N.C. NAACP rejects new voting maps
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRONICLE
State Republican lawmakers may be
pleased with themselves after redrawing
North Carolina's 13-district congressional
maps last week, but the N.C. NAACP is
not.
The civil rights organization told
reporters Monday that they are asking the
campaign" that ordered
the new vot
^ ing maps to
y ^ m ? ' _ now reject
them
redraw new
ones itself,
because GOP lawmakers substituted parti
sanism for race in their new maps, making
them just as bad as the previous voting dis
tricts the federal court ruled earlier this
month to be unconstitutional.
The N.C. NAACP insisted that the
Republican lawmakers who drew the orig
inal maps cannot be trusted.
The original plaintiffs in the case have
asked that the new maps be thrown out by
*? ? ? i n . .1
Marcn is.
Attorneys for the N.C. NAACP are
joining with the original plaintiffs in the
lawsuit that forced the state Legislature to
reconvene last week to redraw the con
gressional maps, in asking the U.S. Fourth
; Circuit Court of Appeals to expedite its
review and toss out the new maps. The
N.C. NAACP also wants the U.S.
Supreme Court to consolidate the various
North Carolina cases involving congres
t
sional and legislative maps and declare
them unconstitutional so that voters will
be able to have confidence in their voting
districts.
A state court case involving the consti
tutionality of the 2011 legislative maps is
scheduled to be heard in April.
Thanks to the Feb. 5 ruling by a three
judge panel of the Fourth U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals, the 2011 redistricting
maps drawn by the N.C. General
Assembly were determined to be unconsti
tutional because black voters, had been
"stacked and packed" into the First and
Twelfth Congressional districts.
Race cannot be the primary reason for
creating voting districts under the U.S.
Constitution. Party affiliation, however,
can be used.
The court ruling disallowed the 2011
maps, which had already been used in the
2012 and 2014 elections, from being uti
lized in the upcoming March 15 primaries
and subsequent Nov. 8 general elections.
The N.C. NAACP says the two elec
tions that were conducted under the 2011
maps were illegal, given the federal
court's ruling that maps were unconstitu
tional.
State lawmakers were given until
Friday, Feb. 19 to redraw the districts and
submit them to the federal appellate court
for review. Republicans had hoped that the
U.S. Supreme Court would stay the lower
court's order, thus allowing the 2011 maps
to still be used for March 15, but the U.S.
High Court refused to stay the order
Friday, meaning that the new congression
al maps drawn will be in force on June 7,
the new North Carolina congressional pri
mary day state lawmakers decided on last
week.
"The
'act that
justices on
the court
issued a dis
s e n t i n g
opinion
gives us real
hope that
t h e
Supreme
Court is
tired of
these cases
coming
from North
Barber Carolina
that are
constructed for the sole purpose of under
mining the voting strength of African
Americans," said attorney Irving Joyner,
legal counsel for the N.C NAACP.
With the new date, there will be no
runoff date, which means whoever gets the
majority of the primary vote wins outright.
Legislative Democrats complained bit
terly as the new maps were being drawn
last week, charging that Republicans were
not accepting input from anyone but them
selves, that hearings were really sham
exercises since they already knew how the
maps were going to be redrawn, and that
the new maps were just as bad as the 2011
districts because Republican partisanism
served as a proxy for race in their redraw
ing.
Republicans denied the charges, coun
tering that race was not a factor at all in
their new maps, which changed the con
figuration of several districts beyond the
First and Twelfth, an#mow have several
incumbent congressional members facing
off against each other.
Much of 12th District,
Congresswoman Alma Adams' district, for
example, has now been absorbed into the
13th District. Adams still vows to run to
represent the 12th District.
Adams is facing two challengers in the
primary: Gardenia Henley of Winston
Salem and Juan Antonio Marin Jr. of
Greensboro. Henley said she plans to keep
running for the 12th District seat and
hopes the district was redrawn fairly.
"I'm grateful to the NAACP for filing
the lawsuit and the court for ruling in their
favor," she said.
Mann also said ne will conunue to run
in the 12th District. He said he felt the
redrawn district is a good idea.
"I personally have no problem with the
redisricting," he said.
The UNC-Charlotte graduate said that
it'll make campaigning easier because he
can now focus his energies on
Mecklenburg County instead of the vari
ous counties that were formerly covered
by the 12th District.
The N.C. Republican Party charges
that there is nothing wrong with the new
congressional maps, and the N.C. NAACP
only wants them redrawn so that
Democrats can have an easier way of win
ning in the upcoming elections.
Chronicle staff writer Todd Luck con
tributed to this report.
'Remarable'
students gain
awards
; SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
A student from each
public school in Winston
Salem and Forsyth County,
as well as from some pri
vate schools, was honored
on Feb. 18 during the 36th
, annual Human Relations
? Student Awards Banquet at
the Embassy Suites Twin
\ City Quarter. Close to 600
? members of the community
attended.
Mayor Allen Joines
read a proclamation nam
ing February as Human
? Relations Month in
Winston-Salem. He also
emphasized the importance
of cultural diversity and
; inclusion. Mayor Pro
Tempore Vivian H. Burke
also brought greetings and
challenged the young peo
ple in the audience to
remain selfless and serv
ice-oriented in the commu
nity.
The theme of this
year's banquet was "Our
Community, Our
Responsibility." The Rev.
Dr. Darryl Aaron, the pas
tor of Providence Baptist
Church in Greensboro and
the former pastor of First
Baptist Church on
Highland Avenue in
Winston-Salen/ was the
keynote speaker for the
evening.
In his remarks, Aaron
encouraged the awardees
to bravely continue to
make a difference in their
communities. He spoke of
the need for our youth to
remain encouraged and to
persevere in the face of
diversity.
The Human Relations
Commission partners with
the . Winston
Salem/Forsyth County
Schools to hold the ban
quet, which honors stu
dents who exemplify posi
tive human relations in
their dealings with others
on such issues as race, reli
gion and cultural differ
ences.
"The Human Relations
Commission is proud to
host an event that high
lights so many remarkable
Winston-Salem students,"
said Nora Baker, the chair
woman of the Human
Relations Commission.
"Whether a child is 6 or a
senior in high school, the
banquet shows that a
young person can really
make a noticeable differ
ence in his or her commu
nity by being conscientious
and respectful."
Dana.Caudill Jones, the
chairwoman of the
Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County Board of
Education, brought greet
ings on behalf of the board.
She commended the stu
dent awardees for their
demonstrating compassion
and inclusiveness at such a
young age. She stated that
the program proved that
there are many outstanding
students in our local com
munity.
Recipients were hon
ored for a variety of com
munity service activities,
including participation on
safety patrols, service at
local nonprofit agencies,
and development of
school-wide environmental
programs. Students were
also recognized for less
measurable deeds, such as
babysitting siblings for
working parents, assisting
teachers in the classroom
with tutoring or Spanish
translation, and reaching
out a welcoming hand to
struggling students.
In all, 86 students were
recognized, and as a whole,
they reflected the diversity
of Winston-Salem, said
Wanda Allen-Abraha, the
city's director of human
relations. "This group of
student awardees tonight is
representative of the posi
tive relationships that have
formed across our commu
nity," she said. "Not only
do we see cultural diversity
in our families, teachers,
and students, but also in
our support." The banquet
received a record amount
of sponsorship this year
from a wide variety of
local businesses, individu
als, and community organi
zations.
Dr. Kenneth
Simington, the chief aca
demic officer for the
Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County Schools, also wel
comed and greeted the
audience. He congratulated
the student awardees and
their schools for creating
learning environments that
promote compassion and
service throughout the
school year.
Bonds
. from page AI
Kv
Middle and Paisley IB
Magnet schools, and a par
tial replacement to increase
capacity at Konnoak
Elementary. The bond
includes new mid
dleschools on Robinhood
Road and Smith Farm to
relieve overcrowding at
middle schools in those
areas. There's also a new
eastern elementary school
and a Pre-Kindergarten
Center in the bond.
The bond also includes
additions to increase
capacity at Easton
Elementary, Griffith
Elementary, Ward
Elementary and Wiley
Magnet Middle. There are
also renovations at East
Forsyth High, John F.
Kennedy High, North
Forsyth High and Philo
Hill Magnet. Safety
improvements would be
made to the Mount Tabor
and Glenn Stadiums.
Security cameras would be
updated to meet district
standards for all schools,
and all middle schools
would get entry access
controls, there would also
be student safety and trans
portation improvements at
Wiley and Southeast mid
dle schools, Reynolds and
Parkland high schools and
Meadowlark elementary
and middle schools.
The bond also includes
new technology for 1,840
classrooms and refreshes
technology in 1,860 classes
that already have it. It 1
includes new furniture and I
a 3D printer for each media <
center. Maintenance funds
also are included to replace ]
component systems in 35
schools. ]
After the public com- 1
ments, Emory said that the ;
proposed construction
areas of the new schools
were based on where
there's overcrowding and
projected growth. She said
both Mineral Springs and
WSPA actually have
unused capacity because
parents are choosing to
send their children else
where. Parents at WSPA
expressed frustration at a
meeting held on this issue
last year, that more parents
weren't sending their chil
dren to WSPA, which has
also a college preparatory
magnet high school pro
gram that at times has had
the highest graduation rate
in the county.
"For me, it's more
about are there program
matic or changes we need
to make in those school
environments that would
make it more attractive or
appealing?" she said.
A potential idea the
school system held meet
ings on last year to move 1
the high school portion of I
WSPA to the campus of 1
Winston-Salem State
University and move
Hanes Middle students into
WSPA is not part of the
bond. The potential move
is doubtful, but other types
of partnerships between
WSSU and Prep may hap
pen in the future, she said.
After toxicity concerns,
Hanes moved to the former
Hill Middle School last
year. Another move or a
new school for Hanes is
not in the bond.
During the public com
mems, Frankie Santoro,
who's been a teacher at
Southeast Middle School
for the last seven years,
:old school officials he
supported building the new
Smith Farm middle school,
which would relieve over
:rowding at his school.
Southeast was built for 750
students but currently has
1,164 students, he said.
Since student achievement
is directly related to class
size, he urged school offt
:ials to make sure the mid
Jle school becomes a reali
y
"Please, please push for
hat," he said.
Comment meetings,
which have been lightly
attended so far, will contin
ae in March. The school
x>ard will vote on the bond
n April and present it to
:ounty commissioners in
May or June for approval
o go on the ballot in
November.
Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. - West Forsyth High School, 1735 Lewisvllle-Clem
mons Road, Clemmons
Monday, March 7 at 7 p.m. - North Forsyth High School, 5705 Shattalon Drive
Thursday, March 10 at noon - The Downtown School, 601 N. Cherry Street
Monday, March 14 at 7 p.m. - Speas Elementary School, 2000 W. Polo Road
4 *
Forsyth County Board of Elections
Early Voting Schedule
March 15, 2016 Primary Election
Main Office Location:
Thursday & Friday March 3 - 4 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Monday - Friday March 7-11 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Saturday March 12 9:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m.
Forsyth County Board of Elections
Forsyth County Government Center
201 N. Chestnut Street. - Winston Salem
Satellite Locations:
Monday - Tuesday March 7 - 8 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday - Friday March 9 - 11 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Saturday March 12 9:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m.
Brown & Douglas Recreation Center
4725 Indiana Ave - Winston Salem
Kernersville Senior Center/Library
130 East Mountain Street - Kernersville
Mazie Woodruff Center
4905 Lansing Drive - Winston Salem
Polo Park Rec Center
1850 Polo Rd - Winston Salem
Southside Library
3185 Buchanan St - Winston Salem
Clemmons Library
3554 Clemmons Rd - Clemmons
Lewisville Library
6490 Shallowford Rd - Lewisville
Old Town Recreation Center
4550 Shattalon Drive - Winston Salem
Rural Hall Library
7125 Broad Street - Rural Hall
St. Paul United Methodist Church
2400 Dellabrook Road - Winston Salem
?
?' 1^1 AAV in A 1:'^
NC DrMr* IwtMa/Nnmt o? ? ? ? ? ? NC SUto M**fccaNo? CM
p GOT ID? w
** rji Beginning with the
?-ZUL March 15, 2016 Primary Election
. most voters must show acceptable photo ID at the polls.
For more information about the photor ID requirement, ptease visit
www.voterid.rK;.gov
For addlonal information contact lh? Foriyti County Board of Elscllona
;t (330) 703-2800 f www tcvotea com ^