Braxton Winston
Braxton Winston II | |
|---|---|
| Charlotte City Council At-Large | |
| Assumed office December 4, 2017 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 17, 1983 Jacksonville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Davidson College |
| Website | Official website |
Braxton Winston II (born January 17, 1983)[1][better source needed] is a Democratic city councilman at-large in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is currently serving his second term on the city council. Winston assumed office on December 4, 2017 and his current term ends on December 6, 2021.[2]
Winston gained notoriety after becoming a concerned citizen during the protests that erupted in Charlotte due to the shooting and death of Keith Lamont Scott.[3]
Early life and education
Winston was born in Camp Lejeune, a Marine corps base camp in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where his father was stationed, and his mother worked as a teacher in the public-school system. The Winston family later relocated to Brooklyn, New York after his father retired from the military.[2]
After excelling academically in the New York City public school system, he enrolled in the PREP 9 program. He was later accepted at Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts, a co-educational university-preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, where he graduated.[4]
Winston arrived at Davidson College in 2001, and the relative lack of racial diversity in the student body struck him. Shortly after the first week of classes, the September 11 attacks happened. After 9/11 he felt isolated from his family in New York, and challenged by academics exacerbated by the social situation.[5] He said he was mentally unprepared. He took time off, took classes at University of North Carolina at Charlotte for a year. Eventually he returned to Davidson and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology in 2006.[5]
Career and activism
After he graduated from Davidson College, he gained experience in videography in sports television and the entertainment production industry. He is a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Union. Winston is a citizen-journalist and has produced stories not covered by traditional media outlets.[6]
When Winston found out about the death of Scott, he was on his way to work and was near a protest and started to participate. He told VICE News that he wanted to know how a person could be sitting in his car and sentenced to death. During the protest, Winston and other protesters encountered law enforcement.[7]
Police fired tear gas at protesters, and Winston said that protesters were tear gassed for hours. To protect himself, Winston took off his shirt and covered his mouth. While facing Charlotte Mecklenburg Police, he clenched his fist and raised it to the sky. A photo was taken at that moment by Charlotte Observer photographer Jeff Siner, and it went viral.[6][8]
While protesting, Winston knew a few of the officers he was facing, and they told him if he wanted change he should run for office. He eventually did run for office, and received the second highest vote total of the city council in the 2017 election.[6][8]
As a city councilman, his goal is to address upward mobility, police reform and address racial issues in Charlotte.[3]
References
- ↑ "Braxton turns 37 years old today". www.facebook.com. January 17, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Braxton Winston II". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "BLACK SOUTH RISING". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Braxton Winston Charlotte City Council At-Large". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Braxton Winston". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Fist raised, he faced off with police. Here's why this Davidson grad protests". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "BLACK SOUTH RISING". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 "His act of defiance went viral. Now elected, Braxton Winston aims to fix the system from within". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
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