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Unincorporated Community Sues Town For Racial Discrimination

Map detail courtesy Wikimedia contributor Mr. Matte for Creative Commons http://bit.ly/2wVIPpu

A predominantly black unincorporated community is suing an adjacent North Carolina town, a move that comes after a decades-long fight for annexation.

The suit was filed by the 73-household Walnut Tree Community Association and four individuals. It alleges racial discrimination by the predominantly white town of Walnut Cove.

K&L Gates Law Firm represents the plaintiffs. They say the lawsuit is an attempt to accelerate annexation so Walnut Tree community members can participate in town elections and receive the benefits and services available to town residents. Right now, those who live in Walnut Tree pay nearly twice as much as town residents for water and sewer services, but receive no police coverage or trash pickup.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports Walnut Cove rejected a formal petition for annexation in January. K&L Gates says repeated denials of annexation since the 1970s violate the North Carolina Constitution's Equal Protection Clause.

Town attorney Anne Rowe said she has no comment on the pending litigation.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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