OP/ED
, .
c c\cbr'%
:
<2 t/ea/w f
Ernest H. Pitt
Elaine Pitt
T. Kevin Walker
Publisher/Co-Founder
Business Manager
Managing Editor
MLK Day
We are celebrating the life and legacy
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday.
In recent years, there has been a
strong push to make the annual MLK Day
holiday a call to social action. Americans
have been urged to use their day off from
work to volunteer their time to a worthy
cause or nonprofit.
At the very least, folks should use the
day to do something that honors King, be
it attending a King-related service or
reading some of his powerful speeches or
prose.
Luckily, this city offers a plethora of
MLK Day activities. They will be held
from early morning to late evening on
Monday. Some activities are even scheduled for this week and the weekend. In short,
there are no legitimate excuses.
McCrory's Latest Fib
Our governor is again playing fast and loose with reality. During a recent sit-down on
"NC Spin," Gov. McCrory tried to defend the indefensible: his and his Republican
cronies' decision to slash and bum unemployment benefits for jobless North Carolinians.
You may recall last year's controversial move by the GOP to cut-off unemployment
benefits for thousands and reduce benefits for thousands more. State lawmakers' decision
also made our unemployed ineligible for the short-term federal unemployment benefits
extension.
On the Sunday edition of the political chat show, McCrory said part of the reason the
benefits were slashed was because folks were moving to North Carolina from out-of-state
to take advantage of our bountiful unemployment benefits.
"We had the ninth most generous unemployment compensation in the country and we
were having a lot of people move here, frankly, especially in urban areas, to get unem
ployment and then work other sectors and survive. So, people were moving here because
of our very generous benefits, and then of course, we had more debt," the governor said.
It did not take long for McCrory's claim to be shot down. Raleigh station WRAL fact
checked the claim by turning to people like UNCG economist Andrew Brod for insight.
He said the governor's claim "defies reason," partly because state law requires a resident
to have worked for at least six months in North Carolina before receiving unemployment
benefits. .
The station's final verdict on the claim: "Given that McCrory can offer scant evidence
for his claim, it would be hard not to rate his statement as false."
The 12th District
For the first time ever, we do agree with McCrory on something. His call to put the
12th Congressional District election in with the other midterm contests makes sense to
us.
Yes, it is unfortunate that Congress will go without a strong African American voice
for the 12th District for almost a year. The Republicans in Washington who held up Mel
Watt's confirmation to the Federal Housing Finance Agency for months are to blame. If
it all had progressed the way President Obama had planned. Watt would have been in his
new position last fall. If that were the case, there would have been time to hold a special
election for Watt's successor.
Holding a special election this year - with its own filing period, primary, possible sec
ond primary, etc. - on top of the midterm schedule would simply be too much for voters
It would create voter fatigue - something no one should want since voter turnout is
already in the toilet.
Candidates wishing to succeed Watt should use this full election season to cover as
much ground as they can in the vast district and be grateful for the added visibility the
midterm schedule will give this race.
Thank You,
Chronicle
To the Editor:
As we reflect back on
2013 and resolve to do
better in 2014, it's impor
tant to be thankful.
I am thankful for The
Chronicle. Your coverage
of the news from our
community is always
informative, sometimes
inspiring and consistently
reflective of the commu
nity values that distin
guishes the African
American community.
The pluralistic society
that we live in demands
that each ethnic commu
nity record its accom
plishments and self cri
tique its direction for
future generations to ben
efit from. The Chronicle
has been that voice in our
community for decades,
and I hope that in 2014
more citizens will com
mitt to supporting this
needed institution in our
community. Thank you.
Chronicle.
Fleming El-Amin
My first term
in Raleigh
To the Editor:
As 2013 ends with my
first term as a state law
maker much that I wit
nessed gives cause for
reflection. No need to
repeat the events and
consequences of local,
state and national elec
tions. Most of you who
follow politics already
know these facts and
have formed your opinion
about them. So please
bear with me as 1 reflect
and then propose a way
forward.
The super majority
elected by gerrymander
ing in NC legislative dis
tricts seized power in
Raleigh and they began
the great dismantling of
progress made in NC
after many years of strug
gle for justice and equali
ty for all. Among these
acts of mean-spiritedness
and revenge that I view
most serious are:
? Tampering with vot
ing rights of all citizens
? Stripping long term
unemployed workers' of
privileges to claim unem
ployment benefits
? Tilting the tax code
to favor the privileged at
the expense of the middle
class
? Demonstrating on
all levels a distain for
social justice and equali
ty by repealing the assur
ance for Racial Justice in
capital criminal offenses
? Robbing public edu
cation of its precious few
resources
? No respect for
women's rights
While these listed are
just a few of the changes
(labeled improvements) I
witnessed during a fast
and furious process, my
gender, race and status as
a person were so obvi
ously ignored in this
environment that from
time to time I questioned
my own very presence
there. But for the strong
family and community
background that I come
from along with the priv
ilege of fine educational
preparation, membership
in the NC General
Assembly would be next
to intolerable.
Now, you may say
'why do 1 seek to remain
there?' The time is right
for each of us to step up
and reconsider the impor
tance of involvement and
engagement in the politi
cal process. No time for
slipping and sliding and
giving in or giving up.
This battle is just begin
ning -the fight is on. I
say let's get ready to go
into it suited up to fight
to the bitter end. The
struggle continues. .
In 2014 we who love
justice and believe in
mercy must:
? Commit to register
ing new voters and ensure
that every voter has prop
er identification and plen
ty of options for getting
to the voting booth on
election day
? Encourage activism
among the unemployed,
uninformed, and indiffer
ent
? Educate yourself,
analyze and question
authority when you are
not clear about what is
being said as truth
? Become an advocate
for what you believe in
? Learn all you can
about the importance of
public policy & politics
This train wreck has
already arrived and we
were not on board. Next
time it comes we all had
better be ready to board.
Too much is at stake for
our future to ignore these
conditions. Get active.
Stale Rep. Evelyn
Terrv
?
Robeson
from page \6
McKinney was the
winner of the 2001 and
2002 Civic Music
Association of
Milwaukee's Harold Levin
scholarship competition
and was awarded the
Judges Choice award at the
2001 Metropolitan Opera's
district competition. In
2004, he won that competi
tion in the South Carolina
District and continued on
to place second in the
Southeastern Regional
Finals. McKinney has per
formed at venues around
the world.
When not on the stage,
McKinney sings as a sec
tion leader in the
Centenary United
Methodist Church Chancel
Choir and serves as cantor
in his synagogue in
Spartanburg, S.C. He also
composes Jewish liturgical
music for Temple /
Emmanuel in Winston- s
Salem.
Performances will be
>n Friday, Jan. 24 and
Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:30
).m. and Sunday, Jan. 26 at
I p.m. Tickets start at
S16.50. The public is invit
ed to the final dress
ehearsal at 7:30 on
rhursday, Jan. 23. It is a
'pay what you can"
:vening.
For tickets, go to
ittp://www.hanesbrand
t heat re .org.
Photo by Layla Gamis
Maurice Crocker (left) and Joe Walker Jr. are both heart attack survivors.
Walker
from page AI
told me that ... and it
kept me kind of focused."
In November 2012,
Walker was with a client
at Showtime Physique,
where he works part-time
as a personal trainer,
when he began to feel
weak and nauseated.
"It just kept coming
and going," he said of his
symptoms. "I thought I
had the flu or some
thing."
His wife, Sibyl
Walker, convinced him to
go to the emergency
room, where he learned
that he had been having a
heart attack for close to
two days. His father had
succumbed to heart dis
ease just four months ear
lier.
"I was in a state of
shock at the time when
Joe had his heart attack,
because my husband had
just died," said Mattie
Walker, who was married
to Dr. Walker for 59
years. "...The doctors
didn't give us much hope
at that time, but I never
felt like he was going to
die."
Despite the family
history, news of Walker's
diagnosis came as a
shock to the entire fami
ly, his mother said.
"For him to be the one
to have a heart attack. I
wouldn't have guessed it
in a thousand years,"
declared the retired Joyce
Brothers Company
employee. "We were just
shocked."
even me meaicai
team that treated him was
surprised by the severity
of his condition. Walker
said.
''Everyone joked
about me being in shape
and being a personal
trainer and what was 1
going to tell my clients?"
he related. "...Then the
room got quiet. They quit
joking and got really seri
ous and the doctor just
told me, 'You know, you
really shouldn't be alive
- we can't believe what
we're looking at."'
Walker underwent
open heart surgery to
address the massive
blockage that was discov
ered in the arteries lead
ing to his heart and began
the long, arduous road to
recovery. Walker's friend
Maurice Crocker, a fel
low personal trainer and
owner of Showtime
Physique, was one of the
first people that Walker
told about his harrowing
experience. Crocker can
relate to Walker's strug
gle. He is also a heart
attack survivor. During a
powerlifting competition
nearly a decade ago,
Crocker experienced a
sharp pain across his
chest and back, but he
never imagined he might
be having a heart attack.
"I was under the
impression it you have a
heart attack, it's in your
arm, you grab your chest,
but there's so many dif
ferent symptoms - for
men and women," said
Crocker, who was 33 at
the time. "(The pain)
could be in your jaw. It
could be in your back."
Crocker's unlikely
experience has helped
him recognize danger
when it surfaces. Since
his own heart attack in
2004, Crocker has recog
nized the symptoms of
cardiac arrest in two of
his clients, both of whom
sought medical attention
at his urging.
Walker says he is for
tunate to have lived to tell
his story. His doctors told
him he wouldn't have
survived if his body
weren't in such peak con
dition at the time of his
attack. These days, he
doesn't waste an opportu
nity to share what he's
learned, using his own
story as an example of
the perils life can bring -
even when you do every
thing right - and the
rewards that exist for
those who make it to the
other side.
"I tell people it was
the exercise (that saved
me) but it was the Lord,"
he said. "Spiritually, 1
know exactly why I'm
here, and I don't take that
lightly. It's a blessing.
I'm that miracle that peo
ple always want to hear
about. I'm a walking mir
acle."
Contact Walker via
Showtime Physique, 915
Brookstown Ave.,
www.showtimephysique.c
om or 336-761-3908.
Submitted Photo
Joe Walker Jr. with his father, the late Rev. Dr.
Joseph Walker Sr.
WE WELCOME
NEW EAT1(Nil
Our ufltrr punt** ihr
? l t<ifiM ? ? ? fmnot ? ta?w*? ? ImoiU
? l<w ( ? Emm A I <???*n? IW. ar?
? Pt'm ?art?q? ? fcw- >m?
Hf Kirpt mo*I l??* ?! inutMrr
(336) 744-1300
^LJJSO^
Erie 8. EMkmi
Aftanwr At I**
Is Your Llcsnss Revoked or
even Permanently Revoked?
I May Be Able to Qet You a
Driving Privilege.
Is the Ball Bondsman Too
Expensive? Maybe You
Need to try a Property Bond.
Call Mel
112 North Marshall Street
Winston Salem. NC 27101
(Just North of 1st Slrrrt I
Phone (336) 723 7370
Fax (336) 72 * 7.*72
clltkonlawtseanhliiik net
"Dtdicafd To Providing Yen Tht Bttt
ft