Supporters of community schools had a much better turnout at Thursday's student reassignment hearing at Garner High School.

As noted in today's article, it was sharply different from Wednesday's hearing at Southeast Raleigh High when the biggest group was supporters of the Wake County's old diversity policy. It was a lot more evenly mixed Thursday.

Wake County Commissioner Phil Matthews set the tone as the first speaker.

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST

Is the Wake County school assignment controversy good for the state NAACP?

During last Monday's mass meeting, repeated calls were made by leaders of the civil rights organization for people to become NAACP members. Ronald White, president of the South Central Wake chapter of the NAACP, told the audience that the NAACP can "be your big dogs" in the fight against the school board majority.

White's big dogs remark came after he told the crowd that there will be a time when they can vote out members of the board majority. He mentioned board members John Tedesco and Ron Margiotta and said "those names ought to make you sick."

There's a "he said, she said" dispute going on between District 1 school board candidate Debbie Vair and a NAACP official.

Ronald White, president of the South Central Wake NAACP, denies that he's endorsing Vair. But Vair says White gave her permission to list him as a supporter on her campaign web site.

They both can't be right on this issue.

The NAACP is now entering the fight over the H6 high school due to the potential slave cemetery on site.

Ronald White, 4th vice president of the state NAACP and president of the group’s South Central Wake branch, said he intends to mobilize people to lobby Raleigh and school leaders against going ahead with the project.

White is upset that the latest plan for preserving the cemetery, which may or may not contain the graves of slaves, has it located right by the main entrance of the school.