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Graham mayor mutes critics of monument and nepotism at city council meeting At the Aug. 11 virtual meeting of the Graham City Council, Mayor Jerry Peterman used Zoom’s “mute” function to silence multiple public comments. One was silenced and another interIan McDowell rupted while speaking about Alamance County’s ConfederContributor ate Monument. A third criticized the council for allowing Councilwoman Jennifer Talley to vote for her husband Chuck Talley’s appointment to the Alamance County Historical Museum Advisory board, a move the speaker called “nepotism” before being shut off. The reason cited by Mayor Peterman for shutting off discussion of the monument was litigation over free speech. Peterman and the city council are listed, along with City Manager Frankie Maness, Police Chief Jeffrey Prichard, Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson and County Manager Brian Haygood, as defendants in NAACP Alamance v. Peterman (Protest Rights), an emergency lawsuit filed on July 2 by the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina on behalf of the Alamance branch of the NAACP and nine civil rights leaders. The lawsuit seeks to end the city’s antiprotest ordinance, which, the ACLU of N.C. alleged, has been “used to suppress protests against racism, police brutality, and white supremacy.” On Aug. 1, the city and county restricted protest to “free speech zones,” banning anti-monument demonstrators from the courthouse grounds, steps and sidewalks. On Aug. 14, Judge Catherine Eagles issued a preliminary injunction striking down that ban, stating it violates protesters’ First Amendment rights. The object of this contention is the Alamance County Confederate Monument, which stands on the site where Black constable and political organizer Wyatt Outlaw was lynched and was erected by the Klansmen who lynched him. Protesters want the monument moved out of the pubic square and into a museum or a cemetery. At the Aug. 11 meeting, the first item of new business was discussion of the efforts by Graham, Mebane and Alamance County to entice United Parcel Service to YES! WEEKLY
AUGUST 19-25, 2020
Screenshot of the virtual Graham City Council Meeting on Aug. 11
locate a proposed regional headquarters and distribution facility in the North Carolina Commerce Park. At 34:19 of the meeting, a speaker identified only as Maggie asked UPS representative Kevin Zaletel if he was aware that Graham “has a history of working with known white supremacists and will not vote to take down the statue that is bringing armed white supremacists downtown.” “All right, let’s stop that one and go to the next,” Peterman said. The next speaker, Nikki Cassette, condemned Peterman for muting her predecessor. “I think that’s a really valid point, that if UPS really wants to bring their business into a town, a lot of businesses would really like it to be a town that . . .” Councilman Ricky Hall interrupted her. “Mayor, I think this is irrelevant.” Carey Kirk Griffin, a frequent speaker at council meetings, also said she was bothered by speakers being cut off. While Griffin was not silenced then, she was during the Boards and Commissions section of the agenda, after Councilwoman Talley voted for her own husband for the Historical Museum Advisory Board. At 1:10:46, Griffin said that Talley should have recused herself, but instead nominated her husband.
“Do you understand what nepotism means?” Mayor Peterman cut her off and asked City IT manager Jeff Wilson “have we got anyone else?” Peterman later addressed Griffin’s comments by stating “it doesn’t have anything to do with nepotism, as there’s no money involved.” Councilwoman Melody Wiggins disagreed. “While it is not illegal in local government to put forth that information and to nominate your own spouse, it is highly unethical in the oaths on ethics that we have taken, so they are partially correct, in that it is unethical and inappropriate.” The last half-hour of the meeting was devoted to items not on the agenda. No further speakers were cut off, but the mayor and council members did not respond to criticisms and refused to answer several questions. Speaker Janet Ethelberger said it was “uncomfortable to see the discord in our elected officials making it all the way to a feature article in the Washington Post,” and that “for decades, Graham and its surrounding area have practiced undeniable racism.” Nikki Cassette spoke again at 1:34:44, directly addressing Councilwoman Talley
about a controversial social media video recorded on May 31 inside Colonial Hardware, a downtown Graham store owned by Jennifer and Chuck Talley. In the video, titled “Looters Beware,” two young men display a small arsenal of weapons, including a stainless-steel K-frame revolver, a composite stock AK, another AK with a thumbhole stock, two AR-15s and a 9mm pistol. “Get this on video” says one young man, unzipping a case to reveal a heavily accessorized AR15. “Sick!” responds the other. They then turn the camera on a Black driver parking across the street. “Get back in your car, take your sign, and go home,” There was no indication the driver, who carried no sign and was too far away to hear what they were saying, was there to protest. “Can you clarify your public statement regarding that infamous video showing armed people inside your business outside normal operating business hours?” asked Cassette. “Councilmember Talley has stated that the person was unknown, but many in the community, including present employees, know who he is, and that he has done business there in the past. Further, Talley’s daughter also appears in the video, and that, plus the persons with guns clearly having access to the business
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