The Chronicle
Volume43,Number 16 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, December 22, 2016
Marshall: Minorities need fairness
BY TODD LUCK
THRCinytttlCLE
As Forsyth County moved forward on its first alloca
tion of voter-approved bond funds, Commissioner Walter
Marshall said he wants minority contractors to get their
share of the work.
Marshall made his remarks as the commissioners
approved measures to implement the first $107.5 million
from the bond referendums approved by voters in
November.
He said that minority subcontractor participation in
I " : ; ?
past bonds has been low and he
wants to see that change.
"This time around, I'm going
to make sure if they don't get it,
it's because they don't qualify,"
Marshall said about minority
I contractors.
The county follows state
goals on the amount of minority
and women business enterprise
(MWBE) participation xhat a bid
der must have among its subcon
?n l
tractors. The highest bidder that doesn't meet these goals
is often excepted if it meets the standards for "good faith
efforts" to recruit minorities.
Commissioner Everette Witherspoon felt the county's
standards were low compared to the ?ity and other local
governments.
Both commissioners were pleased with the minority
participation in the extensive renovation of the Central
Library by Frank L. Blum Construction Co., which
Marshall said he worked with to make sure minority con
See Minorities on A7
Marshall
N.C. NAACP
threatens suit
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRONICLE
The N.C. NAACP says that it is "plan
ning to sue" the Republican-led NC
General Assembly once again, alleging
that it committed "violations of the [1965]
Voting Rights Act [and] the Equal
Protection Clause" when it stripped
incoming Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper of
various appointment powers during what it
L .1*
oeueves was
an "illegal"
extra special
session of the
state legisla
ture last week.
Democrat
Gov-elect
Cooper has
also vowed to
go to court if
needed.
"[These]
Republican
extremists
have a special
kind of low,
and a thirst for
power to lie the way they do," the Rev. Dr.
William Barber II, president of the N.C.
NAACP, charged on MSNBC Saturday.
He maintained that the U.S. Fourth Circuit
Court of Appeals, in a recent ruling, found
that the 2016 N.C. legislature was "uncon
stitutional" because its 2011 legislative
maps were racially gerrymandered. The
federal appellate court ordered that when
the N.C. General Assembly officially went
back into session in January, that it redraw
the 2011 maps that, thus far, have been
used for the 2012, 2014 and the recent
2016 general elections, by March 2017.
Once approved by the federal court,
then special primaries are to be held in
either late August or early September
2017, followed by special elections for
state lawmakers in November 2017.
This also means that lawmakers will
also have to run for re-election the follow
ing year, in 2018.
The only reason why the U.S. Fourth
Circuit did not order the 2011 maps to be
redrawn prior to the 2016 elections is
because there wasn't enough time.
Rev. Barber and others maintain that
despite the special session originally called
by Gov. Pat McCrory to deal with disaster
relief in the wake of devastation caused by
Hurricane Matthew, and the forest fires in
western North Carolina, it was not lawful
for Republican legislative leaders to
authorize an unannounced extra special
session for the purpose of removing key
appointment powers from Democrat Gov
elect Roy Cooper (House Bill 17); rerout
ing appeals cases to the full 15-member
state appellate court (which is now major
ity Republican) instead of the now
Democrat-majority state Supreme Court.
"[Republicans removed] the right to
appeal directly to the State Supreme Court,
requiring every case to be heard "en banc"
that is, by the full court, in the Court of
Appeals first, seats now held by a majority
of Republicans," said attorney Anita Earls,
executive director of the Southern
Coalition for Social Justice.
The legislature also created an eight
member state Board of Sections, and
removed several key powers from the state
Board of Education, transferring them to
the new Republican superintendent of
Public Instruction. That Republican is
Mark Johnson, who was on the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of
Education when he was elected in
November.
Civil rights activists were outraged.
"These are desperate losers, power
mad white men, going beyond anything
the Democrats ever did, willing to destroy
See NAACP on A4
Photos provided by the Winston-Salem Urban League Young Professionals
'Twas the fun before Christinas
Parents and children were invited to the Winston-Salem Urban League Young
Professionals' Toy Giveaway, held at the Winston-Salem Urban League, 201 W.
Fifth Street, Winston-Salem, on Dec. 17. Families eligible to participate pre
registered and were involved in other of the Urban League's programs through
out the year. Above, children who came to The Toy Giveaway were able to play
computer games. SEE STORY ON PAGE AS.
Part of
Maple
Street
renamed for
Earline Parmon
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The late Earline
Parmon, a local lawmaker
and community organizer,
now officially has a road
bearing her name.
A ceremony was held
on Thursday, Dec. 15, to
rename Maple Street
between 16th and 17th
streets Earline Parmon
Drive. After leaving the
General Assembly in 2015,
Parmon worked as out
reach director for Rep.
Alma Adams. The con
gresswoman was among
the speakers who paid trib
ute to Parmon.
Adams said Parmon
wasn't just an employee,
but also a friend and prayer
partner. She said Parmon
was greatly devoted to her
faith, her family and the
community she served.
"When she was for you,
she was for you, she stood
with you all the way," said
Adams, who also served
with Parmon in the General
Assembly.
City officials and
Parmon's family attended
the ceremony. Parmon's
daughter Tracy Parmon
Ingram said her mother
made her mark on history.
"Even though my heart
is at this point still griev
ing, we, as her family,
thank her for her legacy,"
she said. "She left some
thing great for us to fol
low."
Mayor Allen Joines
called Parmon a "great
conscious for us." City
Council Member D.D.
Adams described her as a
"giant of a woman" who
had a great influence on
See Parmon on A4
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