoipe in August 2005 by Forsyth County Dept. of
Social Services (FCDSS), illegally declared incompetent
and a ward of the state by the Forsyth Clerk of Superior
Clerk's Office weeks later, and not allowed to see his fam
ily for months, even though there was no evidence of any
abuse to justify it.
And in the meantime, Mr. Wilson's property and assets
were being sold off by a local attorney, allegedly not legal
ly authorized to do so, to pay for expensive care at an all
white assisted living facility, something a recently discov
ered March 2006 taped interview with Mr. Wilson reveals
he did not want.
When Napoleon Wilson's funds ran low, his family
and documents reveal, he was transferred to a less opulent
nursing home facility, where his death certificate indicates
he died on Dec. 9,2007.
During Mr. Wilson's time in the custody of FCDSS.
Sandra Jackson, his cousin, documented his alleged phys
ical abuse with pictures of a gash on his forehead that
attendants said he got "hiding under a bed," bruises on his
arms and legs, and a dramatic weight loss caused because
the medication given to him made the elderly man's throat
too sore to swallow food.
If there was one fact that seems consistent upon The
Chronicle's review of new documents and tape recordings
associated, with the Napoleon Wilson case, it's that
FCDSS and the Clerk's Office did little, if anything at all.
to involve or encourage Wilson's family in his care and
affairs after he was taken. As a result, they had little say
about his wellbeing and despite demanding answers, were
ultimately helpless to do anything to help him.
In the end, they all suffered, with Mr. Wilson the most.
It was Oct. 31, 2005, over two months after their
"Uncle" Napoleon had been taken away, that his dis
traught family met with FCDSS. His niece, Gladys
Romane Wilson-Toure, was designated as the "family
See Tape on A8
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Minneapolis protesters demand police killing video
BY OREO MOORE
ASSOCIATED PRESS _
MINNEAPOLIS ? IJ.S. Justice Department
attorneys were expected to fly to Minnesota on
Sunday to investigate the killing of a black man
that has prompted protests and calls for the two
Minneapolis police officers involved in the shdbt
ing to be prosecuted.
A key issue during their visit will be whether
authorities should release to the public videos of
the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark a
week ago. , ,
Federal and state authorities have -resisted
releasing the footage - from an ambulance, mobile
police camera, public housing cameras and peo
ple's cellphones - because they said it doesn't
show the full incident and making the recordings
public would compromise their investigations.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said on
Saturday that he had asked Clark's family and rep
resentatives of the Black Lives Matter group
protesting his death to meet with the federal gov
ernment lawyers.
""I will uige that the tapes be provided to the
family and released to the public, as soon as doing
so will not jeopardize the Department of Justice's
investigation,'' Dayton said after meeting with the
family and leaders of the protesters.
See Video on A4
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