Carver High School still guides former students

This spring marks the 50th anniversary of the last graduating class of George Washington Carver High School in Kannapolis and the school’s subsequent yield to the slings and arrows of outrageous segregation, to borrow a line from Shakespeare.

Yet, there were principals, teachers, and parents in the Carver community and in its other black communities who took those “slings” and who took those “arrows” to educate young minds academically, physically, mentally, socially and even spiritually. So, 50 years later we are left with the question, “Where would we have been if it had not been for Carver?”

From 1936 to 1967, Carver was an extension of every black family in Kannapolis. Our teachers were our neighbors, our parents’ friends and our church members. They knew how to discipline us because they knew first-hand how our parents disciplined us at home and what they expected from us when we were away from home.

Yes, the Carver teacher had the difficult task of taking generations of a black community and teaching them not only how to read and write but also how to survive in a society where even their best would not always be good enough. “They were good, they were kind, and they made us feel important.”

Indeed, the Carver experience with Principal William Lee Reid Sr., Principal Milton Lee Taylor, Carver teachers, other staff members, parents and students is “the thread that runs so true,” even 50 years later, in the hearts and minds of those who will always treasure a school whose ideals and rules still remain a guiding ray.

— Larry B. Johnson

Glen Burnie, Maryland

Johnson is a member of the Class of 1966 at George Washington Carver High School in Kannapolis.

Drivers need to know this

I write in support of House Bill 21, which would “require driver instruction on law enforcement procedures during traffic stops.” When I completed driver education three years ago, I did not know the best procedures to follow if stopped by the police.

I am a senior in the International Baccalaureate Program at Concord High School. As my IB project, I helped create a video on driver’s safety related to traffic stops. In the video, my father, Judge Marty McGee, interviews N.C. State Trooper Shane Furr on what he suggests drivers do and what he does in order to insure everyone leaves traffic stops safely. Channel 22, Cabarrus County’s television channel, filmed the project and it is currently airing. Here is a link to the program: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgmpUcWOaOs

I support HB 21 to provide clear guidance on proper procedures for traffic stops.

— Dorothy McGee

Concord