NNPA STORIES -
STATE NEWS BRIEFS
5-30-13
JURY SENTENCES CONVICTED
CHILD KILLER TO DEATH PENALTY IN FORTY MINUTES
[FAYETTEVILLE]
At presstime Wednesday, the jury in the Shaniya Davis murder case chose the death
penalty for the five-year-old child’s convicted murderer, Mario Andrette
McNeil. McNeil, a drug dealer, was convicted last week of first-degree murder,
first-degree kidnapping, sexual offense of a child, human trafficking and
sexual servitude. He was acquitted of first-degree rape. Prosecutors on
Wednesday told the jury that McNeil deserved to die. McNeil offered no defense.
Prosecutors said he had displayed no remorse for his crimes. The jury got the
case at 12:20 p.m., and by 1 p.m., delivered its decision.
RACIAL JUSTICE ACT
REPEAL PASSED BY PANEL, HITS HOUSE FLOOR FOR VOTE
[RALEIGH]
Despite the best efforts of advocates for the original law, a state House panel
on Wednesday passed a repeal of the 2009 Racial Justice Act, sending the
measure on to the NC House or ratification. The law, before it was gutted in 2011,
allowed defendants in death penalty cases to challenge any racial bias on the
part of prosecutors in capital punishment cases. Republicans weakened the law
in 2011. When the GOP took complete control of the Legislature this year, the
state Senate passed the repeal measure sponsored by Republican New Hanover Sen.
Thomas Goolsby. The House is now poised to ratify the repeal, and send it to
Gov. McCrory for his signature.
SCHOOL VOUCHER BILL
PASSES HOUSE COMMITTEE
[RALEIGH]
A controversial measure that would provide monetary vouchers to parents to take
their children out of public schools and send them to private institutions has
passed a state House committee, and at press time Wednesday, looked likely for
passage on the House floor. Opponents say the bill drains much needed funding
from public schools. Others say the move is a political ploy by Republicans to
slowly dismantle the state’s public school bureaucracy. Advocates counter that
the measure offers parents, particularly poor parents, school choice. Statistics
show that children who attend private schools with vouchers don’t do any better
than children who stay in public schools.
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WHO WILL BE WAKE’S
NEXT SCHOOLS
SUPERINTENDENT?
By Cash Michaels
An analysis
In
August, one of three finalists who collectively impressed Wake County school
system board members, personnel, students, as well as citizens this week with
their respective experience and vision, will officially take over as the next
superintendent.
The
choice that Wake School Board members reportedly made Wednesday afternoon
between Supt. Dana Bedden of the Irving Independent School District in Irving, Texas;
Supt. James Merrill of Virginia Beach City Public Schools in Virginia Beach,
Va.; and Deputy Supt. Ann Clark of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public School
System in Charlotte, will be formally unveiled at next Tuesday’s board meeting.
Most
observers The Carolinian spoke with
after Tuesday night’s finalists community forum at Memorial Auditorium agreed
that Bedden, Merrill and Clark were all impressive in their answers to audience
questions, and the range of expertise they all displayed on a wide variety of
education issues.
“They
were all very impressive,” said Dr. Robert Bridges, former Wake Schools
superintendent.
What
was also very apparent after Tuesday’s forum was that whichever finalist is
ultimately chosen, that person will unquestionably have more qualifications and
experience for the job than the man they’re replacing – former Wake Supt. Tony
Tata - a retired US Army brigadier general who had no classroom experience when
he was hired by secret process by the then Republican majority in 2010.
Republicans
then made clear that they did not want an educator to head the school system,
but rather someone with business or military experience. Under Supt. Tata’s
leadership, both the school choice student assignment plan and the school bus
transportation scheme to go with it proved to be disastrous, leaving thousands
of students both not in the schools their parents wanted them in, or school bus
service to even get there.
In
addition, Supt. Tata, a well-known Tea Party sympathizer with strong loyalty to
the previous Republican board leadership, openly attacked Democratic board
members when implementation of his school choice strategy fell apart.
Tata, now serving as secretary of
the NC Dept. of Transportation under Republican Governor Pat McCrory, was fired
by the Democratic majority of the Wake School Board last September after a
tumultuous eighteen months. Dr. Stephen Gainey, who took over as interim Wake
superintendent after Tata’s termination, is leaving the system to take another
superintendent’s position July 1st.
An acting superintendent will
takeover until August, when one of the three finalists will be installed.
Tuesday
evening, Wake School Board Chairman Keith Sutton said the community leaders and
citizens have responded positively to the wide-open process the board
instituted in rolling out the three finalists to everyone, and allowing them to
meet people and express their views.
Sutton
added that he hopes the hiring of the new superintendent allows the Wake School
Board to have a fresh start rebuilding trust and support in the community.
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MEDIA
CASH IN THE APPLE 5-30
By Cash Michaels
BLACK
MUSIC MONTH – June is Black Music Month,
but one question – where is Black Music today? Where are all of the “great”
black artists of today? I am searching for the answer, because as far as I’m
concerned, the folks who are producing black music today aren’t producing much
of anything at all.
And
that’s real sad!
THE
PRESIDENT’S DILEMNA – To say that President
Barack Obama has been “catchin’ hell” lately is an understatement. The
press are mad with him because of the
Associated Press/Fox News monitoring scandals; the Republicans are, have,
and always will be mad with him for everything from Benghazi, to the IRS
scandal, to Obamacare, to …well, just being him.
And
some black people, who have supported this president solidly in the last two
presidential elections, seem to be upset with him for “lecturing” them during
his recent commencement address at Morehouse
College. Apparently every time Obama gets before a black audience, he feels
obligated to read us the riot act about raising our children right, getting a
good education, and fathers staying home with their families.
There’s
a school of thought out there that Obama is really talking to us, but simply
assuring white liberals that he’ll never pass up the opportunity to tells us
what they are so desperate to say to us themselves, but wouldn’t dare.
The
bottomline is Pres. Obama clearly didn’t bargain for a lot of this going into
his second term. No, he wasn’t expecting wine and roses, especially with the
Republicans still commanding half of Congress and raising cane in the other
half. But to have everyone angry at him at the same time is not something he
planned on either.
What
all of this acrimony does is create a climate where it’s hard for the president
to move on much. He still wants to accomplish something, still wants to cut a
deal with the Republicans to further cut government spending and move the
economy forward (good luck on that), but with scandal after scandal brewing,
his ability to use the power of his office is somewhat crippled.
Mind
you, the president’s personal poll numbers remain remarkably good. A majority
of the American public still likes Barack Obama personally. They just don’t
like some of his policies.
Here’s
my take – this president is one of the toughest I’ve ever seen in the job. More
importantly, I’ve learned to trust him for the most part, even though there are
some things that he’s done, or at least been responsible for, that have driven
me up the wall (especially when he allowed the Republicans to use him for
batting practice).
Pres.
Obama should keep his head up, make clear to the American people, as he started
to last week, that his administration will do whatever it takes to keep the
country safe from terrorist attacks, and take the fire from all quarters as
long as he is doing everything necessary to save American lives.
In
my opinion, there is a good reason why a man who hates war as much as President
Obama does, is slow to wind down the war in Afghanistan. There is a reason why
he sees the need to maintain drone strikes in Pakistan, even though innocent
civilians have been hurt or killed.
And
there is a reason, though many civil libertarians have been outraged, that the
Obama administration has targeted American citizens in foreign lands who are
allegedly working with terrorists to kill Americans here at home.
I
have to believe, because this far I’ve seen little reason not to do so, that
Barack Obama is operating in the best interest of the nation with some of the
controversial things his administration has done. I believe so because unlike Ronald Reagan, or George H.W. Bush, or
George W. Bush, Barack Obama, like Bill
Clinton, is not tied to some good ole’ boy cabal that is using him to get
Middle Eastern oil. He is very much the outsider, and always will be.
That
tells me Obama is doing what he feels is right, not what his so-called
“friends” are telling him to do.
Now
am I comfortable with the IRS targeting political groups?
No,
certainly not (though a lot of those Tea Party groups are a phony as a
four-dollar bill).
And
am I comfortable with the US Justice Dept. grabbing the phone records of the
Associated Press in search of the leaker of sensitive information concerning an
evolving bomb threat aboard an US bound international flight?
No,
but I understand why it happened, and wished Justice officials had gone to a
judge to approve the grab.
And
finally, do I have a problem with the government targeting Fox News reporter James Rosen after he got a State Dept.
official to sneak classified information out to him, NOT because it was
important to reveal per the national interest, but solely because, according to
court documents, Rosen simply wanted an exclusive to break with the on conservative
news network to further bash the Obama Administration with?
Actually,
no I’m not, and here’s why. The guy who got the classified documents for Rosen
has been charged for doing so. But Rosen, who was once the target of a criminal
probe, is not.
Let
me ask you. If the average American citizen asked a State Dept. employee to
smuggle classified information to him, that citizen would also be charged.
If
a foreign national asked a State Dept. employee to smuggle classified
information to him or her, that foreigner would definitely be prosecuted, and
many rightfully have.
But
if a reporter does the same thing, all the Washington press corps has to do is
raise their voices, and he gets off scott-free? And before folks start bringing
up the Pentagon papers and other instances of the press reporting based on
government documents, remember the difference here. In those cases, the
documents were already gotten, and just simply brought to the press.
Rosen
actually asked a government employee to get classified documents for him
specifically. As a citizen and a reporter, I have a big problem with that, and
I know many of my “esteemed” colleagues will not be pleased by that.
As
I’ve said before, while I understand that government can be overzealous in
keeping secrets from the public, the press can be overzealous as well in
wanting to reveal everything it can about what the government is up to.
If
something the government is doing is a clear violation of established law or
policy, then I’m all for shining as much light on it as possible.
But
if no such tension exists, and revealing a government operation puts lives at
risk, or compromises an on going need for secrecy to protect sources, then I’m
not interested in reporting the information. I never want to hurt the innocent
with my reporting.
Rosen
just wanted a big scoop for his jive time “news” network. Serving the “public
good” was never a consideration on his part, and certainly not on the part of
the clowns who run Fox News, and keep Hannity and O’Reilly in their cages.
So
while the president and Us Attorney General Eric Holder are catching much flak
for the Rosen affair, I don’t have a problem with it given the facts that are
known thus far.
Well
some will say, “You should stand up for James Rosen and Fox News’ First
Amendment right as a news gathering organization.”
Fox…a
“news gathering organization”…really?
I’ve
never seen them EVER stand up for other news groups. In fact, they’ve done
nothing but ATTACK other journalists they consider to be “liberal.” So please
forgive me if, when Fox’s hands are caught in the cookie jar, I’m not leading
the bandwagon in their defense.
So
Mr. President, keep your head up, and do what’s needed to keep us safe. And on
behalf of all of us Americans who enjoy staying alive, thank you.
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.
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By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – After an effort this week to delay, George
Zimmerman will on trial as scheduled June 10 for the second-degree murder of
Trayvon Martin in Florida, and it is clear from court filings that part of the
defense strategy involves depicting the 17-year-old dead Black youth as a
troublemaker and pot head.
On Tuesday, a Florida Circuit Court judge denied Zimmerman’s defense
motion to mention young Martin’s alleged drug usage, suspension from school,
text messages or past fights during opening statements. But if the defense can
show relevance during the course of the trial, Judge Debra Nelson said she
might reconsider.
Judge Nelson has also denied a defense request to take jurors to the
scene of the shooting.
Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty.
Martin, unarmed, was shot to death in Feb. 2012 by Zimmerman, a
volunteer neighborhood watchman, in Sanford, Fla. Martin, a Miami native, was
visiting the area in central Florida with his father at the time and was
returning to a residence after walking to a nearby convenience store.
Zimmerman, 29, has tried to portray Martin as the aggressor, despite ignoring
instructions from a police dispatcher that he not follow the youth in the rain.
He has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Mark M. O’Mara, co-counsel for Zimmerman, filed a motion last Thursday
seeking court sanctions against the State Attorney’s office for not turning
over evidence that he said might help Zimmerman’s defense.
According to the motion, the State of Florida had ignored previous
defense filings seeking any evidence that might reflect favorably on Zimmerman
or negatively on Martin in preparation for going to trial.
In his petition, O’Mara said, “The State was fully aware at that time
that there was information resident on Trayvon Martin’s cell phone, including
pictures of Trayvon Martin in possession of at least one weapon, pictures of
marijuana plants, pictures of Trayvon Martin smoking marijuana, pictures of
marijuana blunts, and texts discussing, securing or purchasing firearms, and
bragging about being involved in fights, etc.”
According to documents released by defense attorneys, prosecutors
recovered a photo of an African American holding a Smith & Wesson handgun
from Martin’s cell phone. It was not immediately clear whether the person
holding the weapon was Martin. A second photo shows the handgun and a clip on
top of a soiled mattress.
The defense is also seeking to introduce a photograph of Martin, dressed
in a white undershirt, giving two extended middle finders to the camera.
In addition to other photos of marijuana, the defense also wanted to
introduce certain text messages recovered from Trayvon Martin’s cell phone.
Some of the texts are related to Martin being suspended from school for
fighting and his mother’s decision to kick him out of the house.
“My mom just told me I gotta mov wit my dad,” said a message sent in
Nov. 2011. “She just kicked me out:(.”
A text message from his father said, “Show them that you a good kid and
you want positive things around you. Be a big brother and not a DONKEY…LOVE
DAD.”
Prosecutors asked Circuit Judge Nelson to forbid the defense from
introducing the texts. But O’Mara, Zimmerman’s lawyer, said: “If they had
suggested that Trayvon is nonviolent and that George is the aggressor, I think
that makes evidence of the fighting he has been involved with in the past
relevant.”
Per Judge Nelson’s ruling, those text messages will not be referenced in
the defense opening statements, but if they are proven relevant during the
trial, te judge said she will reconsider their use.
Attorneys for Martin’s parents, who are divorced, said in a
statement: “Is the defense trying to prove Trayvon deserved to be killed
by George Zimmerman because (of) the way he looked?” they said. “If so, this
stereotypical and closed-minded thinking is the same mindset that caused George
Zimmerman to get out of his car and pursue Trayvon, an unarmed kid who he
didn’t know.”
After the judge’s rulings Tuesday, Martin’s parents were pleased,
accusing Zimmerman of putting their dead son on trial.
NOTE – this story was updated by Cash Michaels
-30-
The Legacy of
Freedom Symposium Complements Exhibit
The exhibition Freedom Coming, Freedom for All, open
through June 16 at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh,
will be complemented by The Legacy of Freedom Symposium on Friday
and Saturday, May 31 and June 1. The free symposium examines
President Abraham Lincoln’s reasons for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation,
the resulting constitutional amendment that abolished slavery, and the overall
impact of the change on legal and academic communities.
The symposium will include a guest speaker, panel discussions, freedom songs,
and historical re-enactments, followed by Q&A sessions. Symposium hours are
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 31 and 9 a.m. to noon on June 1. To register for
the symposium, visit www.ncfmp.org.
The Legacy of Freedom Symposium is sponsored by the North Carolina Freedom
Monument Park and the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit
and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
May 31 Symposium Highlights
Friday’s lineup includes a keynote address by
United States Congressman G.K. Butterfield, two panel discussions and a
dramatization.
● Congressman Butterfield of Wilson had a 30-year legal career as
a civil rights attorney, a North Carolina Superior Court Judge and North
Carolina Supreme Court Justice before he was elected to represent North
Carolina’s First Congressional District on July 24, 2004.
● A panel discussion will center on
implications of the Emancipation Proclamation on the nation, “free people of
color,” enslaved individuals and American Indians. Panel participants are
scholars Dr. Jeffrey Crow, Dr. Valerie Johnson and Dr. Freddie Parker.
Another panel
discussion, The Process of Freedom, will focus on the long, arduous road for
the fight for freedom and its complications during the 20th century.
Participating scholars are Dr. Reginald Hildebrand, Dr. Karl Campbell, Dr.
David Dennard and Dr. Blair Kelley.
June 1 Symposium Highlights
● Saturday’s program opens with choruses
of freedom songs.
● A panel discussion titled Human Rights
and the Constitution will be moderated by attorney and North Carolina Central
University professor Irving Joyner. Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley, North
Carolina Superior Court Judge Milton F. “Toby” Fitch, and retired North
Carolina Supreme Court Justice Willis Whichard will discuss how the
Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment led to freedom and the process
of securing constitutional rights for all.
The exhibit Freedom Coming, Freedom for All is presented by the North
Carolina Freedom Monument Park and the North Carolina Museum of History. The
exhibit features the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which is on loan
from the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Major sponsors of the exhibit are PNC; North Carolina Humanities Council, a
statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities;
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina; North Carolina Mutual Life
Insurance Company; Mechanics and Farmers Bank; News & Observer; Radio
One; Spectacular Magazine; and Epiphany Public Relations of N.C., LLC.
Additional support is provided by National Archives; North Carolina
Department of Resources; North Carolina African American Heritage Commission;
State Archives of North Carolina.
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