OPINION
The Chronicle i
Ernest H. Pitt
Publisher Emeritus
1974-2015
617 N. Liberty Street ccnlbrj!i%
336-722-8624 I 41 V
www.wschronicle.com
elaine Pitt Business Manager
Donna Rogers Managing Editor
wali D. Pitt Digital Manager
Our Mission
The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the
residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County
by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth
to power, standing for integrity and
encouraging open communication and
lively debate throughout the community.
?
Photo by Donna Rogers
Linda Coleman, left, a candidate for North Carolina
lieutenant governor, and Earline Parmon, a surro
gate for US. Rep. Alma Adams, listen during the
African-American Caucus of the Forsyth County
Democratic Party's candidates meet and greet on
inn If)
Who will pick
up the Parmon
mantle now?
An incredible woman was laid to rest this
week. Earline Parmon died on March 15,
Primary Election Day. That day represented part
of Parmon's life; she had urged people to vote
absentee for the primary.
Earline Parmon had many titles, but the most
enduring of "all will be public servant. Look
through The Chronicle's archives and you will
find her name going way back. It seems she has
always been a visible part of the Winston-Salem
community.
Parmon had been an educator and school
principal. She founded the now-defunct LIFT
Academy, a charter school that is credited with
"She was honest,
courageous, straightforward
and compassionate, committed to
the people and concerned
about their welfare."
graduating youth who had been written off by
the public school system.
Parmon served for 12 years on the Forsyth
County Board of Commissioners and 12 years in
the N.C. House of Representatives. In 2012, she
was elected to the N.C. Senate. She gave up her
seat to go work as director of outreach for U.S.
Rep. Alma Adams. She was first vice president
of the Winston-Salem Branch of the NAACP,
also.
"She was honest, courageous, straightfor
ward and compassionate, committed to the peo
ple and concerned about their welfare," Adams
said at Parmon's funeral service.
"She learned from women like Velma
Hopkins and Maize Woodruff," Winston-Salem
Mayor Allen Joines said. "She then in turn gave
back to the young up-and-coming leaders in this
community."
That's who we need to find: the young up
and-coming leaders in this community. Just as
Earline Parmon learned frorp her mentors and
took her work to the next level; those who
Parmon mentored should do the same.
The community will miss Parmon. She left
an inspiring legacy to follow. She was like a
"Moses" to the community. Let us hope some
one will pick up her mantle and become the
"Joshua" she left behind.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Free Dontae Sharpe,
Kalvin Michael Smith,
Attorney General
Cooper
To the Editor:
On Thursday, March 24 (today),
members of the N.C. NAACP will
gather with representatives of the
statewide and national "Free Dontae
Sharpe" & "Free Ralvin Smith"
movement, to deliver a statement to
the media and a letter to the Attorney
General (Roy Cooper), demanding
the release of two black men wrong
fully imprisoned for almost half their
lives.
The gathering will begin at St.
Paul A.M.E. Church in Raleigh and
takes place less than a week after the
funeral of Darryl Hunt, another black
man wrongfully imprisoned in North
Carolina, tor a
crime he did not.
I commit.
I Danyl Hunt
f committed his
life to bringing
about justice in
I the names of
those ensnared
in an unjust
Gj i m i n a 1
System. The
cvciu ia 5CUCU
uled for Maundy Thursday, a day in
the Christian Tradition associated
with repentance and commemorating
the Last Supper of Jesus before he
was betrayed, unjustly arrested, and
put to death.
On this day leading up to Easter
Sunday, when many of our elected
officials will celebrate the resurrec
tion of a wrongfully convicted victim
of prosecutorial misconduct, we call
on them to do justice , in the cases of
Dontae Sharpe and Kalvin Smith.
The NAACP has long known that
Black Lives Do Not Matter in the
criminal "justice" system in the Old
and New Jim Crow South.
Prosecutors, police, and even our
elected officials are humans. It is
hard for any of us to admit "I messed
up. I'm sorry. I repent." It seems
almost impossible for a prosecutor to
admit "I was a prisoner of my own
racial stereotypes."
When principled young black
men refuse to lie and prosecutors and
police resort to procuring convictions
Rev. Barber
with unethical tactics, the court sys
tem breaks down. The innocent
man's only hope is hard-working
media; lawyers and investigators
who believe in justice over fees; and
the man's own family and network of
friends. The NC NAACP stands with
these men and we will not allow this
injustice to continue unaddressed for
a moment longer.
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II
* President of the N.C. NAACP
"Forward Together Moral
Movement"
Fusion Coalition
from Raleigh
The American
People deserve
better than GOP
obstruction
To the Editor:
[Congressional Black Caucus
(CBC) Chairman G. K. Butterfield
released a statement today in
response to Sen. Mitch McConnell
asserting the Senate Republicans
plan to move on with other legisla
tive business, continuing the
obstructionist rhetoric that has char
acterized the Supreme Court nomi
nation dialogue:]
Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConndl restated his shortsighted
and reckless plan to not hold hear
ings or even so much as meet with
the U.S. Supreme Court candidate.
President Obama
Hi has fulfilled his
duty by nominat
ing Chief Judge
Garland, who is a
highly qualified
candidate.
We call on
Senate
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do their job and
Rep. Butterfield give judge
Garland full and
fair consideration.
For the sake of our nation, the
Republican obstructionist agenda
must stop. The American people
deserve better.
U.S. Rep. G. K. Butterfield
(D-NC), Chairman
Congressional Black Caucus
Washington, DC
We stand shoulder
to shoulder
with Belgium
after attacks
To the Editor:
My heart breaks for all those
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acts of terror in
Brussels [on
Tuesday, March
22]. We stand
shoulder to
shoulder with
the people of
Belgium today
during this hor
rific tragedy.
Uur thoughts and
prayers are with all the victims and
their families.
In the face of this deadly threat,
we must stand as united and deter
mined as ever to defeat terrorism.
But we must not turn our backs on
our democratic values.
We here in the U.S. and our
international community must
remain united and vigilant in com
bating extremism and terrorism
wherever it occurs. We must contin
ue to strengthen our intelligence
gathering capabilities and increase
intelligence sharing with our allies
to destroy terror safe havens abroad
and increase security and awareness
here at home.
U.S. Rep. Alma S. Adams (NC
12)
Washington, DC
Rep. Adams
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