OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Investigation needed
regarding burning
of church in Miss.
To the Editor:
We are deeply concerned regarding last night's [Nov.
1] attack on Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in
Greenville, Mississippi. We are even more concerned that
this church, a cornerstone of this majority-Black commu
nity located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, was van
dalized and targeted on the eve of the upcoming 2016
general election. The toxic rhetoric of this election cycle
continues to cast a dark cloud over this election cycle.
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
urges the U.S. Department of Justice to bring its expertise
to bear in a full investigation of this incident to determine
if this was indeed a racially-driven hate crime and to iden
tify the perpetrators behind this attack. The investigation
and prevention of church arsons must remain a national
priority. Our country has scars, both old and new, from
attacks levied against Black churches and other houses of
worship. These incidents tear at the fabric of our nation
and should be condemned in every respect.
Kristen Clarke
President and Executive Director
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Note: About the Lawyers' Committee
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
(Lawyers' Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organiza
tion, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John
F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal
services to address racial discrimination. Formed over 50
years ago, we continue our quest of "Moving America
Toward Justice." The principal mission of the Lawyers'
Committee is to secure, through the rule of law, equal jus
tice under law, particularly in the areas of fair housing and
community development; employment; voting; educa
tion; and criminal justice. For more information about the
Lawyers' Committee, visit www.lawyerscommittee.org.
Be careful
or children can
get swine flu
To the Editor:
I'm especially relieved that I didn't take my children to
the North Carolina State Fair now that the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a
report indicating that pigs at fairs are responsible for
infecting children with swine flu.
I wouldn't have wanted my kids to get sick, like many
of the children who attended agricultural fairs in
Michigan and Ohio did.
North Carolina fairgoers have gotten sick, and worse,
from casual animal contact in the past.
For example, a 2-year-old boy died and at least 106
other people became ill with E. coli after visiting a petting
zoo at the 2012 Cleveland County Fair.
The CDC advises parents not to take strollers, bottles,
pacifiers, sippy cups, or toys into animal areas, and sug
gests that children younger than 5 avoid petting zoos alto
gether.
An editorial in the News & Observer concluded that
petting zoos "have caused too much pain and sorrow for
too many youngsters and their families in this state." But
you can' have ftin without putting your child's health at
risk or supporting cruelty to animals: Go hiking, camping,
birdwatching, or simply enjoy the pool, park, or any other
animal-free activity.
For more information, visit www.PETA.org.
Christina Matthies
Associate Director, PETA Foundation
Norfolk, Virginia
The Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt Aebra^
Publisher Emeritus G -
1974-2015 * /I *g
617 N. Liberty Street q yearn i
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www.wschronicle.com
Elaine Pitt Business Manager
Donna Rogers Managing Editor
WALI D. PlTT 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.
Time to move
ahead within
'rigged' system
The campaigning is over. Now, the path to gov
erning begins.
Donald Trump campaigned vigorously by call
ing people names; vowing to cut freedom for
undocumented residents, especially those of
Mexican descent; speaking about sexually assault
ing women (he says he didn't do any of the things
he boasted about); threatening to screen Muslims
entering the country because he says they might be
terrorists; and being condescending as he tried to
court African-Americans. Whew. And he still won.
He faces a court date over his defunct Trump
Universit. The case is being heard by a judge
Trump called biased because of his Mexican her
itage. He questioned the judge's citizenship as an
American.
How can the country heal based on Donald
Trump's background?
How can African-Americans trust Trump when
his campaign was mostly funded by one billionaire
who is paying the salaries of Trump staffers, includ
ing a leader of a racist organization, Breitbart News
Network? Will Trump make leaders of the Klu Klux
Klan members of his Cabinet? After all, the group
endorsed him.
And what about those jobs he promised
Americans? In this "rigged" system, as he called it,
will only the people who voted for him get those
jobs, if any jobs really emerge?
Trump has a lot of backtracking to do if he
expects to heal the country.
Maybe he doesn't expect to heal the country.
Maybe he wants to destroy it.
We are hunkering down for the next four years.
ELECTION DAY OUOTFfS
Below are some quotes generated on
Tuesday, Nov. 8 in Winston-Salem:
Melissa Harris Perry, the Maya Angelou
Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University.
She also is the Executive Director of the Pro
Humanitate Institute and founding director of
the Anna Julia Cooper Center at Wake Forest.
"No matter who wins, we must continue to
work together to build a better, stronger country.
We have to figure out how we're going to have
conversations with each other, how we're going
to get the things we need. Don't buy into the
hype that this is the worse thing that every hap
pened to you because it's not. We're going to bo
all right."
Eric Ellison, chairman of the Forsyth
County Democratic Party
"I think all of us are proud of the efforts we
put forth as Democrats. We had a record number
of early votes, and record number of Democrats
with absentee votes, so I think we did well. I'm
very confident that by the end of the night,
Forsyth County and North Carolina will be blue
not just for president but for governor and attor
ney general. We're very confident but we have
to wait until the final numbers are counted."
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