A2 July 11, 2019
The Chronicle
Clerk
From page Al
people and I know you
have a heart for service
and I’m really excited
about your leadership.”
Other speakers during
the ceremony were Mayor
Pro Tempore Vivian Burke,
retired U.S. District Court
Judge James A. Beaty Jr.,
Apostle Gloria Samuels,
attorney Donald Buie, at
torney A.L. “Buddy” Col
lins, and Forsyth County
Assistant District Attorney
Pansy D. Glaston.
As Clerk of Court, Lin
ville will manage more
than 90 employees, which
is about 40% of all the
people who work in the
courthouse. Additionally,
The Honorable Cheri Beasley, Chief Justice of the N.C.
Supreme Court, congratulates Renita Thompkins Lin
ville on her appointment to serve as Forsyth County
Clerk of Court.
she will be responsible for
recording and maintaining
thousands of documents
including court calendars,
subpoenas, judicial orders,
injunctions, and judg
ments. In her new posi
tion, Linville will earn an
annual salary of $123,554.
Gregory ‘Catman’ Good leaves
a legacy to ‘Express yourself’
Local celebrity passes away at age 62
BY FELECIA PIGGOTT-LONG, PH.D.
FOR THE CHRONICLE
The Winston-Salem community lost
a loving local celebrity on Friday, July
5, when Gregory “Catman” Good passed
away in hospice care after a lengthy ill
ness. Known as the Carolina Panthers’
most famous fan, Good traveled to Clem
son University in 1995 to watch the in
augural season of the NFL franchise and
to Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium
to support his team from 1996 until 2017
when his health began to decline. For more
than 22 years, Catman has been a dazzling
icon on the Panthers’ field, signing auto
graphs, cheering the team and pumping
up the crowd. His son, Greg Good, Jr.,
now 31, plans to keep his father’s legacy
alive by making sure that Catman’s seat
on Row 1, Section 104, Seat 7 is still oc
cupied by a Pop-Locking Panther.
Gregory “Catman” Good, has always
been comfortable as the center of atten
tion. One of his earliest stages was in his
education instructor by day, but his danc
ing skills spilled over into the community
by night.
In the Bowen Park Community, two of
his friends - Cedric Moser and Ben Piggott
- as well as other performers joined him in
dancing and singing at various local talent
competitions. Moser and Good were both
Fine Art majors at WSSU, members of the
track team, and they hooked up with Ben
Piggott to compete at a Hanes Mall talent
show in 1981. They called themselves the
Bowen Park Brothers, which Good sug
gested. On their first time out, they won
second place in the lip-synching contest
called “Puttin’ on the Hits” by rapping and
singing “In Jail Without Bail” by The Fat
Boys. The first-place winner was a guy
who sang “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” by Aretha
Franklin in full drag.
“There was no way we could com
pete with that act,” said Moser. “He was
dressed and talented.”
Moser and Good worked together in a
business Good created called Dr. Good’s
Appeal
From page Al
that is willing to ignore
evidence, logic, and com
mon sense.
“My legal documents
are online; I have noth
ing to hide. I was a young
black man charged with
sexually assaulting a very
wealthy white female. I
was tried by a white D.A.
before a white judge and
convicted by an all-white
jury.” Long continued,
“They have no physical or
biological evidence to con
nect me to the crime.”
The Appeal
Over the years, Long
has filed several appeals
but all have been dis
missed. But as more evi
dence from the case started
to come to light, including
the hidden evidence men
tioned earlier, and thanks
to the UNC Innocence
Project, a judge has or
dered police and prosecu
tors to find and preserve
all physical evidence and
records.
Since 2016 Long’s case
has been handled by the
Duke University School of
Law’s Wrongfill Convic
tions Clinic. Jamie T. Lau,
supervising attorney of the
Duke Wrongful Convic
tion Clinic, said when he
came across Long’s case
in 2014, he saw someone
who fell victim to backlash
from the state in response
to progress that occurred in
the 1960s. Lau said, “This
system in North Carolina
can wear you out and wear
you down and that’s what
they’ve been trying to do
in Ronnie’s case.”
Heading into the hear
ing in March, Lau said
when looking at the evi
dence, it’s clear that the
law enforcement officers
who investigated the case
lied to conceal information
and evidence that proved
Long was innocent.
During the hearing in
Richmond, Lau and his
team which included more
than 30 professionals and
the N.C. Innocence Proj
ect, argued the unreliabil
ity of eye witness identifi
cation, and the discovered
fingerprint that did not
match Long’s. According
to Long’s wife AsLeigh,
when presented with the
evidence of the fingerprint,
the judge said, “Just be
cause it’s not inculpatory
does not mean it’s excul
patory.”
When discussing her
thoughts on the appeal,
AsLeigh said because she
knows how the judicial
system works, she fears
that the Fourth Circuit
Court will send Ronnie’s
case back to the state.
“I worry that the Fourth
Circuit will send Ronnie
back to the State courts to
argue the newly discov
ered fingerprint evidence,
claiming it’s due to juris
dictional reason, but really
it’s because all the judges
in our legal system lack the
courage to do their jobs,”
she continued. “No judge
wants to overturn another
judge’s conviction. It’s
about feelings, not facts or
evidence.”
Whenever and whatev
er the decision, Long said
he plans to take it in stride.
He said after fighting for
more than 40 years, there’s
no reason to give up now.
“Being innocent of the
charges I’m convicted of,
why would I give up now
after 43 years of fighting
to prove my innocence? If
I give up, the opposition
has won,” he continued. “I
feel as long as I continue
to put forth that effort to
overcome all forms of ad
versity, then the opposition
can’t win.”
For more information
on Ronnie Long’s initial
case or appeal, visit ffe-
eronnielong.com or visit
“Free Ronnie Long” on
Facebook.
Have a Story Idea?
Let Us Know
News@wschronicle. com
Submitted photo
Left to right: Gregory “Catman “ Good, Ben Piggott and Cedric “Mozart” Moser at
Ziggy’ s i n 2016, when Bootsie Collins was in the house. Ziggy’s was on the corner
of Ninth and Trade streets. It’s now called The Ramkat.
own living room mirror in the Bowen
Park community on East 24th Street in
Winston-Salem, where he grew up with
his parents Robert and Claudette Good,
and his siblings Frances, Doug (Maxine)
and Katrina (Maurice). It was a common
occurrence to hear his music blasting as
he danced to the song “Express Yourself’
by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd
Street Rhythm Band. The lyrics of this
song echo his drive for self-expression:
“Express yourself! Express yourself! ...
Some people have everything and other
people don’t/ But everything don’t mean a
thing if it ain’t the thing you want. Express
yourself!"
Good found a myriad of ways to ex
press himself as an artist. He graduated
from North Forsyth High School where
he played football and threw the shot put
and the discus on the men’s track team.
At Winston-Salem State University, he
majored in fine art and psychology, but he
also earned All-CIAA in the shot put and
discus, performed with the Drama Guild,
led WSSU’s ROTC Fancy Drill Team,
and was an undefeated “Pop-Lock” danc
er at the Student Union during his tenure
in Ram’s Land. Good worked with the
Alexander Youth Network as an in-home
therapist. He worked for the Winston-Sa-
lem/Forsyth County Schools as a special
Creative Video in 1985. They worked to
gether for six years and Greg, Jr. helped
his dad with this project after that.
Piggott recalled that he and Good
would often compete in various dance
contests at local clubs such as the Black
Velvet, Disco 311, Sugar Bears, and oth
er talent arenas. They practiced together
while watching Soul Train, watching the
dance moves of Jeffrey Daniels of Shala-
mar, and learning grooves from youth in
the community. Sometimes they won tro
phies, or a check for $150 or more. They
were having fun.
“We actually watched and studied the
dances on Soul Train. We were sliding on
dirt from the Red Field, a basketball court
in Bowen Park, while doing the Moon
Walk. We would be pantomiming like we
were pulling a rope, pulling ourselves up
by the collar, pulling our hands as if we
are in a mirror, floating as if suspended
from an umbrella, roping, popping, and
locking,” Piggott said. “We would come
home from college and that’s how we
came together. We would go to Goodwill,
buy a big coat, a skinny tie, baggy pants,
a big apple hat, white gloves, something
black and white. We took the people back
to Vaudeville. Gregory even put lights on
his hands and shoes.”
See Catman on A3
Fri July 12
Sat July 13
Sun July 14
FIT2BU DAY
Chocolate
CurvyShe ih 7pm
Full-figured
Fashion Show
The Chocolate
Factory
Heavy Hordourves
Footnote Cafe
634 W. 4th Street
Winston-Salem SC
Tickets: S35
Attire
White to Dark
Chocolate
Hop Dance, Hi l l,
and other exercise
demonstrations
Vendor and
Hospitality booths
Athletes Advantage
1612 Stratford Road
W inston Salem SC
Free & Open to the
Public
10am to 1pm
With W illy Wonka Twist
Footnote Cafe
634 W. 4th Street
Winston-Salem SC
Tickets: $30
WEEKEND
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Friday July 12 -
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