OPINION
The Chronicle i
617 N. Liberty Street
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www.wschronicle.com
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Ernest H. Pitt
Donna Rogers
Elaine Pitt
Publisher/Co-Founder
Managing Editor
Business Manager
Our Mission
The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the
residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County
by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth
to power, standing for integrity and
encouraging open communication and
lively debate throughout the community.
Dialogue on
race needs to
be expanded
The city of Winston-Salem, the Ministers
Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity and
Institute for Dismantling Racism (IDR) are some of
the entities that have been sponsoring recent public
forums about race relations.
According to city officials, their talks were going
on before Michael Brown and Eric Garner, unarmed
black men, were killed by police officers last year in
Missouri and New York City.
The Darryl Hunt case, in which an innocent
black Winston-Salem man in 1984 was wrongfully
convicted of the rape and murder of a young white
woman, prompted the city to move toward dialogues
on race,Council Member Derwin Montgomery said.
Hunt served 19V? years in prison before he was freed
after someone else confessed to the crime.
Also, Winston-Salem dealt with a riot on Liberty
Street in 1967 after police killed a black man during
an arrest for drunkenness.
Lately, the amount of talks has increased since
Brown and Gamer were killed. IDR has held a series
of talks, with a third one in the planning stages, for
instance.
The talks seem to involve establishment-type
people or handpicked participants. They usually
involve panels. Grass-roots community workers
don't seem to be involved.
Mayor Allen Joines and the Faith Based
Coalition presented "Black Lives Matter Late Night
Musical" on Friday, March 27. It started at 10 p.m.
at Diggs Memorial United Holy Church. This
seemed to be a switch from the norm. It was billed
as an event "Educating & Raising Awareness On the
Plight of 'Young Men of Color.'"
Team BAM (Becoming a Man) is helping young
black men grow into productive citizens. Money
was raised to help the organization at the March 27
event. But when has Team BAM members been on
the list of panelists in the community dialogues?
A 40-year-old black man asked a question on
March 27 at the Black Lives Matter event. He asked:
"As a 40-year-old black man in this community,
how can we get our people in this community to be
less intimidated against police?"
With all the talking among all the groups in
Winston-Salem, why doesn't this community mem
ber know the answer to this question? How many
40-year-old black men are a pjut of the conversa
tions about race? How many 20-year-old black men
are part of the dialogue? How many black teenagers
are part of the talks? These are some of the main
people who interact with police. These are some of
the main people who want answers. They want to
know how to prevent escalation of incidents with the
police. But if they are not part of the dialogue, how
will they know?
The "Black Lives Matter" event seems to be
moving in the right direction. Not only was good
information provided, but entertainment also was
added to attract peo
vThe dialogues about race in Winston-Salem
should be expanded. How many white residents, not
panelists or chosen participants, are part of the con
versations?
How many other people of color are talking
about race? How many Latinos are part of the dia
logues? Police-and-community relations affect peo
ple of color of all hues.
More representatives from the Winston-Salem
area need to be part of the conversations. Where are
the gang members in the talks? Where are the single
mothers who are raising the black boys who statisti
cally will interact with police at some time in their
lives? Where are the elderly men and women who
want to trust police but have questions about fhat
trust?
Montgomery, who represents the East Ward, said
March 27 at the Black Lives Matter event that he
wanted people to act after the event.
"The question is, what do we do when we leave
here tonight? 1 hope when you leave here tonight,
you feel empowered to do something," he said.
One thing that could happen is someone could
form a dialogue that includes a wider variety of par
ticipants.
If Winston-Salem truly wants to move ahead, all
parts of the community need to be part of the dia
logues on race. Without comprehensive inclusion,
the talks could do more harm than good.
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We have to fight for our candidates
I Ernie Pitt
f From the
Publisher
As we approach the
2016 elections, there is
much we need to do and
much we can do. The racist
elements in our state and
nation have made it quite
plain that their intent is to
make us poorer and a non
entity in the governance of
OUR country.
How long is it going to
take for us to realize that
we must come together as
one and fight this non
sense? We have to realize
and recognize that the gen
try class will say and do
anything to achieve THEIR
goals, which very rarely
means anything good for
our people.
Why are we so eager to
please those who are liter
ally trying to destroy us?
Why would any sane black
American support the poli
cies of a racist party that
advocates eliminating
healthcare for everyone;
cutting food stamps for the
poor; denying equal rights
to the LBGT community;
reducing taxes for the rich;
denying tax deductions for
homeowners, etc...etc...
etc.
Now, my real point is
that we as minorities have
the ability to change some
of that. In 2016, we have
an individual, in fact, two
individuals we should sup
port ? Ken Spaulding,
who's running tit-for-tat
with Roy Cooper for gov
ernor; and, Linda Coleman,
who very nearly won the
lieutenant governor's race
in the last election.
Spaulding
Coleman
The only thing that's
really missing is our com
munity's commitment to
making it happen. No
Democrat can win an elec
tion without our vote. So,
what's keeping us ,from
supporting qualified candi
dates from our own com
munity? We have to make a
commitment to win. That
means raising money, get
ting the word out, one-on
one pushing for our candi
dates. Just because our can
didate may be behind or
even perceived as being
?
Iunelectable, we still have
to fight.
We owe it to our
ancestors who have real
ly paid the price. We can
vote now ... but, for how
long? Our people suf
fered untold atrocities for
that simple act. Don't we
owe them a good fight?
Our people have been
lynched, burned at the
stake, crucified, whipped
beyond imagination,
enslaved, taught to hate
one another, to spy on one
another. When are we
going to end this madness?
I say it is totally up to
us to change this paradigm.
No one is going to do any
thing for us but us. We
need to fight for Ken
Spaulding and Linda
Coleman. They are our
only real hope for dignity
and change.
Ernie Pitt
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Thanks
To the Editor:
Please accept my sincere thanks
for The Chronicle's Lifetime
Achievement Award on your 30th
Anniversary
Celebration ot
providing our
community with
news that mat
ters to every
body. You make
us all proud as
journalism is
such a powerful
tool for stimu
lating thought
and bringing a platform for discourse
to civilization. Our spot within this
context here in Winston-Salem is bet
ter because of The Chronicle. The
journey continues and I know The
Chronicle will see to its being proper
ly penned.
Congratulations to all of you as
you undergo new and challenging
changes. We look forward to growing
with you. Let me know if I can do
anything to assist.
With God's richest blessings,
Sincerely,
Evelyn Terry,
N.C. state representative
for Forsyth County's 71 st
District
To the Editor:
I am writing to express my sin
cere gratitude to Mr. Pitt, the
Chronicle and the committee for
selecting me as recipient of the Man
of Year Award 2015.1 am very hum
bled to have been chosen for this
award knowing that there were many
qualified nominees.
The city of Winston-Salem pro
vides so many opportunities to serve
the community and give back some v
of what we have been blessed to
receive. I consider the time well
spent and a contribution to my own
personal and professional growth.
I'm appreciative of your recognizing
my work in this way and plan to
continue serving to the best of my
ability.
I congratulate the Chronicle for
hosting this event each year and
seeking out those individuals who
have made a difference in this city. It
is indeed a privilege and honor to
serve this community.
Thank you again for your recog
nition and support.
Dr. Nathan E. Scovens,
Man of the Year,
Pastor of Galilee Missionary
Baptist Church
Thank You and
Congratulations
To the Editor:
First, let me
thank the
Chronicle for
recognizing me,
along with oth
ers, with a 2015
Community
Service Award. I
am very grateful
to have the
opportunity to
serve my com
munity. With this award, I recommit
myself to continuing service to our
community, for there is still much
needed work to be done in our city,
state and nation.
Second, I would like to congratu
late the Chronicle on their 30th
Annual Community Service Awards.
Along with your national recogni
tions as an outstanding newspaper,
40 years is a testament of great jour
nalism and your dedication to our
community. I am proud to see your
Missipn Statement being fulfilled.
Again, thank you for this honor.
Linda Sutton
Community Organizer
Thanks for article
To the Editor:
I would like to thank you for
publishing the brilliant article writ
ten by Henry J. Pankey, "Cherish the
Black HistoryJiisjorian who lives
among us.**?
There have been
more than 200
articles written
on or about me,
Pankey's article
is the first one
that succinctly
captures the
essence of my
more than 40
years of
Davis
research and writing.
He clearly illustrated the method
ology that I used in publishing 30
books, more than 150 articles,
essays, bibliophiles, and book
reviews. The books that I have pub
lished can be found in 50 states and
50 countries (China, India, Japan,
South Africa, Russia. Germany,
Lebanon, England, Saudi Arabia,
Serbia, Greece, Kuwait, Israel,
Nigeria, Kenya, etc.) and translated
in several foreigrt languages.
Although the article was primari- *
ly written about me in honpr of
Black History Month, it can be
viewed in a much larger context to
include other facets of Black history
when he declared "African
American writers (must) continue
the Afrocentric role of the griot
(story-teller) responsible for record
ing and salvaging history in an inter
generational manner passed from
one generation to the next."
Pankey also gave insight to
African-American writers and what
it takes to be successful to have
arduous work habits, keen intellect,
creative wordsmith, acumen skills in
writing, pride, dignity, courage and
convictions and write about histori
cal truths on controversial subjects.