On the whole Aycock contributed much more
to the betterment of our state.
His contributions to education
far out shadow his racist inclinations.
I say the name stays.
David Brantley Craft
Greater Greensboro Politics
January 15, 2015, at 7:12am
...Charles [Brantley] Aycock was an avowed racist. Even as he advocated for educating black children, he drew a line. That instruction, he said, should be strictly controlled by whites so as “to fit them into a subordinate role.”
Aycock declared in an April 1900 speech: “When we say that the Negro is unfit to rule we carry it one step further and convey the correct idea when we declare that he is unfit to vote. To do this we must disfranchise the Negro.”
We must disfranchise the negro.
To do so is both desirable and necessary
Desirable because it sets the white man
free to move along faster than he can go
when retarded by the slower movement of the negro.
Charles Brantley Aycock
Acceptance speech for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination
April, 1900
His hateful rhetoric inspired hateful acts. He helped to orchestrate a violent insurrection near the turn of the century in Wilmington, where white Populists and Republicans and black citizens had formed political alliances. Aycock and other Democrats fanned the flames of white fear and anger with speeches that were followed by the recruitment of a paramilitary force called Red Shirts. On Nov. 10, 1898, a heavily armed white mob attacked Wilmington’s thriving black community, setting fires, shooting to kill and forcing the mayor, the board of aldermen and the police chief to resign at gunpoint. The number of those killed range from as few as nine to as many as 300.
The uprising ushered in a brutal era of racial oppression. And in much the same way as the Greensboro sit-ins touched off a national movement for better, the 1898 riot created ripple effects for worse. Aycock and others advised future Georgia Gov. Hoke Smith on how to seize voting rights from black citizens and established a template for racial intimidation throughout the South.
...Duke University stripped Aycock’s name from a residence hall in 2014. Earlier this year, East Carolina University did likewise. In April, the N.C. House voted to replace a statue of Aycock...
We came through the civil rights movement
in a much more peaceful way than most other southern states.
There were plenty of other people that abhorred the system,
but had to complacently go along because it was so ingrained.
I'm not forgetting or forgiving anything.
I'm balancing his contributions with his negatives.
As others have said,
I think it's instructive to keep a name like that out in public
and acknowledge the good and the bad of the man.
David Brantley Craft
Greater Greensboro Politics
Now UNC-Greensboro is pondering what, if anything, to do about Aycock Auditorium — in a city where there also is an Aycock Street, an Aycock Middle School and an Aycock Historic Neighborhood.
As early as 1987, students at what was then Aycock Junior High School in Greensboro pressed, unsuccessfully, for the removal of Aycock’s name...
Meanwhile, UNCG’s trustees last week tabled the discussion of the auditorium name until a new chancellor is hired.
A committee appointed to study the question has met nine times, sponsored two forums and conducted a survey. But this is not quantum physics.
The answer is obvious: It may be etched in stone, but the name Aycock should be erased at UNCG, and everywhere else it appears in Greensboro."
http://www.news-record.com/opinion/n_and_r_editorials/aycock-s-vile-legacy/article_11f07086-fa7b-11e4-82d0-bb6fb785756d.html
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David Brantley Craft disagrees;
"Let’s consider better way to choose statues
Each state is allowed to a place two statues in the U.S. Capitol representing important figures from that state. I don’t think there are two people who would make the majority of North Carolinians happy and be representative of our state.
David Brantley Craft
Board Chair, Farmer's Market, Inc
The Non-Profit which runs
501 Yanceyville Sreet
Legislation and discussion continues about removing one of the statues. Charles B. Aycock would go, Zebulon Vance would stay, and Billy Graham would arrive. Without getting into the merits of each person, let’s think about better way to address this issue.
Why not use a state commission to come up with a pool of good candidates, create statues and rotate them through the U.S. Capitol on a regular basis? When the statues are not in the U.S. Capitol, they could be placed in and around the state capitol and in other places throughout the state.
Thereby leaving Charles Brantley Craft's statue
still planted on North Carolina State property.
...Instead of replacing one person with another, let’s look at the larger issue and a better way to celebrate the many great citizens that our state has."
David Brantley Craft
http://www.news-record.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/let-s-consider-better-way-to-choose-statues/article_2a4197aa-e932-11e4-baeb-1b3dca391a31.html
Billy Graham held segregated crusades in his early years.
We forgive him for that.
Charles [Brantley] Aycock brought education to the masses.
He was a man of his time.
We can forgive him for his segregationist views."
David Brantley Craft
Guarino; "The Aycock name: Time for a change"
February 15, 2013 at 8:53 AM
David "Brantley" Craft on Charles "Brantley" Aycock,
North Carolina governor from 1901 to 1905
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/01/david-brantley-craft-on-charles.html
David Craft
Chairman of the Board
Craft Insurance
336-369-1721
dbcraft@craftinsurance.com
Greensboro's David Brantley Craft
appears to believe if Jews fought for the South in the Civil War,
other Jews should receive no honor
for activism in the Civil Rights Movement
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/01/greensboros-david-brantly-craft-appears.html
David Brantley Craft
CEO at Craft Insurance Center
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Some of David Brantley Craft's Linkedin Connections;
Edward Cone
Head of Technology Practice
Deputy Director of Thought Leadership at Oxford Economics
David McLean
Owner, King's English, LLC
Rob Bencini
Certified Economic Developer.
Strategic/Adaptive Planner.
Economic Futurist. Author.
Lloyd Whittington
Managing Editor at Triad Business Journal
Nancy Vaughan
Mayor of Greensboro, NC
Mike Barber
Attorney and CEO/The First Tee of the Triad
Zack Matheny
White Oak Capital, Inc
John Hammer
Editor at Rhino Times
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-craft/5/314/165
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An Open Letter To David Craft Of Greensboro's Craft Insurance Center
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/05/an-open-letter-to-david-craft-of.html
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"David Craft, CEO, Craft Insurance
Business owner 30 years. Board member – American Red Cross Chapter, Greensboro Historical Museum, and Guilford Battleground Co. Public-private partnerships include Friends of Green Hill Cemetery and Friends of Haw River State Park. Other involvement includes Greensboro Human Relations Commission and the Boy Scouts. Longtime customer of the Farmers’ Market."
http://gsofarmersmarket.org/about-us/board-of-directors/
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"Greensboro council votes to let nonprofit manage farmers market
Greensboro City Council narrowly voted on Monday to negotiate a contract with a nonprofit set up by a group of customers and vendors to manage the farmers curb market, disappointing a group of large-scale Guilford County farmers and their supporters.
...Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Vaughan, atlarge Councilman Robbie Perkins, at-large Councilman Danny Thompson, District 2 Councilman Jim Kee and District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny voted on the prevailing side to hand management of the market over to Greensboro Farmers Market Inc.
...Kee said he had met with David Craft, one of two people heading up the Greensboro Farmers Market Inc. group, last week.
“Going through the RFP and talking with Mr. Craft, I believe it is his intent to expand the market...,” Kee said.
The contract with Greensboro Farmers Market Inc. will be negotiated by staff and is subject to approval by council.
...Richard Beard, a member of the War Memorial Commission, signaled his opposition to having the coliseum manage the farmers market. ...“This is not something they should be drawn into. It is time for the city council to step up with some leadership and vote to let the nonprofit board operate the market...”
...Perkins said on his Facebook page. “...I will support Greensboro Farmers Market Inc.’s proposal..."
http://yesweekly.com/article-12506-greensboro-council-votes-to-let-nonprofit-manage-farmers-market.html
