North Carolina Room
Trophy
See Opinion/Forum pages on A8&9
Volume 43, Number 37
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
THURSDAY, May 18, 2017
Voting rights victory for N.C.
Pastor Mendez celebrates
High Court voter ID decision
BY CASH MICHEALS
FOR THE CHRONICLE
RALEIGH - “Oh,
I’m excited,” were the
words exclaimed by the
Rev. Dr. John Mendez, pas
tor of Emmanuel Baptist
Church in Winston Salem,
while visiting Davie Street
Presbyterian Church in
Raleigh Monday morning
to see the N.C. NAACP
president, the Rev. Dr.
William J. Barber II,
announce his stepping
down.
Mendez was reacting to
news that the U.S. Supreme
Court declined to overrule
the 2016 decision by the
U.S. Fourth Circuit of
Appeals to strike down
North Carolina’s 2013
voter ID law. The N.C.
NAACP sued then Gov. Pat
McCrory, who signed the
voter ID law, and the N.C.
Republican-led
Legislature, which passed
HB 589, accusing them of
suppressing the black vote
with unconstitutional vot
ing restrictions.
“We were plaintiffs in
the lawsuit,” Rev. Mendez
explained, recalling the
weeklong hearings in fed
eral court in Winston
Salem in 2015. Mendez
was among those quoted in
court papers filed in the
lawsuit. “So it’s a very big
day for us. We’re excited.”
In its July 2016 deci
sion, the U.S. Fourth
Circuit agreed that voter
suppression was exactly
See Voter ID on A6
Robert Willett /The News & Observer via AP
North Carolina NAACP president, the Rev. Dr.
William J. Barber II, reacts to an announcement
Monday, May 15, by attorney Caitlin Swain that the
U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider reinstating
North Carolina's 2013 elections law that included
voter ID and other restrictions on voting during a
gathering at Davie Street Presbyterian Church in
Raleigh, N.C., where Barber announced he is step
ping down as NAACP president.
N.C. NAACP prepares for
next leader after Rev. Barber
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRONICLE
RALEIGH -
According to sources at the
N.C. NAACP, the succes
sor to President Rev. Dr.
William J. Barber II, who
has announced that he is
stepping down next month
after 12 years, will come
from the four vice presi
dents currently under his
wing - First Vice President
Carolyn Q. Coleman,
Second Vice President
Carolyn McDougal, Third
Vice President Rev. Dr. T.
Anthony Spearman and
Fourth Vice President
Courtney Patterson.
Coleman is a veteran
civil rights activist, mem
ber of the national NAACP
Board, and the Guilford
County Commissioner
Board. McDougal is a
human resource officer
with People’s Choice
Home Care Inc. in Dunn.
Spearman is senior pastor
of St. Phillip A.M.E. Zion
Church in Greensboro, and
president of the N.C.
Council of Churches.
Patterson is retired and
lives in Kinston.
The N.C. NAACP is
“strong in our legal victo
ries; strong in our organi
zational structure; strong
financially and strong in
the clarity of agenda,”
Barber told reporters dur
ing a teleconference last
Thursday.
A meeting to determine
who will succeed Barber is
See Barber on A6
Photo by Tevin Stinson
N.C. Rep, Edward Hanes Jr. shares his thoughts on proposed cuts to teacher assistant positions across the
state and in the local school district.
N.C., local elected officials
ponder education solutions
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Last Friday afternoon the library at Parkland High
School was anything but quiet as local and state elected
officials, and members of the local school board sat down
to discuss the future of education in North Carolina.
The panel discussion hosted by the Forsyth County
Association of Educators (FCAE) featured N.C. Rep.
Edward Hanes Jr., N.C. Rep. Evelyn Terry, County
Commissioner Fleming El-Amin and members of the
Winston-Salem Forsyth County Board "of Education:
David Singletary and Elisabeth Motsinger.
Throughout the two-hour moderated discussion, the
panel of diverse leaders gave their viewpoints on a num
ber of topics, including House Bill 13, the controversial
law that reduces the number of children per classroom.
“We thought it was important to have different levels
of government here today because each of these levels
See Education on A4
Proposed
county budget:
more school
spending
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE _ _ _ _
The proposed $420 million Forsyth County budget for
next fiscal year would slightly lower tax rates, thanks to
higher local property values and tax revenues.
County Manager
Dudley Watts presented a
balanced budget to County
Commissioners last week
that maintains the county’s
current level of service
while recommending a rev
enue neutral tax rate that’s
almost a penny less than
the current rate. The overall
higher property values
found during this year’s
countywide real estate
reappraisal means the coun
ty can lower the rate and
still pull in the tax revenues it needs.
“It’s important to acknowledge we’re in a really strong
economy, “ said Watts.
Staff will present a detailed budget presentation to the
commissioners today, May 18. Commissioners will have
a public comment hearing on the budget on Monday, May
22, and may adopt it on Thursday, May 25. The budget
will go into effect on July 1.
The recommended tax rate of 72.35 cents per
$100,000 in property value is slightly less than the current
73.1 cents rate. Of that 72.35 cents, 64.37 cents go to
county operations, 2.90 cents go to debt service on the
2016 bonds and 5.08 cents go to debt for previous bonds.
The county’s school funding formula means that near
Watts
See Budget on A6
WINSTON SALEM. NC 27101-4120 01
GRADUATION 2017
Meacham:
Reject ‘alternative
facts’ and blind
partisanship
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Presidential Historian
Jon Meacham told gradu
ates to embrace reflection
and logic instead of parti
sanship and “alternative
facts’’ during Wake Forest
University's commence
ment on Monday, May 15.
Meacham is a former
editor-in-chief of
Newsweek and has written
several books on presi
dents, including
“American Lion: Andrew
Jackson in the White
House,” which won a
Pulitzer Prize.
SeeWFon A4
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