http://nnpa.org/critics-say-gop-education-reform-would-hurt-poor-and-black-students-by-freddie-allen/
http://nnpa.org/indictment-of-nypd-officer-for-killing-unarmed-black-man-raises-hope/
http://nnpa.org/civil-rights-leaders-upset-over-non-voting-rights-act-hearing/
CASH IN THE APPLE
2-26-15
By Cash Michaels
EVELYN
JERVAY – You can tell when history is opening some doors and closing others
when you see loved ones passing on. In our Carolinian/Wilmington
Journal publishing family, we have seen several members pass on – some
after long illnesses, others long before their time.
Last
weekend, the associate publisher of The
Carolinian Newspaper, Rev. Evelyn
Jervay, joined that roll.
Evelyn was
a strong, visionary and spiritual black woman who never forgot from where she
came from, and insisted that no matter what she was involved in, that GOD and
young people were in with her.
Evelyn’s
heart was always with the people, the folks who lived a life of struggle and
somehow found a way, through the grace of GOD, to overcome. Her upbringing
wasn’t easy, but the lessons which life taught Evelyn sustained her, made her
strong and determined. Though her heart was always about helping the little
man, Evelyn never lost sight of the big picture. She was an astute
businesswoman, and while our leader and Carolinian
publisher Paul Jervay Jr. was out on
the streets selling advertising to keep our doors open on lights on, Evelyn was
holding down the office, making sure that administratively The Carolinian was on-time and on-point to serving its readers, and
its community.
Those of us
who work for The Carolinian could
have no better cheerleader than Evelyn Jervay, someone who pushed us and always
came up with new ideas for the writers to pursue. And if something we wrote in
the paper didn’t make sense to her, she thought nothing of challenging us, to
make sure that we understood that The
Carolinian remained a respected institution of journalism because it always
maintained a high standard of excellence in seeking the truth in service to the
African-American community.
Evelyn
would always remind us that in all we did, that GOD was watching us, and
expected more from us than we expected from ourselves.
But again,
the one area where there can be no question about where Evelyn Jervay’s heart laid
was with nurturing young people. Through her Nay-Kel program, Evelyn taught young people about important lessons
of life, exposing youth to various ways of thinking and doing so that they
could have the proper foundation to go forward and build good, productive
successful lives for themselves, their families and communities.
Those young
people are today young adults, and indeed living monuments to the tremendous
love and caring of Evelyn Jervay.
A few years
ago Evelyn took ill, and had to leave her daily duties at The Carolinian
office, but she was never forgotten. And though she is now gone to be with her
heavenly Father, Rev. Evelyn Jervay is still not forgotten.
In truth,
she never can, and never will.
Thank you,
Evelyn, for coming through our lives, and being there for us when we needed you
the most. Our deepest and heartfelt prayers and condolences go out to Evelyn’s
entire family, friends and others who were blessed to know her.
NO OSCAR
SURPRISES – It should be no surprise that “Glory,” the outstanding theme from
the stellar motion picture “Selma” by John
Legend and Common, won an Academy Award Sunday for Best Original Song. The
award was the least the Academy could do after pretty much disrespecting the
film, its tremendous director Ava Duvernay,
and its brilliant starts David Oyelowo
and Carmen Ejogo.
What we’ve
learned through the “Selma” experience this awards season is that Hollywood,
for all of its so-called “liberal” leanings, is still very much afraid of its
own shadow when it comes to truly recognizing the value of diversity in front
of and behind the camera. All of the major nominees this year at the Oscars
were white, despite the many extraordinary performances by actors of color that
graced the screen last year.
The Academy
must do better in recognizing the work of these artisans. I’m not just talking
black, either. All filmmakers and artists whose work is worthy of note should
be considered fairly.
It’s the
only way we all learn and grow.
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.waug-network.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).
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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STATE NEWS BRIEFS 2-26-15
BRUNSWICK COUNTY
WOMAN COLLECTS POWERBLL PRIZE
[RALEIGH]
Marie Holmes of Brunswick County says
she’s moving, going to take care of her four children, and will give to her
church, and it’s all thanks to the lump sum $188 million she’s taking after
being one of three people across the nation to match all six numbers in the
latest Powerball lottery jackpot of $564.1 million on Feb. 11th.
Holmes purchased her ticket at a Shalotte Scotchman convenience store. Holmes
says she also wants to study to be a nurse.
SUPERBUG KILLS TWO IN
CHARLOTTE HOSPITAL
[CHARLOTTE]
Among the 15 patients being treated for contracting CRE, otherwise known as the
“superbug,” at least two have reportedly died in recent months in Charlotte
hospitals, say local health officials. Patients are now being screened for the
anti-biotic resistant bacteria and being isolated if they have it. Details about the deaths were delayed in
being made public because of privacy laws.
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NC
COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES TAPPED AT $63 BILLION, SAYS REPORT
[RALEIGH]
According to a new study, the 110 institutions of higher learning throughout
North Carolina contribute roughly $63 billion to the state’s economy annually.
That’s 15 percent of North Carolina’s economic output, according to the report
by Economic Modeling Specialists International, and analysts say a sound
investment in North Carolina’s college students. "We are pleased that this study demonstrates clearly
that the taxpayers of North Carolina receive a significant return on their
investment year after year, and we are proud that that is true for all the
citizens of North Carolina, whether or not they attended one of our
institutions," said Tom Ross, UNC System president.
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TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
2-26-15
WAKE SCHOOLS DECIDE
SNOW MAKEUP DAYS
The Wake
County Public school System has
announced four snow makeup days and adjustments to its spring calendar. For
traditional, year-round Tracks 1 and 3, and modified calendar schools with
early release days scheduled between March 6 and April 17 will be extended to
full school days. Year-round Track 4 will have a full day on March 6, and Track
2 will have a full school day on April 17.
The Wake
Early College of Health and Sciences, Wake STEM and the Vernon Malone College
& Career Academy will also have early release day scheduled between March 6
and April 17 extended to full school days, as will the Wake Young Men’s
Leadership Academy and Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy.
HUNDREDS PAY TRIBUTE
TO COACH DEAN SMITH
Hundreds
of fans joined family, friends and former players in paying tribute Sunday to
the late UNC Tar Heel Basketball Coach Dean Smith at the Dean Smith Center.
Smith died Feb. 7th after a long illness at age 83. He is hailed for
winning two national championships and racking up 879 career wins during his
tenure. But Smith was also highly regarded for being the first Atlantic Coast
Conference coach to recruit African-Americans to play on his team. "We are all so honored to have been in his presence for so
many years," said Brad Daughtry, who played for Smith.
NC STATE ESTABLISHES
SCHOLARSHIOP FUND FOR THREE STUDENT VICTIMS
NCSU has established a scholarship
fund commemorating three Muslim students who were murdered Feb. 10 reportedly
over parking spaces at a condo complex. The “Our Three Winners” scholarship
fund is named in memory of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; his newlywed wife, Yusor
Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19. NCSU has
contributed to the fund, and urges alums and others to contribute.
-30-
SOCIAL CHANGE
INSTITUTE AT
NCCU ON CHOPPING
BLOCK
By Cash Michaels
Editor
Why is a
working committee of the UNC Board of Governors recommending the closing of a
much-heralded social change institute at North Carolina Central University in
Durham? A decision could be made Friday when the full board meets at
UNC-Charlotte.
The obvious
reason, say supporters of the Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change,
is politics. The UNC Board is now dominated by Republican appointees put there
by the GOP-led Legislature and Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, and it’s no secret
that conservatives have railed for some time about 16-campus system being a
major bastion of “liberal thinking”. So much so that Gov. McCrory has made
numerous public statements over the past two years about how UNC’s predominate
liberal arts curriculum does little to outfit its graduates with the adequate
skills to get a job.
Indeed,
many observes have teased that McCrory wants to turn the UNC System into a
“trade school.”
Then there
was the recent ouster by the UNC Board of UNC President Tom Ross, who has been
credited with steering the system through tough budgetary times. Ross still has
his job until 2016, but the board gave little reason for his dismissal, saying
only that the UNC System needs new leadership.
But most
telling was the friction between UNC School of Law Prof. Gene Nichol, who is
also the director of the UNC – Chapel Hill’s Center on Poverty, Work and
Opportunity, which has also been recommended for discontinuation, along with
East Carolina University’s NC Center for Biodiversity.
Prof.
Nichol, who has frequently worked closely with the NCNAACP and others over the
years on the issues of poverty in North Carolina and social justice, has also
been a staunch critic of the Republican-led NC General Assembly and Gov.
McCrory in biting editorials published in the
News and Observer.
After
“reviewing” 240 research centers and institutes in the UNC System, the UNC
committee announced recently that it will recommend to the full Board of
Governors that those three be closed now, while 13 others warranted closer
review.
The
committee also wants the board to consider adopting a policy banning political
advocacy by centers and institutes associated with UNC System schools.
So the
question remains – why was the Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change
at NCCU chosen as one of the three that the UNC Board committee wants
terminated now?
According
to its website, “Founded in April
2006, the mission of the Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change
(ICESC, pronounced Ice-ic) is to promote civic engagement on campus, the
surrounding community, and the state in order to engender social change.
Therefore, the Institute seeks to increase the community's level and quality of
participation in civic affairs and, thus, its efficacy in addressing racial,
gender, economic, and other social injustices.”
Part of ICESC’s work has been
getting NCCU students involved in voter registration and education; examining
the role of the black church during elections; and examining political
empowerment in communities of color.
NCCU Prof.
Jarvis Hall, the institute’s only director since its inception, says he has no
idea why ICESC has been targeted, since the center has been nonpartisan in all
of its work, and gets its funding from grants and private donations, not from
the state, the UNC System or NCCU.
“I’m
unaware of anything we have done to bring this about,” Hall told The Carolinian Tuesday. Despite the expressed concerns of many supporters,
Prof. Hall did not want to speculate.
Like UNC’s Poverty Center, which
gained support this week from the American Association of University
Professors, supporters of ICESC’s are gathering petitions decrying the fact
that according to UNC Board of Governors policy, the trustee boards at each of
the system’s 16 campuses have the authority to start and stop institutions and
centers, not system board.
“The attached resolution speaks to the
usurpation of historical campus authority by the UNC Board of Governors for the
sole purpose of destroying lawfully created centers and institutes on UNC
campuses which board members disagree,” wrote an NCCU faculty member who
circulated an NCCU Faculty Assembly resolution to save ICECS earlier this week.
“The Board of Governors would have people to believe that they already had
authority to review the work of the campus units which they now seek to destroy
when, in fact, such authority does not exist within BOG regulations and rules.
This is another example of under-handed efforts by conservative forces in this
State to stifle faculty members' freedom to speak,
teach and dissent.”
The last two paragraphs of the
resolution minced no words.
“Therefore be it Resolved…that the Faculty Assembly calls upon the
Board of Governors to act in keeping with established UNC policy that
exclusively designates campus based leadership with the authority to
discontinue a center or institute; and Be
it Further Resolved…that the Faculty Assembly opposes the insertion of
the authority of president or Board of Governors into the process for the
establishment, management and discontinuation of centers and institutes which
currently is assigned by policy solely to campus based leadership.”
The UNC Committee presents it
recommendations to the full UNC Board of Governors in Charlotte on Friday.
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