Whitfield lining up campaign
From District 2 candidate Ed Whitfield's communication director, Joya Wesley:
August 30, 2005FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joya Wesley
275-5953
joyawesley@aol.comDIVERSE TEAM WORKING TO ELECT WHITFIELD IN DISTRICT 2
GREENSBORO – Ed Whitfield, a compassionate working man of vision, principle and action, is seeking the District 2 City Council seat with the assistance of a diverse team of community workers and the support of district residents who want to improve the quality of life for all of Greensboro.
Lewis A. Brandon III, a grassroots historian with nearly five decades of local community work under his belt, is co-chair of the Committee to Elect Ed Whitfield. The other co-chair is Sheila Manning-Moss, a Guilford College double major in Peace and Conflict Studies and Community and Justice Studies.
Joya Wesley, a local media professional since 1988, is serving as the campaign's communications director; Kathleen Mitchell, an NAACP activist and Lorillard retiree, is the treasurer. Marilyn Baird, a longtime labor activist and director of Greensboro's new Workers Center, is leading Whitfield's get-out-the-vote efforts.
A native of Little Rock, Ark., Whitfield is a Carolina Peacemaker columnist and a longtime community activist involved with issues of education, community development, peace and justice. He also is a musician and composer, and co-chair of the Greensboro Peace Coalition.
Whitfield, who for the past 27 years has made his living as a second-shift electronics technician for Lorillard Tobacco Co., began a lifelong continuum of community activism and service as a youth member of the NAACP in the 1960s.
In the 35 years since he moved to Greensboro, he has proven himself a strong and effective leader committed to fairness and justice for all of the city’s residents. He is an active mentor known as "Uncle Ed" in the community and in public schools including Washington, Lincoln, Gillespie and Dudley, from which his two grown children graduated.
A Leadership Greensboro graduate, Whitfield's vision and integrity have made him a popular choice for advisory boards and similar bodies. He served nine years as chairman of the city's Redevelopment Commission, providing leadership for the Southside revitalization project and the beginning of the East Market Street revitalization.
Other efforts to which he has lent his guidance include the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Project, the Community Advisory Committee for the basic skills program at GTCC, the Board of Directors for the Triad Minority Development Corporation, the advisory committee for the city's Multi Modal Transit Center and the Citizens Task Force for the Prevention of Crime and Violence.
Dismissed by one local commentator as a "60s radical," Whitfield embraces the legacy of one of the most powerful social movements of the world's history and uses its best lessons in his work, which is aimed directly at building a better future.
"The spirit with which I approach my current activism is the spirit that I inherited from the 60's," he says. "It tells me that when something is wrong we need to think hard and work hard to change it. I am looking forward to carrying that spirit with me onto the Greensboro City Council."
Whitfield's Campaign Kickoff Rally is scheduled for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, in Sternberger Park, located at 715 Summit Ave. in the Aycock District, where Whitfield lives. The rally will feature hot dogs, soft drinks, music by Logie Meachum and others, and more. For more information, call 272-4378 or e-mail whitfield4dist2@aol.com.
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BONUS: District 1 Challenger Luther Falls sent out his first campaign flier in the last week. You can read it here.