It should have been simple.

As Election Day approaches, the NAACP and Kappa Alpha Psi Inc. chapters at NC A&T University have planned an on-campus candidate forum for Oct. 9. instruction.

Mo Green and Michele Morrow, Democratic and Republican candidates for superintendent respectively, have confirmed their presence. Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democratic candidate for governor, experienced a conflicting event but suggested a student serve as a campaign surrogate.

The groups heard nothing from the lieutenant governor. Marc Robinsonwho, in early October, was trailing Stein in the polls and saw his campaign collapse after reports that his years frequenting Greensboro porn shops and do Obscene and racist comments on a pornographic site.

Under the circumstances, student organizers said, they thought it was best to feature only Green and Morrow. They advertised it on event posters and social media and planned accordingly.

Then, the morning of the event, they received a call. Mark Robinson’s campaign suddenly announced his arrival.

“This is all happening at 10 a.m.,” said student Emily Wilson, president of the campus NAACP chapter. “It’s the day of the event.”

“Whether you want it there or not”

The prospect of Robinson’s sudden arrival threatened to throw a carefully planned event into chaos and spurred organizers into action.

Could they accommodate an unexpected arrival of a lieutenant. governor, especially one as controversial as Robinson, on such little notice? Weren’t there parking and security issues? Should they expect protests? A&T is the largest HBCU in the country. Robinson had spent years posting insulting comments online about the black community, the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. and even the A&T Four, the students who started the pro-desegregation sit-in movement .

Student organizers reached out to their campus advisor and state and national chapter leaders for advice. They were treated to an avalanche of conflicting opinions.

Some suggested canceling the event altogether rather than hosting Robinson without Stein, who was under the impression his Republican opponent was not attending. It didn’t seem right to force a substitute student to confront Robinson, whose history of controversial and inflammatory statements risked sparking hostility that could derail the entire event.

“Mark Robinson, they thought, forced his way into our event and, like, forced our hand, so it was kind of unfair,” said Quentin Clarke, vice president of the NAACP chapter.

Others said to persevere, to seize the opportunity and the spotlight to engage students and show what their organizations could do even in these adverse circumstances.

Ultimately, student organizers decided to disinvite Robinson. Signaling your intention to only come on the day of the event was simply too little notice. He could send a surrogate mother, as Stein had planned to do, they said during the campaign. This seemed to solve the problem.

Then, at 4:30 p.m., during the social hour before the 6 p.m. event, Clarke received another call.

“Mark Robinson’s wife is calling me,” Clarke said. “His wife and the campaign manager are on the phone with me and they’re leaving. They’re saying, “We’re going to call your Kappa nationals, we’re going to call your NAACP nationals, we’re going to call your chancellor’s office.” Mark Robinson will be there whether you like him or not.

The Assembly contacted the Robinson campaign for comment on the details of this conversation. They didn’t respond.

Feeling cornered, student organizers began planning for Robinson’s inevitable arrival.

“We thought it was better for the organizations that we’re a part of to have him on stage rather than have him come in and tell him he can’t go on stage,” Clarke said. “Because he’s going to start a whole mess and make national news, give a bad image to our organizations.”

Clarke took some paper and rewrote the script for the evening, creating new questions for the gubernatorial candidate. Others found more chairs and reconfigured the stage in the campus’s Harrison Auditorium. Everyone involved worked furiously to save the event even as the public began to queue.

Stein’s campaign was still under the impression that Robinson wouldn’t come and that they wouldn’t need a substitute. Students worried the event would appear lopsided with two Republicans — Morrow and Robinson — and only one Democrat, Green. Then, about 15 minutes before the event began, State Sen. Gladys Robinson (D-Guilford) arrived. She had spoken to Stein about what was happening, she said, and was willing to serve as his surrogate for the event.

“I think the lieutenant governor did this at the last minute thinking he might come to A&T and Josh wouldn’t be there,” she said in an interview after the event. “And it seemed like he didn’t care about being here.” That’s not what happened. They felt like the students had decided to only have the superintendent candidates and respected that decision. We weren’t going to let him in and pass it off as something else.

Mark Robinson was the last to arrive. While other guests were dressed professionally, students said, Robinson arrived wearing sneakers, jeans, a T-shirt and a windbreaker. They wondered if he had brought a change of clothes. He hadn’t done it.

At A&T, students are encouraged to do everything with “Aggie Pride,” which includes a professional appearance that reflects positively on their university and community. Students and their advisors said Robinson’s dress and behavior seemed disrespectful to the institution. Even the way he sat on stage throughout the forum seemed odd.

“Leaning back, not even sitting down professionally,” said Wilson, the chapter president.

“It was very disturbing and very eye-opening,” she said.

Clarke, who also co-moderated the event, said he thought about the incongruity of the lieutenant governor slouching in his jeans and sneakers and the dignity of the A&T Four, depicted in a large statue directly across from the Harrison Auditorium.

“There’s no reason why he should have come here all comfortable,” Clarke said. “And Mark Robinson, a self-proclaimed black Nazi… he should not feel comfortable at this school.”

When the event finally began, the students did their best to maintain their composure under pressure and follow the unfolding events. They were disappointed to see the auditorium half-filled and thought about the crowd they might have attracted if Robinson had signaled his intention to come a few days earlier.

Laughter, boos and denial

Robinson spent much of his campaign for governor speaking to friendly crowds at conservative political events and churches. The A&T crowd was something else.

Students asked pointed questions about his history of scandalous social media posts and his sexually and politically offensive statements on the website Nude Africa, which were spoofed in a skit. on Saturday evening live.

Robinson vigorously denied the details of all reports, saying he would take legal action over them.

“Look, I had no hesitation in saying what I said, taking responsibility for what I said and standing up for what I said,” Robinson said. “But I won’t be accused of things I didn’t say.”

Robinson and Morrow were both greeted with murmurs, boos and laughter after several of their answers.

As Gladys Robinson predicted, the lieutenant governor tried to insult Stein for not coming to an event he had only forced himself to attend at the last moment.

“Politicians will tell you not to attend events like this because they may not be a ‘friendly crowd,’” Robinson said. “I don’t buy into it.”

“Why don’t I come and listen to your concerns? » said Robinson. “Why don’t I come here and let you look at me?” If I become governor, there will be no substitutes.

After the event, Green and Gladys Robinson stayed to take photos with the students and answer their questions individually. Morrow and the lieutenant governor quickly left before anything more could be asked of them.

Organizers said the reception Robinson received from students was not unexpected. They also weren’t surprised when his campaign contacted them after the event to say he was upset by the event and that they should expect “repercussions, regardless of the outcome.” the election.”

Leadership under pressure

Students who participated said they weren’t shocked by anything Robinson had to say.

“I was just surprised that he showed up and introduced himself in front of a crowd of HBCU students,” said Foster Vestal III, a sophomore biology major. “I find it disgusting that we could have our first black lieutenant governor, maybe our first black governor, who is him. I think he is a disgusting individual, has no integrity and is a puppet.

Student organizers said they were proud of how they handled the rollercoaster ride of the event, even in the face of those who suggested canceling or postponing it.

“A lot of people would have buckled under that pressure,” Wilson said.

There’s a lot of talk about “performative activism” on college campuses, Wilson said — including A&T. By not backing down from their planned event and navigating with the forces that pushed them throughout that eventful day, she said, it demonstrated the true spirit of the NAACP, Kappa Alpha Psi and A&T .

“Our ability to pivot in these circumstances shows who we are as leaders,” Wilson said.

Joe Killian is The Assembly Greensboro Publisher. He joined us from NC information line, where he was a senior investigative reporter.

More from this author