http://www.nnpa.org/news/lead/nul-blacks-slip-on-the-road-to-parity-with-whites-by-freddie-allen/
http://www.nnpa.org/news/lead/pell-grant-changes-will-slow-black-graduation-rates-by-maya-rhodan/
http://www.nnpa.org/news/lead/blacks-less-prepared-for-the-next-financial-crisis-by-freddie-allen/
-30-
DESPITE TRICKS, VOTER
PHOTO
ID BILL MOVES FORWARD
By Cash Michaels
Editor
After
proving that the Republican voter photo ID bill is contrary to the NC
Constitution regarding qualifying voters to vote, Durham Rep. H. M. Mickey
Michaux promised Republicans Wednesday that he “…will fight to the death”
against what he says is an attempt at voter suppression.
But
despite strong opposition by various activist groups, including the NCNAACP,
the Republican-pushed voter photo ID bill that would require all registered
voters in North Carolina to brandish a government-issued photo identification
when casting ballots moved closer to passage Wednesday after the state House
Elections Committee heard debate from Michaux and others.
Gov.
Pat McCrory has already indicated that he will sign the voter ID bill once it
gets to his desk.
House
Bill 589, as the voter ID measure is better known, is just one of many
“assaults on voting rights,” many critics like the state NAACP and NC
Democratic Party charge, that the Republican-led NC General Assembly is moving
quickly to codify this legislative session.
Bill
sponsors say it will now go to the House Finance Committee, and then hit the
House floor for a full vote by Wednesday or Thursday of next week. They also
say that thanks to new calculations that have been adopted by the state Board
of Elections, there are only just over 300,000 registered voters in the state
without official photo ID, not the original over 600,000 that NCBOE had
estimated.
Of
that number, Republicans say at least 115,000 are voters who haven’t cast a
ballot in the past five years, meaning that only just over 200,000 may actually
need new voter ID cards, not 600,000.
Critics
charge that as the bill gets closer to a full House vote, Republican leaders
are doing their best to soften the image of the legislation, and make it
bulletproof to legal challenge, so that it looks more like a law to stop what
many agree is nonexistent voter fraud, instead of what critics say is a
partisan attempt at voter suppression against Democratic leaning groups like
blacks and young people.
Democrats
are also pointing at a pending Senate bill that would tax parents of dependent
college-age children who choose to register to vote at their universities, and
not their home addresses.
There
is also Democratic consternation about another House bill that would cut the
One Stop/Early Voting period down from two weeks to eight days; eliminate same day
registration; stop Sunday “Souls to the Polls” voting that African-American churches favor; and end straight ticket
voting which is favored by Democrats.
Starting
in 2016 under the voter ID bill, voters would be able to display drivers
licenses, state employee ID’s, tribal cards, veteran cards issued by the
federal government and public university student IDs. Older photo IDs of up to
ten years will also be accepted, even if expired. For voters who are over 70
but haven’t updated their identification cards, they’ll be able to use the card
they used at age 70, no matter how much older they are.
After
it was made clear that it is unconstitutional to charge anyone for a voter ID
card, Republican lawmakers Wednesday announced that they were removing a
requirement for those voters who couldn’t afford one to sign an affidavit to
that effect. They will receive theirs free of charge from the state.
Those
voters without photo ID will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, which
will be counted only after they go to their local election board with the
proper photo ID afterwards. Mail-in ballots would require only a signature and
either a Social Security or driver’s license number.
The
bill even touts the eventual use of facial recognition technology.
GOP
sponsors still have not given a final estimated price tag, though it’s assumed
that if early voting is cut, those savings that Republicans say are needed,
would go to help pay for new voter ID cards.
Students
with the NCNAACP Youth and College Division, among others, were present at the
meeting to voice their opposition.
Critics
are also up in arms that at last week’s last four-hour public hearing, the Wake
Republican Party and conservative Voter Integrity Project were able to get
their members signed up to speak before anyone else knew, and then had their
speakers read from scripts at the hearing, citing instances of alleged voter
fraud.
But
afterwards, Jay DeLancy, director of the Voter Integrity Project, issued a
statement on their website admitting that some of the information in those
scripts, “ may be inaccurate.”
“While we regret this human error and apologize for
any embarrassment it may have caused to the presenters and to election
officials, we caution the public against losing sight of the undeniable fact
that North Carolina’s voter rolls are so corrupted that, without an effective
voter ID law, it will be impossible to know who is really voting."
Critics
say Republican lawmakers should discount the “fraudulent” testimony by the
Voter Integrity Project speakers.
-30-
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
4-18-13
RALEIGH CITY COUNCIL
VOTES TO FIRE CITY MANAGER ALLEN
In
a surprise move Wednesday, the Raleigh City Council announced that it will not
renew the contract of longtime City Manager J. Russell Allen. Allen had been
serving the city for the past 12 years, and has overseen its tremendous growth.
In a statement, the council said, “Just as Raleigh has grown and changed, so
have the skills needed to manage and grow the city,” adding, “We are excited
and look forward to the new possibilities and insight that a new city manager
will bring us…” For his part, Allen, who hired the city’s first
African-American female police chief, among his other accomplishments, said in
a statement that he was “honored and proud” to have served as city manager, and
was “confident in the city’s future.” There was no word at presstime Wednesday
as to why Allen was fired.
FEDERAL COMPLAINT
ALLEGES DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUSPENSION POLICIES “HARM” BLACK AND DISABLED
STUDENTS
According
to a complaint filed with the US Education Dept.’s Office of Civil Rights,
Durham Public Schools’ suspension policies “harm” black and disable students
more than others, say published reports. Two groups, Legal of North Carolina’s
Advocates for Children’s Services Project and the Center for Civil Rights
Remedies at the Civil Rights Project of UCLA, filed the action this week
detailing the alleged federal violations against two black Durham students.
However, the complaint if formally filed on behalf of all disabled students
‘who are unjustly harmed by the district’s suspension policies.” A spokesperson
for Durham Public Schools says it has not seen the complaint yet.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS FIRST
NC OPPOSES SCHOOL VOUCHER BILL
A state House bill which would spend $90
million in taxpayer money in subsidizing parents who want to send their
children to private schools would hurt public schools, say members of Public
Schools First NC, a nonpartisan advocacy group. House Bill 944, better known as
“The Opportunity Scholarship Act,” if made law, would provide up to $4,200.00
in taxpayer money to students to attend private schools. Yevonne Brannon, chair
of Public Schools First NC, says the bill is a “blatant” attempt to divide
communities and privatize education. Supporters say the measure helps parents
get their children out of failing schools. Studies have shown nationally that
overall, students who leave public schools to go to private institutions on
vouchers don’t fare any better.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS 4-18-13
CONCERN ABOUT SENATE
BILL WHICH WOULD DENY FELONS VOTING RIGHTS FOR FIVE YEARS AFTER RELEASE
[RALEIGH]
There is controversy over state Senate Bill 721 which, if it becomes law, would
exclude
a person with a felony conviction from voting for at least 5 years after he or
she has completed his or her criminal sentence. And even after that, a local
elections board would have to unanimously vote to restore those voting rights.
The NC Second Chance Alliance is calling on citizens to lobby the NC General
Assembly against this bill on Tuesday, April 23rd, from 9a.m. to 5
p.m. For more information go the its website at www.ncsecondchance.org
NC BLACK
SUMMIT FOCUSING ON TECHNOLOGY AND JOB CREATION
[RALEIGH]
The Eighth Annual NC Black Summit, a conference of North Carolina black elected
officials and activists kicking off April 25 – 27, will focus this year on
“Technology and its Impact on Job Creation,” as well on education, economic
development and government efficiency. Sponsored by the Alliance of North
Carolina Black Elected Officials, the Summit will also honor the NC Black
Publishers Association for its role in the pardoning of the Wilmington Ten
during its banquet at the North Raleigh Hilton Friday, April 26th.
For more information visit www.ncblacksummit.org
STATE
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE BACKS REMOVAL OF CLASS SIZE LIMITS
[RALEIGH]
On a party line voter, Wednesday, the Republican-led state Senate Education
Committee voted to remove state-imposed limits on class sizes, saying that
doing so gives public school systems across the state more flexibility with
their resources. Democrats countered that removing the limits on the number of
pupils per class will negatively impact the quality of learning if classes get
too big. The bill now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
-30-
CASH IN THE APPLE
By Cash Michaels
BOSTON
– This week our nation was deeply wounded. Innocent people,
including a child, were murdered and severely injured. Lives were changed for
the worse. People fell victim to hate. This is a time for prayer and resolve.
It is a time for clear thinking, and real feeling. There are some who say,
"Well why should I care?" Why? Because by only the grace of GOD go
any and all of us. None of us knows whether the next tragedy will be at our
shopping mall or movie theater or place of worship.
Or the school our
children attend. That means those of us who truly believe in justice, believe
that what happened today wasn't deserved by anybody. It was an evil, vicious
act of hatred that we must all stand together against. Let's all ask GOD to
give each of us the strength and courage to know in our hearts what is wrong,
and deeply pray for those today who were hurt by it. A sad week indeed.
NO SENSE – I heard
the same thing after the Newtown, Conn.
shootings, and heard it again this week. Why are we, as black people,
grieving for other people’s tragedies, when no one grieves or does anything
about ours?
It’s a twisted kind
of moral equivalency because the deaths and injuries in well-publicized acts of
terror usually have one thing in common – their victims were at random, and
could have been anybody….including us.
In fact, if you look
back over the death and injury lists of major terrorist events like 9/11, or
the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, or this week with the bombings at the Boston Marathon, you’ll see that
black and brown people were impacted as well.
Even though radical
Muslim terrorists were responsible for 9/11, we also know that Muslims were
among the many victims who died on that day.
And we also know, as
Rev. Al Sharpton at one time
famously said, that the 9/11 hijackers didn’t send any warning to black and
brown people to get out of the Twin Towers or the Pentagon before they arrived.
Their intent was to
kill Americans. Period!
Yes, many of the
acts of foreign terror on our shores are said to be retaliation for what our
military has done in other lands, and some say are still doing, namely killing
innocent people with drones and bombings in pursuit of terrorists.
I get that point,
and agree that that shouldn’t be happening.
But that doesn’t
mean I should feel it’s OK if someone blows up the house next door on my block.
To play moral equivalency with injustice – better known as “an eye for an eye”
– is easy to spout off when it’s not specifically your eye that’s on the line.
Yes, we should speak
out, loud and clear, when we oppose policies by our government that are
responsible for the loss of innocent lives here, overseas, anywhere. That
should be stopped. We need to do a better job of targeting our proven enemies, and
ONLY our enemies. We, as a nation, have a right, as a manner of self-defense,
to attack those who have, or continue to plan to do us harm.
But we all know,
because our faith informs us so, that when we begin to excuse acts of terror on
us because of what our government does elsewhere, then we lose any and all
moral standing. The rightness of our cause for justice, as a people, rests on
the indignities historically done, and not rectified, to our humanity.
If we, out of
holding a grudge, begin to morally justify the suffering of others, then we as
a people lose the moral standing that has been the foundation of our being.
Let’s protest the
wrong in the world, especially as it impacts other peoples of color, yes. But
let’s stop morally justifying terroristic pain and suffering here because of
what we may abhor our government is doing elsewhere. What’s wrong is wrong, and
that should always be the point.
Whether it’s in an Afghan village,
or an elementary school in Newtown, or at the Boston Marathon, all innocent
people should live their lives in peace, safety and security.
Amen?
MAKE IT HAPPEN THIRD ANNIVERSARY –
Mark the date down, Thursday, April 25th, 4-6 p.m., one week from
today. The live two-hour third anniversary “Make It Happen” on Power 750 WAUG-AM and www.myWAUG.com. We’ll be broadcasting live
from St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, and we want you to join us in the
live audience. So come on out and join us!
NCIS FINALE - Yep, I’m one of the over 20 million
people who tune in to “NCIS” on CBS every Tuesday evening. The police
procedural about a Naval investigating team has been the number one drama on
television for the past five years, and it’s just finishing up its tenth year
on the air.
Most NCIS fans know that the show
grew out of another old CBS series, “JAG,” the hit show about Naval attorneys
with the Judge Advocate General’s Office.
In that series, actor John M. Jackson portrayed Admiral A.J.
Chegwidden, the boss. Jackson left the series before it ended in 2005.
But now comes word that in the
season finale of “NCIS” on Tuesday, May 15, Jackson returns as Chegwidden. The
character has retired from the US Navy, and is now a private attorney for a big
Washington, DC law firm.
But when the characters of NCIS get
in legal trouble for seeking revenge for the assassination of character Ziva
David’s father, Chegwidden comes to the rescue.
CBS is touting the NCIS season
finale as a “nailbiter.” We’ll see.
But one’s thing’s for sure is that
it will be good to see grouchy Adm. Chegwidden back in the saddle again.
SCANDAL – I still haven’t made up
my mind about the ABC-TV hit Thursday night series, “Scandal” starring actress Kerry Washington as a black female
Washington, DC crisis management expert who fixes the problems of the powerful,
but is hopelessly in love with the married president of the United States.
Black folks love the show because
it shows a sistah with a lot of power doing her thing.
Fine.
And it also shows homegirl dumping
a black US senator who loved her, for fooling around with the white prez, and
then one of his military intelligence lackies whom that same prez sent to spy
on her.
So in short, if you’re a black male
in this show, you have nothing to look forward to by way of hooking up with
homegirl star of the show.
Again, black folks love and watch
the show, which is produced by Shonda
Rhimes, the black female executive producer of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” and
it is apparently doing well in it’s second season. I’ve seen a couple of
episodes, and it’s well acted and slickly produced.
But I must admit that the show
makes me a bit uncomfortable. Especially after seeing something on Facebook
earlier this week which in effect challenged how we as a people can criticize
black rappers of exploiting black women in their music, but then love and
praise a TV show where white men are exploiting this black woman every week?
Fair question. We ask (if not
demand) better images of ourselves in the movies and on TV, but then don’t
really support those projects when they come out (last weekend’s Jackie
Robinson film, “42,” which opened to a $27 million box office, was a notable
exception).
But when stuff that some say
reinforces negative stereotypes hits the screens, we’re all lined up to pay our
money to see or hear it.
So I don’t know. I have to leave
this one to you to decide.
I wish the folks at “Scandal” well.
I just wonder if we could ever truly be successful in entertainment without
selling ourselves short.
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.
-30-
