Ruling
deeply rooted in the culture of African
Americans, the court ruled Sept. IS that
CMS's decision to rescind Jones' job offer
was based on a grooming policy that does
n't have anything to do with race.
According to the Court of Appeals,
while hairstyles are associated with race,
traitp in a person's appearance that are tied '
to their culture but are otherwise change
able are not protected and can be used to
deny job offers.
Last week The Chronicle asked people
on the street and on a social media site how
they felt about the controversial ruling. We
asked: How do you feel about the U.S.
Court of Appeals decision that makes it
legal for employers to discriminate against
people with dreadlocks?
Fust year Wake Forest medical school
student Joy Spaulding, who has dread
locks, said, "I haven't really thought about
it that much, but 1 think it's pretty ridicu
lous.
Spaulding '
"If it was between me getting a job and
cutting my hair, I don't know if I would be
willing to make that decision to cut it,"
Spaulding said.
"It makes me wonder why now?
People have had dreadlocks for centuries.
It's kind of a disgrace because I don't think
it's different than any other hairstyle. I
think it's a step in the wrong direction."
Others gave their opinions, too.
Xavier Wallace
McGrew
"This law is a terrible
way to continue the institu
tionalized racism and prej
udice in Americ
Aaaron Lybrand
"It sucks, but if it's a
privately owned compa
ny, I believe they should
have the right to hire
whomever they want to
hire."
Andrew Lee
"I don't care what the
court says, that's discrimi
nation. Equal rights and
equal opportunity is a
joke."
Josh Crowell
"We need to partner to
build a company that won't
allow anyone in our com
munity to be systematically
opposed of an opportuni
ty"
Rashard Ingram
"When it comes to
employment, if we want to
get ahead in this country, we
can't actblack or even
embrace our African culture.
This is what happens when
we don't own anything."
Obama
from page AT
gap has widened since the
tape came out. The RPC
average of polls found
Clinton had a 5 percent
lead nationally and 2.6 per
cent lead in the state.
Democrats are hoping
that down ballot races will
get a boost from Clinton's
surge. Obama encouraged
attendees to vote for
Democratic candidates for
governor and senate.
Obama's poll numbers
are up too. A recent
CNN/ORC poll has
Obama's approval rating at
55 percent, which is the
highest in his second term
and tied with his highest
approval rating ever.
Obama talked about
progress made during his
eight years, such as drop
ping unemployment, con
tinued job growth and a
historic number of
Americans with health
insurance.
"All that progress goes
out the window if we don't
make the right choice just
four weeks from today," he
said. "The closer we get,
the clearer the choice
becomes."
Obama acknowledged
that there was still work to
be done. He said there were
still uninsured Americans,
racial division, families
struggling to pay their bills
and areas that still haven't
recovered economically.
He said his victories
haven't been perfect and
that work must be done to
make them better.
Also during the rally, he
praised the efforts of North
Carolinians to help each
other after the flooding
caused by Hurricane
Matthew. He pledged that
the federal government
would help the state recov
er.
Obama was introduced
by Henry Frye, who was
the first African-American
chief justice of the N.C.
Supreme Court. Earlier in
the day Obama visited N.C.
A&T State University to
tape "A Conversation with
The President: Sports, Race
and Achievement" for
ESPN's The Undefeated. It
was scheduled to be shown
at 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Democrats
from page A1
borhoods] on every Wednesday and
Saturday. We're going out on Saturday at
10 a.m., 12 noon and 2 p.m."
Ellison adds that because voters will
be dealing with "the longest ballot in the
history of voting, and there's no straight
party ticket voting," poll greeters are
being recruited to ensure that all voters get
the Democratic slate "of our excellent
candidates."
"We're ready, man. We are ready,"
Ellison exclaimed. "We are so ready. The
whole state is taking notice that Forsyth
County is about to put it on the map."
"We're going to fight for those votes
in Clemmons. We're going to fight for
those votes in Kemersville, in Lewisville,
and everywhere."
There. is controversy, however.
Chairman Ellison accused Republicans
running the local board of election of hav
ing "such an aggressive method of scrub
bing the voting logs" that about ISO new
voter registration applications for new
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest
H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published
every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing
Co. Inc., 617 N. Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, N.C.
27101. Periodicals postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Annual subscription price is $30.72.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1^36
Democrats will be handed in per week,
"[but] we'll only see an increase of 70," he
charged, further labeling it "an aggressive
campaign" to keep the number of new
Democratic voters at a minimum in the
county.
Ellison says thanks to the recent U.S.
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal's ruling
striking down parts of North Carolina
2013 voter suppression law, disenfran
chised new voters can fall back on same
day voter registration starting next
Thursday, when early voting begins.
Regarding absentee balloting, the
Forsyth County Democratic chair says
there "has been an explosion" of it on the
Democratic side, something that was cul
tivated when it was assumed that voter ID
laws would still be in force for the Nov. 8
election.
Again, early voting/same-day registra
tion begins Thursday, Oct. 20.
Note - Friday, Oct. 14th is the dead
line for voter registration in North
Carolina. To check online to make sure
that you're properly registered, go to
https://enrjicsbe.gov/voter_search_pu
blic. If there are any problems, contact the
____________ Fnrcvth frwintv Rnarrf of
Elections at 336-703-2800.
"" Todd Lucl
Superior Court Judge Mike Morgan, who is running for N.C. Supreme Court,
shows Charlie Wilson the candidates on a card at the Forsyth County
Democratic Headquarters on Thursday, Aug. 25.
N.C. Supreme Court
race could shift
partisan balance
BY GARY D. ROBERTSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS
RALEIGH, N.C. -
The philosophical and
political balance of North
Carolina's Supreme Court
could shift as voters this
fall choose to keep a long
time justice or replace him
with a veteran Wake
County trial judge.
Associate Justice Bob
Edmunds is seeking to stay
on the court after winning
eight-year terms in 2000
and 2008. His challenger is
Superior Court Judge
Mike Morgan, who has
been hearing cases since
the late 1980s. Edmunds
and Morgan advanced to
the general election as the
top vote-getters among
four candidates in the June
7 primary, with Edmunds
finishing first.
Both highlight their
experience and what they
call an ability to be fair and
impartial.
Morgan, however, is
citing recent Supreme
Court rulings that favored
Republican legislation and
Edmunds calling himself a
"conservative" on cam
paign placards as evidence
change is needed.
Edmunds say backing
from county sheriffs, for
mer chief justices and
heads of attorney groups
that wear all partisan
stripes shows he's doing
his job well.
While state Supreme
Court elections are offi
cially nonpartisan, four of
the seven current justices,
including Edmunds, are
registered Republicans.
Three are registered
Democrats, as is Morgan.
A Morgan victory would
give Democrats a majority
on the court for the first
time since 1998.
Most opinions of the
court are unanimous, or
divisions don't fall along
party affiliations. Still,
some recent opinions
addressing legislation
approved by Republicans
at the General Assembly
highlight the partisan split.
The Republican jus
tices have backed majority
opinions over the past two
years upholding legislative
and congressional districts
and the use of taxpayer
money as scholarships for
K-12 students to attend
private or religious
schools. Morgan argues
Edmunds has contributed
to the "politicization" of a
court that is supposed to
use its constitutional
authority to keeps checks
and balances on other
branches of government.
? "My lens will be clear.
It will not be shaded in any
political direction,"
Morgan said, adding that
Edmunds' conservative
designation in the cam
paign "shows a political
orientation and a political
bent."
Edmunds said that's
not true. In a recent tele
vised forum with Morgan,
Edmunds aigued "conser
vative" refers to his judi
cial philosophy of follow
ing the rule of law and
deferring to previous court
decisions. The justice also
cited opinions where the
entire Supreme Court has
agreed that the General
Assembly overstepped its
powers, though legislative
appointments to the state's
now-defunct coal ash com
mission and taking away
tenure rights promised to
public school teachers who
had already earned them.
"People are satisfied
that I'm a judge that makes
decisions based on the law
and the facts," Edmunds
said in an interview, sug
gesting later that Morgan
is the one trying to make
the campaign partisan. "I
am not trying to inject pol
itics into this race."
Morgan, 60, previous
ly worked as an assistant
state attorney general
before being appointed as
an administrative law
judge in 1989. He became
a District Court judge in
1994 and moved to
Superior Court in 2005,
winning elections for both.
Morgan lias been the
presiding julge in a law
suit challenging a 2013
law requiring photo identi
fication to vote. A trial was
expected to begin last
month but Morgan put it
on hold after federal
judges struck down the
law over the summer. A
conservative group ques
tioned whether, Morgan
should have removed him
self from the case, given
the upcoming election.
Morgan said he would
continue to preside, citing
a judicial ethics official's
correspondence finding no
conflict.
Edmunds is a former
assistant state and federal
prosecutor and U.S. attor
ney for central North
Carolina who was elected
to die intermediate-level
state Court of Appeals in
1998. At 67, Edmunds
would not be able to com
plete an additional eight
year term if he's elected
next month because state
law requires a mandatory
retirement forjudges at 72.
The governor at the time
would appoint a replace
5 seats up for election on
North Carolina Court of Appeals
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In addition to one seat on the state
Supreme Court, North Carolina voters
next month get to choose who will hold
five seats on the state Court of Appeals.
The 15-member intermediate appeals
court sits in three-judge panels to hear
cases.
Four races feature an incumbent and
?__!?_ _ _ _ _
cnauenger.
A fifth
race had
three candi
dates, but
candidate
Donald
n..' _
DU1C, it
Winston-Salem attorney who was unaffil
iated, dropped out because of personal
reasons. The seat is vacant because Court
of Appeals Judge Martha Geer stepped
down this year too late after the March IS
primary for another primary to be held to
whittle the candidates down to two. Court
of Appeals terms are eight years.
While Court of Appeals races remain
officially nonpartisan, the Legislature
recently passed a law putting each candi
date's party affiliation on ballots. Supreme
Court races still don't provide those desig
ns* *
nations.
The Court of Appeals races on the bal
lot:
?Incumbent Linda Stephens
(Democrat) and Phil Berger Jr.
(Republican), an administrative law
judge.
?Incumbent Bob Hunter (Republican)
and Abe Jones (Democrat), a former Wake
County Superior Court judge.
?Incumbent Richard Dietz
(Republican) and Vince Rozier
(Democrat), a Wake County District Court
judge.
?Incumbent Valerie Zachary
(Republican) and Rickye McKoy
Mitchell (Democrat), a Mecklenburg
County District Court judge.
?Hunter Murphy (Republican and
Waynesville attorney), Margaret Eagles
(Democrat and Wake County Diatrict
Court judge). Wendy Enochs, who was
appointed to fill out Geer's position
through the end of the year, is not running
for the seat.
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