Lynchings
frtm pane M
feel that racial bias played a
role in their trial or sentenc
ing to have their cases
reviewed in a court of law. If
the court finds race was
indeed a factor, the defen
dant's death penalty sentenc
ing will be amended to life in
prison without the possibility
of parole. North Carolina is
one of only two states in the
U.S. that has legislation to
address racial bias in capital
cases.
"It's really remarkable
what North Carolina has
done." said Bright, who
teaches at Harvard, Yale and
Georgetown Universities.
"It's incredibly important
because . . . race and the death
penalty have always been
connected throughout the his
tory of this country ."
Bright says prosecutors
are far more likely to seek the
death penalty in cases where
defendants are people of
color or poor, or both, espe
cially if the victim is white.
When lynchings in the South
began to be frowned upon by
other parts of the country.
Southern whites began to use
other measures to exact their
oppression of African
Americans. Bright says.
'Racialized violence was
essential to maintain the
dominance of the white race
over the African race (during
slavery)," he related.
"...After the Civil War, the
criminal justice system was
essential to maintaining
white supremacy."
African Americans were
often arrested on charges
such as loitering, and then
"leased" out as porkers to
white business owners once
they were imprisoned. Bright
said.
'The economic develop
ment of the South was
dependent upon leased pris
oners," he commented.
"...The (criminal justice)
system prostituted itself com
pletely to the mobs' desires.
It had no more integrity than
the mobs before them."
Even today, the issue of
the death penalty is still a
matter of "race and place," he
said. A few states have abol
ished the death penalty alto
gether. and some states that
still have it on the books
refrain from imposing it.
Bright added. Yet, a small
number of counties in the
nation use capital punish
ment liberally, such as Harris
County, Texas, which
includes the city of Houston.
"Harris County has exe
cuted more people than any
other state in the union,
except for the state of Texas,"
Bright revealed.
Bright says America lags
behind its counterparts in the
developed world when it
comes to the use of the death
penalty.
"Almost all the industrial
ized societies in the world do
not kill people. Most will not
even extradite people who
are caught in their country to
countries that kill people,
because they feel that it is
wrong," he related. "...Just a
handful of countries carry out
all the executions in the
world."
Following Bright's talk,
students heard from a four
member panel that discussed
the Racial Justice Act.
Panelist Darryl Hunt was
spared from capital punish
ment by one jury vote. He
spent nearly two decades in
prison for a crime he did not
commit before being exoner
ated by the state in 2004.
Hunt's former attorney. Mark
Rabil, co-director of the
Innocence and Justice Clinic,
also served on the panel, as
did State Reps. Larry
Womble and Earline Parmon.
who sponsored the RJA in the
State House.
It took nearly three years
to get the RJA passed, and
Parmon says they faced con
siderable opposition in the
state legislature.
"It became a very politi
cally ugly thing for our
state," she related. "It
became not only partisan, but
it also became racial. It was
n't a pretty thing."
Opponents of the bill
spread untruths about what
impact it would have, falsely
reporting that the Act was an
attempt to abolish the death
penalty, or that it would
allow violent offenders to get
back on the streets. Parmon
said.
The passage of the RJA
has already had a profound
impact on the lives of many
potential death row inmates.
Photo by I .ay la Fanner
Panelists (from left ) Darryl Hunt, State Rep. Larry Womble, State Rep. Earline Parmon and Mark Rabil.
At-large
from pant \ /
teacher and as a member of
the marketing team for
Chick-fil-A on Peace Haven
Road. Clark, whose son is a
kindergartner this year, says
she would bring a "common
sense mom voice" to the
board. Preserving the arts
and languages and the jobs of
teachers in the face of a
budgeting crisis are among
her chief concerns.
"I want to make sure that
our kids can get a stellar edu
cation here in the school sys
tem." she said. "...I think it's
up to us to preserve the jobs
of teachers and make sure
that they have the things they
need."
Hill. 56. a native of
Kinston. is a co-founder and
assistant director of CERTL
(Center of Excellence for
Research and Learning) and a
member of the faculty at
Wake Forest University
School of Medicine.
An educator lor nearly
three decades. Hill currently
works with underrepresented
minority students from
across the county who are
deemed less likely to excel in
high school science courses,
based on their previous per
formance. The program has
se?n great success. Hill says,
as all 42 students in the pro
gram are currently excelling
in honors level courses at
their schools. He believes
the stark difference is the
result of holding the students
to higher standards. It is a
model Hill believes could be
applied across the county.
"How many kids do we
have that think they can't do
(challenging coursework) ...
and then don't, and what if
we could change that?" he
questioned. "I'm actually
working with students now
and producing a different
result than what we've been
getting in the past."
Lambeth, 59. is a
Winston-Salem native who
serves as president of N.C.
Baptist Hospital. The father
of four adult daughters, two
of whom work in the
WS/FCS system. Lambeth is
seeking his fifth term on the
board.
During his tenure, the
board has been able to secure
bond funding for technologi
cal upgrades and physical
upgrades in many schools
and even some allowed for
new construction. Lambeth
said. The board has ensured
that local teachers' salaries
are competitive and that they
receive incentives to further
their education and qualifica
tions. said Lambeth, who
added that the board is work
ing to address the achieve
ment gap between African
Americans and whites.
"In the past few years,
we've done a lot to engage
the community," Lambeth
related. "We've been able to
get leaders across the com
munity to do mentorships ...
and some of those programs
are beginning to show
results."
With another tight fiscal
year ahead. Lambeth says his
financial expertise and busi
ness sense will likely be his
greatest asset as a board
member.
McAdams. 69, is a native
of Virginia with two grand
children in the school system.
She currently works in the
Reservations Department of
US Airways. McAdams says
she would like to do away
with tenure for teachers.
"I think we have some
excellent educators, but we
also have some that are not;
we need a way to weed those
out," she explained.
McAdams added that she
would also like to see the
highly qualified educators
distributed more evenly
throughout the system.
"There's no equality in
the school system here, and
that's wrong," she said.
Metcait. >8. a native ot
Cherry ville. has spent the last
16 years as a member of the
School Board. Metcalf has
four grown children who are
the products of the local
school system, one of whom
is now a teacher. Metcalf.
now a grandmother, says she
still approaches issues that
the Board faces through the
perspective of a parent.
" 1 think I have a lot of
common sense to bring to the
board. I work well with peo
ple and I enjoy it a lot," she
said "... For the last 16
years. I've given it the best
I've got."
Metcalf, who spent most
of her married life as a home
maker. says her free time is
an asset to the county.
"I do not have a job," she
said. "I put hours and hours
into visiting schools, talking
to parents ... because I do
have the time."
Motsinger. 52. is com
pleting her first term on the
board.
A physician s assistant at
The Salem Center,
Motsinger, a New York
native, says improving the
opportunities that are avail
able to disadvantaged popu
lations has been one of her
highest priorities as a board
member.
"I've been really interest
ed in equity for all students
and addressing the achieve
ment gaps and graduation
rates and particularly the dis
parity between African
American and white stu
dents," she said. "...I really
supported the decision to
move the new Career Center.
It's going to be rebuilt at
Kennedy Learning Center.
Hopefully, that will allow
more students at Carver and
East and Glenn to take
advantage of it."
Roberts, 73, a native of
Philidelphia. was director of
Forsyth County Public
Libraries for 28 years. He
now serves as president of
WH Roberts & Associates, a
company that specializes in
library construction design.
He has two grandchildren
who are currently in the sys
tem. He believes his experi
ence as a long time commu
nity leader and businessman
will serve him well on a
board that he says "worries
too much about the budget
and not enough about the
people who are dropping
out."
Roberts believes a more
personal approach to educa
tion is needed.
"Each child is unique;
each child has a future," he
said. "It's up to those of us in
the educational system to dis
cover those futures."
Sherrill, 63, is a native of
Birmingham, Ala. She
retired from her post as prin
cipal of Brunson Elementary
after spending more than 25
years as an educator in the
local schools. Sherrill says
she would like to implement
a school assignment plan that
would make the schools more
diverse. She believes inter
acting with people of differ
ing backgrounds is an impor
tant part of a child's educa
tion.
"It's time to think out of
the box and do things a little
differently so kids get to
know each other (across
racial lines) and you can tie
curriculum into it, so it's not
a waste of time." she said.
"...I totally understand the
curriculum, so 1 would even
be willing to work toward
tying curriculum into other
things so we can get kids (of
different races) together."
wooaoury, jo, is a native
of Winston-Salem and a
world history teacher at Mt.
Tabor. If elected to the
board. Woodbury would have
to teach outside the system
because system employees
are not allowed to serve on
the board, but Woodbury,
says she is willing to make
the sacrifice. She believes a
current teacher's perspective
is sorely needed on the board.
"You bring that insight
into decision making," she
said. "When you can make
policies and goals based on
your day to day interaction
with children (in the system),
then I think that's more rele
vant than what the adult mind
thinks we should do."
Woodbury, an alumna of
Carver High School, says she
would like to work on rehab
bing low performing schools
by implementing the best
practices of other school sys
tems that have been success
ful in that area.
The Primary is May 4 .
Tomorrow (Friday. April 9) is
the deadline to register to
vote in order to cast a ballot
in the primary. Early voting
for the primary starts on
April 15. To register, call the
Forsxth Countv Board of
Elections at 336-703-2800.
Rabil said. He told the audi
ence that he has heard prose
cutors say on several occa
sions that they elected not to
seek the death penalty in a
particular case because of the
existence of the RJA.
"In the seven months, 1
would say that a few dozen
lives have already been saved
as direct result of that (Act),"
Kahil said
For more information
about the WFU Innocence
and Justice Clinic, visit
http://law.wfu.edu/clinics/inn
ocence. For more informa
tion on the "Lynching Then,
Lynching Now national tour,
v i s i t
http://cedptour.blogspot .com
Rep. Larry Womble
NC House of Representatives
7 1 st District
Tel (336) 784-9373
Fax (336) 784-1626
E-Mail: LWistm@aol.com
Home Address
1 294 Salem Lake Road
Winston-Salem. NC 27107
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