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The Chron ic le
Volume 43, Number 14 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, December 10, 2015
I !
Guardian accused ol theft'
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRONICLE
A prominent Winston
Salem attorney who rou
tinely serves as an estate
guardian and public admin
istrator through the Forsyth
Clerk of Superior Court's
office is being accused of
committing "... felony
theft by fraud ..." for tak
ing over $44,000 he
allegedly had no legal
authority to do so.
As part of its continu
ing series of articles about
allegations of a continuing
"pattern and practice" of
fraud and mismanagement
at the Clerk's office involv
ing the assets and proper
ties of elderly African
American Forsyth County
residents, The Chronicle
has secured and reviewed a
copy of a motion filed in
Forsyth County Superior
Court on Nov. 24 in the
matter of the estate of
Steven W. Epperson.
The motion, filed by
Winstoo-Salem attorney
i
Reginald D. Alston on
behalf of Epperson's sib
lings, Susan and Kelvin
Epperson, seeks ft court
order to "immediately"
remove attorney Bryan C.
Thompson "... from acting
as guardian of the Estate of
Steven W. Epperson and to
allow Susan Epperson to
resume as Guardian of ..."
her brother's estate.
According td the
motion, there are no court
documents on Tile proving
that attorney Thompson -
who has been prominent in
many of the cases The
Chronicle has reviewed
and reported on in recent
weeks - was ever legally
appointed as estate
guardian to Steven
Epperson prior to April
2010, and yet there is a wit
nessed court document
showing that Thompson
received $44,180.68 on
behalf of Epperson as his
"guardian" on Nov. 15,
2009.
The motion not only
seeks Thompson's "imme
diate removal" and Susan
Epperson's reinstatement
as guardian of the estate, as
indicated before, but also,
"... such other and further
award as the court deems
justified," meaning dam
ages may be warranted.
Per the motion and
accompanying court docu
See Theft on A8
Thompson
p?
Photo by Erin Mizelle for the Winston-Salem Chronicle
Mabel Robinson directs the cast in a climatic end to the song "Come
and Go With Me to my Father's House" during a rehearsal for the
musical "The Glory of Gospel" in May. Robinson was the writer,
choreographer, and artistic director of the musical.
Mabel Robinson
is dancing in new
direction
N.C. Black Rep artistic director
leaving full time to enjoy life
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
FOR THE CHRONICLE
Mabel Robinson was smiling after the beginning of the
end last week. She had just directed the opening perform
ance of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company's
version of "Black Nativity." It would be her last opening
performance as artistic director with the company.
In 1984, Robinson came to Winston-Salem to teach at
the N.C. School of the Arts and has since retired. She
found an opportunity to give back to the community and
to sharpen her skills as a director/choreographer/play
?
wright with the N.C. Black Rep. The award-winner will
take her final bow as artistic director with the company at
the end of this year. She said she felt it was time and want
ed to retire while she was still young enough to enjoy life
to the fullest.
"Thank you NCBRC for an opportunity to elevate and
present professional black theatre to the broader commu
nity and to help develop the creative abilities of our local
artists," Robinson said in a statement.
She told The Chronicle that it has not been easy to be
a black professional in the performing arts.
For more than 40 years, Robinson has worked in
music, dance and theatre venues while gaining over 70
awards in theatre.
Robinson said that when she first started in theatre,
See Dancing on A6
ANALYSIS
Blacks speak
out against
racism
of Trump
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRONICLE ....
When dozens of black ministers met with contro
versial tycoon and leading Republican candidate Donald
Trump last week - a group the Trump campaign expected
a collective endorsement from - rhetorical alarm bells
went off throughout the African-American community.
Bishop Sir Walter Mack, a black minister in
Winston-Salem, wrote to The Chronicle in a Letter to the
Editor: "Preachers, let's look out for the people we serve
and not ourselves. Trump has publicly disrespected every
minority group from Latinos to those with special needs,
to the Black Lives Matter movement."
"Mr. Trump routinely uses overtly and racist lan
guage on the campaign trail," an open letter published on
Ebony.com by over one hundred black religious leaders
and scholars opposed to the Trump meeting said. "Most
recently, he admitted his supporters were justified for
punching and kicking a black protester who had attended
a Trump rally with the intent to remind the crowd that
"Black Lives Matter." Trump followed this action by
tweeting inaccurate statistics about crime prevalence rates
in black communities ? insinuating that Black people are
more violent than other groups."
'Trump's racially inaccurate, insensitive and
incendiary rhetoric should give those charged with the
care of the spirits and souls of black people great pause,"
the open letter continued.
While a few conservative ministers indeed exited
that meeting with Trump Nov. 30 singing his praises, there
was no collective endorsement. Instead, according to pub
lished reports, the outspoken real estate mogul and reality
TV star of "The Apprentice" was peppered during the
meeting with questions about his harsh, and many say
racist, statements about Mexicans being "rapists," most
Muslims being terrorists, and protests by black college
students about racism on their predominately -white cam
puses being "disgusting."
"I told him, you should apologize and repent ?
we're called to own up to our bad behavior," Bishop
Victor Couzens, one of the 40 or 50 ministers who attend
ed, told ThinkProgress.org. "That's when his staff inter
rupted and said, 'Why should he,' why this, why that. He
let his people answer for him. He didn't seem to mind
that."
Ever the spin-meister, Trump told the press after
See Trump on A8
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Board of Elections prepares for primaries
Eligible voters in N.C. have
until Feb. 19 to register
BY TODD LUCK
Candidates are filing and voter registration is
going on for the March 15, 2016 primary for next
year's general election.
The stakes are high for next year's election as
candidates for president, U.S. congress, N.C.
General Assembly, county commissioners, the
mayor and all city council seats are on the ballot.
So far it's been mostly incumbents who have
filed. As of press time, every member oV the City
Council has now filed for re-election in 2016
except Molly Leight, who said she will not run for
another term, and Mayor Pro Tempore Vivian
Burke, who said she does plan to run for her 11th
term representing the Northeast Ward.
Interim Forsyth Board of Elections (BOE)
Director Lamar Joyner said he's expecting a large
turnout.
"We're going to do our best to get all our elec
See Primaries on A2
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