http://nnpa.org/obama-economic-fairness-our-great-unfinished-business-by-george-e-curry/
http://nnpa.org/the-ibw-black-paper-seeks-to-energize-activists-by-freddie-allen/
FIGHT FOR STUDENT
VOTING
RIGHTS JUST
BEGINNING, SAYS NAACP
By Cash Michaels
Editor
The
hard fought victory this week of Montravias King, the Elizabeth City State
University student who won the right to run for public office this fall, is
only the beginning of the fight to restore the voting rights of college and
high school students in North Carolina, says the NCNAACP.
In
a statement Tuesday, the civil rights group and its College and Youth Division
said it has asked to meet with US Attorney General Eric Holder to ask him to
sue North Carolina for its new voting restrictions, just as it has done to
Texas. And there will be a Sept. 16th march on the Governor’s
Mansion to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the white supremacist
bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham that killed
four little black girls who took part in the freedom demonstrations.
King,
an ECSU senior who had been both living and voting in Elizabeth City since
2009, was denied his right to run for local office after the Republican-led
Pasquotank County Board of Elections, at the urging of the local Republican
Party county chairman, disqualified the student, saying that his dormitory
address was not his permanent domicile because he only lived there nine months
out of the year.
The
story made national headlines thanks, in part, because weeks earlier, the
Republican-led NC General Assembly passed sweeping new voter laws which
required voter photo identification that did not include college IDs, thus
requiring students without a North Carolina driver’s license or passport to
show more than one verifying document in order to secure their right to vote.
Add
to that the Republican effort in Elizabeth City to disqualify the votes of students
attending historically black ECSU, claiming that because they were not
year-round residents of the coastal city, they should not be allowed to vote.
State
and national observers saw the King challenge as key in that controversy,
because if he could be disqualified as a candidate for local office, based on
his status as a student, then that automatically called into question the
residency of all college students who lived in dormitories not just in
Elizabeth City, but across the state as well.
"There is no
compelling government justification to treat (students) any differently than
any other group of voters," said Clare Barnett, one of King’s attorneys.
"The dormitory is Mr. King's chosen abode according to state law."
Critics
maintain that North Carolina’s voting restrictions, seen as the worst in the
nation, were partly designed to discourage young voters, the majority of whom
vote Democratic in local, state and national elections.
On
Tuesday, before a throng of state and national media, the state Board of
Elections, with Republicans in the majority appointed by GOP Gov. Pat McCrory,
listened to testimony from King and the Pasquotank County Elections Board
officials, and then ruled that state statutes were clear that as long as
Montravias King proved that he lived in the Fourth Ward of Elizabeth City as he
claimed, then he was eligible to run for public office there.
The
state Elections Board’s decision was unanimous.
A
jubilant King thanked his attorneys with the Southern Coalition for Social
Justice, and hugged NCNAACP Pres. Rev. William Barber, who was in the hearing
room monitoring the proceedings.
State
Democratic Party Chairman Randy Voller hailed the decision.
“The only surprise with this decision is how far the
extremists in the Republican Party were willing to go to suppress youth
participation in our electoral process. While Democrats are encouraged by
the decision to reinstate Montravias King’s candidacy for Elizabeth City’s 4th Ward
on the city council, we were confident that the law and rationale was on Mr.
King’s side from the beginning.”
Chairman
Voller continued, “This is a victory for youth participation in our democracy
and a sound rejection of the politics of fear and division that continues to
grip our state’s capital under Republican leadership. The North Carolina
Democratic Party firmly stands behind the right of every Tar Heel to
participate in our democratic process, whether it’s by volunteering, voting, or
seeking elected office. We encourage everyone, especially our state’s
youth, to continue in this spirit of service and move our great state forward.”
Prior
to the hearing, the NCNAACP College and Youth Division issued a statement
decrying the new voting restrictions placed on young people, calling them
“vicious attacks,” and “a direct violation of the United States and North
Carolina constitutions.”
The
NCNAACP CYD also vowed that attorneys with the Advancement Project in
Washington, DC and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice would continue to
research all legal avenues to overturn North Carolina’s new voting
restrictions. They also announced a statewide college tour to rally student to
“…protect and exercise the right to vote.”
“We in the Youth & College understand the time we are in,”
The CYD added. “This is a time for our generation to stand up, and take our
place beside our fore-parents in the struggle for freedom and justice. We
are here to state explicitly that we stand in full support of the legal actions
taken against these regressive attempts to shrink the electorate. We
state explicitly our college chapters -- you do not stand alone. We fully
back you. We will be fighting with you to protect our precious rights.”
“Know
that today is not the end,” the CYD added. “Today is the beginning
of a movement.”
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STATE NEWS BRIEFS 9-5-13
FORMER REP. THOMAS
WRIGHT ON TRACK TO LEAVE PRISON
[WILMINGTON]
Former NC Representative Thomas Wright is on track to finish his six-year
prison sentence and be released by May 2014, published reports say. Wright, a
Democrat, was convicted in 2008 of fraudulently obtaining a loan and
obstruction of justice. He as the first state lawmaker to be expelled from the
NC General Assembly in 128 years. Wright has reportedly been a model prisoner,
and currently serves as a chaplain’s clerk at the New Hanover Correctional
Center.
BLACK CHURCH PASTOR
APOLOGIZES FOR “ONLY WHITE PEOPLE” DIRECTIVE
[CHARLOTTE]
The executive pastor of church operations at Freedom House in North Charlotte
has apologized for sending out an email last weekend directing that “only white
people…the best of the best” should be greeting worshippers in order to leave a
good “first impression” on new visitors. When angry members of the congregation
leaked the email to the press, a storm of controversy erupted, and Executive
Pastor Makeda Pennycooke, who is black, had to immediately issue an apology,
along with the senior pastor and his wife. Freedom House reportedly has a
diverse congregation, but was apparently trying to increase its white
membership.
STATE HOUSE AND SENATE
OVERRIDE GOV. MCCRORY’S TWO VETOES
[RALEIGH]
Despite strong lobbying efforts to protect the first two vetoes of his
administration, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory suffered defeat at the hands of the
GOP-led NC General Assembly when lawmakers returned to Raleigh Tuesday and
Wednesday this week to override the governor’s objections to two bills – one
that required mandatory drug testing of welfare recipients, the other an
immigration bill that McCrory felt would take jobs away from North Carolinians.
Both chambers went beyond the three-fifths of those lawmakers present to
override the governor’s veto.
-30-
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
9-5-13
FIRED NCCU FOOTBALL
COACH APPEALS TERMINATION
Apparently North Carolina Central
University hasn’t heard the last of its former head football coach. Henry
Frazier III, who was terminated by the school a week ago, has filed an appeal,
claiming that his civil rights were violated when he allegedly wasn’t given due
process prior to his termination. Frazier was fired after being charged with
violating a domestic protective order per his ex-wife. A spokesperson for NCCU
had no comment.
RALEIGH CITY COUNCIL
LIFTS BAN ON FEEDING HOMELESS
In
the wake of a firestorm of criticism after Raleigh police officers threatened
to arrest volunteers who were feeding the homeless in Moore Square downtown,
the Raleigh City Council Tuesday agreed with its Law and Public Safety
committee and suspended the ordinance which banned the practice, but had never
been enforced until now. The suspension is in place until the council can study
the matter further, and then decide on a permanent fix sometime in November.
CITY, FEDS PROBING
BIAS CHARGES AGAINST DURHAM POLICE CHIEF
Durham
Police Chief Jose Lopez is finding himself being investigated at home, and by
federal authorities at the same time. Durham officials are looking into
allegations that Chief Lopez said that a Durham defense attorney who had been
shot “deserved it.” Meanwhile a racial bias complaint has been filed with the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by a black assistant Durham police
chief, claiming that Lopez overlooked him for promotion because of the color of
his skin. The complaint adds that Lopez gave a position to a relative of his
wife. Mayor Bill Bell says until more is proven, these are just allegations.
-30-
MEDIA
CASH IN THE APPLE
9-5-13
By Cash Michaels
THERE
HE GOES AGAIN: Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United
States, certainly claimed another chapter in history last week when he stood on
the steps of the Lincoln Memorial – the very place where civil rights leader
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on August 28th, 1963 to deliver his
iconic “I Have a Dream” speech – and rendered his vision of the nation and the
world during the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the historic
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Needless
to say, Pres. Obama thoughtfully recalled the triumphant civil rights movement,
and how it changed the nation forever. And it came as no surprise that given
the current state of the union, with high unemployment, voter suppression, and
a weak economy, that the president noted though we’ve come far since the ’63
march, we still have a long way to go to achieve the “dream” of MLK.
But
then, as he’s done several times before, Pres. Obama decided to use the
opportunity in front of a mostly black audience, to touch on black pathology:
And then, if we're honest
with ourselves, we'll admit that during the course of 50 years, there were
times when some of us claiming to push for change lost our way. The
anguish of assassinations set off self-defeating riots. Legitimate
grievances against police brutality tipped into excuse-making for criminal
behavior. Racial politics could cut both ways, as the transformative
message of unity and brotherhood was drowned out by the language of
recrimination. And what had once been a call for equality of opportunity,
the chance for all Americans to work hard and get ahead was too often framed as
a mere desire for government support -- as if we had no agency in our own
liberation, as if poverty was an excuse for not raising your child, and the
bigotry of others was reason to give up on yourself.
Here’s the problem – wrong audience, Mr.
President.
The
people at the 50th march commemoration were there because they want
to see better and get better and are ready, willing and able to do better to
take their country back. So they, and millions of others listening and
watching, deserved solid words of encouragement, and assurances that they were
not alone.
For
those in our community who, indeed, have lost their way, a word of two about
helping them do better so that all of us can enjoy a better nation would have
done the trick. But instead, the president chose to paint with a broad brush.
Not
good. Wrong audience.
That
paragraph was Obama’s way of covering his behind with his Fox News
constituency. You know, the folks who take stock of every time the president
dare to violate the unspoken rule that he should NEVER acknowledge being black.
These people were tearing their hair out a year ago when the president came out
to the Rose Garden, and told the world that if he had a son, he’d look just
like Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Florida teen who was shot to death by
neighborhood watch guy George Zimmerman.
And
when Zimmerman was acquitted recently, Obama, again, sent the blood pressure in
some folks rising when he came out in the White House press briefing room and
said that once upon a time, he too was racially profiled juts like Trayvon
Martin.
Black
America cheered the statement, while right-wing zealots like Fox’s Bill
O’Reilly immediately tried to shift the focus to black-on-black crime (as if
significant white-on-white crime, or Hispanic-on-Hispanic crime etc. did not
exist).
So
last week, it was bad enough that no Republicans accepted invitations to join
the 50th anniversary program to speak. The president had to throw
his Fox conservative critics a bone so that they wouldn’t accuse him of turning
a blind eye to his community’s problems as they see them (oh yes we have
problems, but they aren’t as bad as the conservatives make them out to be).
For
many of us, it’s “There he goes again,” especially after the president rankled
feathers last May during commencement remarks at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
He used some of the same language in speaking to the graduating class, forcing
some to ask why he was talking down to young men who are considered some of the
very best of their generation.
If
the president were talking to a group of former gangbangers, the message would
certainly be more appropriate. And if he posited that message in terms of
helping those who have trouble making it, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing
either.
But
to use that language during occasions of pride, accomplishment and celebration
is a bad move. If the president is insisting that that stuff be put in his
blanket speeches to the black community, then he’s wrong. If his political
advisors push for it to cover his six with the Fox News conservatives, then
they’re wrong.
The
fact of the matter is Pres. Obama doesn’t go before any other group to say such
things. He does not lecture any other community, and Lord knows every group has
its problems.
So
at some point in time, the president of the United States has to understand
that his most loyal constituency has now gotten past tired of being talked down
to. He still needs us to be there for him. Not with votes, but with prayer and
public support.
Maybe
someday, Pres. Obama will remember that
BACKBITERS – Ever since Pres. Obama was elected several years
ago, there has been a disturbing phenomenon occurring among some among black
leadership. I don’t know if it’s jealously or what, but it has gotten ugly at
times.
Actually, some of this started before the election of Barack
Obama, when television pundit Tavis Smiley got ticked because then candidate
Obama refused to make time to appear on TV with him, offering to send Michelle
Obama instead.
Then Dr. Cornel West, one of our most gifted thinkers and
spokesmen (and close friends with Tavis) blasted the president after his election
for not doing enough for black people and the poor. But when you dug down a
little further, you found that Dr. West was really ticked because he and his
mother were not allowed special seats at the inauguration as had been expected
after he worked for the Obama campaign.
Then West and the Rev. Al Sharpton got into it on MSNBC a few
years back, and man did that get ugly. Word was that they had buried the
hatchet, but there’s clear evidence that if there was ever true, it didn’t last
long.
Tavis got upset later on, saying out loud that Obama was the
first president not to invite him to the White House for an interview. Then Dr.
West jumped on Prof. Melissa Harris-Perry after she got her own show on MSNBC,
alleging that she was some kind of sellout.
Are you still with me so far?
And now, per last week’s 50th anniversary of the
March on Washington, comes word, courtesy of Medialite, that Dr. Cornel West, noting how close Pres. Obama and
Rev. Sharpton are, has called the good reverend, “ the bonafide house negro of
the Obama Administration” because he apparently didn’t like any of the speeches
at the event.
West also went after Prof. Michael Eric Dyson, who also appears
on MSNBC frequently, as having “sold-out” by not using their high-profile
perches to address the issues of racism, militarism and poverty.
Lord have mercy!
Look, a lot of this is personal for sure, and my wasting time
and ink here saying that it shouldn’t be happening isn’t going to stop it.
There will always be those who won’t like one leader or another because they
don’t fit their vision of true black leadership. As much as I admire and
respect Dr. West and Tavis Smiley, I have serious problems with some of the
petty stuff they been saying about the president (West allegedly said something
particularly ugly about Obama’s white mother which I did not appreciate).
So all I can say is that I respect everyone involved for their
individual work, but if they want to continue to quibble like little children,
that’s on them. I don’t have any more time for that.
Get back to work, and stop the BS!
THE SHAME – It is beyond a shame that not one Republican or
conservative leader would find the time, or make the time, to accept the
invitation to speak during last week’s 50th anniversary on the March
on Washington. That fact sure threw Fox’s Bill O’Reilly, who went on the air
last Wednesday blasting the event organizers for not inviting any
right-wingers, only to come back on the air the next night with his tail
between his legs admitting that he was wrong, and Republicans were invited a
long time ago, but all declined.
O’Reilly promised that in the future, he would check his facts
first. Yeah, right. That would be a new tradition at Fox News.
Fact of the matter is the GOP have now sent a clear message to
go along with everything else they’re doing to turn the civil rights clock
back. They don’t even want to be seen on the same stage with civil rights
leaders, or even Pres. Obama.
Remember that…ALWAYS!
Make sure you tune in
every Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. for my talk radio show, ''Make It Happen''
on Power 750 WAUG-AM, or online at www.myWAUG.com.
And read more about my thoughts and opinions exclusively at my blog, ‘The Cash
Roc” (http://thecashroc.blogspot.com/2011/01/cash-roc-begins.html).
I promise it will be interesting.
Cash in the Apple - honored as the Best
Column Writing of 2006 by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
Columnist Cash Michaels was also honored by the NNPA for Best Feature Story
Journalist of 2009, and was the recipient of the Raleigh-Apex NAACP’s
President’s Award for Media Excellence in Sept. 2011.
Until next week, keep a smile on your face,
GOD in your heart, and The Carolinian in your life. Bye, bye.
-30-
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