News Flash

NEWS RELEASE
Human Relations
June 22, 2020

A virtual “Town Trust Talk,” moderated by Wanda Starke of WXII and featuring Police Chief Catrina Thompson, Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough and James Perry, the chief executive officer of the Winston-Salem Urban League, will be carried live at 5:30 p.m. Friday, June 26, on WSTV Digital Media. Viewers will have an opportunity to submit questions.

The trust talk will take the form of a panel discussion related to the recent national unrest and the Black Lives Matter movement. Panelists will discuss how the national issues have played out locally, and explore possible solutions to those issues.

In addition to Thompson, Kimbrough and Perry, panelists will include Jack Monell, an associate professor of justice studies at Winston-Salem State University; Robert Leak III, a pastor and the chair of the Human Relations Commission; James Taylor III, a member of the Winston-Salem Youth Advisory Council; Sonny Haynes, a lawyer and member of the Human Relations Commission; and Rasheeda Shankle, a community activist and the organizer of the “End Racism Now” mural on Main Street. The Rev. Laura Spangler, the pastor of Lloyd Presbyterian Church, will be a guest commentator.

The trust talk will be carried live on WSTV Digital Media (channel 13 on Spectrum or channel 99 on AT&T Uverse) and online through the city website or the city’s YouTube channel. To watch online, go to CityofWS.org and select the clapboard icon under the search box. There will be an option to watch live either through the website or YouTube.

Residents are invited to submit questions for the panel at hrdevents@cityofws.org. Questions can be submitted in advance or during the program.

Wanda Allen-Abraha, the human relations director, said the department organized the discussion because “our residents are hurting, upset, and seeking solutions to historic and systemic issues that affect us all.

“It is important to engage community leaders and residents in a productive discussion in which they can share not only issues and concerns, but recommendations and solutions to our local social injustice and racial inequity problems.” 

The Town Trust Talk is being sponsored by the Winston-Salem Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., which is assisting in advance publicity for the program.