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CASH IN THE APPLE FOR
12-10-15
By Cash Michaels
OUTRAGE –
No, of course I don’t like writing about Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump two weeks in a row, but
let’s face it, the way it looks now, he could very much be the next GOP
presidential nominee the way he’s going in the polls.
Last week
there was big consternation when the controversial billionaire met with a group
of black preachers for the purpose of gaining their endorsement. It didn’t turn
out to be all that Trump wanted, but he did get the nod from a few conservative
preachers. No telling how much he has put in their collection plates.
Then Trump
came to Raleigh and held a jam-packed rally at Dorton Area last Friday night.
But among the 8,000 in attendance were also plenty of demonstrators who
interrupted Trump a record ten times, finally making him leave the state after
45 minutes.
Kind of
brought a smile to your face, didn’t it?
But let’s
face it, absolutely nothing compares to Trump telling the press that he wanted
to “shutdown” all Muslim immigration to the United States in an effort to curb
terrorism. Now that brought the proverbial house down around The Donald, and
folks wonder whether he can survive this huge brouhaha.
Well, given
the way Trump has played the news media like a trumpet of late (pardon the
pun), the answer is probably yes. There indeed seems to be a large conservative
constituency who so hate President Obama,
and so yearn for a “powerful” white guy to take back the reigns of control
again, that they literally cheer every time Donald Trump promises that “America
will win again” under his ego-driven lead.
I guess
what I telling you folks is this is a very dangerous time we’re going through,
so dangerous that it looks more and more like the future of this nation is
going to fall further into the hands of extremists who have every intention of
changing the US Constitution that’s supposed to protect us all, to their own
liking.
That means
folks can’t play games about voting come November 2016. You may have a problem
with government as it is, but you sure as shootin’ don’t want what government
might become if the wrong folks take the wheel.
So pay
attention to the issues, especially as we in the Black Press lay them out for you in this black newspaper. Remember,
as a people, we’re very used to suffering, but that doesn’t mean that our
children and grandchildren deserve any of it, or should ever get used to it.
THE WIZ
LIVE – Well, hand it to NBC Television. Their three-hour telecast of “The Wiz
Live” was just what the doctor ordered during an otherwise miserable week that
saw a nation reeling from shock from a terrorist attack in California.
Based on
the original 1975 Broadway musical which starred the legendary Stephanie Mills as “Dorothy,” the
little black girl from Kansas who is swept away to the magical land of Oz, the
live telecast was indeed magical and uplifting, featuring the high talents of Queen Latifah, David Alan Grier, Mary J.
Blige, and newcomer Shanice Williams
as “Dorothy.”
Let’s face
it, the African-American family hasn’t had good reason to all gather around the
television set and cheer something positive in such a long, long time. This
extraordinary production offered that opportunity, not only to come together
and enjoy wholesome entertainment, but it also gave us elders a chance to share
some black history with our young’uns, allowing us to share who Stephanie Mills
is, telling them about the original Broadway play and the 1978 movie starring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, and
giving them some idea of what real talent is.
So thanks,
NBC. The ratings were great with over 11 million people watching on a Thursday
night. The show will be rerun around Christmas, so watch for it again.
“BLACK PANTHER” FINDS A BLACK
DIRECTOR – A couple of months ago it was reported that Ava Duvernay, the acclaimed director of the film, “Selma,” met with
the folks at Marvel Studios about possibly directing a feature film about an
African prince with super abilities called “Black
Panther.” The character is actually making his debut in next May’s “Captain America: Civil War,” but having
his own feature film will be the follow-up.
Duvernay, to no one’s surprise, had
her own ideas about how to present the story, but Marvel already had its
playbook set, so they all decided to part company amicably (we’re told). So now
Marvel was up a tree. They have a major film about a black superhero, but no
top named black director they can get a buy-in from.
Enter Ryan Coogler, known for his fine work directing Fruitvale Station, and the recent hit, Creed starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester
Stallone. Young Coogler has gotten raves for his work, and so it was
announced this week that he will be directing Black Panther, starring Chadwick
Boseman, who has starred as James
Brown in Get On Up, and as
baseball legend Jackie Robinson in 42.
Black
Panther is due out in 2018.
''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.
-30-
FOUR STUDENTS PLEAD
GUILTY IN DEADLY DRUG DEAL CASE
The four
Wake County students involved in a fatal hit-and-run last June which resulted
from a failed drug deal have all now pled guilty. The four were originally
charged with murder in the death of Katherine Burdick-Crow, 16, of Cary, who
fell off of a pickup truck trying to fight after she was robbed during drug
deal. The four students were in the truck at the time. Jourdan Mack, 20, pled
guilty to common law robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, sentenced to 14
to 35 months in prison. Joshua Simmons, 17, pled guilty to involuntary
manslaughter, common law robbery and conspiracy, sentenced to 16 to 29 months.
Beth Strange, 18, and Abjah Masse, 17, also pled guilty to common law robbery
and conspiracy.
TRIANGLE UNEMPLOYMENT
RATE JUMPED TO 5 PERCENT IN OCTOBER
The
Triangle area saw a .1 uptick in the jobless rate in October, rising from 4.9
percent in September to 5 percent. That’s in contrast to the state’s 5.7
percent, but equal’s the national average. Experts expect the Triangle rate to
tick back down for November due to
holiday season hiring.
NEW RALEIGH PARKING
DECK FEES START JAN. 1st
Get ready
to shell more money to keep your car safe and parked in downtown Raleigh.
Beginning Jan 1, 2016, visitors to downtown on the weekends will have four
parking decks to chose from – Wilmington Street Station, Moore square, City
Center and the Municipal Parking. Motorists will pay a $5.00 flat fee entering
from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next day Friday and Saturday nights. Parking will be
free rom 7 a.m. Sunday until 7 a.m. Monday, and after 7 p.m. Monday through
Thursday evening. Parking on downtown streets will be free after 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday and all day during the weekends. Special fees for special event
parking will be $5 to $7.00 in city decks.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 12-10-15
FEDERAL LAWSUIT FILED
AGAINST MAGISTRATES LAW
[CHARLOTTE]
Six plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the NC General
Assembly challenging Senate Bill 2, which allowed court magistrates and
employees of county register of deed offices to refuse to perform marriages for
same-sex couples, based on religious reasons. The Legislature overrode Gov. Pat
McCrory’s veto of the law last June. Conservatives supported the law, saying
that magistrates should have the right to follow their beliefs without penalty.
GUILFORD SCHOOLS
SUPT. RESIGNS TO HEAD Z. SMITH REYNOLDS FOUNDATION
[WINSTON-SALEM]
The superintendent of Guilford County schools has announced that he is
resigning soon to become executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
next spring. Supt. Maurice “Mo” Green has led GCPS since 2008, when he came
there after serving as asst. supt. of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools. The
Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem supports educational and other public service
causes through grants.
TRUMP LEADS ALL
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN NC POLL
[GREENSBORO]
According to a new survey by Public Policy Polling, controversial billionaire Donald
J. Trump is leading Republican candidates for president with his highest numbers
yet, and his strident position against Islam seems to be fueling his
popularity. In the most recent PPP poll, Trump has risen to 33 percent from an
October high of 31 percent. He is followed by Sen. Ted Cruz at 16 percent, 14
percent for both Dr. Ben Carson and Sen. Marco Rubio, and five percent for
former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The survey also found 67 percent support Trump’s
call for a national database of Muslims, 62 percent believe Trump’s disputed
claim of seeing “thousands” of Muslims cheering in New Jersey on 9/11, and 51
percent agree with Trump that Islam mosques should be shutdown in the United
States.
-30-
TO VIOLENT CRIME
PROBLEM
By Cash Michaels
Editor
When the
murder rate of young black men between the ages of 15 to 34 is eight times
higher than the national average, it’s time for your community to band together
and do something.
That was
the sentiment shared this week during a community meeting of citizens and public
officials in Durham. That stunning murder rate came from a US Department of
Justice report on violent crime in the Bull City released last April. One of the recommendations from that study
was for city leaders to coordinate a community response to the sobering 577
cases of aggravated assaults with a firearm in just 2014 alone, up from 385 in
2013 and 461 in 2012.
Retaliation
shootings between rival gangs accounted for much of the gun violence last year,
police officials say. Many of those shootings were into occupied homes, so if
four people happened to be occupying the targeted dwelling at the time, that’s
how many people were assaulted, and added to the statistics for that one
shooting.
Tuesday
evening during a “S.T.A.N.D. Against Violence” meeting called by the Durham
Committee on the Affairs of Black People and the Durham Interdominational
Ministerial Alliance, that community response came. With 22 murders in 2014,
and 37 homicides on the books for Durham thus far in 2015 with three weeks to
go, community leaders, along with Durham Mayor Bill Bell, all agreed that
something meaningful and long-lasting has to be done in order to make the Bull
City a safer place to live and work.
From the
start, many in attendance declared that this would not be another “feel good”
meeting, but rather the first in a series of substantive sessions designed to
outline long-term strategies to not only reduce violent crime, but improve the
overall quality of life in the community.
Part of the
reason why violent crime continues to explode on the streets of Durham year
after year is because residents, particularly in the African-American community,
have not only come to expect it, but sadly, accept it, many in the audience
agreed, and that must end. That means
beyond law enforcement, community residents have to begin holding themselves
and each other more accountable for their mutual safety, many said.
That also means
involving the Durham Public Schools, and ultimately the community’s children,
who are most likely, given the statistics, to fall victim to gang violence.
One of the
most outspoken at the gathering was Minister Paul Scott, a longtime Durham
grassroots activist and founder of the Messianic Afrikan Nation ministry, who recommended
community-based vigilante groups called “the New Afrikan Guard” – a mixture of
the Black Panther Party and New York’s famed Guardian Angels - to patrol
neighborhood streets to keep them safe.
"Forget the police
department as far as preventing crime. Forget the politicians,” Minister Scott,
who has been “deputizing” young people with a book and an armband to patrol the
community, says. “It's time for the church."
Many in the
audience did not like Scott’s use of the term “vigilante,” which to them
suggests citizens taking the law into their own hands, but the minister insists
that he’s not referring to pitting violence against violence to keep the peace,
but rather maintaining more of an organized presence on the streets so that
criminals would realize they no longer had control.
Still, the
Durham Police Department is weary of Min. Scott’s venture, saying in a
statement:
"The Durham Police Department's mission is to minimize
crime, promote safety, and enhance the quality of life in partnership with our
community. Collaboration between law enforcement, residents, and community
leaders and organizations is needed to create and maintain a community where
all Durham resident feel safe."
Min. Scott
maintains that with the murder rate up some 68 percent over last year, Durham’s
black community “can’t depend” on others to protect them, and must be about
proactively addressing violent crime in spite of the police.
With Durham
Police Chief Jose Lopez stepping down, and city leaders beginning another
national search for his replacement, Durham residents believe that now is the
time have a greater stake in maintaining the safety and security of their
neighborhoods.
The US
Justice Department report last April recommended that city leaders
build a greater trust between the police and the community,
and do a better job of addressing “barriers” between law enforcement and the
citizens that they serve.
The next “S.T.A.N.D.”
is scheduled for sometime in January.
-30-
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