WS Chronicle

WSSU mourns excellent student, leader, mentor Rodney Ellis

To the Editor:

Winston-Salem State University [WSSU] is deeply saddened by the recent passing of Rodney Ellis ’99.

During his time at WSSU, Mr. Ellis was an excellent student, leader, and mentor. After his graduation, he remained connected to the university, mentoring our students and engaging with our faculty.

He was a passionate advocate for teachers and the issues they face inside and outside the classroom. His devotion to education and to students will be sorely missed across this state.

The Winston-Salem State University community is grieving the loss of this exceptional man.

Winston-Salem State University

NCAA gains kudos for taking games away from N.C.

To the Editor:

The NAACP applauds the NCAA; its President, Dr. Mark Emmert; its Board of Directors; and all of its member institutions for taking this courageous step in support of the rights of transgender people all over this great nation.  Only through such bold action can we change the attitudes and actions of those who continue to be guided by fear and even hatred of those who seem to be different.

North Carolina’s enactment of House Bill 2 (“HB2”), and its unabashed protection of those who discriminate against the LGBTQ community takes us back to a very dark time in our nation’s history, when de jure segregation and discrimination were the norm.

The NCAA’s laudable decision to put its considerable economic weight on the side of justice, humanity, inclusion and equality shows that measures such as HB2 ultimately cannot stand.

The North Carolina legislature could have chosen to allow municipalities to lead the way in improving civil rights and labor protections within the state; it instead chose to handcuff all of its municipalities and to ensure that the least progressive thinking on these issues determines the rights of all North Carolinians and all persons visiting the state.

North Carolina’s HB2 is an affront to everything the NAACP stands for. It overturned more than a dozen local ordinances and pre-empts cities in North Carolina from:

*Creating a higher minimum wage and improved working conditions,

*Enacting stronger workplace anti-discrimination laws, and

*Ensuring fair and equal access to public accommodations.

Just as with the NCAA’s decision in 2001 not to hold championships in states that fly the Confederate flag over their capitols, this week’s decision by the NCAA again shows its moral courage and leadership.  We join the NCAA and those states that have banned official travel to North Carolina and call for the repeal of North Carolina’s retrogressive and reprehensible HB2.

Cornell William Brooks 

NAACP President and CEO Baltimore

Pat McCrory’s discrimination bill has cost N.C. millions of dollars

To the Editor:

What a disappointment for basketball fans. Add this to the thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars Pat McCrory’s discrimination bill have cost North Carolina.

Fortunately, voters will soon have a chance to undo the damage McCrory and Republicans in the General Assembly have done and put our state back on track.

Dave Miranda, 

Communications Director 

North Carolina Democratic Party

Raleigh

NCAA’s hypocrisy shows as it moves games from N.C.

To the Editor:

There is an expectation of privacy when women and children go into the shower or locker room, and it’s more than an expectation – it’s a right.  And our elected officials have a duty to protect that right.

The NCAA is punishing the State of North Carolina because it dares to stand up for the common-sense notion that everyone has a right to privacy, decency, and safety in bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms.

The NCAA is guilty of extreme hypocrisy – while it bullies the people of North Carolina to allow boys in the girls’ locker rooms, showers, and bathrooms, it prohibits boys from playing on the girls’ sports teams.

Twenty-four states have sued the federal government over the very mandate that the NCAA is now trying to force on the people of North Carolina.

NC Values Coalition Raleigh