http://nnpa.org/nnpa_newswire/farrakhan-advocates-for-black-unity/
CASH IN THE APPLE FOR
10-15-15
By Cash Michaels
MAHALIA
JACKSON CONCERT RETURNS – Two years ago I told you that one of the most
exciting singers I’ve ever heard would be doing a free church concert of some
of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson’s greatest songs, and asked you to take the
time to attend in support.
Well, many
of you did, and you were not sorry. That opportunity is back again at Lincoln Park Holiness Church on Sunday,
Oct. 25th at 4 p.m., and the same singer, vocalist Lynnette Barber, returns to give
another great performance for the community.
I’ve known Lynnette since she
was a student at St. Augustine’s College (now known as St. Augustine’s
University). She is a member of the Lincoln
Park Holiness Church family in Raleigh, and as strong a Christian as
Lynnette is, she is just as powerful a singer, which is why we asked her to
sing the theme song for our award-winning
documentary, “Pardons of Innocence: The Wilmington Ten.”
If you want to both see and hear just how great Lynnette is, mark down Sunday,
Oct. 25th, 4 p.m. at Lincoln Park Holiness Church. She will once
again don a costume, and perform as gospel legend Mahalia Jackson, in
concert. I’ve seen Lynnette’s performance as Mahalia, and I’m here to tell you,
it is more than a treat.
For
more information call
919-673-6392 or
contact Lynnette at lynbarber@yahoo.com.
Trust me, you won’t regret it.
THAT’S SO RAVEN – Well, she’s done
it again, and this time it took her father to help her clean it up. Actress,
and now talk show hostess Raven Symone
is once again licking her rhetorical wounds after running her smug, arrogant
mouth about stuff she thinks she knows something about. After renouncing being
called “African-American”, and then agreeing with someone that Michelle Obama looks like a monkey,
Raven has now resorted again to attacking her own people.
Last week on ABC’s “The View”, the latest job
Raven is apparently trying desperately to lose, saying that she would
discriminate and never hire someone with a “ghetto” name to work for her.
Needless to say, her online critics
had a field day ripping poor Raven a new one for judging someone’s capabilities
only by their name alone. That wasn’t surprising. Folks have become real tired
on her tired nonsense.
But what was surprising was when
Raven’s own father chimed in, saying that his daughter had definitely crossed a
line, and needed to grow up and realize that. He said he and his wife will
always love Raven and support her, but there are times when she says some real
“dumb s---.”
Wow! When your pops goes public
telling the world that you need to check yourself, that’s deep. It’s also
embarrassing, so much that on Sunday, Raven took to her Facebook page, and
issued a pseudo-apology. We say “pseudo” because while the statement had the feel of being
contrite, nowhere could be found the words “I’m sorry.”
Let’s be real here. ABC television
hired Raven for “The View” because
they wanted to add enough spice to the program so that viewers would come back.
So they actually want Raven to say dumb stuff. Just as long as she doesn’t
cross the line too many times.
I’d say homegirl is has actually been living on the other side of
that line for some time now. The question is…home much longer can she do it?
UNCLE BEN – Speaking of saying “dumb
s---“, Republican presidential candidate Dr.
Ben Carson seems to enjoy doing exactly that, and getting away with it.
That’s because the dumb stuff he’s saying is for the benefit of the rock-ribbed
conservatives who love his “I came up from the Detroit ghetto and be came a
world famous neurosurgeon” story.
Make no mistake, Ben Carson is a
brilliant man a long as a scalpel is in his hand and he’s in the operating
room. But when he’s telling the victims of the Oregon shooting massacre that
they should have all rushed the gunmen, or tell folks that he once told a
stickup man with a gun to go rob a Popeye’s Restaurant instead, or tell folks
that single mothers raise criminals, then one has to question just how
sophisticated his knowledge base of the world really is, and if he has any
business vying for the presidency.
But there is one thing I will say in
defense…folks have been making fun about Dr. Carson’s wife, Candy, and
specifically her appearance. Mrs. Carson dresses in very plain attire, wears
little makeup, and is as unexciting in every way as you can get. That’s not a
putdown on my part. That’s her right, especially as a woman of faith.
But it troubles me that there are
those who feel that because her husband is running for president, that makes
her fair game for criticism about her appearance.
Well where I come from, if you have
a problem with somebody, then feel free to go after them with all the zeal you
can. Thus, my criticisms of Ben Carson. But his wife, who is not running for
president, or anything else, should be left alone. Never attack a man’s family, and especially
his wife. It is cowardly, men and small-minded. It displays a lack of class and
integrity. I don’t care if you’re a night club comedian, attacking a man’s wife
rhetorically is wrong.
Period!
DR. JOCKO – Earlier this year I got
the unique chance not only to meet, but to conduct the last interview with
radio disc jockey legend Ray Henderson,
better known as “Dr. Jocko” of the
old 570 WLLE-AM. There’s no question
that Ray was a man of history, given that WLLE (also known as “WiLLiE”} was
Raleigh’s first black-formatted radio station, and he was one of the first
personalities on their.
Well as you
may know by now, Ray Henderson died in Detroit in March. He had a graveside
burial in Oakwood Cemetery, but his gravesite, right next to the legendary J. D. Lewis of WRAL (Ray’s mentor) has
no headstone. So a fundraising effort, headed up by Thad Woodard, the former head of the NC Banking Association, and Jimmy “JJ’ Johnson, former air
personality at WLLE-AM, has begun to raise $2,000.00 to get Uncle Jocko is
proper headstone by Thanksgiving.
So for any
amount you can spare, please make your donation out to “Oakwood Cemetery,” and
in the memo line at the bottom left of your check, please write “Ray Henderson
Memorial.” Kindly send your donation to Thad Woodard, 616 Lakestone Drive,
Raleigh, NC 27609.
Honoring
Ray “Dr. Jocko” Henderson is honoring part of our proud history here in
Raleigh’s African-American community. Let’s all do our part.
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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TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
FOR 10-15-15
PUBLIC HEARING ON
REDEVELOPMENT OF COLLEGE PARK COMMUNITY
On Tuesday, November 3rd
at 7 p.m., the Raleigh City Council will hold a public hearing on the
redevelopment of the College Park community near St. Augustine’s University.
Community activists are concerned that this means the gentrification of the
historically black neighborhood, with traditional residents being moved out in
favor of upper middle-class newcomers who could afford newer housing. City
officials say the redevelopment has been planned since the late 1990s.
WOODHOUSE AND
THOMPSON IN DISTRICT A RUNOFF
The Raleigh
City Council elections are not finished yet. Thanks to an extremely close
District A race among three candidates, there will be a Nov. 3rd
runoff to determine who the ultimate winner will be. The top two votegetters in
the Oct. 6th contest – Dickie Thompson and Eddie Woodhouse – will
faceoff next month. The third runnerup, J. B. Buxton conceded the race this
week after the votes were certified by the Wake Board of elections. Only 47
votes separated Thompson and Woodhouse.
BRENTWOOD
ELEMENTARY’S ERIC FITTS HAILED AS WAKE “PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR”
Eric Fitts, principal of Brentwood
Elementary School in Raleigh, has been honored as Wake County Public School
System’s “Principal of the Year.” The South Carolina native is known for
walking the halls, talking with students, and looking out especially for those
pupils who may be in need, knowing that such burdens can be barriers to a good
education. There has been academic improvement during Principal Fitts’ tenure,
and he’s determined for Brentwood and its students to be the very best that
they can be.
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STATE NEWS BRIEFS
10-15-15
INFANT MORTALITY
RATES RISES STATEWIDE IN 2014
[GREENSBORO]
North Carolina’s infant mortality rate inched up last year, according to
statistics released by the state Department of Health and Human Service’s
public health division this week. In 2014, the state’s infant mortality rate
was 7.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, 0.1 higher than 2013’s 7.0 per 1,000 live
births rate. Deputy DHHS Secretary Dr. Randall Williams says the department is
working in collaboration with outside partners to address the increase.
FORMER WAKE REP.
DEBORAH ROSS ANNOUNCES RUN FOR SEN. BURR’S SEAT
[RALEIGH]
One day after NC Treasurer Janet Cowell announced that she will not seek
re-election nor any other public office, former Wake state Representative Deborah
Ross announced Wednesday that she will join the Democratic race to unseat
Republican US Senator Richard Burr in the 2016 elections. Ross served in the
state House from 2003 to 2013. She left to work as general counsel for
GoTriangle, a mass transportation group.
She has resigned to pursue her senate bid. Ross must first compete
against Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey in the Democratic primary to face Burr in
November 2016.
UNC STUDENTS CONTINUE
SILENT SAM STATUE PROTEST
[CHAPEL
HILL] A statue honoring “Silent Sam,”a Confederate hero was once again the
target of student protest on the UNC – Chapel Hill campus Monday, as two dozen
protesters stood up during the start University Day ceremonies demanding the
statue is a monument to racism and should be torn down. UNC Chancellor Carol
Folt actually told those gathered that
the students be heard in their demands, and that they had a “…a very important
message.”
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SPECIAL NCNAACP CONVENTION COVERAGE
NCNAACP WOMEN
BLAST SEN. BURR
By Cash Michaels
editor
[WINSTON-SALEM] Female
members of NAACP chapters from across North Carolina expressed concerns about
the legislative record of Sen. Richard Burr last week, charging that the North
Carolina Republican, who is up for reelection in 2016, has a record that shows
“…a disregard and disrespect for the value of women in North Carolina.”
Flanked by NC NAACP President Rev.
William Barber, members of the organization WIN (Women In the NAACP) and other
members attending the three-day state convention in Winston – Salem Oct. 9th,
Executive Director Rev. Michelle Laws charged that Sen. Burr has repeatedly
stood in the way of women’s issues.
“You’ve got a hard head, Sen.
Burr,” Rev. Laws exclaimed, as the women around her cheered.
She warned that Burr could face the
wrath of the female ballot next year, saying that, “When women vote, the
politics and the policies look differently.”
Rev. Laws recounted how in 2009, Burr
first recommended federal prosecutor Jennifer May – Parker, chief of the
Appellate Division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District in
North Carolina, to fill one of over eighty open US District Court seats in the
federal judiciary.
If confirmed, May-Parker would have
become the first black female federal judge in the history of the Eastern
District.
But once Pres. Obama nominated her
in 2013, Burr then inexplicably flipped, taking steps to block May –Parker’s nomination,
denying her a committee hearing, and ultimately forcing it to die after
approximately 300 days.
Newspapers across the state blasted
Sen. Burr for not only blocking the nomination, but also never explaining why
he did it.
“As a result, the vast majority of
African-Americans who reside in the Eastern District of North Carolina will not
have the opportunity to be represented by the highly qualified, and more than
capable attorney Jennifer May-Parker,” Rev. Laws said.
Laws recalled that Sen. Burr also joined
other Senate Republicans earlier this year in actively opposing the Senate
confirmation of US Attorney Gen. Loretta Lynch, stalling it for over five
months. Burr opposed the immensely
qualified home state nominee last February, saying that if confirmed, Lynch,
then a US attorney in New York, would challenge North Carolina’s restrictive
voter ID law.
“I’m in the right on this one,”
Burr told a Raleigh television station.
But after mounting national and
statewide pressure, Lynch was finally confirmed as the first black woman ever
to become US attorney general in history, in April.
Still, the conservative senator’s
opposition proved that he had “a head as hard as a rock,” Rev. Laws said.
“We are concerned not only about
the judicial appointments, the pattern of simple disregard and disrespect for
the value of women, for the quality of life and well-being of the women in
North Carolina,” the NCNAACP executive director continued. “Simply put, [Sen.
Burr’s] record speaks volumes, and we know that women in North Carolina make up
over 53 percent of registered voters.”
Rev. Laws noted that during Sen.
Burr’s first term in Congress; he has voted against funding for abortion
services; federal health plan contraceptive coverage; the reauthorization of
the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIPS) and an amendment requiring
health care providers to offer at minimum costs specific preventive services.
“And for three consecutive years,
[Sen. Burr] was rated at zero percent by Planned Parenthood, and he is on the
attack, along with some others, to defund Planned Parenthood. [Plus], three
times he has voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would hold
employers more accountable for wage discriminations against women,” Rev. Laws
said.
“So on one hand, he’s dealing with
our bodies and our health, but then on the other hand, he’s not giving us the
resources or allowing us to make enough money to rely on some of these services
and programs.”
“Women demand equal pay and fairer
wages; health care and health insurance that covers our entire family; and a way
up and out of poverty for those who are poor,” Laws continued, warning North
Carolina women, and especially “…poor white and rural women,” not to “believe
the lies, and chicanery and poli-trickery” about the NAACP fighting only for “black
issues.”
“We fight for all women. We’re
concerned with the poor, the sick, and those who don’t have the affluence and
the resources to make sure that they have the best quality of life,” Rev. Laws
said.
Wanda Woodby, president of the Yancey
and Mitchell counties chapter of the NAACP, identified herself as “from one of
those districts that is poor and white… and we’re without medical care. We are
suffering.” Woodby challenged Sen. Burr to come to her district, “…and see the
people that your votes are hurting.”
Ms. Woodby then added, “Sen. Burr,
you have blood on your hands,” saying that there are people dying of cancer
because of lack of screening; children without parents because of lack of
medical care; people going to prison because of a lack of mental health care.”
“Sen. Burr, we are your
constituents. You’re supposed to protect us. Why don’t you?” Woodby
rhetorically asked.
Noting that the men of the NCNAACP
stand strongly by the women and their demands for justice and equality, state
Pres. Rev. Barber echoed concerns about Sen. Burr, saying that just like
arch-conservative Sen. Jesse Helms, Burr’s voting record on women’s issues,
civil rights and voting rights “has been atrocious.”
“The NAACP has given him an F,”
Rev. Barber added. “A on smiling; F on policy. A for dressing right; F for
voting wrong.”
On Wednesday, former Wake County State Representative Deborah Ross, a Democrat, announced that she will vie for Sen. Burr's seat in the 2016 election.
On Wednesday, former Wake County State Representative Deborah Ross, a Democrat, announced that she will vie for Sen. Burr's seat in the 2016 election.
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COOPER ANNOUNCES FOR GOVERNOR - Monday night, State Atty. General Roy Cooper (seen here attending the NCNAACP State Convention last week) finally made it official that he's running for governor to unseat Republican incumbent Gov. Pat McCrory. Cooper, will first be challenged in the Democratic primary next March 15th by former state Representative Ken Spaulding of Durham. [Cash Michaels Photo]
REP. ADAMS WITH NCNAACP YOUTH - Congresswoman Alma Adams (left) seen here posing with youth members of the NCNAACP and her close friend, Guilford County Commissioner Carolyn Coleman, encouraged those gathered for the 72nd Annual NCNAACP Convention in Winston-Salem to "get angry" and vote to bring about change. [Cash Michaels photo]
ADAMS CALLS TEA PARTY
NCNAACP PRES. SAYS “IT’S
NO
TIME FOR FOOLISHNESS”
By Cash Michaels
[WINSTON-SALEM]
Saying that the 2016 elections are extremely important to North Carolina and
the country, NCNAACP Pres. Rev. William Barber laid out an aggressive agenda Saturday
for organizing and mobilizing voters statewide under the banner, “This is no time
for foolishness.”
“At this
convention…we know what is needed in this state and this nation. We know what’s
needed for liberty and justice for all to be realized,” Rev. Barber told
hundreds of NCNAACP chapter members attending the 72nd Annual State
Convention in Winston-Salem during his annual President's Address.
“Number
one, we ‘ve got to secure pro-labor anti-poverty policies that ensure
economic sustainability by fighting for full employment,
living wages, the alleviation of disparate unemployment, a green economy, labor
rights, affordable housing, targeted empowerment zones, [and] strong safety net
services for the poor. We have to stop extreme militarism that destroys
innocent lives and undermines our ability to wage a real war on poverty at
home.”
“We’ve got
to make sure we have fair policies for immigrants, infrastructure development,
and fair tax reform that benefits the poor and working poor, and not the
greedy,” Barber continued.
The NCNAACP
leader also called for “educational equality” by ensuring that every child have,
“… a high quality, well-funded, constitutional, diverse public education,” in
addition to proper funding for historically-black colleges and universities.
Also
important “…to pursue liberty,” Rev. Barber called for health care for all by
ensuring access to the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion, Medicare, and
protecting Social Security. Protecting the environment was also key, as well as
correcting injustices in the criminal justice system that negatively impact
people of color and poor whites.
On citizen
rights, Barber maintained the importance of preserving and protecting voting,
women’s, LGBT and civil rights.
“And
always, I don’t are what Donald Trump says…we must demand that nobody touch the
14th Amendment that guarantees equal protection under the law,” Rev.
Barber exclaimed to applause.
The
progressive agenda Rev. Barber presented is viewed by many in the conservative
ranks as “socialist” or “communist,” he said, but that’s because “ a regressive
and extremist [NC] Legislature…” has chosen to ignore the needs of the poor,
and the common people.
Indeed,
especially in the South, “…the poorest districts in the country are the
[politically] reddest districts,” Barber noted, adding that conservative
politicians who are working to hurt the poor, are also hurting the very people
who support them.
“And
somehow in the South, they’re so blinded by the Southern Strategy and the old
tricks of racism, that many Southern whites don’t realize that they’re in the
same boat as black people,” the NCNAACP leader said.
After
railing off a full list of other injustices perpetrated against communities of
color and poor whites by the Tea Party and conservative Republicans, and saying
now that , “…it’s easier to get a gun than to register to vote,” Rev. Barber
proclaimed, “Somebody, some organization, has got to sound the alarm that this
is no time [for foolishness]!”
Reminding
convention gatherers that they were not there for fellowship, but rather were
in a “war room,” Rev. Barber said in 2016, the focus of all NAACP branches will be to maximize memberships,
further mobilize the Moral Monday movement across the state in various
counties, especially in home districts of conservative state legislators who
oppose the progressive agenda; and move and march massive votes to the polls.
“We’re
going to put together the most massive get-out-to-vote effort ever seen since
the ‘60’s,” Rev. Barber promised, adding that the NCNAACP and Forward Together
Movement will continue to build coalitions for progress. “This foolishness has
gone on too long.”
“It’s our
time now!”
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ADAMS CALLS TEA PARTY
HOUSE MEMBERS "GANGSTERS"
By Cash Michaels
Editor
Saying
that, “Our nation has been hijacked by insensitive right-wing radical Tea Party
folks at the local, state and federal level, so drunk with power that they’re
deliberately making it difficult for our working families, for our elderly and
our children to survive,” US Rep. Alma Adams [ D – NC- 12] told the 72nd
Annual NCNAACP Convention luncheon Saturday that “…we’ve got to get angry
enough to act.”
Rep. Adams,
who began serving in Congress last year after many years as a state lawmaker
from Guilford County, also chided her Republican colleagues in the House for
their recent turmoil over who will replace outgoing Speaker John Boehner,
especially after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) bowed out amid controversy last week.
“If you’ve
been keeping up with everything, you know that the House has gone to hell,”
Rep. Adams said to laughter. “There are forty Freedom Caucus members in the
House…I call them gangsters, who are disrupting everything. This group wants to
tie up everything, even the increases in the debt ceiling, cuts in Social
Security and Medicare and Medicaid…they even want to get rid of Obamacare, and
everything else that’s made a difference.”
“They want
to defund Planned Parenthood, as a matter of fact, they even tried to shut down
the government just to shut down one organization. So you know what I’m dealing
with in Washington.”
Adams said
she’s “disgusted” by the negative politics she’s seeing in Raleigh with the
Republican-led NC General Assembly, and the GOP-led Congress. She said that the
hard fought for civil rights gains of the past are now being “stripped away,”
requiring the NAACP and others to stay in the fight for justice and equal
rights.
“It’s time
to recommit,” she said. “It’s time for us to get reengaged, build some bridges
and form some bonds so that we can recapture our losses, and protect our
progress.”
“Looking at
what’s going on in state legislatures across the country, including our own,
and observing the insensitive actions of US Congress, and its impact on our
state and nation, they’re just devastating, with long-term ramifications. And
I’m convinced that at the end of the day, we’ve got to get angry enough to act.”
“In the
final analysis, what happens tomorrow will be up to us, and how we prepare
today.” Rep. Adams said, adding that “We know why this crowd continues to fight
our president.”
“Our people
are pawns in a dangerous game of partisan politics that’s being played in
Washington, and we’re paying the price for Washington’s dysfunction.”
Adams noted
that complacency because of prior progress is keeping people from taking back
the power that has been gradually syphoned off from them.
“It’s clear
that as a people, we’ve got to pump it up,” Rep. Adams said, reminding all of
the importance of investing in all children for empowerment. She also
recommended that African-Americans regain that sense of community that helped
them succeed during the civil rights movement.
“Power
controls everything,” Adams said, noting that blacks need to get more involved
in voting to control the politics and economics that bring about positive
change.
Congresswoman
Adams paid tribute to the work of her close friend, Guilford County
Commissioner and NAACP Board member Carolyn Coleman, NCNAACP Pres. Rev. William
Barber, and the work of the NAACP to bring about justice and equality.
Adams also announced that she has
filed a House bill to name a local post office in Winston – Salem after the
late author Dr. Maya Angelou, who lived there until her passing last summer. Adams
says she has the full support of the 13-member North Carolina congressional
delegation.
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