OPINION
The Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt
Publisher Emeritus
1974-2015
617 N. Liberty Street
336-722-8624
www.wschronicle.com
Elaine Pitt
Donna Rogers
Wali D. Pitt
Business Manager
Managing Editor
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.
MBIT I
To KMC I
GOVERNS# j
I &GMN. J
win
.tCSTMUWDTj
New chapter
for local
NAACP begins
While national and state elections still hang in the
balance in some respects, the election for the new
officers of the Winston-Salem Chapter of the
National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) is final.
The Rev. Alvin Carlisle was elected president of
the local NAACP branch on Tuesday, Nov. 22. He
had announced his candidacy earlier this year.
This year's election was quite different than the
one held last year. First off, the final election was
held months behind schedule, into 2015, when the
final election should have been held in November
2014. Several election irregularities with the first
election in November 2014 led to two other elec
tions, with the third one being the charm.
Unlike the previous election cycle, too, Carlisle
ran unopposed. Before, two candidates for president
jockeyed until one dropped out, leaving Isaac "Ike"
Howard as the victor. Howard has been elected third
vicepresident this time around.
The bad news is that Carlisle and most of the
elected officers raa^unopposed and a few posts are
unfilled because no qne ran for them.
The good news is that Carlisle is a young man
with a vision for the organization. (See story on page
Al.) He is third vice president of the Ministers'
Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity now, but
will give up that seat to head the local NAACP.
Elections for officers of the Ministers' Conference
will be held next month.
With all that has happened and is happening on
the national and state scenes, such as national and
state recounts going on or are about to happen, with
the president-elect still tweeting divisive missives,
with a probable Democratic governor who did not
help Kalvin Michael Smith get out of prison, with
who-knows-what-else will happen to African
Americans in these United States, we need a viable
NAACP in Winston-Salem working with the N.C.
branch and the national organization. It appears we
will have that now.
The new officers will be sworn in during the
meeting on Jan. 31.
Thanks, Linda
Sutton, for your
service to the
NAACP
New officers of the Winston-Salem Chapter of the
NAACP have been elected. Linda Sutton's name was not
on the ballot.
Linda Sutton has been a household name in the civil
rights arena. She works with Democracy N.C. and
became secretary of the local NAACP last year after the
final election.
She worked closely with President Isaac "Ike"
Howard and First Vice President Earline Parmon before
she died this year. Sutton has been the face of the local
NAACP for many people in the area.
Sutton has decided not to run for secretary in 2016,
but we hope she will continue to work with the local
NAACP in some capacity, even if it's just as a passionate
member.
The local NAACP needs your passion, Ms. Sutton.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Voting is over,
now what?
We need to pray
To the Editor:
Prior to the election, we were
urged not "to boo," but to vote.
Some people took that advice
some did not. Regardless of what we
did, the election is over.
Now, I think, we need to pray. We
need God to help us not to be misdi
rected because of the unexpected. We
need to pray for correction as well as
for direction.
We heard a lot about change but
some decisions that have been made
can't be changed by us. We are only
human but there is our divine inter
cessor who told us in the Bible "I
changeth not." Because God is in full
control of what happens, he alone is
able to bring all needed changes.
After the vote counting, we heard
"too close to call."
Let us remember that there is one
who is too close not to call.
That one is God. Whether we are
satisfied or disappointed, God is
aware and can make it be available
for us.
We cast our votes but God has not
cast us away, and we have the assur
ance that we can trust Him because
He changeth not.
Jessie Meadows Crockett
Winston-Salem
Leadership of
Saunders-White
wiD be missed
To the Editor:
I am saddened by the passing of
Chancellor [Debra] Saunders-White.
Her leadership, her dedication to our
students and her commitment to
excellence will be sorely missed at
NCCU and all across our great state.
She was a powerful force in our
educational system and she played
an integral role in shaping the lives
of so many young people.
On behalf of the entire
Congressional HBCU Caucus, I
extend our heartfelt condolences to
her family, friends and the entire
NCCU community. The legacy of
Chancellor Saunders-White will be
felt for generations to come.
US. Rep. Alma Adams (NC-12)
Charlotte
Note: NCCU alumni mourn the
passing of Chancellor Debra
Saunders-White. See page A1.
NC AIDS group
urges public
to speak out
about AIDS
To the Editor:
World AIDS Day is an opportu
nity to remember and reflect on
those we've lost to HIV and AIDS.
But it also must be an opportunity to
stand up and speak out about what
we need to do to end the epidemic.
Maintaining a. strong AIDS Drug
Assistance Program, expanding
access to PrEP [pre-exposure pro
phylaxis] through our county health
departments and investing in preven
tion so that young people have the
tools and information they need to
stop the spread of HIV.
These are the tools to end AIDS
as we know it in North Carolina.
The only question is, will our local,
state, and national political leaders
have the courage to act.
Lee Storrow, Executive Director
N.C. AIDS Action Network
Raleigh
Note: World AIDS Day 2016 is
Dec. 1. Here are some events:
?Dec. 1: World AIDS Day
Service at 7 p.m. at St. Anne's
Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem,
hosted by North Star LGBTQ
Community Center and Interfaith
Voice. The theme of this year's serv
ice is "Love, Serve, Remember" and
will feature remarks by N.C. AIDS
Action Network Board member
Adam Linker.
?Dec. 1: A World AIDS Day
Luncheon at noon at Marriott
Charlotte City Center in Charlotte,
hosted by RAIN. N.C. AIDS Action
Network Executive Director Lee
Storrow will make remarks.
?Dec. i: World AIDS Day
Gathering at 8:30 p.m. at The
Junction Salon and Bar in Raleigh,
hosted by Crape Myrtle Festival.
N.C. AIDS Action Network
Executive Director Lee Storrow will
make remarks at this gathering to
remember those that have iost,that
battle and those still fighting.
?Dec. 2: "Where Do We Go
From Here?: HIV Treatment and
Prevention Advocacy in North
Carolina" at 8:30 a.m. at the Duke
Sanford School of Public PoUcjrin
Durham, hosted by the N.C. AIDS
Action Network. The main event
will consist of a panel conversation
to discuss HIV treatment and pre
vention efforts in North Carolina
and the policy changes we need to
make in 2017 to keep our state mov
ing forward. Vanessa Duren
Winfield, N.C. AIDS Action
Network board member and
Winston-Salem State University pro
fessor, will serve as the panel mod
erator, and national expert, Ronald
Johnson, the vice president of policy
and advocacy at AIDS United, will
join a panel of North Carolina HTV
advocacy experts.
About the NC AIDS Action
Network: The organization improves
the lives of people living with
HIV/AIDS and affected communi
ties through outreach and public
education, policy advocacy and
community-building to increase visi
bility and mutual support of people
living with HIV/AIDS throughout
the state of North Carolina.
US. Rep. Adams
Storrow
We Welcome
Your Feedback
Submit letters and guest columns to let
ters? wschronicle .com before 5 pm. Friday
for the next week's publication date.
Letters intended for publication should be
addressed "Letters to the Editor" and include
your name, address, phone number and email
address. Please keep letters to 350 words or
less.
If you are writing a guest column, please
include a photo of yourself, your name,
address, phone number and email address.
Please keep guest columns to 550 words or
less. Letters and columns can also be mailed
or dropped off at W-S Chronicle, 617 N.
Liberty St., W-S, NC, 27101; or sent via our
website, www.wschronicle.com.
*
We reserve the right to edit any item submit
ted for clarity or brevity Q
and determine when arid /*l|\ ^
whether material will be U V, j
We welcome your com- M J
ments at our website. IL
Also, go to our
Facebook page to com- ~
ment. We are at
facebook .comJWSChronicle.
Send us a tweet on Twitter.
We are at twitter.com/WSjChronicle.