Submitted photo Leaders of the Concerned Students for Kalvin Michael Smith show a banner outside Attorney General Roy Cooper's office at the Department of Justice in Raleigh on Monday, March 7. In the photo (L-R) are Jaylon Herbin of Winston Salem State University, Virginia Parnell of Salem College and Hayden Abene of Wake Forest University. Smith from page AT they should have read the report and dissected it... I still find it hard to believe that it wasn't compelling enough for them to exer cise their discretion that they have on appeal," the former FBI director told The Chronicle. "So I don't buy that idea that they don't have any discretion whatsoever on deciding whether to appeal or not to appeal, or oppose an appeal for example," Swecker said. On Monday, the student organizers took both their banner and a letter with them into the N.C. Dept. of Justice building in an effort to meet with Attorney General Cooper. According to the students, they were refused entry by the securi ty guard, and despite numerous phone calls to the office, were refused having the attorney gener al's personal assistant to come out and retrieve the banner, letter and other materials. "Ultimately, we left the banner, the letter, and the other documents with the security officer at the front desk, but had no visual confirmation that the mate rials made it to Mr. Cooper's office," a subse quent press statement by the student organizers said. In the past, the Attorney General's Office has said it "understands the communi ty's concerns and we want to work with them on sys tematic issues in the crimi nal justice system. But at this point in the' legal process, only a court of law can overturn Kalvin Smith's conviction and release him from prison," later adding,"... our office has a duty to represent the state in this particular mat ter." But the Free Kalvin Smith student organizers see it differently. "The refusal of Attorney General Cooper's office to take just 60 sec onds to meet with us and receive a banner signed by over 200 students demon strates Mr. Cooper's utter disregard for the concerns of students and North Carolina citizens," the group said in a press release. "Though Mr. Cooper's office demonstrated cow ardice and irresponsibility by refusing to listen to the concerns of hundreds of North Carolinian students, we hope Mr. Cooper will have the courage to pub licly respond to his previ ous inaction, which has upheld Kalvin's wrongful conviction, and will ulti mately join the Defense in petitioning the Superior Court to vacate the convic tion." The statement goes on to say that the injustice Smith is facing directly exhibits how Cooper has continued to ignore the issues facing the African American community which has largely remained supportive in the past. Last month Winston Salem State junior Jaylon Herbin told The Chronicle that he and other students shave been studying evidence in the case for months. Herbin said as an African-American male, the evidence in the case is terrifying. "It's hard to believe that Attorney General Cooper can look at this evidence and not even think about doing the right thing," Herbie said. Wake Forest student Corrine Sugino noted that what has happened to Smith could very well hap pen to anyone. She also said the students wili con tinue to do everything in their power to ensure jus tice is served and that Cooper, who is running for governor, does the right thing. "We have an innocent black man sitting in jail and somehow Cooper mysteri ously doesn't have the power to do anything," said Sugino. "We will not stop until Kalvin is free." Other local organiza tions and community groups have joined the fight to free Smith as well. The president of the Ministers' Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity, Bishop Todd Fulton said he stands in solidarity with those stand ing solid for justice. Darryl . Hunt, who served 19 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, said he was delighted to see the stu dents fight for what's right. "Kalvin gets his strength from you," he said. "We must continue this fight against racial bias and injustice." Chronicle staff writer Tevin Stinson contributed to this report. Photo by Tevtn Stmsoo Mayor Allen Joints presents Flonnie Anderson with a plaque during a dedication ceremony on March 5. The auditorium at Parkland High School was renamed to honor Anderson, a retired teacher in the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School System. LETTER ? TO THE EDITOR One Great _ Candidate r~ is Running To The Editor: During this bizarre 2016 election campaign, it is a pleasure to be able to wholeheartedly endorse, one candidate. We highly recommend Mark Johnson, Republican, for N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction. Mark is running for Superintendent to focus our education system on teach ers, not testing! He currently serves on the Winston Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education so he has experience navi gating "the sysfem." Mark began his career as a public school teacher so he per sonally knows the chal lenges teachers face. He has vision and passion and the determination to ljelp create better schools and a better future for N.C. We are proud to count Mark and his wife as per sonal friends. We are grate ful that a young man of such integrity and passion has dedicated himself to improving our state by improving our education system. Mark has provided some clear explanation of his vision on his website. www.remark ableschoolsnc .com We highly recommend that you vote for Mark Johnson for N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction. If you can't vote in the Republican Primary ... remember to vote for Mark Johnson in November! Marian and David Bell Winston Salem NC Anderson from page Al During the ceremony, a number of Anderson's for mer students took to the stage to talk about how Anderson impacted their lives. "Mrs. A was a real per fectionist who expected nothing but the best from her students," said Chris Thore, a former drama stu dent of Anderson's. "She was more than a teacher, she taught us les sons that will last a life time, like how to carry our selves and how to treat each other." A number of former students who went on to become teachers them selves said Anderson played a major role in their decision. Teresa Hairston said Anderson was one of her role models growing up. "Just the way she would carry herself and treat everyone with respect, I wanted to be just like her," she said. "I still look up to her to this day." Mayor Allen Joines spoke during the dedication ceremony as welL He also presented Anderson with a plaque marking the historic l event. Joines led an effort to have the auditorium named for Anderson. Mayor Joines said after writing a letter to the school board, the member voted unanimously in favor of the renaming. "She is a great role model for young people throughout the city of Winston-Salem," said Joines." I am honored to be here today on this joyous occasion." During the ceremony, students from the drama program at Parkland per formed a skit. The skit addressed overcoming stereotypes and racism. Following the. perform ance, Anderson rose to her feet and shouted, "This is what it is all about." When asked about her many accomplishments on and off the stage over the years, Anderson said she is happy that throughout her life she was able to do something that she truly loved. "I never imagined that something like this would happen to me," she said. "I was just doing what I loved and what I thought was right. 1 am truly grateful to everyone who made this possible." Have an Opinion? I Let us Know lettmQwxkrmlejcm Have a Story Idea? Let us Know news@wschronicle.com Vote | JOHN LARSON on March 15 for South Ward 11 V A ? ? a ? A ? A H A ^A ^^A _ f '? 5 Community Leader for the South Ward Business Experience as Vice President of Old Salem South Ward Resident For Past 40 Years Promoting Connectivity in Our City Planner for Our Best Future Values the Economic Importance of Tourism Military Veteran, Captain US Army Endorsed by Retiring Hon. Molly Leight