WS Chronicle

In photo above: The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the N.C. NAACP, speaks to the audience at the Women in NAACP event in Winston-Salem on Saturday, May 30. (Photo by Donna Rogers)

U.S. Rep. Alma S. Adams (NC-12) and the mother of U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch were honored with the 2015 Legacy Award.

​The award came from the North Carolina conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Women in NAACP. The group held its Brunch/Gala and its 60th Woman-Mother of the Year Coronation in Winston-Salem on Saturday, May 30.

However, amid the finery and even evening gowns, amid the food and fellowship was the battle cry to prepare for July 13 in Winston-Salem.
The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the N.C. NAACP, appeared at the event, held at United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church. Its banquet room was full of people.

At Barber’s salute of “Forward together,” the crowd responded, “not one step back!” Barber also is leader of the Forward Together Moral Movement.
In his first public NAACP appearance after ending his sabbatical in Harlem, Barber urged the NAACP faithful to prepare for the day that a federal judge will hear NC NAACP v. McCrory, the lawsuit filed to overturn the North Carolina voter law that requires a government-issued identification card to vote and ends various voter laws.

“July the 13th, we begin the most important voting rights litigation since Selma. We’re saying this is our Selma,” Barber said. “On that day, we go to trial, but that evening we will have a national voting rights march and rally in support of voting rights. And we’re saying that because we want everybody here to mobilize hundreds of people to come back on that day.”

Adams and Lorine H. Lynch, Loretta Lynch’s mother, were honored with the first Legacy Awards given by the N.C. Women in NAACP. The Legacy Award honors women inside and outside the NAACP who work with the NAACP to advance its mission, purpose and goals, especially for N.C. Women in NAACP.
Nicole Lynch accepted the award for her mother-in-law, Lorine Lynch, a retired school librarian who lives in Durham.

Nicole Lynch described her mother-in-law as a woman who nurtured her children so that they could affect the world.

“She advanced her children not only with a spiritual undergirding but also with educational undergirding,” Nicole Lynch said.
“I thank you so much for thinking well enough of her and her legacy, her love, to acknowledge her on today,” she said.

Adams, who was in the N.C. House of Representatives before she was elected to her 12th Congressional District seat in November, was described as a “she-ro” who crossed Democratic Party lines to get what she knew the African-American community needed and is responsible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (which since has been eliminated) and raising the minimum wage in North Carolina.

Adams, a lifetime member of the NAACP, accepted the award, saying: “I accept it not just for myself but for all of the she-roes whose shoulders on which I stand.”

Women in NAACP also gave out other awards.

The Lorie L. Graham Award is named for the N.C. Women in NAACP’s first Mother of the Year. Vera Bassett, representing Scotland and Moore counties, won the award.

The featured award was the Woman-Mother of the Year award, which goes to the contestant who raises the most money. Cleola Davis, who represented Cabarrus County, won by raising $14,500.

Besides Adams and her staff member Earline Parmon, the former N.C. senator, several elected officials who represent Winston-Salem in some capacity attended the event, such as N.C. Sen. Paul Lowe Jr. and Winston-Salem Council Members Denise Adams (North Ward) and Derwin Montgomery (East Ward).

A representative from the White House brought greetings. Tricia Kerney-Willis, deputy director of the White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities, spoke about a report released by the White House Council on Women and Girls in November, called “White House Report: Women and Girls of Color: Addressing Challenges and Expanding Opportunities.”

“When addressing the challenges of women of color and those issues that they face, challenges often lie at the intersection of race and gender. We’re just being honest,” Kerney-Willis said. “We often fail to fully acknowledge and account for this complexity, and in my interpretation of your [N.C. Women in NAACP] theme, ‘When You Strike a Woman, You Strike a Rock,’ it’s really prevalent.”

Kerney-Willis suggested people go to www.whitehouse.gov and search for the name of the report to find out more information.