Burke defends NW Ward seat, Knox bucks party to challenge Joines

Mayor Pro Tem Vivian Burke gives election staffer Joshua Chunn a lesson on penmanship.

Mayor Pro Tem Vivian Burke resolved the suspense about whether she'll seek election by filing in the 11th hour.

The nine-term incumbent, who has represented the Northeast Ward on Winston-Salem City Council since 1977, said she hadn't decided whether to run again until just recently.

"I prayed about it," Burke said. "I had a meeting at my house last night. I had a roomful of people. They talked; I listened. I told them they would know my decision tomorrow."

Burke faces two challengers, Brenda Diggs and Jemmise Bowen, in the Democratic Party.

Other last-minute filings include James Lee Knox, a Republican filing for mayor. He said he has his wife's blessing, but not that of the Forsyth County Republican Party, which is focusing resources elsewhere. Knox was elected last year to the Forsyth County Soil and Water Board and ran unsuccessfully for the North Ward seat on city council in 1985 and 1989.

In a sign the GOP is making a play to expand its standing on city council, where seven out of eight seats are held by Democrats, the party is fielding candidates in all but one ward.

Its best shot may be the Northwest Ward, which has the second highest percentage of registered Republican voters, outside of the West Ward, which is represented by Republican Robert Clark. Lida Hayes-Calvert, a small business owner who served on the city's Citizens' Organizational Efficiency & Review Committee, and has hired a consultant who formerly worked on the staff of Congresswoman Virginia Foxx.

In the Southwest Ward, Republicans Donald T. Shaw and Robert Bultman will contend in the Republican primary for the opportunity to take on Democratic incumbent Dan Besse.

Republican Nathan Jones is challenging Democratic incumbent Molly Leight in the South Ward, while Republican Mike Hunger has filed for the Southeast Ward seat currently represented by James Taylor Jr. and Republican Patricia Kleinmaier has stepped up to meet Democratic incumbent Denise D. Adams in the North Ward.

The survivor of the Democratic primary in the Northeast Ward will face nominal competition from Michael Owens.

Intra-party competition in a couple primaries intensified over the final two days of filing.

Just before the noon deadline today, Laura Elliott, an ordained pastor with a progressive platform filed as a Democrat in the Northwest Ward. Yesterday, Noah Reynolds, a scion of the Reynolds tobacco family, filed as a Democrat. Rounding out the three-way Democratic primary is Jeff MacIntosh, a realtor whose interest in the seat was known before filing opened.

And in the Democratic primary for the East Ward, Phil Carter, an active member of the local Democratic Party, jumped in with incumbent Derwin Montgomery and longtime councilwoman Joycelyn Johnson.

Yesterday, Carolyn Highsmith, a community leader in the Konnoak Hills neighborhood who played a leadership role in a campaign to raise home values reduced in the recent tax revaluation, filed to challenge incumbent Molly Leight in the Democratic primary for the South Ward.

In the West Ward, incumbent Robert Clark has two challengers in the Republican primary: Howard Hudson and Andrew Johnson.

Greensboro City Council filings: Trouble!

Among the 11th-hour filings for the Greensboro City Council race, some surprises surface.

The marquee story is in the at-large race, where among the usual gang — incumbents Yvonne Johnson and Marikay Abuzuaiter; old hands like Mike Barber, Jean Brown and Chris Lawyer; and "Who Dat?" candidates like Marlando Pridgen and Joseph Landis — are a couple of familiar names. My old friend Ben Holder, AKA the Troublemaker, has thrown his hat into the ring. I hear he's getting an "S" tattooed on his chest to get properly fired up for the race. And young activist/journalist/scenester Katei Cranford has decided to get into the game, too. Just one of the fascinating things about her is that she's the niece of Billy "Crash" Craddock. 

There are no surprises in districts 1 and 2. In D-1, incumbents Dianne Bellamy-Small has jazz singer and activist Tigress McDaniel and city insider Sharon Hightower looking to take the throne. In D-2 no one has challenged Jamal Fox's move for Jim Kee's seat.In District 3, Zack Matheny will defend his seat against Corey Pisher and Wendell Roth. John Underwood has joined the fray between D-4 incumbent Nancy Hoffmann and former mayor Bill Knight.

And in District 5, Tony Wilkins, who was appointed to his seat after Sen. Trudy Wade took statewide office, faces shapeshifter Sal Leone and another  new name, my old friend Alex Seymour.

I worked with Alex at Bert's Seafood Grille years ago, and we remain friends. He's become active in city government on a grassroots level, and is a fixture (or, at least, he was) in the beard and bluegrass scenes.

Consider this a disclosure. Of course, I've known Wilkins (and most of the other people running) for years, as well.

Mounting evidence of food stamp delays at Forsyth DSS

While Forsyth County Department of Social Services Director Joe Raymond insists there is nothing out of the ordinary about the number of food-stamp clients experiencing delays in receiving benefits, reports continue to accumulate indicating otherwise.

More than two weeks ago, Winston-Salem human rights advocate Richard Cassidy wrote:

Forsyth County Department of Social Services is changing computer systems and must migrate the 26,000 "family units" approved for food stamps to a new computer system (the number of "family units" alone is more than 1/10 of Forsyth County's population.) A "family unit" is everyone living in the household that is approved for food stamps.

During the migration, many, many people cannot access their funds and thus cannot buy food and must seek food elsewhere, like Crisis Control Ministries, AIDS Care Service, Agape Care & Share or other community food banks.

Last week I spoke with a single mother of five children. When she went to buy groceries, her monthly benefits were unavailable and she left the grocery store embarrassed.

We bring this to your attention as fodder for prayer, discernment and service.

Republican Lida Hayes-Calvert enters Northwest Ward race

Voters in the Northwest Ward of Winston-Salem will have solid choice between strong Democratic and Republican candidates in the general election in November.

The seat became open when Councilwoman Wanda Merschel, a Democrat, announced her retirement last month. Jeff MacIntosh, a realtor who shares a common history with Merschel of community leadership to revitalize a core neighborhood, filed early.

Today, Republican Lida Hayes-Calvert filed for the seat. Out of eight wards, only the West Ward is currently represented by a Republican council member. Of the remaining seven, the Northwest Ward is the most competitive for a Republican, with a breakdown of 31.1 percent registered Republicans, 40.6 percent Democrats and 27.9 percent unaffiliated voters.

"I'm a conservative; I want lower taxes," Hayes-Calvert said. "I want a safe community, not just the Northwest Ward but all across the city. I want us to be able to create more jobs. I've been able to create more jobs in Winston-Sale, and I know how to do it."

As the owner of S&L Painting & Decorating, Hayes-Calvert has received widespread recognition as a woman entrepreneur who built a successful business in a traditionally male-dominated industry. She comes to the race with experience as a member of the Citizens Organizational Efficiency and Review Committee, which recommended $4 million in cost savings in the city's annual budget.

Hayes-Calvert has strong institutional support in the GOP considering that her campaign chairman, Bill Miller, is a former chairman of the Forsyth County Republican Party. And as an indication of potential financial support for the campaign, the candidate has hired Todd Poole, a former staffer for US Rep. Virginia Foxx, as a consultant.

Hayes-Calvert said she decided to start her own business in the 1980s because she believed her opportunity for advancement would be more limited in the corporate world.

"It's a little different making your check rather than someone paying your check," she said. "You've got to really want it. I've been doing it since 1986. Especially at that time being a woman in construction wasn't easy. When I'd walk into the office to talk to people in the business the first thing I'd see is a calendar of naked women. That wasn't very fun. But you tell them why you're there, and you move past it. I might not be the smartest cookie on the block, but I work hard."

Hayes-Calvert said she was disappointed that the current council didn't act on more of the efficiency committee's recommendations for cost savings.

"I think a lot of that — I hate to say that — is politically driven," she said. "It's not taking into consideration all of the citizens of Winston-Salem.... We've got to look at the forest, not the trees."

As an example, a recommendation that the city begin requiring doctor's notes from residents who want special backyard trash pickup didn't make it into the final budget. Winston-Salem's per capita rate of enrollment in the special program is about five time higher than most other cities across the state. The efficiency committee estimated the city could save $114,000 by requiring doctor's notes and thereby reducing abuse of the program.

"That is wasteful spending," Hayes-Calvert said. "Anybody can just call in and say, 'Hey, I want my garbage picked up in my backyard,' and the city will just say, 'Hey, okay, what's your address? No doctor's note need.'"

Like Merschel, MacIntosh is a moderate Democrat who became engaged in city politics as a neighborhood advocate. MacIntosh has volunteered with Merschel's campaigns in the past.

"I've known Wanda and her husband for awhile," MacIntosh said. "They were pioneers and early adopters in the West End, similar to me and my wife in the Holly Avenue area. We faced some of the same challenges with people converting properties to offices and multifamily housing. I can't think of any issues as it regards neighborhoods where we differ."

MacIntosh approaches neighborhood stabilization not only from the standpoint of protecting residents' quality of life but also promoting economic development to benefit the entire city.

"Preservation is important as an economic development tool," he said. "It's important from a who-we-are-and-where-we've-been standpoint, but it's also important to expanding the tax base. You can only afford so much preservation because it's cool and old."

MacIntosh also supports many of the downtown revitalization initiatives supported by Merschel during her 16 years on council.

"I'm a huge fan of the conversion of 4th Street from one way to two way," he said. "The Restaurant Row program people saw as risky, but it turned out to be a huge success."

Going forward, MacIntosh said the challenge for city council is to fill in the patchwork of uneven growth in and around downtown.

"We've got a bunch of holes in between that are unattractive to walk past," he said. "They're not generating any tax revenue. We need to entice people to reuse infrastructure that we already have. We can't just give incentives to every business that asks for it or we would run out of money. The key is figuring out how to do it strategically."

Video: the Association of Alternative Newsmedia conference in Miami

Miami was like this. I'm at 1:53:

WATCH: Interview with Jesse Jackson

As part of this week's cover story about Jesse Jackson and the 50th anniversary of the civil rights struggle in Greensboro that forced desegregation in public places, check out this video of a portion of YES! Weekly's interview with Jackson this June at the International Civil Rights Center & Museum.

In the clip, Jackson answered reporter Eric Ginsburg's questions about parts of Greensboro, people he remembers, his first time speaking before a large crowd and the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement.

Video by Harvey Robinson and and Carolyn de Berry from Monkeywhale Productions. Edited by Kevin Smith.

Thanks to Gloria Pitts and Courtney Jackson at NC A&T University, Jordan Stowe, Robinson, de Berry and Smith for their help.

500 rally in Winston-Salem in support of Trayvon Martin

Nicole Little clasps hands with Darryl Hunt while Larry Little looks on during a rally to support Trayvon Martin.

Nicole Little, a recent Wake Forest graduate, shared the bed of a pickup truck as a stage with Larry Little (no relation), a former Black Panther and former Winston-Salem councilman, and Darryl Hunt, a man who was wrongfully convicted for the murder of a white newspaper editor as hundreds gathered on a grassy hillside in East Winston to demonstrate support for Trayvon Martin.

Larry Little speaks, Winston Mutual building in back

"I have nieces, I have nephews, I have friends, I have colleagues, whomever it may be — and this could be any one of you all," Nicole Little said. "Any one of you all. And that's the message that we're trying to stress today. At the height of this trial I saw so many people talking so much, had so many opinions to say on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. The memes were out of control. I asked myself: How can we make this work? Social media is a powerful measure. Very powerful. Everybody has something on their phone where they're able to reach a thousand people with the click of a button. Do you know how powerful that is?"

Little decided to organize the rally on Sunday morning and began mobilizing friends and colleagues through social media.

"It's okay to post a status," she said. "It's okay to black out your profile. It's okay to do all of that. But if we take that social media presence and translate it into something physical, we could make a difference in Winston-Salem and all across the United States. Don't let nobody tell you different."

Larry Walters (in striped shirt) attended with his son.

Larry Little drew a comparison between Martin, an unarmed black teenager who was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer, and Emmett Till, who was murdered by a white lynch mob in the 1950s in a case that resulted in no convictions.

"In 1954, in Money, Mississippi, a young, black male, Emmett Till was brutally murdered because he dared to talk to a white woman," Little said. "He was brutally murdered. He was given a railroad of a trial.... An all-white jury found these murderers not guilty of killing Emmett Till. Last Saturday, essentially an all-white jury in Sanford, Florida found George Zimmerman not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin."

Little said Till's death inspired the civil rights movement.

"This is your modern-day Emmett Till struggle," he said. "An old head like me has more yesterdays than tomorrows. It's about you, the youth, the future and the young at heart.

Protesters lined Martin Luther King Jr. Drive

"Often, when we got successful as a people we moved out of our community, out into the suburbs, or whatever you want to call it," Little continued. "Trayvon wasn't in the 'hood; he was in a gated community. He wasn't safe because he was black. He was killed by George Zimmerman, tracked down and killed like a dog."

Larry Walter brought his 9-year-old son, Jalen Laughlin, to the rally.

"I just feel like the system failed us," Walter said. "Someone killed someone and got away with it. Point blank."

Tony Caldwell was one of many people discussing the verdict in numerous small conversations that took place at the rally.

Dee Jackson (wearing pink dress) posed with friends.

"Given the verdict of not guilty, it showed me just where we are in terms of being citizens — I'm talking about black men," he said. "A young man who was coming home from a store minding his own business and was followed by a stranger, I would have reacted the same way. There would probably have been a confrontation. To get a not-guilty verdict, it's hurtful. It lit a fire in me, and it lit a fire in me and all these people here. We've got to get these laws changed."

The program included not only speeches, but also poetry and freedom songs, including "We Who Believe in Freedom" with the refrain and verse: "We who believe in freedom cannot rest/ We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes/ Until the killing of black men, black mothers' sons/ Is as important as the killing of white men, white mothers' sons."

Lenee Fair brought her nephew, Nehemiah Dalton.

Councilman Derwin Montgomery, who represents the East Ward, connected the Trayvon Martin case to the story of Jordan Davis, another 17-year-old Florida teenager who was killed by an adult.

"He was shot and he was killed in his car because they said that the music was too loud," Montgomery said. "They said he had a shotgun, but when they investigated there was no shotgun in the car. There was another young, black male dead because someone thought his life was not as valuable as somebody else's. We have to come together as a community to say that we stand for justice, we speak up for justice and we ensure that his voice will not end here."

Jimmy Boyd, a former president of the Winston-Salem NAACP, said the gathering reminded him of the 1960s.

"I don't see a lot of people with silver and gray here; it's young folks," he said. "That's powerful. I wish we could see these lines of people at the ballot box. I wish we could see them in meetings."

The crowd swelled to about 500 as the evening wore on, and people fanned out along both sides of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive between New Walkertown Road and East 5th Street, standing about six deep on the sidewalk and in the yard of an apartment row.

The atmosphere was both festive and determined as demonstrators lined the street, cheering wildly as departing protesters blared car horns in a cacophony of solidarity and young men zoomed by on motorbikes.

"No justice, no peace," they chanted.

More candidates join Greensboro City Council races

Several candidates filed to run for Greensboro City Council today, and some of them are names you're apt to recognize.

Mayor Robbie Perkins and at-large Councilwoman Marikay Abuzuaiter both filed to run for the same offices again today. Joseph Landis, a newcomer to Greensboro politics, also put his name in for the at-large race today. There are currently seven candidates signed up to run at large.

For now, Tony Wilkins is the only person running for District 5 and Tigress McDaniel is the sole candidate running for District 1. Districts 2, 3 and 4 each have two candidates, though past years the fields have been more crowded. Perkins and challenger George Hartzman are the only people who already filed to run for mayor, though at-large Councilwoman Nancy Vaughan said she will run and stickers and magnets for her mayoral bid have already appeared in a few scattered places across town.

Filing ends this Friday, July 19.

UPDATE July 17 (1:45 p.m.): At-large Councilwoman Nancy Vaughan has filed to run for mayor today. Corey Pysher is running in District 3, along with Councilman Zack Matheny and Wendell Roth.

Yesterday, John Alexander Underwood filed in District 4 (joining former Mayor Bill Knight and Councilwoman Nancy Hoffmann).

Zimmerman verdict elicits disappointment, sadness, resolve in Greensboro protest

Ashanti Sanders signs a poster in solidarity with Martin.

William Robinson speaks about the acquittal.

Tigress McDaniel gives a legal seminar.

Upwards of 150 people gathered in front at February One Place in front of the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro on Sunday to show support for slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin in the wake of a jury's acquittal of George Zimmerman.

Protesters carried signs reading "The life of a child should be respected" and "Stop or my Skittles will shoot." They chanted "No justice, no peace; no racist police" and "Brown, yellow, black or white; same struggle, same fight."

Jermaine Taylor came to the protest with his wife and three children, including a 2-year-old son.

"Just to know I'm raising a young, black male, it feels like my son is not safe," he said. "I don't feel safe with him being by himself. I feel that the justice system failed us [by] not allowing all the trial evidence to be heard. I don't know what guilty looks like. [Zimmerman] stereotyped [Martin] as looking like he was up to no good. I don't want my son to be on the bad end of looking guilty."

Early in the protest, which began at 5 p.m., a group split off to march to the Guilford County Jail, accompanied by Cakalak Thunder Drum Corps. With their return, the crowd in front of the civil rights museum swelled to about 175. Police allowed the protesters to occupy February One place because there was not adequate space on the sidewalk to accommodate them. Protest leaders cautioned against spilling into Elm Street.

Several people took turns speaking about the meaning of the verdict, in which a jury found Zimmerman not guilty of all charges in the killing of Martin on Saturday night.

William Robinson said the killing of Emmett Till, a black teenager lynched by a white mob in Mississippi in the 1950s that resulted in acquittals, set the stage for the verdict in the Zimmerman case. 

"We know better," Robinson said. "It seems wrong because it is wrong. When they killed Trayvon Martin, they killed a part of me."

Tigress McDaniel said she worries about how her 3-year-old son will be perceived by people like George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain who stalked Martin because he thought the young man looked suspicious. Martin was wearing a hoodie.

"I put my son in a Gap hoodie; I didn't even know anything about this," McDaniel recalled. "And then the case was publicized. The cutest little red hoodie. And when I heard about this, my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach.

A former law student, McDaniel wound up giving an impromptu legal seminar.

"It will come to a point when thing like this will become default," she said. "'Oh, that's just 'stand your ground.' How does that make sense? He came into this space."

Alisia Pacheco was walking downtown when she stumbled on the rally. McDaniel's talk resonated with her. Why couldn't Trayvon Martin stand his ground? McDaniel asked.

"The police already said, 'Stand down,'" Pacheco said, alluding to a police dispatcher's instructions to Zimmerman to not follow Martin.

Ed Whitfield tied the events in Florida to the community's treatment of young black men in Greensboro. He said young people in Smith Homes, a public housing community, "are treated as if they have no value." Relating the racial profiling of Martin to a curfew imposed on young people in Greensboro in the wake of public disorder, Whitfield said adults have a responsibility to ensure that there are wholesome activities for young people.

"Every one of these kids we've lost is a loss to all of us," Whitfield said, "because we lose their creativity. We lose their energy."