NNPA -
http://www.nnpa.org/news/lead/blacks-poised-to-own-smaller-share-of-media-outlets-by-freddie-allen/
BEING WAKE SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR
***UPDATED***WILMINGTON TEN ADVOCATES
MAKE FINAL ARGUMENT
By Cash Michaels
Editor
After seven months of advocacy, supporters for pardons of innocence for the Wilmington Ten are now making their closing arguments for justice, in hopes that the forty-year ordeal of being falsely convicted of crimes the Ten did not commit, will now come to an end.
Meanwhile, in an historic gesture, The StarNews of Wilmington has joined The Wilmington Journal, The New York Times, The Raleigh News and Observer, and African-American newspapers across the nation, in calling on Gov. Beverly Perdue to grant pardons of innocence to the Wilmington Ten.
"Before Gov. Bev Perdue leaves office," Thursday's StarNews editorial states, "she has the opportunity to close the book on one of the ugliest chapters in recent Wilmington history: the convictions of nine black men and a white woman whose trial trampled justice and their constitutional rights."
Led by Dr. Benjamin Chavis, leader of the Wilmington Ten, members of the Wilmington Ten Pardons of Innocence Project, along with partners from the NC NAACP, Change.org, and a delegation of supporters from Wilmington, returned to the state Capital Thursday to urge Gov. Beverly Perdue to look at the entire case, the lack of evidence against the Ten, and the overwhelming evidence that the man who prosecuted them forty years ago, Jay Stroud, racially gerrymandered the jury seeking “KKK and Uncle Tom-types.”
When Stroud didn’t get the jury he wanted, the stunning evidence uncovered by the Pardon Project shows, he forced a mistrial.
"After more than 40 years, it becomes harder to sort through some of the details to find the truth," the StarNews editorial today states. "But what is crystal clear is that justice was not done."
The Winston-Salem Chronicle, one of many black newspaper members of the National Newspaper Publishers Association that have religiously carried the Wilmington Ten stories - wrote, “…[the] racially-charged convictions more than four decades ago remain a black-eye for the state.”
Major mainstream newspapers, that finally picked up on the pardon effort months after NNPA papers, agree.
“The Wilmington Ten said they were nonviolent activists. It has never been legitimately proven otherwise,” stated the News & Observer last week in a powerful editorial titled, “Pardon the Wilmington Ten.”
“They remain innocent until proven guilty, but for most of their lives they’ve been assumed guilty until they could prove themselves innocent, an impossibility in this case.”
The N&O ended its editorial by stating, “..,the governor can do more than pardon. She can heal. We hope she will.”
In its editorial last Sunday, the venerable New York Times also called on Gov. Perdue to grant pardons of innocence to the Ten, saying that, "by providing it, she can finally bring a close to one of the more shameful episodes in North Carolina history."
Since the pardons of innocence campaign – started by the National Newspaper Publishers Association and the Wilmington Journal in 2011 – went national last May, the response has been overwhelming.
Change.org, the social media advocacy group that amassed over 2 million petition signatures in the Trayvon Martin case earlier this year, launched a national campaign for the Wilmington Ten pardons, generating at press time over 130,000 petition signatures. That’s in addition to the previous 14,200 petition signatures collected by the NAACP and The Wilmington Journal from across North Carolina and the nation, along with an untold number of letters from public officials and citizens, all asking Gov. Perdue to pardon the Ten.
Several United States Congressmen, celebrities like music mogul Russell Simmons, university law professors and the NAACP – whose Board of Directors last May unanimously passed a resolution in support of the Wilmington Ten pardons effort – have come onboard.
Hundreds of followers of the Change.org petition, and on the Pardon Project’s Facebook page, have voiced their support as well, urging Gov. Perdue to grant pardons to the Wilmington Ten now.
“It is about time that this wrong is righted,” posted Linda F. Chapman of Wilmington.
“I am appalled that an official pardon has never been given,” agreed Madeline Chang of New York. “Even 40 years late, I am hopeful that the governor will do what is right.”
But not everyone agrees that the Ten deserve to be cleared.
Two weeks ago, a group which calls itself, “Citizens for Justice,” took out a quarter-page ad in the local Wilmington StarNews, asking “Gov. Purdue” not to grant pardons to the Wilmington Ten, essentially because, they say, it has never been proven that the nine black males and one white female civil rights activists, led by Rev. Chavis, didn’t conspire to firebomb a white-owned grocery store in February 1971, and then fire weapons on fire and police personnel from a church steeple.
Retired white Wilmington police officers, and even former prosecutor Jay Stroud, have told the local Wilmington media that the Ten are guilty, and deserved the 282-year prison sentences they received in 1972.
And there are reports of former state Justice Dept. officials who are lobbying Gov. Perdue not to give in to the growing national pressure to grant pardons, despite powerful evidence of prosecutorial misconduct, some of which was known over three decades ago.
In 1977, three prosecution witnesses, who testified against the Ten, recanted their testimonies in court. The CBS News program, “60 Minutes” then exposed much of the evidence against the Wilmington Ten as “fabricated” by prosecutors.
In 1980, the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the convictions based upon that prosecutor and the trial judge allowed the introduction of perjured testimony and withheld critical evidence which defense attorneys were entitled to receive.
The Winston Salem Chronicle wrote, “The frame-up was exposed, but the State of North Carolina has never declared the Ten innocent, retried them, nor have the fabricated charges been dismissed against them. Though freed and cleared, they’ve had to live out their lives under an unjust cloud.”
Gov. Perdue is expected to make a decision on pardons of innocence for the Wilmington Ten between now, and when she leaves office officially on January 5th.
-30-
EXCLUSIVE
PARDON SOUGHT FOR
JAMES JOHNSON
By Cash Michaels
Editor
An
“appropriate pardon” is being sought for James A. Johnson, a young Wilson
County African-American man who, in 2004, told police about the kidnapping,
rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl by a friend of his, but was then arrested,
charged and jailed over three years for the crime.
In
Feb. 2009, the NCNAACP called the James Johnson case, “an enduring example of
prosecutorial misconduct.”
In
his Dec. 14, 2012 petition requesting a pardon from Gov. Beverly Perdue,
attorney and NCCU law Professor Irving Joyner wrote, “This petition is supported by facts and circumstance surrounding
Johnson’s case which shows that he voluntarily provided crucial information to
the Wilson Police Department that directly resulted in the arrest and
conviction of Kenneth Meeks, a Wilson teenager, who was solely responsible for
the kidnapping and murder of sixteen year old Brittany Willis.”
Atty. Joyner’s petition states, “The undisputed evidence shows
that James Johnson was unknowingly involved in this case when Kenneth Meeks, a
friend from the Wilson community, came to Johnson’s home, told him about the
killing of Willis and took him to the murder site. When he observed Willis’
body, Johnson demanded that Meeks take him back home. After he returned to his
home, Johnson confided in another friend, Julian Deans, about what Meeks had
told him and what he had witnessed at the murder site. On the next day, Johnson
discussed the matter with his father, Arthur Johnson, and Deans’ mother who
then accompanied the two to the Wilson Police Department in order to report
Meeks’ involvement in Willis’ death.”
“Up until this point in their investigation, Wilson Police
officers had no leads or other information regarding the identity or
circumstances surrounding the killing of Brittany Willis,” Joyner continued.
“At the time, Johnson was not under suspicion nor had he been
contacted by anyone regarding the information which he possessed, but decided
on his own that he was going to do the right thing and report to the police
that his friend was responsible for the death of this young woman. But for the
information that Johnson provided, it is highly probable that Meeks’
involvement would not have been discovered and this killing would have been
unsolved. It is also important to note that even though a reward had been
posted for information leading to the apprehension of Willis’ killer, Johnson
never sought to obtain that benefit,” Joyner writes.
“Johnson’s actions in this matter ordinarily would have been
applauded throughout the community, but became a personal tragedy when Meeks,
in an attempt to get even with Johnson for exposing his involvement, falsely
told officers that Johnson had also been involved in this killing. Despite the
fact that Meeks subsequently confessed that he was solely responsible for
Willis’ death and that Johnson was not involved, Johnson was charged with
kidnapping and murder and incarcerated in jail for over thirty-nine months.”
Since these judicial events occurred,” attorney Joyner
continued, “Johnson has suffered many set-backs in his efforts to resume and
pursue a normal life. The original murder and kidnapping charges resulted in
the loss of a soccer scholarship to a local college and his incarceration in
jail for thirty-nine months before those charges were dismissed against him.
These unsupported charges were needlessly pursued in the absence of any
forensic evidence which connected him to the crimes and a recantation by
Kenneth Meeks who admitted in open court that he was the lone participant in
those crimes.”
“As a result of these charges, Johnson has been unable to
maintain employment when potential employers learn that he had previously been
prosecuted for these offenses. Even though, Johnson has now moved from North
Carolina in an attempt to avoid the negativity resulting from the notoriety
surrounding these offenses, he has not been able to escape its negative impacts
and the many collateral consequences of having being wrongfully prosecuted for
kidnapping and murder.”
Joyner concluded, “The failure of the State of North Carolina to
acknowledge, remedy and remove the effects and consequences of these wrongful
prosecutions continues to stain an image of fairness that North Carolina has
sought to create and maintain. Only the granting of an appropriate pardon can
remove this deeply engrained tarnish which continues to hang over this State.”
Gov. Perdue is expected to decide on pardons before she leaves
office on Jan . 5th.
-30-
BEING WAKE SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR
IS CHALLENGE SUTTON
WANTS
By Cash Michaels
Editor
One
would think that the last role anyone would want is to lead a public school
board that is notorious for its infighting and dramatic political shifts.
But
Keith Sutton, now the new chairman of the Wake County Board of Education,
succeeding Kevin Hill, says he’s up-to-the-task.
“I think I have the ability, I
think I have the experience, I think I have temperament to not only help lead
this board and try to bring us together, but to also move us past some of the
challenging issues we have in front of us,” Sutton told The Carolinian newspaper shortly after being chosen by his fellow
Democratic board members two weeks ago.
“With
my political experience, working on various campaigns, working at the General
Assembly doing lobbying work, I think I have the ability to negotiate with
county leaders, city leaders and others, especially when it comes to the school
bond and reassignment pieces.”
Sutton
has one year to prove that all of his previous experience measures up to being
able to positively moving Wake County Public Schools forward, especially now
that the school has just adopted a new addressed-based student assignment plan,
and is in the market for a new superintendent after the dramatic firing of Wake
Supt. Tony Tata several months ago.
His
top agenda items are, hiring a new system leader; filling the board’s District
1 seat now that Chris Malone has resigned to join the state House; negotiating
with the new Wake County Commission Board Chair Joe Bryan on putting a school
construction bond on the ballot this fall; navigating a tough budget year amid
continued growth in student population, and managing the new address-based
student assignment plan.
Supt.
Tata’s previous school choice plan, which was adopted in Oct. 2011 by the
previous Republican-dominated Wake School Board, proved to put too much
“stress” on the school system, Sutton maintains, in terms of planning and
operational costs.
“Because
of our size, it really hinders our ability to plan for the system when you
don’t have control of where students are assigned going to school,” Sutton
said.
Plus,
growth projections showed that ultimately, choice was going to create more
expensive high poverty schools, something Sutton and the Democratic majority
were dead set against.
With
addressed-based student assignment, Sutton says parents now know where their
children are supposed to attend classes. He says more layers have to be added
to bring about more flexibility and diversity, but he has confidence that the
plan will better suit the needs of the 153,000-pupil school system, which is
growing.
On
student diversity, Chairman Sutton assures that the board will not be going
back to addressing it purely through student assignment, but it will devise,
perhaps an academic mechanism to better bring it about.
On
hiring a new schools superintendent, Sutton says he’s seeking someone who
certainly has a stronger educational background than Supt. Tata – a retired US
Army general who had less than five years experience when he was hired in 2010.
And,
again unlike Tata, Sutton wants the new system leader to be as apolitical as
possible so that he or she can comfortably work with both Democrats and
Republicans on the school board, and come to a consensus in carrying out school
policy.
Sutton
believes the next superintendent has to have a great degree of management
experience in order to “run a large enterprise like Wake County schools.”
Tata, reportedly, was used to
barking orders at staff and principals, something he was comfortable doing from
his old Army days.
But
running a large school system calls for great collaboration in order to have
teachers, principals and students all working together for the common goal of
academic achievement, experts say. Sutton says he wants Wake County schools to
return to that.
“With
a $1.2 billion budget; 18,000 employees, 169 schools and 153,000 students,
we’re quite a large system, so [the new superintendent] will need to have some
experience in running organizations and institutions of that size,” Sutton
says.
And,
of course, there is no question that the most significant area that needs the
most work is healing the deep political and personal divisions that remain
among the Wake school board members.
It
has been so ever since the Republicans took over the majority in 2009, dumping
the system successful student diversity plan, and attempting to replace it with
a racially-identifiable neighborhood schools plan that never got off the
ground.
When
the Democrats dramatically took back a 5-4 majority in 2011 by winning in a
five-seat sweep, and defeating GOP Chair Ron Margiotta, the board Republicans
vowed to be as disruptive, and as bitter as possible.
Amid
screaming matches and accusations of assault, Chairman Sutton knows that the
waters will have to be calmed if WCPSS is to move forward and be successful
again.
“We
have to get back to basics,” Sutton told The
Carolinian. “Basic courtesy, basic respect for each other as board members.
We’ve not seen that here lately, and I think we’ve got to get back to that.”
As
leader of the board, Sutton says he has to demonstrate and model the behavior
that he wants his fellow board members to exhibit.
“I
set the tone at every meeting, and at every work session,” he says.
Chairman Sutton has been serving on
the Wake School Board, representing District 4 and Southeast Raleigh, since
2009, succeeding Rosa Gill. His chairman ship ends a year from now, and he says
he hopes he has accomplished enough to be reelected to a second term.
-30-
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
US JUSTICE DEPT. SUES
ALAMANCE SHERIFF, ALLEGES BIAS AGAINST LATINOS
As
it has threatened to do, the US Justice Dept last week filed a civil rights
lawsuit against Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson, alleging that he has
intentionally discriminated against Latinos. The suit alleges that Sheriff
Johnson’s department “routinely” targeted Hispanic drivers for traffic stops,
solely based on their ethnicity. The suit is being pursued, the Justice Dept.
says, because Johnson refused to address the issues.
GROUP WANTS TEACHERS
ARMED
Grassroots
NC, a pro-gun conservative group, says it will push for a law in the NC General
Assembly next session that arms teachers in the classroom. The proposal is the
group’s answer to the shooting massacre two weeks ago in Newtown, Conn., where
28 people were killed in an elementary school. 20 of them were children.
Grassroots NC says gun violence is highest where guns are not allowed. But
several experts dispute that finding.
CAREGIVER CAUGHT
TRYING TO SCAM MARRIAGE ON PATIENT
Authorities
last week stopped a female caregiver who allegedly kidnapped an 83-year-old
male patient with dementia from a rehab center in Pinehurst, and was taking him
to the Register of Deeds Office in Scotland County so that the two could be
married. Pinehurst police arrested Carol Ann O’Cause, 68, was charged with one
count of false imprisonment. The elderly patient is in the custody of the Moore
County Dept. of Social Services.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS
MCCRORY CHOOSES TWO
ARCH-CONSERVATIVES TO SERVE
[RALEIGH]
The new Republican Governor-elect may be considered a moderate by some, but
some of the people he’s appointing to serve in his new incoming administration
are anything but. Conservative businessman Art Pope, who funded the 2010 GOP
takeover of the NC House, is now McCrory’s deputy budget director. And attorney
Kieran Shanahan, a former federal prosecutor and Raleigh city councilor who
supports right-wing causes, was appointed as the Gov.-elect’s new secretary of
public safety. Thomas Stith, a Durham attorney, will serve as McCrory’s chief
of staff.
NC STILL HAS NATION’S
10TH LARGEST POPULATION
[CHARLOTTE]
Despite a tough economy, at least 100,000 people moved to North Carolina in the
year ending last July, helping to the Tar Heel state to retain being the tenth
largest in the nation, according to the US Census. An estimated 9,752,073
residents called North Carolina home as of July 1. Georgia is ninth, and New
Jersey is 11th. North Dakota has the highest rate of population
growth, thanks to the oil boom there.
MARTIN REPORT SHOWS
GRADE CHANGES IN UNC BLACK STUDIES DEPT.
[CHAPEL
HILL] There was no apparent connection to the UNC athletics program, but an
internal probe by former Gov. Jim Martin into unauthorized grade changes for
athletes in the UNC African and Afro-American Studies revealed that it had been
going on since 1997. According to Martin, Dept. Chair Julius Nyang'Oro and staffer Deborah Crowder
were allegedly responsible for the practice. Martin, who presented his 74-page
report to the UNC Board of Governors Thursday, said signatures were forged and
grades were changed. He said he could not confirm that money changed hands for
the alleged scheme.
-30-
CASH IN THE APPLE
By Cash Michaels
LAST
COLUMN OF THE YEAR – Well what an exciting year 2012 has been. Just 12 months
ago, none of us were all that certain that Pres. Obama could win a re-election,
but he did. We didn’t think unemployment could get below 8 percent before the
presidential election, but it did.
And
we didn’t think Republicans could make plum fools of themselves – like being
secretly taped talking about not caring about “the 47 percent” of us who are
struggling, or getting old movie stars to talk to chairs in stage at their
deadly boring political convention – but they did.
Some
of us didn’t think that black voter turnout was going to be anywhere near what
it was in 2008, but it was.
Hey,
there were a lot of folks who didn’t believe that Lebron James and the Miami
Heat would win the NBA Championship, but they did.
It
was hard to believe that after getting fired from MSNBC, Keith Olbermann would
turn around and get fired at Current TV after egotripping, but he was.
No
one would have believed that a film about black maids in the 1960’s South would
be a huge hit, make tons of money, and win at least one Academy Award, but it
did.
Hey,
no one would ever believe that Coco would be caught dead smoochin’ with another
rapper and take pictures of it too, but she did.
Just
ask mad-as-hubby Ice-T (ha-ha).
And,
of course, even now, none of us can still believe that a madman went to a
school with a semi-automatic weapon, and fired it, killing 27 people, 20 of
whom were young first-graders.
None
of us, and we pray for their souls.
Yes,
it has been a pretty unbelievable, unpredictable year, and 2013 promises to be
more of the same, starting with the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
The
question is, whether we believe what we see and hear or not, what are we going
to do about any of it?
Let
me recommend that 2013 be a year of definite action. There was plenty of action
in 2012, no question, but there was also lots of talk.
Let’s
cut down on the talking, and ramp up the positive action. Let’s do what we
promised ourselves, and work hard, starting right now, to take our nation back
completely in 2014. It’s time our president had a Congress he can work with
again. And it’s time that we better protect our children from the ravages of
gun violence and inappropriate entertainment.
Let’s
work even harder to make this a better nation, and a better world for all of
GOD’s children.
This
way, when people ask, “Do you believe what we all did together?,” we can all
reply, “Yeah, we did that.”
Well,
I can dream, can’t I?
GOD
WAS GOOD – Personally, as in any year, I had my struggles in 2012. I got older,
fatter…and let’s be honest…some of my favorite parts are working the way they
once did (like my EYES, silly. Get
your mind out of the gutter)!
And
yet, in 2012, GOD kept my family safe, helped my youngest daughter continue to
grow into the fine, talented human being that she is, and gave me tremendous
opportunities to do what I do best in journalism, video production, and
advocacy.
I
got a chance to work with really dynamic leadership throughout the year, and
learn from them. I saw commitment in front of me that I could nothing but
respect, and pray for. I saw people of all stripes come together for common
purposes and goals.
And,
I saw GOD’s hand in all of the good work that has been done before me.
So
2012 was an extraordinary year, and I thank for allowing to have a family that
I love, a job that I cherish, and the opportunity to serve the community in
whatever fashion He would have me too.
And
by the way, this “getting older, but wiser” stuff? If only I knew now, when I
was half this age…WOW!
WILMINGTON
TEN UPDATE – In just days, if it hasn’t happened by the time you read this, we
are expecting Gov. Beverly Perdue to
decide whether to grant pardon of innocence to the Wilmington Ten.
The most likely scenario is Gov. Perdue will wait
until she is about to leave office before having her office make the
announcement. That is not expected to happen until between Dec. 31st
and Jan. 4th
In the meantime, The Wilmington Ten Pardons of
Innocence Project continue to make the case to the public that the Wilmington
Ten are indeed innocent of the false charges they were falsely convicted of 40
years.
There is no question in our minds what Gov. Perdue
must do to make justice a reality.
It will be both dramatic, and historic. But it’s all
to make the point that, after forty long years, justice must be done in the
case of the Wilmington Ten.
We thank you for your support thus
far. The work is not over, however. As long as there is still time for Gov.
Perdue to make a decision, the Pardon Project and our supporters will continue
to build support.
We are also asking, for those individuals, churches or institutions
who wish to beyond just signing the petition, to send letters to Gov. Perdue
asking her to grant pardons of innocence to the Wilmington Ten ASAP.
Here is that address:
Hon.
Beverly Eaves Perdue
Governor of North Carolina
20301
Mail Service Center
Raleigh,
NC 27699-0301
If
you want more information about the Wilmington Ten Pardons of Innocence
Project, you can go to www.wilmingtonjournal.com or on Facebook
at https://www.facebook.com/TheWilmingtonTenPardonOfInnocenceProject.
Please, as we enter this holy season of Christmas, let us deliver
peace and justice to those who have been forty years denied.
Thank you, and Happy New Year!
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-
No comments:
Post a Comment