More than a dozen current and former firefighters are calling out leaders within the Winston-Salem Fire Department for allowing a culture of racism and hatred to fester. During a press conference on Monday, July 20, members of Omnibus, a local organization of Black firefighters, laid out a history of racism that includes gorilla masks, nooses, and gobs of used chewing tobacco.
Five officers and a nurse are being charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of John Neville, a Black man who died from asphyxia after being restrained by officers in the Forsyth County Jail and after telling officers several times “I can’t breathe.”
Psi Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. in Winston-Salem has been given an excellent opportunity to give back to the Winston-Salem and Forsyth County community during this pandemic. Beginning June 23 and continuing through August 13, Psi Phi Chapter will participate in Grab-and-Go food bag distributions at Omega Friendship Center, located at 2336 Patterson Ave. The food bags will be given out from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
In the midst of calls for police reform and defunding law enforcement agencies across the country, earlier this week the Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity invited assistant police chiefs William Penn and Natasha Miles, and Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough to participate in a virtual town hall.