http://www.nnpa.org/latest-march-on-washington-more-diverse-by-freddie-allen/
http://www.nnpa.org/leaders-unveil-a-black-agenda-by-richard-b-muhammad/
JUSTICE BEASLEY: TOO
MUCH
AT STAKE TO GET WRONG
By Cash Michaels
Editor
Saying that some of the lawsuits
now being filed against controversial legislation by the NC General Assembly
will eventually come to the NC Supreme Court, NC Associate Justice Cheri Beasley
urged the community, and particularly young people, that they “…must care about,
understand and know the people serving you on the highest court in the state of
North Carolina, because we cannot afford to get it wrong.”
“The work that [the NC Supreme
Court does] affects your lives each and every day,” Justice Beasley assured attendees
Saturday during a keynote address before the Seventh Annual Wendell-Wake County
NAACP Youth Council Banquet in Wendell.
“I thank God today because I know a
better day is coming,” Beasley continued, “but in the meantime, in only God’s
way, we’re going to go through some things. There are people who are suffering;
people who are losing their homes; who don’t have employment…no healthcare, [and]
an assault on education systems. We’ve got to care.”
Republicans currently hold the majority on the state Supreme Court.
Beasley, who has been on the
state’s High Court since December 2012, did not go express an opinion, which
she is prohibited from doing, about any of the controversies involving restrictions
on voting or abortion rights that have emanated from the Republican-led state Legislature.
But the state court’s newest
justice did make it clear that she, like many, was concerned, and that the
NAACP, of which she is a life member, should remain vigilant.
“We need you to be the resources in
the community so that other folks won’t get it wrong,” Beasley said.
“There’s too much at stake.”
Justice Beasley praised the youth
members of the Wendell-Wake NAACP for their commitment and promise to the
nation’s oldest civil rights organization, and Ms. Mary E. Perry, branch youth
advisor and former president, for keeping them on track, and involved.
“I know you have school, you have
your activities and social lives, but you really have decided that this is the
time in your lives that you must be committed to doing what’s right.”
“We are going to hear more from
these young people,” Justice Beasley said, adding that they know that “We must
keep God first.”
“They’re bright, and they’re talented,” she continued. It is
in times like these that we count on young people to break new ground.”
“We need you,” Justice Beasley
said, “we need you now.”
Justice Beasley’s remarks to young
African-Americans were considered unique, given that fifty years ago this week,
when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his now legendary, “I Have a Dream” speech
at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, there were no blacks
serving on any Supreme Court in the nation – state or otherwise.
Indeed
in North Carolina’s case, Justice Beasley noted that all five African-Americans
who’ve ever served in the state’s 200-year history of High Court are still
living – justices Henry Frye, James Wynn, Patricia Timmons-Goodson, G. K.
Butterfield, and now, Beasley.
Justice Beasley is the newest
member of the state’s High Court. She was appointed by Gov. Beverly Perdue in
Dec. 2012 to serve out the remaining term of former Associate Justice Patricia
Timmons-Goodson, which ends in 2014.
If Justice Beasley runs for election next year, she will be mandated to
serve only three more eight-year terms, retiring in February 2038.
Prior to Gov. Perdue’s appointment,
Beasley served as an Associate Judge on the NC Court of Appeals, where she was
elected to in 2008. That made Judge Beasley the only African-American female
elected to a statewide office in North Carolina without the benefit of
incumbency or appointment of a governor.
Prior
to that, Judge Beasley served for nearly ten years as a District Court judge in
the Twelfth Judicial District, originally appointed by Gov. Jim Hunt in 1999.
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STATE NEWS BRIEFS
8-29-13
NCNAACP ESTABLISHES
VOTER SUPPRESSION HOTLINE
[CHARLOTTE]
In an effort to keep track of the impact of the new restrictions on voting
recently passed by the Republican-led General Assembly, the NC NAACP has
announced that it has setup, in association with the Advancement Project of
Washington, DC, a voter suppression hotline. The number to call for those
voters who need assistance if they run into trouble at the polls during future
elections is 1-855 – 664-3487. Lawyers from the Advancement Project will be on
the other side taking calls. The NCNAACP said it also has lawyers researching
why the Watauga County Board of Elections disqualified Elizabeth City State
University student Montravias King from running for City Council, ruling that
he was not a resident because he lived in a dorm room. That Republican-led
board also removed the early voting site from the ECSU campus. The state
Elections Board is scheduled to take up King’s appeal on Sept. 3rd.
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS
BLASTED BY US 4TH CIRCUIT APPELLATE COURT
[RICHMOND,
VA.] In what experts say is a “rare move,” judges on the US Fourth Circuit
Court of Appeals blasted federal prosecutors in North Carolina Eastern District
for withholding exculpatory evidence from defense witnesses. In their ruling,
the judges found at least three cases of “discovery abuse,” saying that the
cases “raises questions regarding whether the errors are fairly characterized
as unintentional.” The judges want the US Attorney’ Office to meet with them
about the problems “and discuss improvement of its discovery procedures.” They
say if the problems persist, there could be “sanctions or disciplinary
options.”
ATTORNEY KEN
SPAULDING SAYS HE’LL CHALLENGE GOV. MCCRORY IN 2016
[DURHAM]
Former NC State Rep. Ken Spaulding has announced that he is running for
governor in 2016, being Gov. McCrory’s first announced Democratic opponent for
re-election. Spaulding, 68, a Durham attorney, is the son of Asa Spaulding, who
once served as president of NC Mutual Insurance Co. “The taxpayers and voters
are looking for a reasonable alternative to the extremist positions and actions
taken by the governor and his legislative majority,” Spaulding, 68, said in a
statement. Thus far, only state Attorney General Roy Cooper is seen as also
vying for governor in 2016.
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TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
8-29-13
CANDIDATES FORUM
TUESDAY, SEPT. 10
Candidates
for Raleigh mayor, City Council and the Wake School Board will take part in a
candidates' forum Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. at Martin Street Baptist Church
Family Life Center, 1009 East Martin Street in Raleigh. The event is free and
open to the public. Refreshments will be available. This event is sponsored by
the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association, the Voter Education, Phi Lambda Chapter
of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Alpha Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority Inc., NC Black Women’s Empowerment Network and the Raleigh-Apex NAACP.
ACCREDITATION AGENCY
CLEARS WCPSS OF COMPLAINTS
The
AdvancED school accreditation agency has now closed the books on all complaints
against the Wake County Board of Education, saying that it has fixed all
concerns, and has become more transparent. The board has satisfied all
governance issues that began three years ago when the Republicans took over the
majority and the NCNAACP filed the first action. AdvancED later dismissed a
complaint by the conservative Wake County Taxpayers Association after Supt.
Tony Tata was fired last September. AdvancED even congratulated the now
Democrat-led school board for its “significant progress” since it’s February
2011 special review.
CITY OFFICIALS
DISCUSS RESTRICTIONS ON FEEDING THE HOMELESS
Raleigh
City Council members of the council’s Law and Public Safety Committee discussed
the incident last weekend when police suddenly stopped a charitable
organization from feeding the homeless in Moore Square Park. Officials say they were only enforcing
an ordinance that’s been on the books for sometime. The confusion arose because
groups have been able to do so for the past six year without problem. However
planned downtown development, in addition to complaints from local
businesspeople, have put pressure on officials to deal with the homeless issue.
Mayor Nancy McFarlane vowed that a solution would be found to satisfy all
parties.
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MEDIA
CASH IN THE APPLE
8-29-13
By Cash Michaels
LEE
DANIELS’ THE BUTLER – After hearing and seeing so much positive talk about, I
decided to take time to go see “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” last weekend, starring
Forrest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.
In
my opinion, it is certainly worth the time and attention, with Oscar-worthy
performances from not only Whitaker and Winfrey, but an impressive cast.
The
story, as you by now know, is based on a Washington Post story about about
White House butler Eugene Allen, who served under eight presidents. The film is
loosely based on Allen’s life, with the main character, renamed “Cecil Gaines”
and portrayed by Whitaker, being the son of Georgia slaves who runs away, learns
how to serve in restaurants and swanky hotels, and finally makes his way to the
White House. Gaines lives through various pivotal events in the civil rights
movement, and each president he serves deals with them.
Whitaker
gives superb breath and honesty to his role as a negro happy to be a house (n-word),
but as he grows older, learns to stand up for his rights, and demand equality.
Gaines’
eldest son, Louis, ably portrayed by the talented British actor David Oyelowo,
helps in that process by seeing things from the outside of the White House, and
becoming intimately involved in the civil rights struggle, becoming more
militant by the day, and building a wedge between himself and his father. The
two are at odds for most of the film, but towards the end, as they both grow
older, come back together.
Oyelowo’s
challenge (besides covering his substantial British accent), is to grow up in
front of us and mature as a young activist, which he does.
That
leaves some of the heavy lifting to talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, who hadn’t
acted for 15 years before taking the role of Gloria Gaines, the wayward wife of
Cecil. She smokes, she drinks, she fornicates, and cares nothing for the White
House because it takes her man away from home more times than not. And yet,
there is a strain of decency and love for family that allows us to embrace
Gloria, especially when she faces the challenges of raising her two boys,
sending one off to college, and another off to fight in Vietnam.
The
world is changing radically for Cecil and Gloria, but they stick together
through it all.
Winfrey
is not a stage-trained actress, and yet, as she did in Steven Spielberg’s
Oscar-nominated classic, “The Color Purple,” Winfrey delivers such a natural
performance that you never see the seams of her acting showing.
The
rest of the actors, with few exceptions, do stellar work, from Cuba Gooding Jr.
and Lenny Kravitz as White House butlers, to Robin Williams, Liev Schreiber and
Alan Rickman as presidents Eisenhower, Johnson and Reagan respectively.
And
Jane Fonda does a great turn as First Lady Nancy Reagan as well.
The
film was written by Danny Strong, who won Emmy Wards for writing the HBO movies “Recount,” about the
2000 Florida presidential voting controversy and “Game Change,” about Gov.
Sarah Palin’s role in the 2008 presidential race.
With
such strong material and excellent actors, it would take a visionary director,
indeed, to pull it all together, and that Lee Daniels does.
He
is the Oscar-nominated director who produced “Monster’s Ball,” which won Halle
Berry an Academy Award for Best Actress; and he directed “Precious,” which won
two Oscars.
Daniels
loves to dabble with explosive stories, and with “The Butler” (his names was
officially added to the title when Warner Bros. caused problems claiming that
it had a 1916 film by the same name) he gets plenty of dynamite.
Daniels
recreates all of the fire and passion of the civil rights movement, showing us
both sides of the coin – those in the community, like Cecil Gaines, who felt
“negroes” were moving too fast; and those like his militant son, Louis, who
felt the time had come for justice, no matter the price.
From
the Greyhound bus carrying Freedom Riders being attacked, to the Black Panther
Party and the assassination of Dr. King, Daniels helps us relive these
traumatic moments in time with
skill and depth. And he puts it all in the context of the Gaines family.
I
enjoyed “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” To me, this was fine and timely moviemaking
that will be heard from come Oscar time.
HOMEBOY
MAKES GOOD – Bolton, NC is a small town of 800 folks a few miles from
Wilmington, and yet, one of it’s own is on top of the literary world right now.
Poet-novelist Jason Mott, an alumnus of UNC – Wilmington, has just released his
new novel titled, “The Returned,” and it has become an instant hit.
The
story of a small town called Arcadia, NC, where the dead eight-year-old son of
an elderly couple return to them fifty years later alive, Motts book was
immediately optioned by actor Brad Pitts production company, and next March,
will be an ABC TV series starring Omar Epps (for TV, the book will be renamed
“Resurrection.” Don’t ask me what was wrong with “The Returned.”)
Mott
is traveling the country on tour promoting his book, and says though he’s spent
over the past 12 years writing poetry and struggling, to have this success is a
blessing.
The
book was released this week. We wish this homeboy well. Hear my interview with
him next week on my radio show, “Make It Happen,” Thursday at 4 on www.myWAUG.com.
THE
GODFATHER OF SOUL – A new movie about the life of soul singer James Brown is
scheduled to start filming in Mississippi soon, and actor Chadwick Boseman, who
portrayed Jackie Robinson in the fine film, “42: The Jackie Robinson Story,” is
set to play the Godfather of Soul. One of the producers of the film is Rolling
Stones’ lead man Mick Jagger, and the director is Tate Taylor, who brought us, “The
Help.”
Let’s
see how this will turn out, shall we?
Make
sure you tune in every Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. for my talk radio show,
''Make It Happen'' on Power 750 WAUG-AM, or online at www.myWAUG.com.
And read more about my thoughts and opinions exclusively at my blog, ‘The Cash
Roc” (http://thecashroc.blogspot.com/2011/01/cash-roc-begins.html).
I promise it will be interesting.
Cash in the Apple - honored as the Best
Column Writing of 2006 by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
Columnist Cash Michaels was also honored by the NNPA for Best Feature Story
Journalist of 2009, and was the recipient of the Raleigh-Apex NAACP’s
President’s Award for Media Excellence in Sept. 2011.
Until next week, keep a smile on your face,
GOD in your heart, and The Carolinian in your life. Bye, bye.
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