http://nnpa.org/affordable-care-act-enrollment-stars-oct-1-by-cierra-duncan/
http://nnpa.org/frequently-asked-question-sidebar/
http://nnpa.org/four-little-girls-awarded-congressional-gold-medals/
http://nnpa.org/blacks-receive-life-sentences-at-high-rates-by-freddie-allen/
MEDIA
CASH IN THE APPLE FOR
9-19-13
By Cash Michaels
CELEBRATING JOHN CHAVIS PARK – Let
me give it to you straight from the press release:
Come to the 75th Anniversary of the John Chavis Memorial Park, Friday evening September 27 and
Saturday Sept.28. The reception in the Chavis Center begins at 5:30 to provide
an historical overview of the park and John Chavis. Vanessa Chavis Harriston, president, NC AT&T, will be the
mistress of ceremony. Dr. Helen Chavis
Othow, another John Chavis descendent and author of the John Chavis
biography will also be a part of the program. There will be a great video with
historic photos of the park that have never been seen by the public.
The
jazz concert follows the reception on the track field featuring Sweet Dreams, Moments Notice and a
jazz trio for your music enjoyment. The concert is free. Bring
your lawn chairs and have dinner provided by the great food trucks
that will be on site. Representative Yvonne Lewis
Holley will be the mistress of ceremony. She is the daughter of the renowned
JD Lewis, radio and TV host of
"Teenage Frolics", and legendary host, narrator and
announcer for many athletic and social events. Rep. Holley was a lifeguard
at Chavis Park during her teen years.
On
Saturday, at 12:00 the Shaw
University Marching Band will march along the sidewalk from the campus
along MLK to the track field to open the events for the day. Please be there to
join in the peoples march around the track while the band plays for about
thirty minutes to kick off the celebration.
The carousel rides are free along with the many fun activities for
all ages. At 3:30, the effort to break the record of the longest soul train
line will start on the track field. Get your dancing shoes ready to break the
record. Everyone must keep dancing until each person has gone through and beat
the record of 250 people.
It’s
going to be a great time to celebrate and reconnect with the memories and new
opportunities for enjoyment in the John Chavis Memorial Park, Friday, Sept. 27th
and Saturday, Sept. 28th.
WHERE’S THE OUTRAGE? Once again a
madman has taken what’s left of our sense of safety and sanity hostage with a
horrific act of violence that claimed several lives. This time it happened in
our nation’s capital, on a naval installation, where, supposedly, some of the
best security in the world is headquartered.
And, to many people, it’s just
another day at the office. Nothing special, once again, as if we’ve all been
there and done that before.
Well we have, and it seems that the
shock and novelty of it has worn very thin. So thin, in fact, that we now fail
to feel any pain when these incidents occur.
What is wrong with us? Why are we
becoming so desensitized by what should be outraging us over, and over and over
again?
Indeed, have we given up on the
idea that we can have strong, comprehensive gun control, and still maintain
second amendment rights to own firearms for protection and sporting?
Simply put, we just don’t have the political will to do
legislatively what is needed to make sure that the mentally ill get the help
that they need; that we keep them away from guns and semi-automatic weapons,
and that we limit the capacity of gun clips to just ten, so that no one is
able, ever again, to walk into a school or public place, and just relentlessly
spray the area with bullets upon helpless victims.
Common sense in a civilized society
would suggest that we would have figured this out a long time ago. But we
haven’t, and given the deep, deep divisions in Washington and the nation, we
won’t anytime soon.
And that should sadden us, as
Americans, deeply.
But it doesn’t. It’s happened so
much, we’ve been desensitized to it.
Even when innocent people, and
worse, the lives of innocent children, are lost.
Maybe I’m wrong, but we seem to
just not care anymore.
And that is shaping up to be an
even greater tragedy.
GOD help us!
THE MISEDUCATION OF JADEN SMITH –
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – I like superstar actor Will Smith. He’s funny, he’s talented,
and he’s built a solid career to become one of biggest box office stars in the
world.
But of late, Will has been doing
and saying some gosh-awful things that make you wonder if more air is coming
out of his oversized ego than going in.
Like last year when he said that he
didn’t take the Jamie Foxx role in
“Django Unchained” because it was not the lead.
Gee, I seem to recall that actor Leonardo DiCaprio was also in “Django,” and he didn’t play the
lead. And arguably, one could say that DiCaprio is a bigger star than Will.
But this isn’t about Will’s acting skills or box office
draw. Those seem to be on solid ground…for now.
It’s Will’s philosophy on parenting
that has everyone wondering if he’s serious or not.
Will and his wife, actress Jada Pinkett-Smith, say that they take
a “hands-off” approach to raising the youngest of their children, Willow, and
Jaden, 15.
“The way we deal with our kids is
they are responsible for their lives,” Will once told E! Online. “Our concept
is, as young as possible, give them as much control over their lives as much as
possible, and the concept of punishment, our experience has been – it has a
little too much of a negative quality.”
Oh, I get it, let your child get
into trouble without any guidance or direction, and then hold him responsible
for the mess he gets himself into because you never bothered to teach him
anything.
So, throw your child into the water
without a swim lesson or life preserve, and if he survives it, let him justify
how he got out of the fix without little or no training.
Well, you and Jaden are doing a bang-up
job, Will, because here’s what your son Jaden had to say.
“If everyone in the world dropped
out of school, we would have a much more intelligent society,” Jaden reportedly
wrong on Twitter recently. “All the rules in this world were made by someone no
smarter than you. So make your own.”
Jaden later added that “school is a
tool to brainwash the youth.”
So what do we have here –
privileged black kid who has never had to worry about where the next meal was
coming from, running his mouth to his followers on Twitter to ditch school, and
live the life of a dumb bunny.
Jaen Smith is a smart young man. We
can see his gifts in his performances in “The Karate kid” and “AfterEarth.” But
his films prove that while the young man has natural talent, he had to sitdown
and shutup at some point in order to get direction as to what to do, and how to
do it.
For Jaden not to realize that the
only ticket for black people is a strong education, and for him to dispense
ignorant advise to forsake it, is nothing short of criminal.
So I hope that Will Smith will
immediately grab by his considerable ears, sit him down, and talk some sense
into him
Quickly, Will, before it’s too
late.
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-
[UPDATED] CHARLOTTE NAACP HEAD
CALLS
POLICE SHOOTING
“MURDER”
By Cash Michaels
Editor
The
president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP says the tragic death of an
unarmed black man at the hands of a white Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer
last weekend was not voluntary manslaughter as charged, but “murder.”
“This
[police officer], to me, executed this young man, for whatever reason,” Rev.
Kojo Nantambu said in an interview from Charlotte Tuesday. “To me it had to be
rage, or hatred or something that clicked in this [officer]…you’re trained to
deal with stressful situations.
When
later asked if he felt the charge should have been murder, instead of voluntary
manslaughter, Rev. Nantambu said, “ Yes, this was murder. No doubt about it,
this was murder.”
No
doubt others in Charlotte’s black community agree with Rev. Nantambu’s
assessment of what happened to Jonathan
A. Ferrell, the 24-year-old former Florida A&M University football player
fatally shot by CMPD police in the early morning hours of Sept. 14th.
The
officer, Randall Kerrick, reportedly fired 12 shots at Ferrell as he ran
towards him following a serious traffic accident, fatally hitting him 10 times.
The police were called by a startled woman after Ferrell banged on the door of
her home seeking help at 2:30 that morning.
Officer
Kerrick, who has been with the CMPD since March 2010, was charged with
voluntary manslaughter, a felony, after a criminal and departmental investigation
determined that he used excessive force in the incident.
Investigators
did consult with the Mecklenburg District Attorney Office before charging
Kerrick. Prosecutors will review the case, however, before taking it to a grand
jury for indictments.
WBT-TV
in Charlotte reports that Kerrick was briefly disciplined, suspended for a day,
last December by the police dept., but it is not known what for. Before
becoming a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer, Kerrick reportedly worked as
an animal control officer, the TV station reported.
Sources
told WSOC-TV that video from a patrol car dashcam clearly showed not only
showed that Ferrell was unarmed, but even hiked his pants to show he had no
weapons.
Ferrell’s
fatal shooting took place out of camera range.
“You
took a piece of my heart that I can never put back,” Ferrell’s grieving mother,
Georgia Ferrell, told reporters Monday while clutching her son’s favorite
Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal from his early childhood.
She
said she never thought she would ever have to bury her son.
Attorney
Chris Chestnut, the Florida-based lawyer representing the Ferrell family,
acknowledged the speed with which the Charlotte Police Dept. charged one of its
own with manslaughter, but he still raised questions about police training, and
how Ferrell being an African-American may have played a role in the tragic
outcome.
“The
officer is white [and] Mr. Ferrell is black,” attorney Chestnut told reporters.
“This might be more of a reflection of where we are as a country.”
According
to published accounts, three CMPD police officers answered the “breaking and
entering” 911 call that the woman, whose home Ferrell repeatedly knocked on the
door on, made in fear after his car ran off the road, crashing into some trees.
On
Tuesday, CMPD made that 17-minute 911 call public, and its clear that the
woman, who tells the police dispatcher that she has a “sleeping child “ in the
home, believes that Ferrell is trying to break in because of his constant
pounding.
As
the officers reportedly approached Ferrell on Reedy Creek Road, he ran towards
them, apparently gratified to see that help had arrived.
The
story becomes murky then, because one officer allegedly shot Ferrell with a
taser, which did not work, followed then by Kerrick discharging his weapon 12
times, hitting Ferrell ten times, bringing him down.
Kerrick
was the only one to fire his sidearm.
"The evidence
revealed that Mr. Ferrell did advance on Officer Kerrick and the investigation
showed that the subsequent shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive,"
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said in a statement Saturday. "Our
investigation has shown that Officer Kerrick did not have a lawful right to
discharge his weapon during this encounter. "
A
police incident report reveals that Kerrick alleged that he was “assaulted,”
though it doesn’t state by whom, and had “minor injuries.” He refused medical
treatment, however.
All
three CMPD officers involved have been placed on paid leave.
There
have been six other killings by CMPD officers just this year.
Officer
Kerrick turned himself in to authorities after he was charged. He is free on
$50,000 bond.
Jonathan
Ferrell played safety for the FAMU Rattlers in 2009 and 2010. His family called
him a “good” young man who had moved to North Carolina in February to start a
new life. He worked two jobs and was engaged to be married. He had no criminal
record in North Carolina, and a 2011 misdemeanor charge in Florida had been
dismissed.
Had
he lived, Ferrell would have turned 25 in October.
Georgia
Ferrell said while she forgave Kerrick for killing her son, she felt he needed
to now leave law enforcement.
"I truly
forgive him. I pray for him,” Mrs. Ferrell told reporters. “And I pray that he
gets off the police force."
Attorney
Chestnut was noncommittal on whether the Ferrell family would be suing the
Charlotte Police Dept.
On
Tuesday, Officer Kerrick, 27, was scheduled to make his first court appearance
on the voluntary manslaughter charge, but did not attend. Instead, attorneys with
the Fraternal Order of Police
appeared on behalf of the officer, saying that when all of the evidence is
considered, the court and the public will see that Kerick “did nothing wrong.”
In
fact one of Kerrick’s attorneys, Michael Greene, an African-American, told
reporters afterwards that the officer’s actions “were justified.”
The
Ferrell family attorney, Chris Chestnut, said that he did see the video from
the CMPD patrol car dashcam. Based on what he saw, he says, the charge should
be raised to murder.
“That
is murder, cold blooded, badge no badge, that’s murder,” attorney Chestnut said
after he, and the Ferrell family, viewed the video.
He
said for them, “It is completely devastating.”
Kerrick’s
next court date is Oct. 7th for a probable cause hearing. That’s when it will
be clearer whether prosecutors intended to stay with the voluntary manslaughter
charge, raise it to murder, or dismiss the charge altogether.
At
presstime Tuesday, funeral arrangements for Jonathan Ferrell, most likely to be
in Florida, had not yet been announced.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS
9-19-13
WILMINGTON HOUSING
AUTHORITY CEO FIRED AFTER DWI CHARGE
[WILMINGTON]
Twice was not a charm for Wilmington Housing Authority CEO Michael Krause, who
was fired Sept. 12th by the WHA Board of Commissioners after his
second arrest since 2009 for alleged driving under the influence. “This
decision was very difficult,” Board Chairman Jeffrey Hovis told reporters,’…
and our objective is to best serve our staff, residents and our community.”
Krause had been with WHA since 2008. He is credited with spearheading renovations
to a number of public housing projects. Krause, who was paid $142,000 annually,
was given three months severance. G.Vernice Hamilton has been appointed interim WHA CEO.
NORTH CAROLINA GETS
$6.1 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR KINDERGARTEN ENTRY ASSESSMENTS
[WASH.
DC] North Carolina is one of three states to be awarded a combined $15.1
million in Enhanced Assessment Grants (EAG), which can be used to improve the
quality, validity and reliability of North Carolina’s kindergarten formative
assessment system by measuring student academic achievement through various
assessment instruments. North Carolina receives $6.1 million of the EAG, while
Maryland and Texas share the rest. The EAG program is administered by the
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
STATE SENATOR ASKS US
ATTORNEY GENERAL TO PROBE NEW VOTER LAWS
[CHARLOTTE] Yet another Democratic North Carolina
elected official has formally asked US Attorney General Eric Holder to looking
into the constitutionality of the Republican-led General Assembly’s new voter
restrictions, signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory. State Sen. Malcolm Graham
[D-Mecklenburg] wrote Holder this week, saying, “It’s a clear
attempt at voter suppression, and it will disproportionately impact students,
minorities, the poor and senior citizens. I urge you to come to North Carolina
now and stop this law from taking our state backward. We should be approving
laws that encourage every American to vote – not make it more difficult.” Sen.
Graham joins fellow Democrats US Sen. Kay Hagen and US Rep. G. K. Butterfield
in asking Holder to weigh in. The new restrictions include photo voter ID,
slashing the one stop earlier voting period, and eliminating “Souls to the
Polls” Sunday voting. Republicans say the changes were necessary to root out
alleged voter fraud that there was very little evidence of.
-30-
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
9-19-13
FAYETTEVILLE WOMAN AMONG NAVY YARD SHOOTING DEATHS
Among the twelve victims fatally shot Monday at the Washington D.C US Navy Yard was Mary DeLorenzo Knight of Fayetteville, published reports say and the FBI has confirmed. Knight was an information technology contractor who worked in the same building where 34-year-old Aaron Alexis, a mentally-ill ex-Navy reservist, allegedly went on a shooting rampage, before DC Metro police brought him down. Ms. Knight also taught at Northern Virginia Community College. Monday's mass shooting was the deadliest on a military installation since the tragedy at Fort Hood, texas in 2009.
FAYETTEVILLE WOMAN AMONG NAVY YARD SHOOTING DEATHS
Among the twelve victims fatally shot Monday at the Washington D.C US Navy Yard was Mary DeLorenzo Knight of Fayetteville, published reports say and the FBI has confirmed. Knight was an information technology contractor who worked in the same building where 34-year-old Aaron Alexis, a mentally-ill ex-Navy reservist, allegedly went on a shooting rampage, before DC Metro police brought him down. Ms. Knight also taught at Northern Virginia Community College. Monday's mass shooting was the deadliest on a military installation since the tragedy at Fort Hood, texas in 2009.
“MORAL MONDAY 18”
DEMONSTRATION AT GOVERNOR’S MANSION
Over
200 protesters from the NCNAACP College and Youth Division demonstrated at the
Governor’s Mansion Monday afternoon, opposing education cuts and voter
restrictions he signed into law from the Republican-led General Assembly. The
group also commemorated the 50th anniversary of the bombing of the
16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. , where a bomb
planted by a white supremacist explode, killing four little black girls.. Rev.
William Barber, president of the NC NAACP, said Monday’s demonstration was in
memory of those girls, and that their blood help to pay for the voting rights
of future generations. Caskets were carried during the demonstration as part of
the commemoration.
DUKE CANCER INSTITUTE
SPONSORS FREE MEN’S HEALTH CLINIC SEPT. 21 & 22
With
prostate cancer so prevalent in African-American men, health experts say it
helps to catch it early for effective treatment. The Duke University Cancer
Institute is sponsoring a free men’s clinic this Saturday, Sept. 21st,
and Sunday, Sept. 22nd, to help black males identify if they have
prostate cancer, as well as diabetes and high blood pressure. There will be no
blood tests or prostate exams. Saturday’s clinic will be held at the Lincoln
Community Health Center, 1301 Fayetteville Street in Durham from 8 a.m. to 12
noon. Parking is free and call Awanya Caear at 919-956-4029 for more information
there.
Sunday’s
free men’s clinic will; be held at Duke Clinic 2C, 2nd Floor, 40
Duke Medicine Circle, in Durham. There is free parking at the Trent Drive
Garage. Call 919-684-0409 for more information.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment