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1 HE CHRONICLE
Volume43,Number 11 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, November 19, 2015
Family accuses government of wrongdoing]
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRONICLE
Editor's note - This is Part 2 of
The Chronicle's examination of what hap
pened to elderly Winston-Salem citizen
Napoleon Wilson, how he was allegedly
abused while under the guardianship of
the Forsyth County Department of Social
Services, and allegations that his estate
was illegally mishandled
under the auspices of the
Forsyth County Clerk of
Superior Court's Office.
This examination
is part of a larger series of
stories by The Chronicle
probing growing evidence
of mismanagement at the
Clerk's Office dating back
at least a decade, that may
have resulted in the estates
and properties of elderly
Wilson
or disabled African
Americans being squan
dered, and black families
being hurt.
Sandra Jackson didn't
know what was going on,
but one thing she did
know was that her cousin,
Napoleon Wilson, 81, was
nowhere to be found.
It was August
2005. According to an
August 23 notarized letter
from a psychiatrist at Wake Forest
University Baptist Medical Center
(WFUBMC) to the Forsyth Clerk of
Superior Court, cousin Napoleon was
brought in to the unit there five days earli
er, "... after law enforcement became con
cerned about his mental status," the impli
cation being that the elderly Wilson had
been picked up by Winston-Salem police
after allegedly displaying disturbing
behavior.
But when Jackson heard from
See Family on A10
W-S HISTORY
Photo by Todd Luck
Former Reynoldstown resident James Grace recalls the neighborhood's heyday.
Reynoldstown
gets historic marker
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Reynoldstown, a neighborhood originally created for
tobacco workers that has a rich African American history,
got a historic marker on Saturday, November 15.
The marker unveiling was held at the corner of
Cameron Avenue and Eighth Street at one of the entrances
to the neighborhood. Reynoldstown, originally called
Cameron Park, was built in 1919 by the RJ. Reynolds
Tobacco Company as a neighborhood of rent-to-own bun
galows to ease a housing shortage. Initially most of the
homes were rented to white Reynolds employees. But by
1937, the neighborhood had become populated by black
homeowners.
The shift happened after Atkins High School was a
built just a few blocks away in 1931.
Forsyth County Historic Resources Commissioner
Langdon Oppermann said that black teenagers would
walk through the neighborhood, which is on Cameron
Avenue between 8th and 10th streets, to get to school. She
said this resulted in whiie residents moving out and in
about a year the neighborhood had become predominately
black. She said black residents not only bought the houses,
but also the side lots in which they built houses in the
styles common to the 1940s. She said the alternating
architectural styles are still present in the neighborhood
today.
"This neighborhood visually tells a story, it tells a
story of a switch from the white to African-American,
from renter to owner," said Oppermann, who helped get
the neighborhood on the National Register of Historic
Places in 2008.
Oppermann said well-known past residents in the
neighborhood included former U.S. Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Togo West, funeral home owner Clark Brown and
See Marker on A10
Spaulding,
Cooper almost
face off at event
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRONICLE
The closest state Attorney General Roy Cooper
and former State Rep. Ken Spaulding have come to a
debate thus far was last Saturday morning in Chapel Hill
during the Bi-Annual Convention of the African
American Caucus of the Democratic Party. Indeed, caucus
members from across the state passed a resolution urging
both Democratic candidates for governor to schedule
debates prior to their March 15th primary date next year.
Spaulding, a successful Durham attorney from a
prominent African-American family, has been running for
the opportunity to be the party standard-bearer to unseat
incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory since he began
ills caiiuiuui_y iwu ycais agu.
He's also been challenging
Cooper to debates since the
attorney general announced
his candidacy over a month
ago.
Thus far, Cooper
has ignored Spaulding's
challenges, so after he
addressed caucus members at the Sheraton Europa
Saturday morning, with Spaulding sitting right in front of
him at a table, Cooper said 'Thank you," and immediately
headed for the door.
But not before Spaulding, who followed with his
remarks, opened with a rhetorical jab. publicly challeng
ing the attorney general to stand and debate.
"Well I see that the attorney general is leaving,"
Spaulding quipped before Cooper could leave the room,
as many in the room chuckled. "The true meaning of run
and hide," later adding, "Run right out of this meeting ...
hide from a debate, will not debate me. 1 wonder why?"
During his earlier remarks to statewide caucus
members. Cooper reiterated how North Carolina's guber
natorial race in 2016 will be "the most watched" in the
nation, given the state's high political profile. He blasted
Gov. McCrory and the state Legislature for helping rich
people at the expense of the poor, and how that had to
change. Cooper also talked about his upbringing in
Eastern North Carolina, and the values of hard work and
fairness that he learned then, and still carries on today.
He made no acknowledgment of opponent
Spaulding, who was sitting right in front of him as he
spoke and asked for the statewide caucus' support.
During his remarks, however, Spaulding imme
diately sought to distinguish himself from the attorney
general, calling him the "establishment candidate" of the
state Democratic Party who already had the support of
most prominent black elected leaders across the state.
"Let me say to you that I'm not a politician. I'm
not going to [stand] here and say the politically correct
things to say," Spaulding declared. "I want to be a public
servant, and in the process of that, I think you want a can
didate who's going top be his true self, and tell it like it is.
This is not a beauty contest."
Noting that Cooper had said that he was the "best
See Event on A2
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Ministers voice concerns about Business 40 project
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Members of the North Carolina Department of
Transportation (NCDOT) recently sat down with
ministers of churches that have been directly
affected by the Business 40 Improvement Project.
With construction in the early stages, a number
of ministers in the area have already seen the proj
ect affect their congregations in the worse way.
"The impact, as of now,
has been drastic," said the
Rev. William Brown, pastdr
of Rising Ebenezer Baptist
Church. "I have had a num
ber of frustrated members
call with complaints about
the road construction in the
area.
Because of the road construction near the
church, located on Free Street, members and visi
tors have a hard time getting to the church. Brown
said he came to the meeting to find out more infor
mation to pass on to his congregation.
"With all of the traffic and commotion, it can
be disturbing, especially for older members.
Change comes hard for our seniors."
NCDOT Engineer Pat Ivey recognizes the
See Concerns on K2
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