THE WILMINGTON TEN: 40 YEARS OF LOSS AND STRUGGLE - PART
3
By Cash Michaels
Staff writer
[HAVE TO RUN OUT - PLEASE USE THE PICTURES THAT YOU HAVE. THANKS]
Editor’s note - There is no question that the
false prosecution forty years of the nine young black men and one white woman
who would become widely known as the “Wilmington Ten,” dramatically impacted
their lives, as well as those of their families and loved ones.
Most
of the defendants were young, some barely in their twenties, when they were
convicted in 1972 of crimes they didn’t commit.
Some were still in high school,
and living with their parents.
At least one, Anne Shepard, was
raising three young children at the time.
Most
of them had dreams of bright, hope-filled futures. Some wanted to practice law.
Some wanted to play professional sports.
Today, forty years later, the
Wilmington Ten and their families seek individual pardons of innocence from the
State of North Carolina for crimes they didn’t commit. But even pardons cannot
erase the pain and struggle they’ve all endured.
ANNE SHEPARD
Ms. Judy Mack remembers those days
when her mother, Anne Shepard, stood strong against discrimination of any kind.
Whether it be race, gender or size, Shepard believed that all were equal in
GOD’s sight, and she raised her three children to believe the same.
That belief made life harder for
Shepard, a 34-year-old white woman who, in 1971, stood foursquare with black
students in Wilmington against what Shepard believed to be the racial treatment
of them by the powers that be. A community worker who helped poor families in
the projects, Shepard was well-known and well-respected. So working with
students at Gregory Church was a natural part of what she did best.
So when the arrests began in 1972
in connection with the Mike’s Grocery Store destruction a year earlier,
Shepard, a single parent, was swept up. Even though she knew that she was being
targeted, Shepard refused to leave despite being warned to do so.
The authorities had hoped to turn
Shepard against Rev. Ben Chavis and the other activists, but Shepard, knowing
that none of them had committed any crime in association with Mike’s, refused.
She explained to her three children,
Ms. Mack recalls, that she was standing on principle for the black students,
and was willing to deal with whatever authorities threw at her. Thus, Shepard
would stand strong against the false allegations. Mack was eleven at the time,
and didn’t understand fully what was going on. But she knew that her mother
needed support, so she and one of Shepard’s two other children were in court
constantly (an older sister ran away), hoping that it would be all over, and
that she could come back home.
“She truly believed in what she was
doing,” Ms. Mack said. “And she raised us, as young women, and we, too were
young women and could make a difference.”
After she was convicted, Shepard
received the lowest sentence of all of the Wilmington Ten. But being sent away
for a total of 15 years was a blow to Shepard’s children.
“It was hard being separated from
my mother, “ Ms. Mack says. She recalls a relative having to make the daylong
travel to the prison to see their mother, and then staying over in a motel to
make it back home safely. The visits were very emotionally.
Shepard was “never a complainer,
never a whiner. She was string for us, for other people,” says Mack.
In order to partially survive
prison, Shepard learned how to crochet to keep her mind and hands busy.
“My mother wasn’t a knitting kind
of person, but she wanted to make sure that we had Christmas presents from
her,” Mack recalls. She made hats, sweaters and scarves.
Shepard also spent plenty of tine
in the prison law library, loving to read and write. At one point, she helped
organize a boycott in women’s prison, protesting what she felt were violations
of inmates’ right.
Though her freedom was restricted,
Shepard lived to help people, and that’s what kept her going.
When she was released early while
the case was on appeal, Anne Shepard was eventually reunited with her
daughters, moved to Raleigh, and continued improving herself. After a few years when the appeals to
the North Carolina courts failed, she had to turn herself in, this separating
from her daughters again.
Shepard was finally released from
prison again, and eventually moved to Durham regaining custody of her daughters
after a few months. She continued to improve herself through courses and other
work, graduated from Durham Tech in the end.
Mack said Shepard was always being
questioned by other white people about why she would sacrifice herself for
blacks, which she didn’t appreciate.
And on one fateful evening, while
walking home, Shepard walked over to a car when she heard the occupant call out
to her, and ended up being seriously beaten.
In 2011, Anne Shepard, residing in
Durham, died.
If Judy Mack could asked Gov.
Perdue to issue a pardon of innocence for her mother, Anne Shepard, what would
she say?
“The evidence should show that
there was misconduct, and that [the Wilmington Ten] are innocent,” Mack says.
“To be in prison is one thing, but to be in prison away from your children,
your family…I can’t imagine…’
REGINALD
EPPS
If there’s one Wilmington Ten
member who insists on leaving the whole sordid way he was treated behind, it is
Reginald Epps. He does not attend anniversary programs, nor do interviews. Epps
works very hard not to think about how, at a very young age, the Wilmington Ten
experience forced him to struggle to survive.
“As you go through life, you’ve got
this thing over you…this cloud over your mind,” he says. You realize that you
don’t have access to things that you ordinarily think you would be able to get
access to - jobs…being able to fill out a resume and present myself at an
interview. I knew those things were probably closed off to me, or at least I
felt that way. I had to backdoor my way into a normalcy or a life [after
leaving prison], as opposed to the more traditional graduate high school, then
go to college and get a job.”
Epps didn’t pass his high school
courses, nor get a diploma, until he was serving time in prison.
And yet, Epps, one of nine
children, credits the experience for, in a sense, changing his life. He readily
admits being a young man who stayed in trouble, heading down a path in life
that assured worst things to come. He was a hustler, with no dreams
Epps was 17, and a student at
Hoggard High when he found himself caught in the Wilmington Ten web. He visited
the Gregory Church often because it was the only experience he had of being
with other black students who were engaged in positive pursuits to build
self-esteem, pride and knowledge of self.
It was 1972 when two school
resource officers walked up to Reggie Epps in the school hallway and said, “Come
with us.” Epps had no idea why, but when he found out that he was being charged
as a conspirator in the firebombing of Mike’s Grocery, neither he nor his
parents could believe it.
“I had no clue,” Epps says. He was
also puzzled when he saw other friends of his who ultimately comprised the
Wilmington Ten. He knew them all, and knew that the police had the wrong
people.
Epps says the families that had
resources were able to get their children out of the trouble. The teens who
were left behind, like himself, were the most vulnerable because their parents
couldn’t fight back.
His mother scolded Epps for even
being involved with the black student movement at Gregory Church, feeling that
because it was radical, it would only lead to trouble, no matter what the cause.
Epps goes on trial with Ben Chavis
and nine others, and he knew that convictions were certain from watching the
prosecutor challenge black jurors in the second trial, while ‘redneckish” white
jurors were getting on with little problem.
When the trial was over, Epps is
sentenced to a combined 28 years in prison. The relevance of it didn’t hit Epps
right away, he says. His family did not attend the trial, and were not there
during the sentencing.
Odom Farms was the prison Epps was
assigned to. Because of the distance, his parent can’t visit. Epps writes
letters, particularly with his sister.
Epps survived prison by sticking
close to Willie Vereen and other Ten members.
“You had those up days and down
days,” he recalls.
While he was in prison, Epps stepfather
was killed.
When Epps was finally early
released in the late 1970’s, he was glad, especially since the case against the
Wilmington Ten was unraveling before the world.
Epps knew not to come back to
Wilmington. He moved to Raleigh to start his life fresh. Epps knows that his
Wilmington Ten background will sink opportunities, so he takes the lowest level
jobs possible so that he can work his way up without detection.
The strategy worked for a number of
years, allowing Epps to work his way up the corporate ladder. He had to leave
in order to take care of his mother, who later passed.
After that trauma in his life, Epps
started all over again, finding low level work to “back door” his way up the
ladder again.
So why does Reginald Epps feel that
he deserves a pardon of innocence from the state of North Carolina? Epps said
the pardon should have been rendered years ago when Gov. Jim Hunt was still in
office.
“Second, it’s the right thing to
do. I had nothing to do with that [Mike’s Grocery] mess. Your system screwed
up,” Epps said. “You can fix it.”
WAYNE
MOORE
After Wayne Moore was finally
released from prison in 1979 after spending several years as a member of the
Wilmington Ten, he went back to Wilmington, hoping not only to be reaccepted into
the community, but to get his young life on track after being falsely convicted
of crimes he did not do.
Moore was originally sentenced to
29 years in prison at age 19.
But it soon became clear, after
losing job after job, and being shunned by many in the community, that there
was no future for Moore in his hometown anymore.
So he had to move to Michigan,
where he learned a trade as an electrician, and is gainfully employed.
But Moore had to leave his home,
friends and family in North Carolina to have any positive future at all. It is
a sacrifice and indignity Moore had to suffer, on top of being tried,
convicted, and serving in prison.
All because as a student in
Wilmington in 1971, he stood up and demanded equal education for black students
in New Hanover County schools.
Moore wrote the following, a while
back, about how he saw his struggles:
Although I can only imagine what it was like to be
a slave chained to the bowels of a slave ship, my experience with the
Wilmington 10 allowed me to somewhat sample physical bondage with no ability
for self-reliance, or self-determination.
Once
freed from physical bondage one may either become careless and carefree, mean
and desensitized, or fragile and unable to cope. Or one may become courageous
warrior triumphant in many of their endeavors. Seldom does one exit unaffected.
Although I am determined to
somehow triumph, I have struggled tremendously over the years to overcome the
psychological and social effects of being imprisoned for crimes I never committed.
My self-confidence and self-esteem were shattered. After long separations from
my family and friends, I found it difficult to deal effectively with the
responsibilities of everyday life, including fatherhood. My young children resented the time I
spent away from them and our relationships have never been quite the same.
Repairing those wounded relationships has been my most difficult challenged to
date. The State of North Carolina
has never been held accountable for this tragic disruption in my life after
allowing one of the most blatant miscarriages of justice in the history of
America to take place. The city of Wilmington has already apologized for this
injustice. It is now time for the state of North Carolina to do the same by
granting The Wilmington Ten a full pardon of innocence.
BENJAMIN CHAVIS
Without a doubt, the most famous
member of the Wilmington Ten its leader, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis. He was the
convener of the 1995 Million Man March. He led the NAACP as its president/CEO,
and today, Chavis heads the Hip-Hop Action Network, and is a respected
businessman who travels the world.
But whatever success Ben Chavis has
had since his experience with the Wilmington Ten, has come at a personal price
that still haunts him today.
Almost as soon as then-Rev. Ben
Chavis, a civil rights organizer sent by the United Church of Christ, arrived
in Wilmington to help lead the black student protest in February 1971, he was
branded an outsider by public officials, warned to leave town, and his life was
immediately is threatened.
Indeed, white supremacists are
allowed by local police to open fire at Gregory Church, where Rev. Chavis, 24,
is working with black students, training them how to peacefully, but
forcefully, demonstrate for justice in the public schools.
Chavis tells of having a bullet
fired at him, piercing his leather jacket.
“I was shot at a number of times,”
he recalls, adding that people were wounded as a result. But police refused
repeatedly to investigate, or call a curfew to prevent further violence, in
hopes that Rev. Chavis or some of his “radical” followers would get hurt, or
even killed.
“We were building a growing
movement, and that was threatening to the power structure of Wilmington,”
Chavis says.
On February 6, 1971, Mike’s
Grocery, a block down from Gregory Church, was firebombed. Chavis is
immediately blamed. A warrant is eventually issued for his arrest. He has to
negotiate the terms of turning himself in safely.
Chavis is tried and convicted of
conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to firebomb Mike’s Grocery. Rev.
Chavis was sentenced to 34 years in prison.
In his own words, Rev. Chavis
talked about his experience in incarceration.
Life
in the five different North Carolina maximum, medium and later minimum
security prisons where I was imprisoned in 1972, 1976, 1977,1978, and throughout
1979 were the years that I personally experienced what millions on
prisoners in the United States are made to endure. I was not a
“celebrity” inmate. I got the same dehumanizing and
degrading treatment that the average prisoner received.
I
learned to stay focus on not just my individual rights or to focus only on
the Wilmington Ten case, but just as importantly, I spent most of my
prison time advocating for the rights of prisoners in US and in particular
the rights of all US political prisoners.
I
have several motivations. First, the members of the Wilmington Ten were
innocent of the unjust charges. Secondly, my faith in God, family and the
freedom struggle kept me going in a positive state of mind even though I
was in the midst of death threats and plots while in prison. Thirdly, I
was motivated by the courage and determination of my young co-defendants
who also stayed strong, even though at times the prison officials kept us
in separate state prisons.
Finally I kept my “spirit” strong. One
of the objects of political incarceration is to break the spirit of the
political prisoner. I came out of prison stronger and more committed
to the struggle for freedom, justice and equality.
The
Wilmington Ten case, struggle and eventual victory had a tremendous impact
in helping to shape who I am today. I was 23 years-old when the incident
in Wilmington happened, but by that age, I was already an eleven-year
veteran of the Civil Rights Movement. We were imprisoned when I
was 24 years-old. What I later accomplished in my 30’s, 40’s and
50’s was certainly impacted and shaped by the Wilmington Ten chapter of
my life.
Today, I am still a “freedom fighter.”
-30-
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF ELDERS FORMS IN GREENSBORO - Members of the newly formed National Council of Elders visit the F.W. Woolworth sit-ins exhibition at the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro. As veterans of the civil and human rights struggle, the council says they will listen to youth leaders, and share their wisdom and experience to help impact critical issues. [Cash Michaels video still]
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF ELDERS
FORMS IN GREENSBORO
By Cash Michaels
Editor
[GREENSBORO]
They come from all walks of the civil and human rights struggle, each a
distinguished leader with a long record of advocacy molded in courage, and
sacrifice.
Ministers,
activists, poets, former elected officials, retired military, disciples of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., and even the former US ambassador to South Africa,
among others.
But
this week these leaders - some in their 60’s, 70’s, and even some at age 80 if
not beyond- came together in what they themselves called “an historic
gathering,” specifically in Greensboro, and at NC A&T University, to be
reborn in a collective purpose, amid the legacy of the 1960 lunch counter
sit-in movement that inspired the world, and still inspires them all.
They are now the National Council
of Elders, and by their own definition, the new entity is ”…a newly organized,
independent group of leaders from many of the defining American social justice
movements of the 20th century, committed to educating and mentoring
future leaders who will join, and lead democratizing movements in the 21st
century.”
In effect, the Council - seeing a
nation that 40 and 50 years ago they fought mightily to ensure would care for
the poor, educate its youth, and protect the rights of communities of color -
is reengaging in those struggles on a collective level because they see the
progress that they and other leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr had
achieved, being eroded at an alarming rate.
Indeed, during their lively
three-day conference discussions at NC A&T The Carolinian had exclusive
access to, some had expressed dire concern that even if President Barack Obama
is re-reelected, the forces of negative change per the nation’s economic and
social structures have amassed a great deal of momentum.
Momentum the president alone can’t
battle.
The Council hopes that by coming
together now, and bringing to fore literally hundreds of years of collective
experience in civil, human, environmental, anti-war, labor, women’s economic,
immigrant and gay-lesbian rights advocacy, they join with young leadership like
the Occupy Movement, and develop strategies, based on direct non-violence
advocacy, to make America more responsive to the needs of its people, rather
than the machinations of the powerful.
They see their role today, as a
collective, in so many facets. Mentorship. Empowerment. Giving, yes, but also
getting from youth leaders. Telling the true story of how they ushered in an
era of true social change, blemishes and all. Sharing wisdom, experience and
knowledge. Preserving the tradition of civil rights movement.
In short, properly equipping
today’s young leadership to lead.
“If you have your own voice, you
can create your own weather,” says Elder Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, leader of
the famed acappella spiritual singing group Sweet Honey in the Rock.
The phrase, “tall order,” doesn’t
even begin to define the massive challenge this league of older diverse leaders
face. But a closer look at who they are, the obstacles they faced, and the
causes they fought, and in some respects are still fighting, suggests that
facing long odds and towering circumstances is nothing new for this bunch.
Rev. James Lawson and his brother,
Rev. Phillip Lawson, both of whom, along with Dr. Vincent Harding, worked
closely with Dr. King and others in the movement, strategizing and teaching
youth leaders with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the
60’s how to confront racism in the South, using the philosophy and practice of
peaceful direct action.
Other Elders include Dolores Hurta,
cofounder of the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez, to advocate for
immigrant labor rights; and Rev Dr. Mel White, who has long fought for equal
right in the gay and lesbian community.
The birthplace of the National
Council of Elders is no accident.
Greensboro is seen throughout the
civil rights community and the world as one of the meccas of the movement,
where in February of 1960, four courageous NC A&T University students, went
to the downtown F. W. Woolworth store, sat down at the all-white lunch counter,
and peacefully, but firmly, demanded to be served.
It was a direct challenge to
southern segregation laws, and it ignited a nationwide youth movement that saw
the birth of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and young leaders
like Rev. Charles Sherrod, who with his wife, Shirley Sherrod, who was fired
from her federal job two years ago by the Obama Administration because she was
falsely labeled as a racist by the Tea Party, attended the council conference.
Indeed, when the Elders held their
first press conference Tuesday to announce their formation and purpose, it was
on A&T’s campus, directly under the towering statue of the Greensboro Four.
They also came, from all across the
nation, because of the work of Rev. Nelson Johnson and his wife, Joyce.
Longtime veterans of the movement
for justice in Greensboro, the Johnsons have been leading as from their college
years where they respectively led movements for equality, to Rev. Johnson’s
involvement in the November 1979 Greensboro massacre where Klansmen and Nazis
killed several demonstrators, to the Beloved Community Center the couple leads
today.
The respect that many have for the
Johnson’s great work in Greensboro, made this city of civil rights history the
perfect place for the Council to be born, they say.
It
is by no accident that the National Council of Elders rejects the idea of
“passing the torch.” That would suggest they have relinquished their roles in
the human rights struggle.
Instead,
they proclaim that they are, “merging the light and heat of the torches [they]
carried in the 20th century with the light and heat of the torches”
now carried by the young leaders of the 21st century, to inspire
them to boldly move forward towards the “beloved community.”
-30-
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
NCCU CHANCELLOR MUM ON
SUDDEN RETIREMENT
Outgoing North Carolina Central University
Chancellor Charlie Nelms’ last day on the job is next week, August 6th.
But he has said precious little about exactly why he is leaving, let lone why
now. Helms, 65, has led NCCU since 2007. He was scheduled to meet with the
press this week, but changed his mind, instead issuing a statement saying, ““I am grateful for the opportunity to have served as the
10th Chancellor of North Carolina Central University. I feel strongly and
passionately about shifting the discussion from my retirement to the arrival of
Interim Chancellor Charles Becton next week and his efforts to continue moving
NCCU forward while focusing on the university’s number one priority: student
success. Retired Judge Charles Becton has been appointed interim NCCU
chancellor.
WANT TO NAME AN 1-40/440
PROJECT?
The
prize is only bragging rights, but if you’re interested, the NC Dept. of
Transportation is sponsoring a naming contest for Triangle to name the new
I-40/440 ii mile reconstruction project from US Highway 1 in Cary to US Highway
64/264 in Raleigh. One or two names (no profanity) will be accepted. Entries
must be submitted to lrfriedman@ncdot.gov by 5 p.m. on Aug. 10. The best five names
will be chosen by NCDOT staff. A public vote will be taken on www.ncdot. gov from Aug 14 - 17. Winner
will be announced on Aug 22.
RALEIGH-CARY AREA IN FORBES’
MAGAZINE TOP TEN “BEST CITIES FOR JOBS” LIST
If
you’re living in the Raleigh - Cary area, and are looking for a job,
congratulations. According to the Forbes Magazine, Raleigh-Cary is seventh on
the latest “Best Cities for Jobs” list. That means among metropolitan areas
with 450,000 or more jobs, Raleigh-Cary has moved from last year’s 14th
place to seventh. Raleigh-Cary has had 2.2 percent growth in the past year.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS
STATE TAKES OVER
PRINCEVILLE’S FINANCES
[PRINCEVILLE]
For the second time in its history, the African-American-founded town of
Princeville has allowed the state of North Carolina to take over it finances so
it can ultimately balance its budget. The Local Government Commission, an arm
of the State Treasurer’s Office, took over the Edgecombe County town’s books
Monday. Reportedly, Princeville is operating $1 million beyond its budget, and
according to the state, does not have the personnel, or the expertise to manage
a $310,700 loan to overhaul its water meter system. Princeville Mayor Priscilla
Everette-Oates opposed the state takeover.
FORMER DEMOCRATIC PARTY
STAFFER ALLEGES DISPARAGING REMARKS
[RALEIGH]
A former employee of the state Democratic Party alleges that the chairman of
the party defamed him once the employee left the party several months ago,
after alleging being sexually harassed by the former executive director,
Adriadn Ortega.
Ortega’s attorney, Kieran
Shanahan, filed a court injunction, as part of a defamation lawsuit against
party Chairman David Parker, charging that Parker “suggested” in a press
conference that Ortega wasn’t telling the truth about being sexually harassed
by Jay Parmley, who resigned his executive director’s post. A secret settlement
from Parker was reportedly taken by Ortega to keep quiet. At press time, a Wake
County hearing was scheduled Wednesday afternoon.
NC WOMAN WHO SNATCHED NY BABY SENTENCED TO 12 YEAR IN
PRISON
[NEW
YORK] A Raleigh woman who snatched a newborn baby from a Harlem hospital in
1987, and raised her as her own for 23 years, was sentenced to 12 years in
prison by a NY judge. Federal prosecutors felt Ann Pettaway, 50, should have
gotten at least 20 years. The judge told Pettaway she “inflicted a parent’s
worst nightmare.”
-30-
http://www.nnpa.org/news/lead/high-risk-sexual-activity-among-black-teens-drops-dramatically-by-imani-evans/
http://www.nnpa.org/news/lead/president-obama-signs-new-initiative-to-improve-educational-outcomes-for-african-americans/
http://www.nnpa.org/news/lead/millions-of-ex-offenders-given-a-voting-death-sentence-by-freddie-allen/
-30-
CASH IN THE APPLE
By Cash Michaels
THE
FIRST LADY - One of the highlights of the Games of the XXX Olympiad was seeing First Lady Michelle Obama in London leading the American delegation. She has
been our number one cheerleader over there, being present at tennis matches to
encourage Serena Williams, and being ready with healthy hugs for the sweaty
Team USA men’s basketball team (it’s a good thing the men’s swimming team isn’t
doing so hot. Can’t imagine Michelle Obama hugging a bunch of dripping wet naked
men).
The
First Lady just brings so much love and humanity to everything that she does,
especially when she represents her husband, and our nation.
No
matter what happens next November in the presidential election, this a time in
history I hope none of us every forget a time when we had a First Lady that
always had time to share herself with a nation, a community, or even a child.
Michelle
Obama will go down in history as the great woman that she is. I have no
doubt.
THE
OLYMPICS - I just love the global energy of the Summer Olympic games. To see
the best of our young people compete on the worldwide stage, to see the
commitment and determination, and best of all, to see the humanity displayed
that we all share, is something that is so needed, given the foolishness, and
out and out lying that we see from just about every quarter during this
election year.
To
put it simply, watching the Olympics on television is refreshing because,
beyond the Team USA men’s basketball
squad (and various NBA players playing for other countries), we know that the
athletes are not wealthy, spoiled brats. Those kids are regular people, are our
neighbors, who have scrapped up their money, and worked and trained very hard
to be where they are today.
That
means something to most of us because it permits us to genuinely cheer them on.
Oh
sure, I love watching “Dream Team 2012”
thrash an opposing team by 30-40 points. But I know that every player - from
Lebron to Kobe - will brush off losing the gold because they’re really in the
business of winning an NBA championship.
But
the kid who does not play for pro team, who is only playing to be the best for
family, hometown and country, who plays with all of the heart in the world,
THAT is the kid I root for more than any other, because we know that’s all they
have.
So
we’ll see ultimately who wins the gold, and who doesn’t.
But
regardless of the outcome, we’re proud of all of them for fighting, and trying,
to be the best in the world, and for representing us.
DON
CHEADLE - Last weekend, I took my nien-year-old daughter, KaLa, with me to Durham on my interview with acting
superstar Don Cheadle. Cheadle
is one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors, having starred or co-starred with George
Clooney, Brad Pitt and Al Pacino (the “Ocean 11” films); Denzel Washington (“Devil in
Blue Dress” and the upcoming “Flight”), and of course Robert Downey Jr. (“Iron Man 2”).
Cheadle
has been in Wilmington for the past several weeks doing “Iron Man 3” returning
to his role as “War Machine.”
But
Saturday, Cheadle was visiting Durham and Raleigh, stumping on behalf of Pres.
Obama. Cheadle was very clear on why he
felt it was imperative that the president must be reelected. He is an
intelligent man of the arts ho cares deeply about important issues, and his
president.
Listen
to Cheadle’s interview this afternoon (Thursday) at 4 p.m. on my show, “Make it
Happen,” on Power 750 WAUG-Am, and on the web at www.myWAUG.com.
THE
COUNCIL OF ELDERS - This week I’m in Greensboro covering the National
Council of Elders Conference at NC A&T
University. I’ve covered a lot of meetings and conferences, but this one is
unique, indeed.
“Veterans
of the defining American social justice movements of the 20th
century.”
That
is their definition of who they are, and what they’ve done. Many are civil
rights activists of the 50’s and 60’s. Some worked with Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr and Cesar Chavez to bring about the great social change we enjoy today. Some
were anti-war and gay rights activists. Some were environmentalists.
I
even met an activist, who once was a monk, who years ago married a nun.
I’m
not kidding.
This
week they all came together to discuss ways of using their great experience and
wisdom of yesteryear, to impact the issues and politics of today.
The
very fact that at ages of 60, 70 and 80 (if not older) these activists still
believe that they have something to offer to improve our collective quality of
life.
You’ll
be reading the story elsewhere in this paper, but make no mistake, based on
what I’ve heard during this conference, you will be hearing from the National
Council of Elders in the very near future.
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 new 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-
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