CASH IN THE APPLE FOR
09-28-17
By Cash Michaels
BARBARIAN-IN-CHIEF
– If you’re reading this, that means neither the dangerous nut in North Korea,
nor the dangerous nut we have for a president here have ordered their military forces to Red
Alert yet. But all of us literally counting the days, hours, and maybe even
minutes before mushroom clouds become as plentiful as fish in the sea (assuming
any fish will be left in the sea after these two morons finish proving who is
the most macho nut).
So
while we all wait for the Mother of all nuclear wars to commence, Pres. Trump,
who just loves turmoil as long as he’s the one causing it, at the center of it,
and ultimately gets the headlines from it, is doing his gut-level best to start
a civil war here in the states, this time over black NFL football players, like
former 49ners quarterback Colin Kapernick, who, during the playing of the
National Anthem before a game, take a silent knee to express displeasure with
this nation’s hypocrisy of preaching “freedom and justice for all, while
tolerating gun-happy police officers mercilessly killing black people in the
streets, and getting away with it.
Whatever
one thinks of Colin Kaepernick, you have to admit that it takes guts to take a
stand on this issue to force folks to realize that there is more to life than just
playing football, or watching entertainment. Kaepernick, and other black
players like him who have also taken a knee in protest, are conscientiously
saying, “Wake up, America!”
They want all of us to do something to stop the carnage and
bloodshed. Kaepernick and Co. aren’t anti-police…they’re anti-police violence,
and they want it stopped now!
Naturally
there are those who believe that police officers can do no wrong just because
they wear a badge and a gun. Further, these folks believe that professional
athletes shouldn’t have political opinions, or at the very least, should keep
them to themselves.
Factually
and obviously, they’re very wrong on both counts.
Forget
all of the years prior. Just in recent weeks, we’ve all seen video a cop
manhandling and then arresting an emergency room nurse all because she refused
to break established legal procedure by taking blood from an unconscious
patient without his consent. That officer was later fired, and rightly so.
Then
there’s that dashcam video from Georgia when a white officer tells a white
female motorist that she doesn’t have to worry about him harming her in any way
because she’s not black, and “…we only shoot black people.”
No,
I haven’t checked that officer’s employment status, but it wouldn’t surprise me
if they haven’t made him chief by now!
As
for athletes expressing political opinions, please! Muhammad Ali helped turn
the tide against the unjust Vietnam War because of his opposition. Tommie Smith
and John Carlos, two African-American 1968 Olympic medal winners, stood before
the world with raised clenched fists, symbolizing solidarity for racial
justice.
And
please don’t tell me that after the assassination of Pres. Kennedy, or the
terrorist attacks on 9/11, and certainly at the Boston Red Sox game after
the 2013 Boston Marathon terrorist attack, Americans of all stripes didn’t
stand in solidarity before sporting events against injustice.
But
guess who doesn’t see it that way? That’s right, and given Pres. Trump’s white
supremacist attitude, his line of thinking, as clearly expressed during a
raucous political rally in Alabama last Friday night, was that NFL owners
should “fire the son-of-a-b---es” football players who kneel during the
National Anthem.” And Trump used that language too.
Needless
to say everyone from the NFL commissioner, to the players themselves lashed
back at “massuh” Trump. The fact that not one white NFL player is on record for
taking a knee in concert with Kaepernick, means that he was disrespecting black
NFL players.
And
then, had the gall to go after NBA champion Golden State Warriors Steph Curry
for saying he didn’t want to go to the White House to pose and grin with Trump.
So the barbarian-in-chief disinvites the whole team. LeBron and many other
players didn’t like that, with LeBrom calling Trump “U bum…” on Twitter.
And
that was our weekend here in the United States…waiting for imminent nuclear Armageddon,
recovering from four hurricanes and three earthquakes, and a forest fire.
Isn’t
life here just dandy?
-30-
BISHOP DR. WILLIAM J. BARBER II, NCNAACP PRESIDENT
BISHOP BARBER ANSWERS
GOD’S
CONTINUING CALL (PART
ONE)
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
The
upcoming NC NAACP 74th Annual Convention in Raleigh Oct. 5-7, will
be the last for Bishop Dr. William J. Barber II as the civil rights
organization’s president.
“Anytime
you have given a life’s commitment to something, your emotions are mixed,” he
admitted during a phone interview recently. “ I started out as the president of
the Youth branch of the Washington County NAACP when I was a high school
student.”
“A
lot has happened [since then], and I think about those moments,” Barber said,
reflecting. “I never dreamed that I would have the opportunity, as an adult, to
serve this particular state conference that has had such a storied history, and
such an important role in the cause of civil rights.”
For
12 controversial, yet dynamic and productive years in terms of social change in
the state, Dr. Barber, who is also the pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church in
Goldsboro, has led what once was considered, by some, a group that meandered
after the 1985 death of legendary leader, state President (and later national
board chairman) Kelly Alexander, Sr. of Charlotte.
“It
had become a dormant and ineffective organization which had the label of being
the defender of civil and constitutional rights in North Carolina for
African-Americans, but had lost its will and ability to fight the critical
battles which needed to be fought,” says attorney Irving Joyner, chair of the
NC NAACP Legal Redress Committee.
But
when Rev. “Billie” Barber, as some once knew him, took over as president in
2005, he brought with him a non-nonsense brand of leadership, challenging the
political and social power structure statewide to heed the cries of the
disenfranchised for justice and equality.
Barber
ultimately created, and then led, a multi-racial, multi-generational coalition
of social activists from every corner of the state, building the largest state
NAACP conference in the South, making him a force to be seriously reckoned with
by every political leader in North Carolina.
And
he also challenged the state’s NAACP membership to be more accountable to the
needs of the respective communities they serve, and not be afraid to speak
truth to power by filling the streets, churches and local government meetings
with a defiant energy that ultimately became a powerful, and potent political force
to be reckoned with by both Democrats and Republicans.
“He
was fearless because he had faith, and because he had faith, he was able to
energize a mass movement that was dedicated to challenging the powerful and
ruthless political leadership in North Carolina,” Joyner, also a professor at
NCCU School of Law in Durham adds.
With
an impressive history behind him of Historic Thousands on Jones Street marches
and rallies; Forward Together/Moral Monday Movement demonstrations; Wake School
Board protests (where he was handcuffed by police and jailed for disrupting proceedings); several Million Voters
March registration campaigns; lobbying for One Stop/Early Voting ( which
ultimately helped Barack Obama win North Carolina, and the White House in
2008); the Truth and Hope statewide poverty tour; countless sermons and
speeches (including at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in
Philadelphia); numerous court victories against the Republican-led NC General
Assembly to defeat voter suppression laws and schemes; and so many other
accomplishments, in an exclusive interview with the Black Press, Dr. Barber now
looks back with great pride, and a little regret in some cases, at a social
justice record that many say has propelled him firmly to the national, and even
international stage, as he prepares to fully join the national Poor People’s
campaign.
But
Barber’s legacy is both sustaining, and daunting, especially for the two
hopefuls vying to be elected to succeed him next week.
“Bishop Barber is a teacher,” Rev.
Dr. Portia Rochelle, president of the Raleigh-Apex NAACP Branch, says. “He is
one that has a vision, makes sure that you understand that vision, makes sure
that you understand that vision and your place, your role and your value in
making the vision come forth. So I believe that whoever succeeds …follows that
role model, will do great.”
Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, NCNAACP
Third Vice President, and senior pastor of St. Phillips AME Zion Church in
Greensboro, who also seeks Dr. Barber’s seat, concurs.
“I’ve seen a great deal of merit in
the work of Dr. William J. Barber II,” Rev. Spearman says, “ and want to see
this movement continue [as] over the course of the 12 years that he [has]
served in leadership.”
For his part, Dr. Barber, 54, born
two days after the historic 1963 March on Washington in Indianapolis, Ind.,
says leading the fight just to “hold on” to the many civil rights gains his
parents, and many others before him fought to make, has “been very sobering.”
“It’s been challenging,
extraordinarily humbling, it’s been rewarding to work with the people in the
state conference, and I can’t say that I won’t miss serving. I love serving,
I’ve learned serving, and my greatest prayer [for] the state conference, is
that if I’ve done anything that has been beneficial to this state moving
forward, and helped to bring people together, that those things that were done
well will be continued.”
-30-
NCNAACP CONVENTION TO
FEATURE
REV. JACKSON, SEN.
BOOKER, ROLAND MARTIN
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
When
the 74th Annual NC NAACP Convention opens at the Raleigh Convention
Center, Thursday, October 5th through Saturday, Oct. 7th,
it’s theme will be a familiar, yet defiant one: “Forward Together, Not One Step
Back…For Justice We Never Sound Retreat!”
“We have an exciting convention for
you,” said Daphne Holmes Johnson, NCNAACP Convention Planning Chair, during a
recent press conference in Raleigh. “This is a civil rights convention for you
to learn, to be entertained, to be prayed for, to continue the movement.” We will
bring you many, many speakers, many plenary workshops, and you will get to have
fellowship with the greater area of Raleigh, and othe members that join us from
across the nation.”
With
Bishop Dr. William Barber stepping down as state NCNAACP president during the
convention after 12 years at the helm, the Executive Committee voted to
officially designate him as state president emeritus of the conference and a
permanent member of the committee.
The
NCNAACP Convention will kick-off on Thursday, Oct. 5th with
Religious Emphasis Day, and will start the day with a remembrance of all of the
now deceased NAACP members of the past year.
Per
the luncheon, Rev. Julie Peeples of Congregational United Church of Christ Greensboro
will be the luncheon speaker.
After
lunch, a special “Forward Justice” session featuring veteran civil rights
leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and others to talk about the next phases in the
fight for voting rights, including automatic voter registration.
Also
speaking on Religious Emphasis Day, Rev. Liz Theoharris, co-chair of the
revived Poor People’s Campaign that Bishop Barber has committed to after he
leaves as NCNAACP president.
During
that Thursday night mass meeting, the first time NC NAACP history when a Jewish
rabbi, Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform
Judaism, will be the keynoter, scheduled for Martin Street Baptist Church, 1001
East Martin Street in Raleigh.
Other
events during the course of the NCNAACP’s 74th Annual Convention
include workshops on voting rights, and an overview of what the Republican-led
NC General Assembly has done regarding redistricting (the legislature
coincidentally reconvenes in Special Session on Wednesday, Oct. 4th,
where it is expected, among other issues, to take up judicial redistricting).
Friday
morning, Oct. 6th at 9:30 a.m., the convention will feature “The Great
Debate” presented by the NCNAACP Education Committee, and moderated by Dr.
Terrence Ruth, Ph.D, the new executive director of the state conference. The topic:
how should charter and /or traditional schools help low-performing students?
On
Saturday morning, October 7th, at 10:30, the last day of the
convention, Bishop Barber will deliver his final State of the State address on
civil rights, as president. Barber said he will not say farewell, but “thank
you,” and talk about the road ahead in the struggle for freedom, justice and
equality.
Other
notables invited to appear at the 74th NCNAACP Convention include
new interim NAACP national Pres./CEO Derrick Johnson, U.S. Sen. Corey Booker
(D-NJ) and prominent black journalist Roland Martin, who will be the keynote
speaker for the Saturday evening Freedom Fund Banquet.
For
more information go to www.naacpnc.org.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 09-28-17
WILMINGTON SEES BIG
IMPROVEMENT IN CRIME STATS
[WILMINGTON] – The latest FBI Crime Report is out and
Wilmington’s overall crime totals and rates for 2016 improved over the previous
year. The violent crime rate per 100,000 population dropped by 16% in 2016. The
ranking also showed that Wilmington had lower crime totals than cities like
High Point and Fayetteville. “I believe these numbers are a reflection of our
efforts to focus on gang violence as well as our joint efforts with partnering
law enforcement agencies,” says Ralph Evangelous, Chief of Police. “None of
this would be possible without our community and those who go the extra mile to
support us in the fight against crime .”
REP. ADAMS SPEAKS OUT
ON NFL PROTESTS
[CHARLOTTE]
In the aftermath of Pres. Trump calling any National Football League player who
protests during the National Anthem “a son of a b---h” who should be fired by
his team owner, Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC-12) released the following statement:
“NFL protests are not about patriotism, our flag, or the
anthem – they’re about systematic inequity and we must not lose sight of that,” said Congresswoman Adams.
“Throughout history, American athletes have been at the forefront of the fight
for social justice. Today, over 70 percent of NFL players are African
American, some of whom have been subjected to the same racial profiling and
police misconduct that they are speaking out against on game day. In a city
that has been personally touched by this very issue, we should all listen and
learn from their advocacy.”
NEW REPORT SAY
ONE OF NINE NC DRIVERS HAVE SUSPENDED LICENSES
[RALEIGH]
Approximately one million drivers in North Carolina have had their driver’s
licenses suspended because either they owe money to a court, and haven’t paid
up, or they failed to show up for a court proceeding. Experts say that amounts
to one in nine drivers statewide. The result – many of these drivers are behind
the wheel illegally, and may or may not get caught. Experts add that North Carolina
law, though more lenient that many other states, still delays the process of
suspended licenses being returned in a timely fashion. These findings are in a
new report issued this week by the Legal Aid Justice Center. The report adds
that many drivers barely earn enough money to pay the outstanding fees
associated with losing their licenses.
-30-
