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CASH IN THE APPLE FOR
2-4-16
By Cash Michaels
Editor
NC MUSEUM OF HISTORY – Super
Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7th, right after church from 2 to 5 p.m, the
next screening of “Pardons of Innocence: The Wilmington Ten” will be at the NC Museum of History, and admission
is free.
I am both excited and honored to
finally have the film screen there, for that codifies it as solid piece of
North Carolina history, the seal of approval as it were. As I said, it’s
happening Feb. 7th, Super Bowl Sunday, but don’t worry, the film
starts at 2 p.m., and that plus the
panel discussion featuring Dr. Benjamin
Chavis, defense attorney Irv Joyner
and myself after the film will end at 5, which means there will still be plenty
of time to get home for the big game which starts at 6:30 p.m.. So unless
there’s another massive snowstorm (Oh GOD, please no), you have no excuse for
missing this free screening Sunday, Feb. 7th at the NC Museum of
History.
By the way the next screening after
that will be at North Carolina State
University on Wednesday, Feb. 10th, in the Witherspoon Theater
on campus, starting at 7 p.m..
MORAL MARCH/HK ON J – On Saturday,
Feb. 13th, the tenth Annual Moral March/HK on J People’s Assembly is
scheduled to kick off once again. Presented by the NC NAACP and it’s coalition
partners under the Forward Together Movement, tens of thousands of activists
from across the state and nation come to Raleigh to speak out on the issues
they feel need to be addressed. This year, the primary focus supposeds will be
voting, and there will be workers there passing out pledge-to-vote cards, and
registering people to vote in time for the March 15th primaries.
For more information or to sign up
to volunteer, go to HKonJ.com.
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES – I, for
one, am so glad that the Iowa caucuses kicked off this week, with the New
Hampshire primaries to follow. I was really tired of hearing all of the
candidates talk, saying the same thing over and over again. Now that the voters
are finally making their voices heard, we’re finally able to whittle down the
field to only the strongest contenders. That’s what the process is supposed to be about – the voters actually
choosing who is the most convincing in terms of leadership and vision.
Needless to say, all three cable
news stations are going wall-to-wall with their coverage. Just as we hold the
candidates to account, let’s make sure we hold the media to account as well. In
a democracy, it’s the only way to ensure that we are best and fully informed.
BLACK HISTORY – Recently I did an
interviews with Min. Paul Scott of the Afrikan Messanic Movement in
Durham. Paul has always been out on the
streets, talking to young people about gaining more knowledge of self, and
giving back to their community.
Paul would like to see Black
History become a permanent part of the Durham school curriculum for
middle-schoolers, saying that waiting until high school to begin teaching it is
too late. He’d also like to see Black History become mandatory for graduating
high school in Durham County.
I think Min. Paul Scott is on to
something. If young people can gain some sense of self and pride about their
history and place it, maybe they could steer away from violent,
self-destructive activities. That would be a good thing. We’re all looking for
answers.
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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PANTHERS VERSUS BRONCOS IN SUNDAY SUPER BOWL - Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton could add his name to the historic list of black quarterbacks who've won the Super Bowl when he goes up against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos this Sunday.
YOUNG PEOPLE WILL
LEAD
DURING FEB. 13 MORAL
MARCH
By Cash Michaels
Reporter
For the
past ten years, the annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street Moral March and
People’s Assembly in Raleigh has not only always involved young people, but
also empowered them as well.
“Every Moral reconstruction
movement has had young people at the center of its development,” Rev. William
Barber, president of the NCNAACP and convener of the upcoming Moral March/HK on
J People’s Assembly on Feb. 13th, says. “In the 1960s during the
civil rights movement, in the second reconstruction youth - black, white and Jewish - were at the
center. And so it must be as we build a modern day third reconstruction moral
movement today.”
This year,
young people, known as the #JusticeSquad, will actually lead the Moral March
through downtown Raleigh to the Fayetteville Street Mall side of the State
Capitol, where the People’s Assembly will take place. It is there where young
activists will then pass out pledge-to-vote cards and literature to attendees
for both the March 15th primaries and the Nov. 8th
general elections. There will also be tables for voter registration.
Applicants
can register online at HKonJ.com on the home page by clicking the “sign up”
link per the third choice under “#Become a MoralMarch Volunteer.”
“Dr. Barber
felt that it would be amazing if this year, we had 200 young people leading
this march,” Ty Lawson, NCNAACP Field Secretary, said. “We’re getting the youth
involved and saying, hey, it’s our time.”
“Over fifty
years ago there were young folks out in the streets registering people to vote,
fighting for this cause. Now it’s time for us to answer the call of duty. It
worked then; it’s going to work now. We’re going to make sure we get the job
done.”
Indeed,
voter registration for the March 15th primary ends on Friday,
February 19th, with early voting beginning on Thursday, March 3rd
and ending Saturday March 12th at 1 p.m.
Young
people have always played a role in the Forward Together Movement, Lawson says,
recalling how he took part several years ago. “We’ve built a movement that’s
inclusive. This is an intergenerational movement, and everyone has their eyes
on the prize – making sure that our right to vote is no longer being attacked.
And our Youth Council and College Division is very strong…. doing great work
and mobilizing or HK on J.”
Lawson says
the strong, principled leadership of NCNAACP Pres. Rev. William Barber inspires
everyone across race, gender and generational lines, but he is particularly
inspirational to young people.
“He’s such
a charismatic leader. Young people across the state see that leadership and
wisdom. It’s not a movement that has young people on one side and older people
on the other. It’s a movement that has all of our issues at the core.”
Lawson says
young people who take part in the Moral March should be proud.
“This is
our moment. This is the generation that this world has been looking for, and we
need to answer to that call.”
The Tenth
Annual Moral March on Raleigh/HK on J People’s Assembly is scheduled for
Saturday, Feb. 13th. Marchers will gather across the street from
Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium at 8:30 a.m. for a pre-march rally. Then at 10
a.m., the march down the Fayetteville Street Mall to the State Capitol begins.
For more information go to www.hkonj.com.
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SPAULDING AGGRESSIVE
IN COOPER FACEOFF
By Cash Michaels
Editor
If one
wondered by state Attorney Gen. Roy Cooper has consistently ignored challenges
by Durham attorney Ken Spaulding to debate prior to the March 15th
Democratic gubernatorial primaries, their first, and so far only faceoff last
Friday gave good reason.
Both men
sat next to each during the NC Democratic Party African-American and
Hispanic Caucuses Debate before a packed
room at the Goodwin House, and Spaulding stayed in the hunt, accusing the state
attorney general of everything from colluding with the Republicans in defending
the controversial voter ID law in court, to not doing his duty in deciding not
to retry a Charlotte – Mecklenburg police officer who fatally shot an unarmed
black motorist in Sept. 2013.
Cooper, for
the most part, remained calm and stoic amid Spaulding’s blistering attacks,
showing virtually no emotion at all. Spaulding, however, remained fiery, not
only taking his opponent to task, but also assuring voters that he is a man of
the people, not a career politician, and that North Carolinians would have a
fair man as governor if he was nominated after the March primary to and
defeated Republican incumbent Gov. Pat McCrory Nov. 8th.
At stake
during the debate, black and Hispanic Democratic voters, who comprise over 40
percent of North Carolina’s Democratic base.
For
Hispanic voters, both Spaulding and Cooper said they supported Pres. Obama’s
immigration policies, despite Republican opposition in Congress. They also
objected to Gov. McCrory joining a lawsuit against Obama’s Executive Action on
immigration.
Both Cooper
and Spaulding vowed that if elected, they would strive to make their respective
cabinets and administrations as diverse as possible.
“That’s
what we should be about, being inclusive, “ Atty. Gen. Cooper said, indicating
that he already has a diverse office. “The first thing we have to admit is that
racism does exist.”
“I see
nothing wrong with having an African-American being the governor of North
Carolina,” atty Spaulding said to applause. “Those who serve in my
administration are going to be African-American, going to be Latino, going to
be within the white community. [They] will be very qualified people. Even
unaffiliated.”
When asked
what they would do as governor to improve the economy of North Carolina without
hurting low-income and middle-class families, Spaulding said he was already
doing it by helping to attract an estimated $2 billion in investments to the
state, bringing with them thousands of jobs.
He added
that he supported business incentives, including film industry incentives in
Wilmington.
Atty Gen.
Cooper blasted Gov. McCrory for signing legislation that provided “…big tax
giveaways to out-of-state corporations at the expense of the middle-class and
our public schools.” Cooper accused McCrory of supporting a “…tax structure
that makes it harder on everyday hard-working people.” Cooper said if elected,
he would stop that, invest in North Carolina’s public schools, pay teachers
more, and promoting economic development plans in “minority communities” and
rural areas.
The
political fireworks began when both candidates were asked if they supported the
reinstatement of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in Congress, and if elected
governor, would they lead the fight to have the 2013 NC voter restrictions
repealed if Democrats take back the NC General Assembly.
Spaulding
said that he would “absolutely” have the NC voter restrictions repealed,
calling them “unconstitutional.” But then the Durham attorney and former state
lawmaker lit into Cooper.
“My opponent
sitting with me today, he’s been in court with the Republicans, fighting on
behalf of them, and against the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, the people
of North Carolina, on a constitutional issue he did not have to represent the
state on,” Spaulding charged.
“So I want
you to understand, there is a clear distinction here. My opponent has been on
the wrong side of this issue.”
Unfazed,
the state attorney general told the audience not only does he “strongly” support
efforts in Congress to reinstate the 1965 VRA, but that his office joined with
the NCNAACP in filing an amicus brief in court supporting the VRA.
“There is
no question that I’m very much opposed to the voter restrictions that were put
in place by Gov. McCrory and the
Republican leadership,” Cooper said, reminding all that he sent a letter to
McCrory to veto the law.
The state
attorney general indicated that despite his personal opposition to voter ID,
his office is obligated to defend the state anytime it is taken to court, as in
the case of the federal trial in Winston-Salem where the voter ID case wrapped
up Monday.
“It is the
duty of the office of attorney general to defend the state when it gets sued.
One of the reasons why I am running for governor is I am sick and tired of the
laws that are being passed by this governor, and this General Assembly. What I
want to do is change it,” Cooper said.
As to how,
as governor, each man would address high unemployment rates among African-Americans
and Latinos, Cooper said beyond investment in improving education, he would
push for a living wage to help left people out of poverty, and better
employment opportunities.
Atty.
Spaulding said he supports raising the minimum wage to $15.00/hr. “At the end
of a Spaulding term, we will have that done,” he pledged.
In his
closing remarks, Cooper thanks people for coming out to “this spirited and very
informative forum,” a clear reference to the attacks from his opponent, Ken
Spaulding. Cooper did state categorically that “Gov. McCrory has the wrong
priorities for North Carolina.”
Spaulding,
in his closing two-minute remarks, continued to put heat on Cooper. The Durham
attorney denied being “an angry black man,” but did describe himself as
“…having passion about these issue.”
“I’m a
fighter for the people. I’m a fighter for those who are voiceless. I don’t run
away from my ethnicity. Black lives do matter. As an African-American or black
man myself, my life does matter. And I disagree with an attorney general, who
in Charlotte with the [Police Officer] Kerik [shooting unarmed black man] case,
Where you had an opportunity to have a
second trial, when a young man who graduated from Florida A & M, was shot
ten times and killed, And they couldn’t summon up enough energy, enough effort,
to be able to have a second trial . That’s not right!”
Spaulding
went on to openly challenge Cooper to
“stand up strong, and make sure that our criminal justice is one for all North
Carolinians.”
Atty. Gen.
Cooper was offered the opportunity to defend his decision not to pursue a
second trial, but he declined.
Currently,
Cooper is leading Spaulding
substantially in the polls, and neck-and-neck with Gov. McCrory. Atty Spaulding
has been campaigning for governor for the past two years.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS 2-04-16
PANTHER’S NEWTON
DISMISS TALK OF RACE
[SAN
JOSE, CALIF] Cam Newton, the black quarterback of the Carolina Panthers leading
his team against the Denver Broncos in Sunday’s Super Bowl, is tired of being
pigeonholed by the press as just a “black quarterback” because, he says the
game is bigger than that. “When I go places and I talk to kids and I talk to parents and I
talk to athletes all over, they look at my story and they see a person —
African-American or not — they see something that they can relate to. They see
a guy who went a different route than just going to a major Division I school
and flourishing there.”
Newton follows in the footsteps of Doug Wiilaims, Steve McNair, Donavan McNabb,
Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson as black quarterbacks who’ve played in the
Super Bowl.
IMPORTANT ELECTION DATES
[CHARLOTTE] With the March 15th
primaries fast approaching, there are key dates that voters need to remember.
Absentee voting is now available per your county board of election office.
Friday, February 19 is when voter registration for the March 15th
primary ends. Thursday, March 3 begins the early voting period for the
primaries. Tuesday, March 8 is the deadline for absentee ballots to be received
for the March 15th primaries. Saturday, March 15 at 1 p.m. I the
deadline for early voting to end for the primaries. Tuesday, March 15th
is the Primary Election Day statewide. Tuesday, March 22 is when all valid
provisional and absentee ballots are counted.
NCNAACP PRESENTS “OUR VOTING RIGHTS AT
RISK” ISSUES FORUM SATURDAY
[DURHAM] The NCNAACP and Forward
Together Movement kicks off it’s Issues Forum series with “Our Voting Rights at
Risk: The High Stakes of the 2016 Election Cycle” this Saturday, Feb. 6th,
starting at 9:30 a.m. at the NCCU School of Law, 640 Nelson Street, Durham.
Panelists include state lawmakers Dan Blue, Floyd McKissick, Jr., Larry Hall
and Mickey Michaux, along with North Carolina congressmen G. K. Butterfield and
David Price. The event is free and open to the public.
-30-
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
FO 2-04-16
YMCA PURCHASES ROCK
QUARRY ROAD FLEA MARKET SITE
The YMCA of the Triangle has
purchased the 32-acre site of the former Watson’s Flea Market off Rock Quarry
Road near I-40 for construction of a future facility, published reports
say. Y leaders say the new facility will
be designed to fit the needs of Southeast Raleigh residents, and surveys are
being conducted to determine those needs. Beyond the Y, affordable housing, a
school, a health care center, and even a grocery is envisioned for the new
site. A $15 million campaign to develop the site so far as raised some $3
million.
UNC-CHAPEL HILL
ANNOUNCES INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS RACE ON CAMPUS
After black
students made clear during a town hall last November that they did not feel
they were part of the overall student community because of racial bias, UNC –
Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt has now announced several initiatives to
address those concerns. There will be a survey to determine campus climate;
black students will now have a designated space to gather; student orientation
programs will now have an emphasis on diversity, and all campus administrators
will undergo training on structural racism.
MOORE SQUARE PARK
REVITALIZATION PLANS APPROVED
It’s taken
a while, but revitalization plans for the 4-acre Moore Square Park in downtown
Raleigh have been approved by state officials. The master plan has been on the
table since 2011, but has taken five years to fine-tune the details. Plans
include a water feature, natural play are for kids, a café and restroom area,
along with a plaza for concerts. The park, which is owned by the state but
managed by the city of Raleigh, is expected to be closed soon for renovations, but
will reopen by 2017.
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