Take for instance this March 10, 2016 e-mail exchange with former Greensboro City Council Member, current Simpkins PAC member and founder of Citizens for Economic and Environmental Justice. While Ms Wells is retired from City Council she still remains a very powerful political figure locally.
I'm rather fond of e-mail because it keeps a record, no he said, she said. No arguments about what was said by whom and when it was said, no accusing anyone of saying anything he or she didn't say or do.
What's that? What posts was it that Ms Wells was concerned about? I don't know, she has yet to reply back to my e-mail. Since she didn't specify I can only assume it was the Facebook group Citizens for Environmental and Economic Justice. As you can see from the group's description to the right it says, "This group is about promoting economic and environmental justice in Greensboro, North Carolina." Is exposing corruption and improper spending of taxpayer dollars not a valid means to ending economic injustices?
And not one single person disagreed when I posted the description there:
Funny thing is: if you go to the group you won't find that I've ever posted a harsh or even critical word there about Goldie or CCEJ-- not one. What was her concern? Why did Goldie want to talk to me about what I post to a forum that she doesn't even participate in? Why did Goldie want to talk with me about what I've been posting to a Facebook group whose membership is open to anyone and nationwide?
I guess she was afraid that if she laid down the rules and did so via e-mail I might turn them around and use her own rules against her. Funny, they all claim to want transparency but when it comes right down to it.... Well, you know.
The funniest part is: it's not even Goldie's Facebook page. She didn't create it, she didn't join until long after it was up and running, and it has no admin.
Years ago the censorship got so bad on a Facebook forum called Progress for Greensboro that I started Real Progress for Greensboro to combat censorship.
And for those of you who are interested here's another recent story of censorship taking place at another Facebook group Greensboro and Guilford County News and Politics etc...
And outside attempts at censorship still continue at GGCN&P etc...
But I didn't stop at that, while outside attempts at censorship were ongoing at Greensboro and Guilford County News & Politics, etc... I continued to post to Citizens for Environmental and Economic Justice with nary a complaint. And on Sunday, March 20, 2016 I posted the following there:
Did anyone complain? Did anyone say I am wrong? Did Goldie Wells ever contact me again? Nope. As a matter of fact, former Greensboro resident Jenny Hudson had the following to add:
You see, that's what Goldie Wells, Greensboro Mayor Nancy Barakat Vaughan and the rest of Greensboro's status quo political establishment are most afraid of. They are afraid the Jenny Hudsons of the world whom they have long sought to use and manipulate, will now see the truth they have long hoped to keep hidden. They don't want you to know how they have conspired to keep the elites in power while giving the working classes only scraps of what was theirs in the first place.
And so they hope to keep me and my message hidden from you.
Nothing good can come from hiding. I choose e-mail and this medium called the Internet not because I am hiding behind my keyboard, I use my real name, you know who I am, my face is familiar to many reading here. I used these methods so that there is no question as to who is telling the truth. Our local media accounts contain years of Robbie said this, Goldie said that, Skip said this, Goldie said that, Nancy said this, Goldie said that but every account is hearsay, he said, she said. I do things in such a way as to allow you to see the conversations I have with others.
Now who is hiding?
But I didn't stop there. I continued to attempt to post links to the Citizens for Economic and Environmental Justice Facebook page almost daily. Even our newest Guilford County School Board member T Dianne Bellamy-Small clicked the like button for this post I posted about City Councilman Mike Barber. And no one complained.
And on March 25, 2015 I posted the following post to the CEEJ page:
Still, no one challenged me, no one complained, no one disagreed. Take a look at how Kiera Hereford replied to my post:
It wasn't just Kiera. Oh no, CEEJ member Frank Plucinski shared my post on his own timeline. In my book Frank and Kiera are among the unsung heroes.
And frankly, I don't even know who Frank is.
Greensboro, you have a revolution brewing, like it or not. Greensboro's young people, Black, White, Hispanic, Liberal, Conservative, Gay, Straight, Trans, rich and poor have seen through the facade you've been putting up and are starting to speak their voices be it by walking away, speaking out or striking back. And if you don't listen you lose.
And it's not just Dr Wells. Oh no. Greensboro Mayor Nancy Barakat Vaughan also has a history of resorting to censorship. Here's an example. Mayor Vaughan blocked me on Facebook after I started doing screen grabs of her posts there. The Mayor explained that censorship was her prerogative.
She did it again here. And here. There were others in which our dear mayor censored the conversation rather than answer the tough questions but I really don't feel like taking the time to look up any more links. Besides, most of you won't take the time to click on them and read them anyway.
Meanwhile Jeff Martin writes:
"synerG is gaslighting us. Milton Kern is stalking Eric Robert. That’s the real message to anybody brave enough to move in on our well-entrenched property owners and developers."
While attempts to get the City of Greensboro to answer Public Records requests go not only unfilled but unanswered for months on end:
"Ms Carter,
I am writing to you once again to inquire about the status of PIRT # 5442, first submitted on January 30, 2016. I realize the PIRT tracking system indicated that it was closed due to lack of response by requester but as I have documented with screen grabs of actual e-mails that simply isn't the case: http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/01/its-called-division.html
I still have all the e-mails, even those I copied and pasted. When can I expect to see:
"Yes Katherine, let's break it down by designated for a Police response, per apartment and for the same 2 year time period as was previously released by the City of Greensboro.Thanks -Billy"
As was my reply to you on February 4, 2016."Have no doubt, these actions by Greensboro's old guard are planned, deliberate and with the intention of keeping Greensboro's citizens in the dark.
Let this be a lesson, Liberals and Conservatives alike are uniting against censorship in Greensboro. Censorship will not be tolerated. Doing the public's business behind closed doors will not be tolerated. Making claims you cannot verify will not be tolerated. If you can't work by these new rules then get out of the way and allow our youth to have their turn.
We know who you are, will be coming for you, exposing you and telling the entire City what you have done. No, I'll never lead this city but I can help clear the way for those who will.
And I've yet to hear back from Dr.Goldie Wells who chooses to hide from putting her comments in writing and would prefer to talk with my by telephone so she can play he said, she said just as she has been doing her entire political life.
They're keeping you in the dark, hiding the truth from you with their control of the media. Their biggest fear is that a few local bloggers like EzGreensboro.com and others might somehow become as well read and as well known as the local media they control. Why not do your part to make their fears a reality?
And now that you're read this I hope you will also read Cute little kitty in which Roch Smith jr documents many more instances in which local media colluded with City Government to cover up the truth.
Update: 11:30 AM I posted to the CEEJ Facebook Forum and Dr Goldie Wells quickly read it. I am awaiting her reply:
Update: Continue reading Goldie's Biggest Fear: Part 2
