WS Chronicle

President thanks voters for Forsyth Tech bond passage

To the Editor:

I want to thank the voters of Forsyth County, County Commission members, and supporters and friends of Forsyth Tech. The success of this bond referendum will allow us to provide new and much-needed ways to upgrade our facilities over the next six to eight years. In turn, this will give us the opportunity to train our students with the skills for local, better-paying, in-demand jobs, which will help our community grow economically.

Forsyth Tech is a good steward of the funds provided by the people, and we can assure our community that every dollar will be well spent,” he said.

Dr. Gary Green, 

President Forsyth Technical Community College

Winston-Salem

Note: The Forsyth County Community College Bonds were on the Nov. 8 ballot. The $65 million bond package passed by a 74 percent to 26 percent margin, receiving about 117,880 yes votes compared with 42,400 no votes.

We must work together to bridge the divide in our nation

To the Editor:

We stand at a critical moment in American democracy. Events over the past year make clear that our nation is deeply divided. We must work together to bridge this divide to create the conditions necessary to achieve unity, promote cross-racial understanding and eliminate racial tensions.

The origins of the  Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee) lie inside the White House.   In 1963,  President  John F. Kennedy issued a call for lawyers across the country to mobilize to help combat discrimination and protect the rights of minorities.

While some progress has been made, we know that this progress is fragile and can be easily unraveled.

As we prepare for President-Elect Donald Trump’s tenure and a change in administration, the Lawyers’ Committee will continue to advocate for policies that ensure that every man, woman and child living in this nation is treated with dignity, fairness, respect and equality.

In 2017, we will aggressively  push the new administration, as we have consistently pushed every administration for decades, to take action to promote and ensure equality and justice under law for all.

As we move toward 2017, there is unfinished business on core civil rights issues that must remain at the forefront of our national agenda.

Key issues include:

*Restoration of the Voting Rights Act and strong enforcement of federal civil rights laws to address evidence of ongoing voting discrimination and voter suppression in many communities across the country, and made evident throughout the 2016 election cycle;

*Policing reform to help strengthen police-community relations and end the scourge of unconstitutional policing practices in cities across the U.S.; and

*Sentencing reform to address stark racial disparities in federal sentencing, an issue that enjoys strong bipartisan support.

Last evening, citizens across the country exercised their First Amendment rights in response to the Nov. 8 election. These demonstrations make evident the deep level of polarization and divisiveness that exists in our country and underscores the need for leadership that promotes unity. The fate of American democracy is at stake.

Kristen Clarke, 

President and Executive Director Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Washington, D.C. 

Roy Cooper win as governor shows teachers made a difference

To the Editor:

This election showed that North Carolinians believe that investing in our public schools is a priority in this state.

Teachers stood strong for education and made a real difference during this election. We look for-

ward to working with Governor-elect Cooper to move North Carolina forward.

Mark Jewell,

President North Carolina Association of Educators

Raleigh

HBCU colleges fund leader congratulates Donald Trump

To the Editor:

Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) congratulates President-elect Donald J. Trump on his historic election as the 45th President of the United States of America. As a non-partisan higher education nonprofit organization advocating for the nation’s publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), we work to ensure that HBCUs remain part of the political conversation.

We are hopeful that the incoming Trump Administration will continue to engage with TMCF and the HBCU community to find positive solutions and solve important issues such as student loan debt and tuition costs.

TMCF stands ready to serve as a resource to the Administration and work as a partner to strengthen the nation’s higher education sector and HBCUs.

We look forward to having a productive and substantive working relationship on behalf of our member schools with President-elect Trump, Vice President-elect [Mike] Pence as well as the entire Administration.

Johnny C. Taylor Jr. 

President & CEO Thurgood Marshall College Fund

Note: The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), established in 1987, is named for the U.S. Supreme Court’s first African-American justice. TMCF represents all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and its member-schools include the 47 publicly-supported HBCUs.