OPINION
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The Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt
Publisher Entente
1974-2015
617 N. Liberty Street
336-722-8624 ? 41 \
www.wschronicle.com ^""*1
Elaine Pitt Basinets Manager
Donna Rogers Managing ed**
WAL1 D. Pitt Digili] 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.
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GUEST EDITORIAL
Sanity must
rule on HB 2:
Repeal it
North Carolina's Republican leadership is in a
blinking contest with the U.S. Justice Department
and there is plenty at stake, as much as $3 billion a
year of federal dollars that are shared among the 17
member UNC system and the state's public schools,
including urgently needed money that comes to
Robeson County.
The issue is House Bill 2, which most folks are
weary of reading and hearing about. It was a crisis
contrived by the City of Charlotte - were transgen
der people really struggling to find a place to dp their
business? - that provoked a clumsy overreaction
from this state's lawmakers, including those repre
senting this county who are having buyer's remorse.
Supporters of the legislation can defiantly laugh
about not allowing the federal government to bully
our state, but the potential consequences are real,
and the state's educational systems, both primary and
secondary, stand to lose money they can't afford to
do without.
The Justice Department last week announced it
was suing North Carolina, saying the bill violates the
Civil Rights Act. therefore putting those federal dol
lars in jeopardy. Gov. Pat McCrory responded by
suing the federal governrhent, so it appears we are at
an impasse.
While the state prepares to spend what could add
up to a lot of money in a legal fight it is likely to lose.
North Carolina's economy, which has been rebound
ing under GOP leadership, continues to suffer a sin
gle cut at a time, some deeper than others, but all
robbing people of income.
We know that some companies have decided to
take their jobs elsewhere, some rock musicians have
canceled performances, and there is a threat that die
NBA franchise in Charlotte will leave North
Carolina.
All because of a bill that addressed a problem
that didn't exist, but also took detours to include
making it more difficult for some to claim discrimi
nation in the workplace, and even meddled with the
minimum wage.
There is growing support in the General
Assembly to revisit House Bill 2.
We don't know if the momentum is sufficient to
get HB2 rolled back sufficiently that it would pre
vent more damage to our economy. The issue now
seems to be ego-driven, and the North Carolina law
makers clinging hardest to HB2 as it now exists
appear more concerned about winning the blinking
contest than keeping this state's economy on its
upward trend.
The time has arrived when sanity must rule and
Republicans in leadership positions, including
McCrory, need to remember that they will pay a big
[Mice at the polls if they continue to push North
Carolina down this plank. It's a matter of time before
HB2 is a bad memory and the Republicans can make
themselves the same in November if they don't flush
this bathroom bill.
The Robe soman of Lumberton
N.C. General Assembly legislative building.
t f
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Woman gives
different perspective
on Black Lives
Matter
To the Editor;
I would like to give a different
perspective on Black Lives Matter.
Perhaps, the vision most see is the
African-American male being overly
(and rightfully so) concerned about
his life in the concrete jungle of the
inner city. I am an African-American
woman that went through a harrow
ing experience in the corporate jungle
(working world) & I am still recover
ing (emotionally) 16 years later.
Long story short, while working
in Charlotte, NjC., I had a small mis
understanding with my new cowork
ers. A supervisor agreed to facilitate
mediation. It turned out to be a set
up. Protocol was not followed and
my personal space was violated
numerous times.
The result was an anxiety-riddled
breakdown. The breakdown included
numerous trips to psych wards and
over 100 different psych, medica
tions, yet nothing was ever done to
my offender.
My supervisor condescended to
me, using language she thought that I
wouldn't understand; she patted my
leg and treated me like a child. I grew
up thinking that we've made so much
progress as people of color and as
women, btit I have come to see that
things are as bad as they were 50
years ago.
It's sad to have to remind indi
viduals that Black Lives Matter in
the workforce as well as the streets.
- Lynette Staplefoote
Winston- Salem
Taxpayer compen
sation to any
candidate
would be reckless
To the Editor:
The bungling of ballots in die
South Ward's March election, which
has led to a new election between
John Larson and Carolyn Highsmith.
i
is regrettable. It has also created
understandable frustrations and
inconveniences for both candidates.
What is not so understandable is
that Ms. Highs mi th is requesting
"compensation" for the voting errors
to the tune of $1 per certified vote
cast. Surely not! What a reckless
precedent-setting action this would
be! Can you just imagine all the
things candidates of the future would
expect tax-payer compensation for!
It would be never-ending.
If Ms. Highsmith wants compen
sation for the errors, then maybe she
should look to her supporters to help
indemnify her, but certainly not to
the tax-paying public. The tax-pay- '
ers are underwriting the expense of
the new election; that's enough.
I am not in the South Ward and
therefore don't have "a dog in this
fight," but, if I were, I'd certainly
think twice about the merits of a
candidate expecting personal pay
ment for the mistakes affecting the
March primary.
If she is already asking for
money for this mistake, what lies
ahead should she be elected?
Kaye Brandon
Winston-Salem
We have got
work to do to
counter K-12
disparities
To the Editor:
' Sixty-two years ago today [May
17], the Supreme Court took a mon
umental step to correct the precedent
established in Plessy v. Ferguson erf
"separate but equal." The landmark
Brown v. Board of Education deci
sion struck Plessy down and held
that "separate was inherently
unequal."
At that time, segregation was the
law and subjected generations of stu
dents of color to inferior education,
dilapidated facilities, and significant
ly reduced resources in order to ful
fill a racist and oppressive agenda.
After the Brown v. Board deci
sion, it took years of resistance and
federal action to integrate schools.
But now six decades later, we have
seen public schools seemingly
regress back to the segregated state
we saw during the Jim Crow era.
Overt racism has now turned to
institutional racism creating structur
al barriers that have countered the
positive impact of the Brown v.
Board decision.
Racial and socioeconomic segre
gation in public schools has nearly
doubled since 2000 and has occurred
primarily in schools where more
than 75 percent of the students are
Black or Hispanic and eligible for
free or reduced lunch. What's more
alarming is that three out of five
high-poverty schools have high con
centrations of students of color.
Folks, there is a problem with
our education system and we need to
take immediate action to restore our
promise to provide equal access to
educational opportunity.
The CBC has been fighting to
address not only the racial wealth
gap, but
also the
achieve
ment and
opportu
nity gaps
that con
tinue to
widen.
These
gaps pose
dire eco
nomic
conse
quences
Rep. Butte rfield
(
for communities of color - we must
work to counter these disparities and
also to address the school-to-prison
pipeline which disproportionately
affect^ African American students.
Friends, we have work to do.
I want to thank my colleagues
Ranking Member John Conyers and
Ranking Member Bobby Scott for
their leadership in calling for this
GAO report. It will require deliber
ate decisions and efforts to achieve
true equity in education and equality
for all students in our schools. I call
on my colleagues in the House and
the Senate to join us in our efforts to
create better schools for our youth.
U.S. Rep. G. K. Butterfield (NC
01)
- Chairman, Congressional Black
Caucus
Washington, D.C.
Note: On May 17.CBC
Chairman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01)
gave remarks at a press conference
to commemorate the 62nd
Anniversary of Brown v. Board of
Education and unveil a new
Government Accountability Office
(GAO) report on contemporary
racial and socioeconomic segrega
tion and disparities in K-12 public
schools.
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