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The Ch ron IC LE
Volume 45, Number 27
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
THURSDAY, March 14, 2019
Cityhas Confederate statue removed
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
After weeks of protest,
heated conversations at
City Hall, and ongoing
conversations on social
media, on Tuesday, March
12, the Confederate statue
located at the corner of
Fourth and Liberty Streets
in downtown Winston-
Salem was removed.
The statue, which
depicts a Confederate sol
dier holding a rifle, was
dedicated on October 3,
1905, and sponsored by
the James B. Gordon
Chapter #211 of the
United Daughters of the
Confederacy and wealthy
business and landowners
in the area. The dedication
Photo from City of W-S Government Facebook page
speech was delivered by
Alfred M. Waddell, a
white supremacist who
served as mayor of
Wilmington and led the
violent race riots of 1898.
Talks about the
removal of the statue have
been floating around for
about two years now, fol
lowing two separate inci
dents where the statue was
vandalized. In August of
2017, shortly after white
supremacists marched in
Virginia, two sides of the
statue were defaced with a
black “X”. Then on
Christmas Day last year,
officers with the Winston-
Salem Police Department
(WSPD) responded to a
call that the monument
had been defaced again.
Upon arrival, officers
found the words “Cowards
& Traitors” in permanent
marker.
In response to the van
dalism, City Attorney
Angela Carmon issued a
letter to the UDOC
demanding that the statue
be removed by Jan. 31,
2019, or face legal action
from the City. In the letter,
Carmon said the removal
of the statue was about
public safety.
As the deadline for
removal drew closer, those
in support and those
against the city’s decision
to remove the statue met
several times at the busy
intersection to ensure their
voices were heard. Lillian
Podlog, an organizer for
Hate Out of Winston, a
group that was formed to
keep the pressure on city
officials to remove the
statue, said the statue
needed to come down
because it represents hate.
During a rally in early
January, Podlog said, “...
Yes it is history, but we
must ask what that history
is. That statue was put up
in 1905 by a man who
murdered black people
and went on to become
mayor of Wilmington.
That’s the history we’re,
talking about here,” said
Podlog. “If you want to
honor history, let’s be
clear on what that history
is. It’s not about honoring
a soldier like they say.”
Submitted photo
The Confederate statue was removed from the corner of Fourth and Liberty Streets
earlier this week.
Those opposed to the
removal of the statue told
The Chronicle that the
Confederate statue in
downtown Winston-Salem
and others across the
country had little to do
with slavery and the
oppression of black peo
ple. While defending the
statue, an individual from
Davie County said, “... I
studied that time period
for 18 years and the sad
truth of it is there’s so
much ignorance about
what that war was about. It
was not about slavery, it
was about tariffs and
money. It was a political
war.”
Although January 31
came and went without
much action, the City of
Winston-Salem kept their
promise and removed the
statue before noon on
Tuesday, March 12. The
statue is expected to be
relocated to the Salem
Cemetery where more
than 30 Confederate
graves are located.
It is unclear if the
United Daughters of the
Confederacy will face any
legal action.
Financial expert tackles state’s Economic and Financial
Literacy Act
If approved, Senate Bill 134 would require high school graduates to pass personal finance course
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
The North Carolina
General Assembly is con
sidering a bill that would
make it a requirement for
high school students to a
pass financial literacy
course before they gradu
ate.
Senate Bill 134, or the
Economics and Financial
Literacy Act, would
require high school stu
dents to complete an eco
nomics and personal
finance course before they
are eligible to graduate. If
adopted as currently writ
ten, the course would
include instruction in sev
eral focus areas including:
true cost of credit, choos
ing and managing a credit
card, borrowing money
for a large purchase (auto
mobile, etc.), home mort
gages, credit scoring and
credit reports, and plan
ning and paying for post
secondary education.
The bill
also includes
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professional development
courses for instructors
who will be teaching the
course. The State Board of
Education will review the
high school standard
course of study to deter
mine the grade levels the
new course may complete.
While the Financial
Literacy Act is a step in
the right direction, during
a recent interview with
The Chronicle, Gregg
Murset, a certified finan
cial planner and founder
of BusyKid.com, a chores
app for kids that teaches
financial literacy and
responsibility, said kids
need to learn the basic
principles of finance
before they reach high
school.
A father of six,
Murset, who is a graduate
of Arizona State with a
degree in finance, said
BusyKid came to be when
he was looking for ways
to teach his kids financial
responsibility while keep
ing up with their chores
and weekly allowance at
the same time. He said he
faced an issue that every
parent goes through at
some point. He said his
plan was to make the
process easier for every
one involved and today,
BusyKid has more than
25,000 subscribers.
Murset said, “The way
I describe BusyKid is sim
ple. It’s your kid’s first job
with direct deposit.”
BusyKid allows chil
dren to receive their
allowance from their par
ents’ bank account direct
ly to their BusyKid
account. By dividing the
money into three different
categories - saving, shar
ing, and spending - stu
dents learn responsibility,
accountability, and smart
money decisions.
If you think about
it, that’s exactly what we
do as adults. We go to
work, we
earn
money, we put
money
in
a
some
some
savings
account or 401K. We give
some to charity or church
and we spend the rest. So
we’re reinforcing Finance
101 with kids in a very
hands-on way,” Murset
said.
Murset said he
believes state lawmakers
are missing the point with
the high school financial
literacy course. He said
students should begin
learning financial respon
sibility as early as elemen
tary school. Murset said in
a point in time where
money is usually trans
ferred with the touch of a
button or swipe of a card,
it’s hard to teach children
the fundamentals because
they don’t physically see
the money.
“I think they’re miss
ing it because this really
needs to happen in ele
mentary and middle
schools so kids can start
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learning the basic funda
mentals earlier. I think
one of the things that’s
hard these days is that par
ents are trying to teach
their kids about something
they don’t see,” continued
Murset. “I call it invisible
money because you don’t
hand your kids a bunch of
coins and cash anymore.
We swipe our card or tap
our phones, so parents
have a hard thing to teach
kids about invisible
money.
“... And let’s be hon
est, teaching it in class
and taking a test at school
is one thing, but the actual
practical application is
really where it’s at. That’s
what BusyKids is, it’s that
practical tool that gives
parents the opportunity to
help their kid learn by
doing because I think
that’s the best way to learn
by doing stuff. ”
Currently only 17
states require high school
students to take a course
in personal finance. In the
2017 Financial Report
Card from Champlain
College’s Center for
Financial Literacy, based
on their efforts to produce
Submitted photo
financially literate stu
dents, only five states
received an “A” for their
efforts. Those state were;
Alabama, Virginia,
Tennessee, Utah and
Missouri.
If approved, the
Financial Literacy Act
would cost taxpayers
about $2 million. That
money will be used for
professional development
for teachers. If the bill
passes, the course will be
added to the curriculum
during the 2020-2021
school year.
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