OPINION
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The Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt
Publisher Emeritus
1974-2015
617 N. Liberty Street
336-722-8624 ? 41 \
www.wschronicle.com \?/etuyi ?
elaine Pitt Business Manager
Donna Rogers Managing Editor
wali D. pltt Digital Manager
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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.
Keep focused
as new school
year starts
It's back-to-school time, You can tell because of
the number of back-to-scnool events popping up.
Various things are promoted at these events. Some
promote speakers, some promote fun activities and
most promote the distribution of backpacks.
Organizations and churches gather items to dis
tribute to students in need of items for school. A good
question is, how many distribute what students really
need for school, in fact, for life?
This is the 21 st century, and many things from -the
past are no longer relevant. But we shouldn't make
reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic some of them.
The experts say newspapers are dwindling in cir
culation because people, especially young people,
don't read anymore. News reports say cursive writ
ing is not being taught in schools anymore. Also,
news reports say there is talk about bringing back
geometry and algebra. Where did they go?
Audio and video rule these days. Students, from
the youngest to the oldest, are using computers,
tablets even mobile phones to learn and communi
cate. However, African-Americans need to remem
ber their history. Many ancestors broke out of the
chains of slavery by having the ability to read.
Frederick Douglass is a prime example.
Reading material has taken on new forms, but the
words still must be read. Many slaves learned how to
read via the Bible. The Bible is still the same as it
was during slavery times. People can still read the
same Bible, but now they might read it on an elec
tronic Bible, tablet, computer or mobile phone. The
Bible also is now on audio devices, but reading helps
augment understanding of the Bible. Reading helps
the understanding of many things, but people nave to
know how to read in order to understand and gain
that understanding. The Scriptures are projected on
many projection screens in churches for congrega
tions, and church officials believe members can read
them, but how many members can't read what is up
there?
What if students can't read a copy of the
Constitution, such as the one Mr. Khizr Khan pulled
from his pocket and offered to give to GOP presiden
tial candidate Donald Trump at the Democaratic
National Convention?
If students are not learning cursive writing, how
are they writing their signatures? Have we reverted
back to the time when African-Americans just signed
an X as their signatures because they didn't know
how to write their names? Writing letters by hand
used to be an art in some circles. Think about how
much handwritten letters of our famous ancestors are
worth now..
And 'rithmetic is still needed. People use some all
the time, like when we pay for items we purchase at
retail outlets. We should be calculating the money we
need to purchase items and how much we should be
getting back from the retailer. It's cumbersome to use
a calculator for every purchase when we could just
use the calculator we carry around with us all the
time: our brains.
Even journalists, who mostly write for a living,
use arithmetic, especially the ones who must design
the news pages. Tliey even use some geometry.
The point is that we have come to a bad place in
the 21st century when at least one entire school has
been designated as a literacy school because its stu
dents can't read well enough to make the grade. We
have got to get back to our roots, when teachers actu
ally taught students what they needed to know to
make it in the world and students were respectful
enough to learn what was taught.
President Obama said: "If we want America to
lead in the 21st century, nothing is more important
than giving everyone the best education possible -
from the day they start preschool to the day they start
their career."
If we don't get back on track, we could end up
living in the dismal world Trump described during
the Republican National Convention.
So, while we are gathering backpacks for stu
dents to use when they go back to school, let's put
something in those backpacks that will really fuel
their futures: a book to read.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
N.C. DOT urges public
to attend meeting
on proposed widening
To the Editor:
The N.C. Department of
Transportation needs to hear from
you (the public)!
Officials will hold an open house
public meeting for the proposed
widening of Big Mill Farm Road
from 1-40 Business to West Mountain
Street in Ke'rnersville.
The purpose of this project is to
improve connectivity and capacity in
this area.
The open house public meeting
will be held Tuesday, Aug. 16, at the
East Forsyth Middle School cafeteria,
at 810 Bagley Drive, Kernersville,
from 4 to 7 p.m.
Interested citizens are encouraged
to attend at any time during those
hours. Please note, there will not be a
formal presentation.
N.C. DOT and consultant staff
will be available to provide informa
tion on the project, answer questions
and receive comments.
The public can view maps dis
playing the location and design of the
project as they become available
online at
http://ncdot.gov/projects/publicmeet
ings/default.html.
Anyone desiring additional infor
mation may contact Wilson Stroud,
Project Development Engineer, at
919-707-6045 or via email at
wstroud@ncdot.gov. Comments may
be submitted until Aug. 30.
N.C. DOT will provide auxiliary
aids and services under the
Americans with Disabilities Act for
disabled persons who wish to partici
pate in this workshop. Anyone requir
ing special services should contact
Diane Wilson, Senior Public
Involvement Officer ,at 919-707
6073 or email:
pdwilsonl@ncdot.gov as early as
possible so that arrangements can be
made.
Miracle King
Communications Officer
Divisions 7 &9
NCDOT Public Affairs
Greensboro
State should take
action against people
responsible for cruelty
to animals on farms
To the Editor:
Anti-whistleblower laws (com
monly called "ag-gag" laws) effec
tively block anyone from exposing
cruelty to animals, food safety
issues, poor working conditions, and
more.
In January this year, North
Carolina's own ag-gag law, HB 405,
went into effect. This law gives
employers the right to sue those who
document and expose welfare issues
on their property without permission,
thereby threatening crucial eyewit
ness investigations, such as PETA's
recent expose of a Sanderson Farms
hatchery that documented dying and
dead chicks and chicks ground up
while still alive.
Earlier this year, PETA and a
coalition of groups filed a federal
lawsuit challenging HB 405, which
is now pending in federal court.
Despite the Constitution's long
time recognition of the right to chal
lenge laws that chill First
Amendment activities without first
having to violate the law. North
Carolina is arguing that PETA or any
other group that seeks to challenge
the unconstitutional law must first
risk millions of dollars in potential
liability by violating it and being
sued.
Instead of violating the First
Amendment rights of those who
expose cruelty, North Carolina
should take action against those who
are responsible for such cruelty on
factory farms.
Jared Goodman
Director of Animal Law
PETA Foundation
Los Angeles, California
State Democrats join
others to challenge
2016 plan that changes
congressional districts
To the Editor:
Polls show that Democrats,
Republicans and Independents alike
believe that gerrymandered electoral
districts are bad for our state and
nation.
Today [Aug. 5] the North
Carolina Democratic Party is joining
with Common Cause and concerned
voters from across the state to chal
lenge the validity of the gerryman
dered congressional plan enacted by
the General Assembly in 2016.
In a state in which 50 percent of
the voters cast their ballots for
Democratic candidates and only 30
percent of registered voters identify
themselves as Republicans, the
Republican-dominated legislature
has enacted a plan designed to award
10 of our 13 seats in Congress to
Republican candidates. That is
wrong by any measure. We are ask
ing the courts to strike down the
2016 plan and lay out the limitations
our Constitution imposes on partisan
greed.
North Carolina Democratic
Party
Executive Director Kimberly
Reynolds
Raleigh
We must fully restore
the protections of
theVoting Rights Act
To the Editor:
As we commemorate the 51st
anniversary of the Voting Rights Act
[on Aug. 5], members of the
Congressional Black Caucus call
upon our House Republican col
leagues to support bipartisan legisla
tion to fully restore the protections
of the VRA.
The VRA is the most successful
piece of civil rights legislation in our
country's history. Yet, in the more
than three years since the Supreme
Court's ruling in Shelby County v.
Holder, we have witnessed a series
of coordinated attacks on voting
rights in states across the country.
On this 51st anniversary, let's
recommit to our work to restore the
VRA and pass legislation that will
expand access to the ballot box for
millions of Americans. It is up to
each of us, as members of Congress,
to ensure the path to participate in
our country's democratic process
remains clear and unfettered for all
individuals once and for all.
VS. Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D
. NC)
Congressional Black Caucus
Chairman
Washington, D.C.
Note: Three years ago, in Shelby
County v. Holder, the Supreme
Court invalidated a key component
of the VRA that prevented discrimi
nation before it occurred. Since
then, new restrictions have been put
in place in 22 states - 18 of them
Republican led - since 2010, making
it harder for millions of Americans
to exercise their right to vote.
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