A day with the King: A look back at
Dr. King’s visit to Winston-Salem
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
While the date
probably won’t show up
in any history books, civil
rights museums, or your
favorite search engine,
for the thousands of
people who were able to
witness the scene at Goler
Metropolitan AME Zion
Church, April 13, 1964,
is a day they will never
forget. On that day, just
a year after his famous “I
Have a Dream” speech,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
stopped in Winston-Salem
to galvanize voters.
More than 1,000 made
it inside the church located
on East Fourth Street,
while thousands more
camped outside to just
get a glimpse of the civil
rights icon. The focus of
King’s speech was the
importance of voting,
but according to old
newspaper clippings, those
in attendance recalled Dr.
King discussing the need
to keep protests peaceful-,
what freedom really
means, and racial injustice.
One of the people who
managed to find a seat
Submitted photo
A marker outside Goler Metropolitan AME Zion Church commemorates April 13,1964, the day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the church
located on E. 4th Street.
inside was community
activist Velma Hopkins.
In 1943 Hopkins helped
organize a strike against
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Company, which drew a
crowd ofmore than 10,000
people and led to the
founding of the only union
to be formed by Reynolds
employees.
When discussing
King’s visit with The
Chronicle in 1993, three
years before she died,
Hopkins said what she
remembers most is how
humble Dr. King was.
“I remember he was a
down-to-earth man. And
he kept everyone’s feet
in the grass. He wasn’t a
man who was big on I’s
and little on U’s,” Hopkins
continued. “I think Dr.
King did a beautiful job.
He was a God-sent man.
And whatever happened,
he will always be Dr.
Martin Luther King.”
Tagging along with
Hopkins that day was
Earline Parmon. Parmon,
who would go on to serve
on the Forsyth County
Board of Commissioners
and become the first
African American woman
in Forsyth County to be
elected to the N.C. Senate,
said when she heard Dr.
King speak, she was
inspired to do all she could
to uplift her community.
Parmon died in 2016 after
a brief illness, but through
her work and willingness
to go above and beyond
the call of duty, her legacy
lives on.
“I remember thinking
he was the next best
thing to God. He was the
ultimate person,” Parmon
continued. “The impact
was great on me ... I had
taken part in some of the
marches and sit-ins since I
was around 16 or 17 (years
old), but this was the thing
that really made me know
what I wanted to do for my
community. 1 had made up
my mind.”
Rahman Wilson
who was 14 at the time,
said he remembers how
excited people were on
that day. Wilson said he
had planned to attend, but
when rumbles of a bomb
threat began to surface, his
mother, who was the local
director of the Congress
of Racial Equality, said he
had to stay home. “Mom
said we couldn’t go so all
five of us had to stay at
the house. We didn’t have
a radio or anything like
that, so we just waited
until she got back,” Wilson
said. Fortunately, the event
went over without any
issues and Wilson said
he remembers how proud
he was when his mother
returned and gave them all
the details.
“When you think about
Winston-Salem was really
on the map when it came
to civil rights, but I felt
like when Dr. King came,
the spirit of the people
really came alive,” Wilson
said.
On Monday, Jan. 18,
The Chronicle will host
the 21st Annual Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Prayer
Breakfast. Because of the
pandemic, the event will
be held virtually. The event
is scheduled to begin at 9
a.m. and can be viewed on
The Chronicle’s Facebook
page or the “WinstonSalem
Chronicle” YouTube
channel.
The Chronicle would
like to share more stories
from individuals who
were in attendance during
Dr. King’s visit to Goler
Metropolitan AME Zion
Church. If you were in
attendance or have more
information you would like
to share please email name
and contact information
to tstinson@wschronicle.
com.
Local students return to classroom, while virus numbers
continue to soar
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Winston-Salem/
Forsyth County Schools
continued its phased re-
entry plan to in-person
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learning earlier this week.
On Monday, Jan. 11,
grades 2, 3, and 6 returned
to the classroom for the
first time in 10 months,
despite concerns about the
surge of the coronavirus
across the state.
Initially the WS/
FCS adopted reopening
standards that followed
positivity rates gathered
by the Forsyth County
Department of Public
Health Department, but a
few weeks later and just a
day before she announced
her resignation, former
Superintendent Angela
Filephoto
By the end of the month all students in the local school district will have the option to
return to in-person learning.
P. Hairston announced
changes to the standards.
The new standards align
reopening with the Center
for Disease Control’s
(CDC) indicators for Safe
School Opening.
Those indicators
include the number of new
cases per 100,000 persons
within the last 14 days,
otherwise known as the
“Incidence Rate,” and the
percentage of lab tests that
are positive during the last
14 days, or the “Percent
Positive.” The CDC Core
See School on A2
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MLK Prayer Breakfast airing