A4
March 11, 2021
The Chronicle
OPINION
The Chronicle
James Taylor Jr.
Publisher
Bridget Elam
Judie Holcomb-Pack
Timothy Ramsey
Tevin Stinson
Shayna Smith
Deanna Taylor
Managing Editor
Associate Editor
Sports Editor/Religion
Senior Reporter
Advertising Manager
Office Manager
Our Mission
The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the
residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth Coun
ty by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking
truth to power, standing for integrity and
encouraging open communication and
lively debate throughout the community
The
measure
of any
society
is how it
treats
its wome
Shalanda Young getting
strong, bipartisan support
for top OMB post
BY STACY M. BROWN
NNPA NEWSWIRE SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT
Shalanda Young, a native of Baton Rouge, La., who
serves as clerk and staff director for the House Appro
priations Committee, appears the likely choice to re
place Neera Tanden as President Joe Biden’s choice to
lead the Office of Management and Budget.
Reportedly, multiple Congressional Black Caucus
members are pushing for the experienced Young to
get the job. Several Republicans, who have otherwise
shredded, demeaned, and denigrated some of the presi
dent’s minority picks, have indicated they would con
firm Young. As staff director, Young already oversees
$1.3 trillion in annual appropriations bills.
She moved to Washington 20 years ago to serve as
a Presidential Management Fellow at the National In
stitute of Health. Young, who holds a master’s degree
from Tulane University and a bachelor of arts degree
from Loyola University New Orleans, had voiced sup
port for Tanden.
Tanden came under repeated fire over controversial
tweets she’s posted in the past.
“You saw Neera Tanden apologize profusely about
the tweets. I think what you also saw is an expansive
knowledge of various policy areas,” Young told law
makers. “I do think we both bring some skill sets in
different areas where we’d make a great team if both of
us were confirmed,” she continued.
During Young’s confirmation hearing as OMB dep
uty director, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) vowed his
support.
“You’ll get my support. Maybe for both jobs,” Sen.
Graham declared.
“I think our country would be served well by Sha
landa Young,” offered Congresswoman Rashida Talib
(D-Michigan).
After removing Tanden from consideration, the
White House said the president was still considering
his options.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Major
ity Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) have thrown their
support behind Young for OMB’s top job. In a joint
statement, Pelosi and Clyburn noted that they take
great pride in recommending Young as OMB director
as longtime members of the Appropriations Commit
tee.
“We have worked closely with her for several years •
and highly recommend her for her intellect, her deep
expertise on the federal budget, and her determination
to ensure that our budget reflects our values as a na
tion,” the pair wrote. “Her legislative prowess, exten
sive knowledge of federal agencies, incisive strategic
mind, and proven track record will be a tremendous as
set to the Biden-Harris administration.”
The statement continued: “Her leadership at OMB
would be historic and would send a strong message that
this administration is eager to work in close coordina
tion with Members of Congress to craft budgets that
meet the challenges of our time and can secure broad,
bipartisan support.”
First Lady Michelle Obama
October 13,2016
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Time for a non-discrimination
ordinance
To The Editor:
We often say we want equality (and equity) for all
... but do our communities truly provide for this? Not
if members of our community can still be discriminated
against for being LGBTQ, wearing a natural hair style,
being pregnant, having a disability, and more.
This is why Winston-Salem needs to provide ex
panded protection by issuing a non-discrimination ordi
nance. Many other municipalities in North Carolina have
already done so ... and more are working on theirs as
we speak. The sunset of HB142 (which replaced the in
famous “Bathroom Bill”) late last year has now created
opportunities for local communities to pass ordinances
to provide protections that the state government would
not previously allow. But we need to make sure that our
city, as it considers an ordinance, thinks about protecting
ALL groups who currently fall through the cracks under
existing laws and ordinances.
Let’s push our council to not only adopt this quickly
... but use this opportunity to protect from discrimination
the LGBTQ community and many others who face dis
crimination every day through employment, healthcare,
and other public accommodations. Winston-Salem is an
inclusive city ... and our non-discrimination ordinance
should be inclusive too.
I encourage everyone to learn more about what’s be
ing proposed at ndocoalition.com.
Angela Levine
Winston-Salem
The biggest he
Oscar H.
Blayton
Guest
Columnist
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The American news
media constantly reminds
us that the false narrative
by Donald Trump and his
supporters claiming that
Joe Biden did not fairly
win the 2020 presiden
tial election is “The Big
Lie.” But The Biggest Lie,
which much of the Ameri
can news media continues
to perpetuate, is “This is
not who we are,” when
ever the notion of white
supremacy produces a hor
rific act of violence or de
struction.
There were those
who said, “This is not
who we are,” when neo-
Nazis marched through
Charlottesville, Va.,
with tiki torches, spewing
vile racist and anti-Semitic
chants.
There were those who
said, “This is not who we
are,” when armed white
rioters stormed the Michi
gan state capitol while
white supremacists plotted
to abduct and possibly ex
ecute that state’s governor.
There are those who
continue to say, “This is
not who we are,” each time
another unarmed person of
color is murdered by a po
lice officer intoxicated by
a militarist law enforce ¬
ment culture.
And there were those
who said, “This is not who
we are,” when predomi
nantly white insurrection
ists invaded the U.S. Capi
tol to disrupt democracy in
the United States by void
ing the free and fair elec
tion of Joe Biden as the
46th President of this na
tion.
How much more mur
der, mayhem and raw ha
tred must be put on full
display before Americans
finally admit this IS who
we are?
As much as Amer
ica tries to sugar-
coat its shameful history,
the truth of our history
has been written in indel
ible bloodstains over many
centuries and from sea to
sea. Before America was
even America, the exter
mination of Native Ameri
cans by European settlers
set the tone for the destruc
tion of people and land in
the name of civilization
and progress.
This has always been
a civilization backed up
by lethal force, under the
guise of law and order,
that punishes and executes
anyone who appears to
be a threat to white su
premacy. In the minds
of many whites, because
Black people were brought
here to build and maintain
a white Christian country,
we are allowed to remain
here only as long as we
serve their needs.
To claim that this char
acterization is far-fetched
is to deny the bones of our
ancestors at the bottom
of the Atlantic Ocean and
scattered across every inch
of this land. This nation
was founded upon rape
and murder and there are
those who wish it to con
tinue this way. The death
of George Floyd speaks
clearly to this point.
Every murdered inno
cent testifies to the fact that
this is who we are. Every
individual of the First Na
tions who dies for lack of
proper health care testifies
to the fact that this is who
we are. Donald Trump
could not have gotten away
with locking children in
cages if this despicable
display of inhumanity was
not cheered on by mil
lions of supportive bigots.
Franklin Roosevelt could
not have gotten away with
herding innocent and loyal
Japanese Americans into
concentration camps with
out the tacit approval of
the majority ofAmericans,
including those of Italian
and German ancestry.
There are many white
Americans who know this
country’s major problems
are all about race. A large
portion of America’s white
people have a maniacal
fear of people of color,
who they deem to be “the
other,” and who they be
lieve want to deprive white
people of what they have.
But what does the poorest
www.wschronicle.com
and least educated white
person have besides his
whiteness? Abandoned by
the wealthy elitist of their
race, these wretched of
the earth are positioned
as pawns to barricade
the doors to opportunity
against people of color.
These loyalists of white
supremacy diligently carry
out their charge without
realizing that the only way
they can carry out this mis
sion is to remain outside
the doors themselves.
Many of the first Euro
peans who populated this
land were from the prisons
of England. There are esti
mates that approximately
10% of migrants to Ameri
ca between 1718 and 1775
were British convicts.
The character of the
American people is not
so saintly as to warrant a
blind faith in our goodness
in the face of racial hatred
and race-based violence
and murder on display ev
ery day. Many Europeans
who came to America’s
shores were fine people,
but the proof is in the pud
ding - and we need to put
an end to the biggest lie
and stop denying that this
is who we are.
Oscar H. Blayton is a
former Marine Corps com
bat pilot and human rights
activist who practices law
in Virginia.