THE CASH STUFF FOR 4-16-15

NNPA STORIES -

http://nnpa.org/nnpa_newswire/jury-awards-8-million-to-family-of-black-man-who-died-after-altercation-with-deputies-in-compton/

http://nnpa.org/nnpa_newswire/dr-levi-watkins-johns-hopkins-trailblazing-black-doctor-dead-at-70/

http://nnpa.org/nnpa_newswire/a-glorious-celebration-for-the-life-of-dr-ben/

CASH IN THE APPLE FOR 4-16-15

By Cash Michaels

LET’S CELEBRATE WLLE AGAIN - OK, spread (share) the word WLLE fans...BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND...mark your calendars for Saturday, May 2nd, 2:30 p.m. at Olivia Rainey Library, 4016 Carya Drive (off Poole Road) in Southeast Raleigh...once again we celebrate the legacy of 570 WLLE ("WiLLiE") Radio, featuring the now updated documentary "WLLE: The Voice of the Community" starring radio legends "CD" Chester Davis, Sweet Bob Rogers, J. Willie Moore, Bro. James Thomas, Mrs. Margaret Rose Murray, Frank Roberts, Jimmy "JJ's House Party" Johnson and a special tribute to Ray "Dr. Jocko" Henderson. PLUS, we'll hear from loyal WLLE listeners like YOU! It's FREE and open to the public, So spread the word and MARK THE DATE...Saturday, May 2nd, 2015...2:30 p.m. at the Olivia Rainey Library, 4016 Carya Drive (off Poole Road) in Southeast Raleigh! ALL WiLLiE listeners are welcome to come, remember and celebrate!

HILLARY’S IN – It was one of the worst kept political secrets in history. Everyone and their mother knew that Hillary Clinton would be running for president in 2016, so when she finally got around to announcing it last Sunday, it was anti-climatic to say the least. All she has to do now is just run and win. All of that sounds easy, but trust me, it won’t be.

First of all, there are a lot of progressive Democrats who are not thrilled with Hillary. They believe that she’s too moderate, aligned too closely with the banks, accepted too much money from foreign governments through her Clinton Foundation, and make no mistake, they still haven’t forgiven her for voting for the war with Iran when she served in the US Senate (something she later apologized for).

She has to rebuild relationships with blacks, women and many other elements of the Democratic base so that she can move forward and begin courting the independents.

Yes, there are other Democrats rumored to be considering a run for the White House as well, including Mark O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland; and even Vice President Joe Biden (say it ain’t so, Joe. You’re too old).

And of course, the Republicans and conservatives have thrown enough logs on the Hillary fire to make it extremely hot for her given her time as Secretary of State (think Benghazi, everyone).

So no, this will not be a walk in the park for Hillary Clinton, and her husband, former Pres. Bill Clinton, will make things a little tougher just be running his wily mouth once in a while. There are things that both have said that will come back to haunt her campaign, and Hillary may be forced once or twice to through sand on the Obama Administration for water she doesn’t want to carry.

So welcome to the campaign, Hillary. The fun is only just beginning.

REPUBLICANS FOR THE WHITE HOUSE – Ours is a two-party system, thus, when it comes to running for president, only the serious should apply. And yet, when you look at the Republicans who have thus far announced that they’d like a crack at Commander-in-chief, you have to ask yourself, “Do any of these people even have a clue?”

Earlier this week, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio threw his hat into the ring. Last, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky made it known that if America will have him, he’s will to serve.

And several weeks ago, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz made it clear that America must return to the “values” that made it great, which is why he should lead.

In my opinion, all three men are a taco short of a combination plate. Not because they are Republican, because believe it or not, there are Republicans who don’t care for either of these clowns.

Their collective ideas about this nation harken back to before the civil rights movement. Oh yes, Rand Paul talks a good game about wanting more blacks to join his candidacy because he “cares” about our issues, but then last week Sen. Paul goes to South Carolina to speak, and doesn’t say one word about the North Charleston police shooting of an unarmed black man. How do you ignore that and be a viable candidate for the highest office in the land. And yes, Hillary did address the shooting, and she was nowhere near South Carolina.

            So now you can officially buckle up, ‘’cause the way things are lookin’, the 2016 presidential race is going to be a rough one, indeed!

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.waug-network.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).

           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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STATE NEWS BRIEFS 4-16-15

NO CHANGE, MORE PROTESTS PROMISES NC NAACP

            [RALEIGH] Circle April 29^th on your calendars as the day the NC NAACP promises to return with hundreds, if not thousands of protesters from across the state, to the state Legislature to continue massive demonstrations  to put pressure on lawmakers to pay attention to “a people’s agenda.” NC NAACP Pres. Rev. William Barber told reporters this week that Republican policies continue to hurt the poor and needy of North Carolina, and the Moral Monday movement, where approximately 1,000 demonstrators have been arrested for civil disobedience at the Legislature since 2013, will dutifully expose those policies until they change. Barber said the NCNAACP are pushing for Medicaid expansion and a hike in the minimum wage.

2015 HURRICANE SEASON WILL BE MILD, SAYS NCSU RESEARCHER

            [RALEIGH] A researcher at NC State University says expect there to be less hurricanes stirring up the Atlantic Ocean this year, which will be good news for those living along the North Carolina coast. That doesn’t mean the state’s coastal region still can’t be hit by a massive storm, but rather with a predicted six storms instead of the average eleven per season, the prospect is less likely, says Lian Xie, NCSU professor of marine, earth and atmospheric science. Indeed, of that six, only one to three may actually grow to become hurricanes, Prof. Xie says. Hurricane season in the Atlantic is from June 1 to Nov. 30^th.

SUSPECT IN WAYNE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SHOOTING DUE BACK IN NC

            [GOLDSBORO] The 20-year-old man authorities say shot the print shop manager at Wayne Community College to death on Monday is expected to be extradited from Florida, where he fled to after the shooting, back to North Carolina shortly. The suspect, Kenneth Morgan Stancil III, is suspected of being  white supremacist, authorities say.  He alleged in a Florida courtroom this week that he fatally shot Ron Lane because the man was gay and a molester. Police are still looking for the gun Stancil used in the crime.

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TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS 4-16-15

US EDUCATION SECRETARY TO DELIVER NCCU COMMENCEMENT

            Arne Duncan, the US Secretary of Education, will deliver the commencement address during North Carolina Central University’s Spring Graduation exercises on Saturday May 9 at O’Kelly – Riddick Stadium in Durham. Sec. Duncan has served in the Obama Administration since 2009, having previously served as superintendent of the Chicago Publics School System for eight years. Over 650 undergraduate degrees are scheduled to be awarded during the commencement.

GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TED CRUZ VISITS RALEIGH

            Amid the candidacy announcements of Republicans Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, and Democrat Hillary Clinton, another GOP presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, came to Raleigh Monday to keynote a luncheon at the conservative John Locke Foundation. Cruz, known as a unabashed Tea Party favorite who lobbied to have the federal government shutdown, blasted Pres. Barack Obama as “leading from behind” on foreign policy, adding that electing Hillary Clinton would be “more of the same.” Cruz was the first of either party three weeks ago to announce for the White House.

FORMER RALEIGH MAYOR CONSIDERING RUN FOR STATE LABOR COMMISSIONER

            The former five-term mayor of Raleigh, Charles Meeker, is reportedly considering a jump back into electoral politics with a run  in 2016 for state labor commissioner, unseating current Commissioner Cherie Berry. Meeker’s ten years in office are considered pivotal to the tremendous growth of the Capitol City from 2001 to 2011 when he stepped down. Meeker says if he runs, he’ll focus on improving worker safety in the workplace.

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BLACKS STILL TARGETED BY TRAFFIC STOPS IN NC

By Cash Michaels

Editor

            In the aftermath of the recent fatal police shooting of a black motorist in North Charleston, S.C. comes a new study from a UNC-Chapel Hill researcher that conclusively documents how, for 12 years, North Carolina law enforcement have targeted African-American drivers disproportionately across this state in comparison to white drivers.

            The author of the report tells The Carolinian that the numbers are increasing.

Titled “Summary of Black-White Differences in Traffic Stops and Searches”  the study, produced by Frank R. Baumgartner, Distinguished Professor of Political Science in UNC – Chapel Hill’s Political Science Dept. along with two graduate students, began in 2011 and was presented to a state task force.

 That initial report found that blacks across the state were 77 percent more likely to be stopped and searched by law enforcement than whites. Amazingly, prior to that report, while the NC Dept. of Justice and state Attorney General’s Office had been dutifully been collecting tons of data on traffic stops, as mandated by law in 1999 (the Highway Patrol began the practice in January 2000, followed by local police departments in 2002), no analysis had ever been done until Prof. Baumgartner had approached state officials for permission and cooperation in doing so.

“And then we decided that we needed to look city-by-city at police agencies one at a time, so we’ve been rolling out a series of reports one city at a time,” Prof. Baumgartner says. “And we’re also looking at Hispanic – white comparisons, because that’s a different pattern.”

Based on the numbers in Baumgartner’s studies, every North Carolina city from which he was able to glean statistics from (minimum populations 10,000), the following is clear – when it comes to traffic stops, blacks are disproportionately searched more than whites, young black males are especially targeted more than young white males, but black females, while searched more than white women, are dramatically less likely to be pulled over.

Baumgartner says the reports are important because they document how the racial disparity further erodes the relationship between African-Americans and law enforcement, and could help fuel the need for better discussions. It needs to happen, he says, because disparities are increasing.

Baumgartner says despite the increasing numbers, he doesn’t know why.

In Raleigh during that period, out of over 719,000 traffic stops, African-American drivers had a 62 percent more likelihood of being stopped and searched than whites. For black male drivers, they were over 125 percent more likely than white male drivers. Black female drivers – 62 percent over white females.

In Wilmington, out of almost 143,000 traffic stops by officers in the port city, black drivers, according to the UNC study, had a rate of search 134 percent higher than whites – the second largest racial disparity statewide recorded by the study (Jacksonville had the highest at 174 percent) -  and for black males it was even greater – 143 percent higher than comparable white male drivers. For black female motorists, the likelihood of a search by a police officer was 24 percent greater than white females.

Charlotte, out of more than 1.3 million traffic stops between 2002 and 2013, the study shows that the search rate for blacks is double that of whites, with black males at 136 percent more than white males, and black females just 13 percent more than their white counterparts.

And in Durham, the first city to receive the study’s scrutiny and where blacks comprise just 39 percent of the county population per the US Census 2013 figures, based on over 239,000 traffic stops over the 13-year period, African-Americans in Durham “have a 105 percent greater likelihood of being searched than whites…,” and are “…57 percent of those stopped overall (whites were 39 percent), but their numbers exceed the average for investigations…regulatory, seat belt and equipment issues,” the report on Durham says. The study continues that in Durham, the traffic stops by law enforcement “…appear to be more discretionary, as compared to violations such as speeding or driving while impaired, where an officer may have a clear visual cue that the behavior merits investigation.”

The result is that those who happen to live in areas deemed “high crime” are more likely to get pulled over. In the overwhelming number of these cases, the black drivers have committed no crime, Baumgartner says.

The reports overall also pinpoint which officers statistically are targeting the most black drivers per police agency. Their names are not revealed, but they are identified by a reference number, and Prof. Baumgartner says the respective police chiefs know who they are, and can address them specifically when needed.
State Rep. Rodney Moore [D - Mecklenburg] is currently sponsoring a bill in the Legislature requiring better statistics recording by law enforcement. He welcomed the UNC study.
"The data clearly shows that there is a systemic problem with arbitrary profiling of young men of color," Rep. Moore told The Carolinian. " HB 193 will compel law enforcement agencies to have more transparency as it relates to data and with the Citizens Review Board process will give our community more oversight."

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