http://www.nnpa.org/news/lead/adding-shakur-to-most-wanted-list-baffles-activists-by-freddie-allen/
http://www.nnpa.org/news/lead/almost-all-lawyers-appearing-before-supreme-court-are-white-by-freddie-allen/
NC BLACK JOBLESS RATE TWICE
HIGHER THAN WHITES, HISPANICS
By Cash Michaels
In
a shocking report released just last week, despite clear signs that North
Carolina is in an economic recovery, African-American unemployment in the Tar
Heel state was 17.3 percent – one in six black workers - during the fourth
quarter of 2012.
Overall
during that same period, the state’s rate was 9.2 percent (compared to 7.8
percent nationally).
The bad news doesn’t stop there. According
to the Economic Policy Institute report, “Unemployment Rates Are Projected to
Remain High for Whites, Latinos and African-Americans,” not only is the NC
black jobless rate a full 3.3 percentage points worse that the estimated
national black unemployment rate of 14.0, but it also gives the Tar Heel state
the fourth highest rate of African-American joblessness among the top 24 states
with significant black populations in the nation.
Only
Michigan (18.7%), New Jersey and Illinois have greater, though not by much.
Louisiana, at 9.5 percent, had the lowest.
Interestingly,
black unemployment hovered between 17 to 20 percent between the first quarter
of 2010 through the first quarter of 2012, hitting a high of 20.1 percent in
the third quarter of 2011.
But
the news gets even worse. In North Carolina, white unemployment during that
same period stood at 6.7 percent 9in the fourth quarter of 2009, it was a high
9.5 percent). Because blacks and Hispanics are most likely to live in
impoverished areas of the state, their unemployment rates are expected to be
high.
But
researchers say even there, there is a huge discrepancy. While blacks without
work in North Carolina register at 17.3 percent, Hispanic unemployment is only
slightly larger than white joblessness.
The
Latino unemployment rate in North Carolina stands only at 7.4 percent, almost a
full 10 points less.
“African-American
families [in North Carolina] continue to bear the brunt of that pain,” write
Mary Gable and Douglas Hall in the Economic Policy Institute report. They
maintain that the racial jobless disparity has maintained since the “Great
Recession” that hit the nation starting in 2007, and continued on for the next
five years.
The
black rate has been two-and-a-half times that of whites in the state for at
least the last three years, the report continues.
So
why is this happening?
The
Economic Policy Report states that federal and state budget cuts have
disproportionately impacted black and Hispanic families in the state. Many
African-Americans, over-represented in state, county and city public-sector
employment, lost those jobs during the recession when government began cutting
back.
That
one factor has apparently affected blacks more than Latinos, who were not as
prominent working in the public sector.
Add
to that that blacks and Hispanics are most likely to live in areas of North
Carolina where industry is in the decline, like the east where poverty is near
20 percent, if not more, and the case for high unemployment begins to stack up.
North
Carolina has had the second highest loss of manufacturing jobs since 1995,
according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Allan
Freyer, public policy analyst for the NC Budget and Tax Center in Raleigh, says
the NC General Assembly is making the dire unemployment situation for African
–Americans worse by cutting off funding to nonprofit economic development
groups that help create jobs in black and rural communities.
State
Rep. Garland Pierce [D-Hoke], chairman of the NC Legislative Black Caucus,
agrees.
“Earlier this week, the NC Senate released its 2014-2015 proposed
budget plan,” Rep. Pierce said at a press conference Wednesday. “Components of
the budget eliminated funding for organizations including the Community
Development Initiative, the Institute for Minority Economic Development and
Land Loss Prevention. Now is not the time to eliminate funding for programs
that are providing resources for job creation in our state’s most economically
distressed communities.”
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STATE NEWS BRIEFS
NEW HANOVER CO.
COMMISSIONERS OUST BERGER
[WILMINGTON]
By 3-2 vote, New Hanover County
Commissioners this week , using a rare and obscure state law, ousted fellow
commission board member Brian Berger. Berger had reportedly been displaying
erratic behavior that some commissioners felt threatened the safety of county
employees. In March, Berger aggressively approached Gov. Pat McCrory, wanting
him to read some documents. Commissioner Jonathan Barfield voted against outing
his colleague, suggesting that it would have been fairer to put a public
referendum on the November for him to be voted off by the citizens. Barfield
said the people of his community helped to elect Berger, and they should be the
ones given the choice to take him off.
SENATE, HOUSE ROLL
OUT TAX REFORM PLANS
[RALEIGH]
The NC Senate has released its tax reform plan, and as expected, it lowers the
personal and corporate income tax, while extending the sales tax to food,
medicine, and other products and services not currently being taxed. The state
House has also released its proposed tax reform package for the upcoming budget
year, and it also extends the sales tax. But unlike the Senate version, it
limits the tax to services associated to items that are already taxed, like
delivery of major appliances. Gov. McCrory says he isn’t ready with his tax
reform ideas, but is in consultation with both Houses on what they’ve put
forth.
BOBCATS GOING BACK TO
BEING THE CHARLOTTE HORNETS, SAYS JORDAN
[CHARLOTTE]
The Charlotte Bobcats are one of the worst teams in NBA basketball, if not in
all of professional sports. But some people think changing the team’s name
might change things. One of those people is owner Michael Jordan, who announced
on Tuesday that he has submitted an application to the National Basketball
Association to “bring the buzz back,” and hange the name back to the Charlotte
Hornets, the moniker it had before the original Hornets moved to New Orleans.
Now that the New Orleans Hornets are changing their name to the Pelicans
(apparently their owners feel a dramatic name change is in order as well),
Jordan says the way is clear. If approved by the NBA, the Bobcats will
officially become the Hornets in the 2014-2015 season.
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TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
THE FINALISTS FOR
WAKE SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT
To the dismay of the Republican
minority, three career educators are finalists to become the next
superintendent of Wake County Public schools. Supt. Dana Bedden of the Irving,
Texas Independent School District; Deputy Supt. Ann Clark of
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools; and Supt. James Merrill of Virginia Beach, Va.
City Schools. All three will participate at a public forum next Tuesday, with
the full board possibly voting the next day. Chairman Keith Sutton says all
three are outstanding, and could easily fill the spot. Interim Supt. Stephen
Gainey is scheduled to leave Wake Schools at the end of July. Republican board
member John Tedesco said he prefers a candidate with more business experience
than educational experience. Tedesco was a big supporter of Tony Tata, the
retired US Army General who had scant educational experience, and was fired
after only 18 months because of numerous system snafus, and personal attacks on
board members.
WAKE TO HIRE 104 NEW
BUS DRIVERS
In
an effort to stave off the catastrophe with school bus scheduling which
occurred under former Supt. Tony Tata, Wake County Public Schools will hire 104
more school bus drivers for the fall to ensure that all bus routes are
adequately covered. Last September, thousands of parents were angered by school
buses that either showed up dramatically late, or not at all in some instances.
Wake has 848 full-time bus drivers to cover 920 buses. The extra hires will
ensure that any absences are adequately covered.
PARENTS WANT “WATER
BALLON SEVEN” ENLOE STUDENTS REINSTATED
The
parents of seven Enloe High School students arrested by Raleigh Police last
week and put on suspension for allegedly taking part in a water balloon fight,
want their children allowed to return to class immediately. At a press
conference Tuesday night sponsored by the Coalition of Concerned Citizens for
African-American Children, the parents say their children are losing valuable
class and preparation time for end-of-year testing. CCCAAC Pres. Calla Wright
sent emails to school board members requesting a meeting to discuss the issue.
At press time, no meeting had been set. A school system spokesperson says the
students were suspended for ignoring a warning not to engage in disruption, and
were arrested for allegedly causing the disruption.
-30-
MEDIA
CASH IN THE APPLE
By Cash Michaels
MEMORIAL
DAY – Let us not forget those who gave their lives for this country, not just
on the battlefields of foreign lands, but right here on our soil, during the
civil rights movement, to ensure that all of us would be free and treated
equally.
Let
us remember them all this weekend.
TRAGEDY IN OKLAHOMA – Certainly our
hearts and prayers go out to all of the victims and their families of Moore,
Oklahoma in the wake of Monday’s deadly monster tornado, which, as of press
time, claimed at least 24 lives, and injured over 200 others.
According
to published reports, at least nine of the dead were children, many of whom
were trapped in their elementary school as the storm, with 200 mph winds,
smashed through buildings like toothpicks, leaving a stunning path of
destruction and misery.
It
is never easy to see the innocent suffer so terribly. By all accounts, the good
people of Moore, OK are just like folks here in North Carolina, or anywhere.
Decent, hardworking, love and care for their families, church going, community
minded. I’ve seen online some cynics write how could GOD allow something like
this to happen, and then they proceed to bash Him.
That’s
dumb. They never stop to think that the Bible is replete with disasters that
have served as lessons for all of us to learn from. Some of us just refuse to
pay attention to the lesson.
And
these cynics also ignore the many, many miracles where GOD has saved and spared
lives against all odds. Rarely do you hear these loudmouths say a word about
that, or if they do, they’re quick to credit something or someone else.
The
bottomline is as Americans, we almost demand to learn our most valuable lessons
the hard way, so there are times in which GOD grants us our wish in spades.
There
has been a lot of tragedy of late. Bombings, shootings, and natural disasters.
You would think we would learn by now.
Perhaps
GOD is trying to tell us in the most dramatic way we’d pay attention to in this
day and age (any day an age really). It’s apparent, after Hurricane Sandy, the
shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, and now the monster tornado in Moore, OK,
that we’re not listening.
For
instance, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn,
a Republican, has historically been opposed to voting for disaster relief when
tragedy strikes other states. Now that disaster has once again struck Oklahoma,
you’d think Coburn would want to make sure that the good people of his state
get as much relief as soon as possible.
You’d
be wrong.
Sen.
Coburn don’t want a dime of disaster relief for his state unless it is offset
by cuts in the federal budget elsewhere. So if the feds come up with $1 billion
for Oklahoma, for example, Coburn wants a bil cut from some program(s) before
his folks get it.
Conservatives
pride themselves on being “sensible” and “practical,” and are probably lauding
Coburn as being a “good steward” of the public’s tax dollars.
I
call Coburn “coldblooded.” When people are in need, you deal with the emergency
at hand, and sort out the details later. Of course you watch what you spend,
which is why we have Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials in
charge, but you don’t let political philosophy get in the way of helping people
in dire need.
So
I hope and pray that Sen. Coburn is never in direct need of assistance. I’d
hate to have him fall victim to the kind of coldblooded Neanderthal thinking
he’s displaying right now.
And
then there’s Kevin Durant of the NBA’s
Oklahoma City Thunder. Durant has been a resident of Oklahoma for five
years, and has fallen in love with the state and its people. It broke his heart
to see the destruction. So not only is he back in OK visiting hospitals and
doing what he can, but Durant, through his foundation, has donated $1 million
to the relief cause, and has challenged other big pocket folks to match it –
all to help the victims of the tornado and their families.
I’ll
take a Kevin Durant over a Sen. Tom Coburn any day.
But
in the meantime, please give to the
American Red Cross for Oklahoma online at http://www.redcross.org/ok/oklahoma-city.
And
pray, for Lord knows we get our share of natural disasters in North Carolina as
well.
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PRESS – I’m
going to take this on at length next week, because while I agree that
government intrusion into freedom of the press is a serious issue given all
that we’ve been hearing of late about what the Obama Administration has been doing to the Associated Press and Fox
News, there is also a strong argument that can be made about protecting
national security at all costs.
I’ll get into that at length next
week.
I DON’T CARE ABOUT JAY-Z AND
BEYONCE’ – I realize that they are the king and queen of popular music right
now, and literally everyday there something in the press about Beyonce is pregnant again this, and Jay-Z denies it that, and the two had
no business in Cuba this, and on and on and on.
But
I’ll be brutally frank with you…I DON”T GIVE A ^%E%^E!
I
don’t. Beyonce is a beautiful woman, and a very talented one at that, no
question. But I don’t particularly like her music (Ok, “Single Ladies” was
cool, but that’s it).
And
as for her hubby, Jay-Z, yes, I have to hand it to him for being a sharp
business mogul, with one foot in the rap music world, and the other in high
finance. But that doesn’t mean I need to know what the brother is up to 24/7.
Now,
is my ranting and raving going to make a difference about how much these two
show up from now on? Of course not. But I did want to be on record registering
my rant and rave, so that when you all finally get tired of seeing them, I can
honestly say, “Hey, I was first!”
And
the beat goes on…
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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FIFTY-SEVEN MORE ARRESTED
MONDAY AT LEGISLATIVE
PROTEST
By
Cynthia Gordy
Special
to The Carolinian from the Advancement Project
More
than 600 supporters gathered outside the North Carolina General Assembly on
Monday, cheering on 57 individuals who engaged in civil disobedience during
recurring statewide “Moral Monday” protests as a part of what is being called
the Forward Together Movement. Organized by the North Carolina NAACP, this week’s
action led to the arrest and jailing of college professors, students,
ministers, anti-death penalty advocates, a member of the Board of Education for
Durham Public Schools and a 92-year-old woman. They joined a group of more than
100 other North Carolina residents who had already been arrested and jailed in
three previous protests.
“This
leadership wants to make our state a place of deeper stratification and
inequality – and it’s not accidental or naïve; it’s premeditated,” said Rev.
Dr. William J. Barber, II, President of the NC NAACP. “Here in North Carolina
we are seeing a fast march backwards toward as much unequal treatment as people
will allow. We are here to say we will not allow it, and we will not go back.”
As
Barber pointed out, North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis is a national
board member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a
conservative organization that drafts model legislation for state lawmakers to
copy and spread nationwide, while Governor Pat McCrory is advised on state
budget issues by conservative businessman Art Pope. Among an avalanche of other
measures, the Governor and General Assembly have passed and introduced bills
this session to:
·
Reject federal
funding to expand Medicaid to cover 500,000 North Carolinians without health
insurance
·
Slash state
unemployment benefits and rejected federally-funded Emergency Unemployment
Compensation to 170,000 laid-off workers
·
Take away the
right to vote from people with felony convictions after they have completed
their sentences
·
Restart the
death penalty in North Carolina and repeal the nationally renowned Racial
Justice Act
·
Cut funding
from public education to provide vouchers for private schools
·
Raise taxes on
900,000 poor and working people while cutting taxes for 23 millionaires
·
Cut personal
and corporate income tax while raising taxes on groceries, prescription drugs
and many services that would disproportionally hurt poor people
“You
have to always be careful when there are economic hardships because there are
people who will play on the fears of regular folks in order to pass extremist
legislation – and always the most marginal will be at risk,” said Rev. Jonathan
Wilson-Hartgrove, associate minister of St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church in
Durham. He got arrested on Monday to protest the legislature’s dismantling of
the Racial Justice Act of 2009, which allowed death row inmates to appeal their
sentences on the grounds of racial bias in the court system.
“I’m
here to represent the 27 percent of children in Durham who are now living in
poverty,” said Leigh Bordley, a member of the Board of Education for Durham
Public Schools, who got arrested to speak out against a bill that would provide
vouchers for private schools. “I want to ask members of the General Assembly, ‘What
path do these children have if they continue to take resources away from these
children and give them to private corporations?’”
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