Feb. 23, 2016

They were asked how they wanted to be remembered, these three African-American women who were first in their fields to be clerk of court, or social worker, or school board chair. It was a way to unearth what had motivated them to do, to keep doing. Perhaps their testimony will energize a young person or three.

They talked about giving back, and mentoring. Mentoring not in the way men generally do, through official scheduled commitments, but through relationships and the one-on-one encounters that build bonds that last.

The Forum heard today from Queen Thompson, Elisa Chinn-Gary and Wilhelmenia Rembert. Thompson was the first African-American social worker in Union County, but she mentioned many other firsts in her long career in several states. Chinn-Gary was elected Mecklenburg Clerk of Court in 2014 after serving 13 years as Family Court Administrator. Rembert, who was on the faculty of Winthrop University for many years, is best know in Mecklenburg for her service as chair of the school board and as vice chair of the Board of County Commissioners.