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A6 February 25, 2021 The Chronicle OPINION The Chronicle James Taylor Jr. Publisher Bridget Elam Judie Holcomb-Pack Timothy Ramsey Tevin Stinson Shayna Smith Deanna Taylor Managing Editor Associate Editor Sports Editor/Religion Senior Reporter Advertising Manager Office Manager Our Mission The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth Coun ty by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth to power, standing for integrity and encouraging open communication and lively debate throughout the community Award-winning documentary exposes U.S. government for oppressing Black communities BLACKNEWS.COM LETTERS TO THE EDITOR “Betrayal of a Nation,” an award-winning docu mentary, indicts the U.S. government on 18 charges committed against Black and brown citizens. It pre mieres on Feb. 26 during Black History Month. The documentary intertwines scripted courtroom dialog with out-of-court real-life interviews used as trial testi monies and evidence. Director Brandi Webb suggests these interviews highlight oppressive acts such as the destruction of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Okla., and the execution of civil rights leaders. She wants viewers to gain knowl edge about these events and imagine a world where the government is held responsible. Testimonies include interviews from the mothers of Eric Garner and Tamir Rice, Dr. Tiffany Crutcher (twin sister of Terence Crutcher), Ajamu Baraka, Rev. Dr. Robert Turner, counselor Vanessa Hall-Harper, and several others. “Betrayal of a Nation” educates viewers via a front- row seat to the social injustices and pain inflicted on African Americans by government agencies that have been dismissive to their communities at large. The doc umentary is available to rent for $17 at BetrayalofaNa- tion.com using the Vimeo platform. Pre-orders allow viewers to rent before the film’s release date and give them 72 hours of access from the date of release. “Betrayal of a Nation” won an Award of Merit at the IndieFest Film Festival and a Special Mention award in the African American Category. “Betrayal of a Nation speaks to the awakening of all America’s tricks that have kept a knee on our necks. The film must be seen by all newly woke-minded peo ple who say America wrote a check and now it’s time to cash,” stated radio personality Tamera Fair (iHeart Radio), who advocates for reparations in the documen tary. “It’s just so powerful to see that people are putting a spotlight on the injustices that are perpetuated not just today, but you know, throughout history ... As she (director Brandi Webb) does this documentary, Tamir Rice’s blood still speaks, Eric Garner’s blood still speaks, Terence Crutcher’s blood still speaks,” says ac tivist Dr. Tiffany Crutcher. Recent outcries and protests surrounding the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and others made clear the need for a real-life indictment on U.S. government policies and practices. Director Webb believes anything is possible. Fol lowing the 2016 murders of Alton Sterling and Phi- lando Castile, Director Webb became frustrated and furious with countless acquittals and non-indictments of police officers. She created “Betrayal of a Nation” to explore the social injustices in America. Promotional content can be viewed on the docu mentary’s social media platforms. Visit Facebook.com/ betrayalofanation andfollow @BetrayalofANation on Instagram. Visit BetrayalofaNation.com for more info. Also follow Brandi Webb on Facebook and Instagram. We Welcome Your Feedback Submit letters and guest columns to letters® wschronicle.com before 5 p.m. 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, 1300 E. Fifth St., W-S, NC, 27101; or sent via our website: www.wschronicle. com. We reserve the right to edit any item submitted for clarity or brevity and determine when and whether material will be used. We welcome your comments at our website. Also, go to our Facebook page to comment. We are at facebook .com/WSChronicle. Dine out safely To The Editor: “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” Most of us have probably seen that sign at restaurants at the beach. My heart goes out to our local restaurants who have suffered the past year due to the pandemic and I applaud them for changing business models to continue to safely serve their customers. I know they were particularly af fected Valentine’s weekend due to the bad weather. They are trying their best to survive. I have occasionally ordered from a restaurant’s drive- thru, but have only been inside a restaurant once since March ... until recently. I decided to take a chance again and go inside a new restaurant, mostly to purchase a gift card, but also to get a take-out order, a simple hotdog and fries. While waiting for my number to be called, I noticed all the staff were wearing masks and following protocols, which gave me a sense of security. The customers, however, were a different story. Some had taken off their masks to eat, then went to refill their drinks at the beverage station without wear ¬ The vaccine predicament and its effect upon us During my lifetime, I have had enough “shots in my arm.” All of them accomplished the desired goal, which was to keep me from getting sick. I did not think much about them, only that I was better off taking them.' Convincing me to take them was not important. I saw taking them as a mat ter of rational self-interest. Today, America is still struggling daily with CO- VID-19. It has destroyed families and left voids in our humanity. The statis tics from us dying from it are daunting. We are para lyzed with fear and appre hension. ’ To curb our despera tion and fragile state, we now have a vaccine. It has been up and running for some months now. At first, we were leery of the vaccine, but now we are cheering the vaccine. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine has yet to be approved; however, I believe in the next two months that it will be ap proved. There are mixed reports about it being one or two shots. I think the variants that are here will determine the dosage. There has been a 57% increase in vaccinations since the Biden adminis tration. This is good news for America. In the past, vaccine distribution was disjointed and disappointing. Ac cording to Bloomberg News, “In the U.S. more Americans have now re ceived at least one dose than have tested positive for the virus since the pan demic began. So far, 59.1 million doses have been given, according to a state- by-state tally. In the last week, an average of 1.58 million doses per day were administered.” Dr. Anthony Fauci and medical experts said that in order to return to some sense of normal living, at least 75% of the U.S. pop ulation would have to be vaccinated. Some states, like New Mexico, Massachusetts, and West Virginia, are further along in having their citizens receive the vaccine. I suspect over the coming months, more ing a mask. Some were wearing masks under their nose, or even under their mouth! The tipping point was when three people came in without masks and began talking about what to order. I approached the manager and asked if he were going to ask them to leave. He replied that corporate didn’t allow them to do that since they would risk losing business. They had free masks to offer, but unfortunately, they were out. I left and will not be back. Restaurants must come together as a group and agree to enforce the mask protocol for customers as well as staff if they expect customers to feel safe enough to come back and dine inside until this pandemic is over. “No shoes, no shirt, no MASK, no service.” It’s more than a sign, it’s common sense for the protection of our friends, neighbors, and community. Please support your local restaurants. And restaurant owners, please support your customers. Let’s all do our part to stay safe. Judie Holcomb-Pack Winston-Salem states will be able to make that claim, too. First responders were the first to get the vaccine and rightfully so. Now more older Americans and teachers are getting the vaccine. The CDC says that schools can reopen following specific guide- lines. We know what they are. It has become a no- brainer to wear a mask, practice social distancing, and wash our hands. To add to the vaccine distribution woes, there was a winter storm that af fected much of the country last week. As a result, it was nearly impossible in some communities to get the vaccine. Texas, for example, has seen many of its citizens without power and water for a little over a week. This winter surge de layed a shipment of ap proximately 6 million doses of the vaccine. Ap pointments could not be kept, so now we will have to play catch up. Reports say more than 2,000 vac cination sites were in areas where power was out. This winter storm came at the worst possible time. Andy Slavitt, senior adviser on the White House COVID-19 Re sponse Team said, “If we all work together, from the factory all the way to the vaccinators, we will make up for it in the coming week.” To create more testing sites, the federal govern ment will work with the states of Pennsylvania and Florida. It is my thinking that more of these alli ances will be formed with other states. These weeks and months will be key as more vaccines become available. We in turn must be vaccine ambassadors. If we know family members and friends who have not taken the vaccine, we must encourage them to do so. I am ready to be an am bassador. Are you? James B. Ewers Jr., Ed.D., is a former tennis champion at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem and played college tern nis at Johnson C. Smith University, where he was all-conference for four years. He is a retired col lege administrator. He can be reached at overtimefer- gie.2020@yahoo.com.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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