Elections, voter suppression,
deaths and retirements
color 2016
BY DONNA ROGERS
THE CHRONICLE
2016 was a tumultuous
year.
One of the things that
sticks out is the number of
deaths of prominent people
linked to the Winston
Salem area.
These names come to
mind:
?Former N.C. Sen.
Earline Parmon (March)
?Darryl Hunt (March)
?Mo Lucas (June)
?Rodney Ellis
' (September)
?Rolland Greene
(February)
?Carl Wesley
Matthews (February)
?Carl Russell Jr.
(March)
?Mildred Peppers
(November)
The death of Mo Lucas
was jaw-dropping because
the community had just
celebrated his special day,
Father's Day, days before
he died in June.
Parmon keeps getting
accolades after her death. A
street has been named after
her, a scholarship has been
established bearing her
name, among other honors.
Lawmakers and people she
mentored have moved into
new ventures, citing her
inspiration.
Winston
Salem/Forsyth County
Schools has honored Ellis
by naming a room after
him and hiring his daughter
to teach in the classroom
he taught in.
Also, boxer
Muhammad Ali and jour
nalist George Curry died.
They were national figures
who had links to North
Carolina.
The other thing that
stands out is the number of
retirements, namely:
?Ravonda Dalton
Rann, from Winston-Salem
State University.
?Beth Hopkins, from
Wake Forest University.
?Alan Caldwell, from
Reynolds American.
?Silvia Flack, from
Winston-Salem State
University.
?Tun Grant, from the
City of Winston-Salem.
* Dr. Elwaiida Ingram,
from Winston-Salem State
University.
?Hazel Mack, of Legal
Aid.
Then there were the
African-Americanswho
came to Winston-Salem to
head high-profile nonprof
its, namely James Perry,
who came from New
Orleans to head the
Winston-Salem Urban
League; Laura Gerald, a
pediatrician and former
state health director, who is
the new president of Kate
B. Reynolds Charitable
Tmst; and Maurice "Mo"
Green, who is the execu
tive director of the Z.
Smith Reynolds
Foundation.
And Parkland High
School's auditorium was
named for long-time drama
teacher Flonnie Anderson.
Of course, politics
stood out in this election
year, not to mention
protests against police
shootings of black men,
who might or might not
have been armed. Politics
creeped into the issue as
presidential candidates
weighed in on the matter of
gun control.
Elections
Donald Trump became
president-elect after a con
tentious campaign and a
surprising victory. He won
the GOP primary and
General Election vote in
North Carolina. He says he
supports police, pretty
much whatever they do.
Hillary Clinton won the
most votes, though, beating
Trump by almost 3 million
votes. People protested,
including in Winston
Salem, that it was unfair
that Hillary Clinton lost,
but the Electoral College
rules in the United States,
at least for now. Many peo
ple are calling for that to
change.
Forsyth County voted
for Clinton, so many peo
ple are in a funk because
Trump won. Forsyth
County Democratic Party
Chairman Eric Ellison is
trying to help his brother
become chairman of the
Democratic National
Committee to try to thwart
GOP efforts to continue
winning in 2018 and
beyond. Keith Ellison is
running against several
people for the job.
Judge Michael Morgan
became Supreme Court
Justice-elect Morgan after
the November elections,
which was one of the few
bright spots for Democrats
and African-Americans.
And Forsyth County got its
first African-American reg
ister of deeds when Lynne
Johnson beat out the
incumbent in the
Democratic primary and
the Republican in the
General Election.
On the federal court
front, affecting elections,
the N.C. NAACP's lawsuit
against the state of North
Carolina regarding the
voter ID law moved
through to be upheld by
one federal judge, but
struck down by a federal
court.
Federal courts then
began to rule on lawsuits
regarding congressional
districts and North
Carolina House and Senate
districts. The federal courts
struck down the congres
sional districts first, two
were discriminatory, and
they were redrawn and
elections were held in June
for representatives in the
new districts. Part of
Forsyth County was
moved from District 12,
where Alma Adams serves
as the representative, and
the entire county was
moved to District 5, where
Virginia Foxx is the repre
sentative. She becomes
Forsyth County's represen
tative in January after win
ning re-election to the seat
in November.
Now, the General
Assembly has to redraw its
district lines by March
2017 after a federal court
ruled many were discrimi
natory. Primaries will have
to be held as well as a
General Election. Then, the
process starts all over again
in 2018.
Kalvin Michael Smith
was freed after almost 19
years in prison, but it
wasn't because of Attorney
General Roy Cooper. A
judge ruled him released
on time served, but Smith
is vowing to prove himself
innocent of brutally beat
ing a pregnant worker at a
Winston-Salem store.
Democrat Cooper went
on to become governor,
finally, after GOP Gov. Pat
McCroiy stalled for about
a month and would not
concede.
Institutions
The Winston
Salem/Forsyth County
Schools board and Forsyth
County commissioners
submitted to voters a bond
issue for the schools that
failed to include a new
middle school in East
Winston after the only mid
dle school the area had was
closed because of toxicity
under the school. The local
NAACP and others had
advocated the new school,
it. The bond issue went on
to pass overwhelmingly.
The Winston Lake
YMCA could be trans
formed into the Mo Lucas
Senior Inclusive
Recreation Center as part
of a partnership between
the City of Winston-Salem
and the YMCA of
Northwest North Carolina
if the city buys the 50,000
square-foot Winston Lake
Y for $1 and lease 8300
square feet back to the
YMCA to continue its
branch services there for
$1. The city would use its
portion, which would
include the gym and pool,
for recreation services for
seniors and special popula
tions. The Y had been a
point of contention for
members when officials
made changes without con
sulting them. The Y faced
shortfalls in operating the
facility.
Also, East Winston will
be getting an aquatic park.
And the Village
Produce and Country Store
opened in Ogburn Station
to help curb the food desert
in the eastern part of the
city, where most black peo
ple live.
Two other institutions
are getting new leaders.
The Rev. Alvin Carlisle
will lead the Winston
Salem Branch of the
NAACP. He said the late
former Senator Partnon
inspired him.
Also, the Rev. Dr.
Lamont Williams will lead
the Ministers' Conference
of Winston-Salem and
Vicinity.
Photo by Todd Luck
Michelle Obama rallies for Hillary Clinton, left, at the Lawrence Joel Veterans
Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem on Thursday, Oct. 27.
Parmon
Peppers
Lucas
Russell
Ellis
Hunt
Family of teenager fatally shot
on Christmas Eve raising
money for his funeral
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
After a tragic
Christmas Eve shooting
that left a 19 year-old man
dead, an online fundraiser
is trying to help his family
with funeral expenses.
Theron Thomas
Brannon ID, known to his
family and friends as
"Trewas found by offi
cers responding to a report
ed shooting at 3:17 a.m. on
Saturday, Dec. 24, at his
family's home at 1020
Nancy Lane.
His mother, Angela
Brannon, said that he
answered a knock at the
door and, as soon as he
opened the door, shots
were fired.
Police were still inves
tigating as of press time. A
police release on Saturday
said that shortly after the
shooting, Bryan Markuise
Little arrived at a local hos
pital with a gunshot wound
and authorities are attempt
ing to determine if the inci
dents are related.
A friend of the family,
Lily Smith, has started a
GoFundMe page to pay for
the funeral. She describes
Brannon as a "carefree,
easy going, thoughtful
young man who had his
whole life ahead of him."
East/Northeast Winston
Neighborhood Association
President Marva Reid com
mented on the page that he
"had a passion to make
East Winston a better place
for all."
Money raised beyond
funeral expenses could
help the family move,
which they had previously
planned to do since they
Brannon
frequently heard gunshots
in the neighborhood.
Brannon had two broth
ers and a 4-year-old daugh
ter. He graduated last year
from Winston-Salem
Preparatory Academy. His
mother said he was a
straight "A" student. She
said he was preparing to go
to Germany to train at
Polyvlies' main plant for a
year. Polyvlies, a German
nonwoven textile manufac
turer, has a plant in
Winston-Salem.
After that, Tre was
planning to go to N.C.
A&T State University for
engineering. She said he
hoped to be an entrepre
neurial engineer, building
devices that would save the
environment and help com
munities become self-suffi
cient.
She said he was active
in the community. He'd
participated with his family
in clean up efforts with
Keep Winston-Salem
Beautiful and their own
group, Operation:
Community Unity. He also
marched with his family in
numerous peace walks by
the Local Organizing
Committee, in which he
would speak to his peers
about their rights and the
need to stop violence and
come together.
"My son was respected
and recognized by many
elders because of his intel
lect and poise," said
Angela Brannon. "He
always smiled. He loved
his family fiercely and
cared about the communi
ty. He was a great father,
brother, son, grandson,
uncle, cousin."
Brannon's death was
Winston-Salem's 24th
homicide this year.
The GoFundMe page
for the family is
https://www.gofundme.co
m/funeral-expenses-for
19-yo-tre. Anyone with
information about the
crime can call the Winston
Salem Police Department
at 336-773-7700 or
CrimeStoppers at 336-727
2800.A
Photo by Todd Luck
Presidential nominee
Donald Trump spoke to
a crowd of thousands at
the Winston-Salem
Fairgrounds Annex on
Monday, July 25.
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