A8
February 27, 2020
The Chronicle
An example of how not to
celebrate Black History Month
As the associate editor
of The Chronicle, one part
of my job is to review and
edit every story that goes
into the newspaper. I take
that job very seriously as
I believe our readers de
serve to read stories that
are well written, accurate,
grammatically correct and
of interest to our commu
nity. When I say “our com
munity,” I am referring not
only to the East Winston
and the African American
community, but also to
the Winston-Salem com
munity, because I believe
we are all connected and
to prosper and thrive, we
must support each other.
However, I must also
point out that I am a white
woman working among an
all-black staff at a black
newspaper. My nearly six
years of working at The
Chronicle has educated me
to a culture that is some
what different than the one
I grew up in, although I
grew up on Waughtown
Street in Southside and
proud to be a Parkland
grad (Go Mustangs!). Out
side of work, many of my
friends are white.
That being said, we
recently received a sub
mission honoring Black
History Month from Lt.
Gov. Dan Forest touting
a forgotten black man,
Thomas Oscar Fuller, the
first African American
elected to the N.C. Senate
in 1899. It started out with
the interesting fact that, ac
cording to Forest, “There’s
a framed poster from the
year 1899 hanging in the
Lieutenant Governor’s of
fice, with small portraits of
all of that year’s members
in the North Carolina Sen
ate. You wouldn’t recog
nize the names anymore.
But the reason we keep
it on the wall is the man
hidden in the very bot
tom right-hand corner. He
is listed as Senator T.A.
Fuller, though his name is
printed incorrectly. He’s
the only Senator not listed
in alphabetical order.”
Wow, Forest had me
captivated! A mystery ...
why was his name mis
spelled ... why was he not
listed in alphabetical or
der? I kept reading. Forest
explained:
“It’s time he got his
due. Thomas Oscar Fuller
of Warrenton was the first
black American elected to
4 decisions teach heart lessons
BY SARAH FEDELE
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
Betty Speaks, health
services coordinator for
the City of Winston-Sa
lem, says she has learned
a lot in her life. She is not
talking about her nursing
education or the lessons
she has learned through-
out her 40-year career as
a registered nurse. But her
own body has given her
some life lessons that she
shares with other women
in our community.
“I have a cardiac con
dition called supraventric
ular tachycardia, which
means that occasionally
my heart would race out
of control,” shared Betty.
“I had learned all the little
tricks to help make it stop
and over the years, they
had been effective.”
However, one morn
ing, while home alone in
November of 2Q15, she
had an episode that lasted
over 35 minutes. “Eventu
ally I got very dizzy and I
felt as though I was going
to pass out. So, here I am,
a trained nurse for over
40 years. Did I call 911?
- Oh, no! I lay down on
the couch and propped
my feet up with pillows
just to keep from pass
ing out. And I laid there
until the racing stopped.”
Betty shakes her head and
laughs at herself a little.
Decision number one.
“When I could col
lect myself, do you think I
called my doctor and said
‘Doc, this is something
I hadn’t had before?’ Or
even drive myself to the
ER?” Betty asked. “Oh no,
I got up, got dressed and
drove myself to work. As
if the City of Winston-Sa
lem can’t operate without
me.” Decision number 2.
“My decisions could
Judie Holcomb-Pack
Scott Andree Bowen
Winston-Salem City Council SW Ward
INNOVATION FOR THE PEOPLE
Will fight for:
Economic mobility for ALL of Winston-Salem
Making Winston-Salem a leader in the fight on Climate Change
Giving voice to the people by holding monthly community forums
the North Carolina Senate.
Indeed, he was the only
black person elected to the
Senate until 1968. Just as
he is treated in the poster,
he was treated in real life.
Sen. Fuller was seated
in the back corner of the
chamber, next to an open
door that subjected him
to insults and threats dur
ing official proceedings.
He was not permitted to
serve on any committees.
Still, he left an indelible
mark on our state’s history.
Born just two years after
the Civil War, Fuller had
already earned a bache
lor’s and a master’s degree
from Shaw University and
served his community as
a school teacher, principal
and Baptist minister before
his election to the Senate.
Despite his isolation in
office, Fuller was cred
ited with preserving the
number of schools serv
ing black children in North
Carolina and increasing
the frequency of circuit
court hearings statewide.
He vigorously defended
black Americans’ right to
vote. One of his speeches
was described by the press
as having “swept the au
dience away on wings of
oratory.”
I was hooked! What an
inspiring story to tell dur
ing Black History Month.
And that’s when Forest
left me reeling. As I con
tinued to read his article,
a creepy feeling came over
me.
Had he just ended
the story there, it would
most certainly have made
the Forum section of The
Chronicle. But my con
science would not let me
Submitted photo
Betty Speaks
RHONDA FOXX
have ended tragically if I
had passed out while driv
ing. I could have killed
myself or taken an inno
cent person with me,” she
reflected.
When Betty got to
work and sat down at her
desk, the racing started
again. “This time it came
on with a vengeance. My
secretary, who was talking
to me at the time said, ‘I
could tell that something
was wrong. It seemed as
though you were looking
through me.’ She said she
could tell I was leaving
her,” remembers Betty.
She slumped over on her
desk, sweating profusely
and nauseated. “When
my medical staff said they
were going to call 911,
do you think I said, ‘Oh
yes, it’s time to call?’”
Betty mused. “Oh no, I
said, ‘Wait - wait - wait,
SCOTT
ANDREE-BOWEN
approve this piece. The
next sentence stated, “I
take pride in and draw in
spiration from the fact that
Sen. Fuller was a Republi
can.”
I take offense to Dan
Forest for mentioning this
in an otherwise great story
during an election year
in which he is running as
a Republican. In fact, he
continues by listing “...
others worthy of note”
who also happen to be
black Republicans.
He ends by saying,
“As your Governor, I look
forward to memorializing
leaders like those through
monuments at the State
Capital and other pubic
grounds. We must make
sure that North Carolina’s
black leaders finally get
their due.”
It is my personal opin
ion that Dan Forest is pan
dering to the black media
and our readers. I can’t
help but wonder if Forest
sent this release to only
black newspapers in our
state.
A great opportunity to
educate us about an un
sung hero ... lost due to
partisan pandering.
And that leads me to
question if that’s the real
reason that they keep that
poster on the wall.
Mr. Forest, a bit of ad
vice from a former Toast-
master: Know your audi
ence. Know your subject.
Know when to stop talk
ing.
Judie Holcomb-Pack is
the associate editor of The
Chronicle.
CITY COUNCIL
Find him on Facebook
Scott Andree Bowen for WS City Council SW Ware
1 or online www.scottandreebowen4ws.com
Forward With Experience
Increased Recruitment of Police and Fire Fighters, with pay bonus
to veterans
Almost $4 million in park and strollway improvements
Over $2 million for street and sidewalk improvements
New fire station in South Ward with community space
Activation of Sustainability Council for the City
Protection of Peter Oliver historic site as part of African-American
history on expanded Strollway
Paid for by The Committee to Elect John Larson to City Council
DEMOCRAT FOR U.S. CONGRESS
it will stop.’ Thank good
ness, they didn’t listen to
me and they called EMS
immediately.” Decision
number 3.
When she got to the
hospital, she was treated
with IV medications that
stopped the racing. Then
in a few weeks, she had an
ablation procedure. Dur
ing this procedure, they
were able to find the place
on her heart causing the ar
rhythmia and deaden that
place of the heart to stop
the erratic heart rhythms.
“After I was officially
released from my car
diologist, I knew it was
time for me to make some
lifestyle changes. I started
eating more fruits and veg
etables, and a lot of those
came out of my Daddy’s
garden. I also started
See Heart on A9
RHONDA’S PRIORITIES:
Gun reform
Education
Medicare for All
Criminal justice reform
Our environment
66
4 fresh voice with the experience
to get things done.