CASH IN THE APPLE FOR
8-31-17
By Cash Michaels
OUR
COLLECTIVE NERVOUS BREAKDOWN – I defy anyone to prove to me that we, as a
nation, are not going through a collective nervous breakdown right now. I mean
we’ve got bad news after bad news just seemingly piling up everyday on
television or in the newspapers.
Don’t
get me wrong – we’ve been through this before with the civil rights movement,
the Vietnam War, and yes, even the Watergate scandal. And after each one, for
better or for worse, our nation has come out a bit different than before the
experience.
But
what we’re going through right now is definitely, and literally, shaking us to
our core.
There
can be little doubt that all of us are still recovering (if you want to call it
that) from the tumultuous 2016 presidential election, and the highly unlikely
emergence of Donald Trump as the Republican nominee. The fact that such a
crass, greedy pig of a man would even be seriously considered by a major party
for the highest office in the world still sends chills down my spine. And yet,
controversy after controversy failed to derail this heathen from the race.
To
add insult to injury, while the Republican Party found itself literally being
manhandled by the Trump force, the Democratic Party was being divided by a
definitive split caused by the candidacy of outsider and insurgent Sen. Bernie
Sanders challenging party standardbearer Hillary Clinton. Yes, Hillary had
plenty of baggage, and lots she had to answer for, the least of which was
explaining her private email server in her home for official business while
serving as secretary of State. And then, of course, big money she accepted as
speaking fees from well-heeled Wall Street interests.
So
both major political parties were having hear attacks, and the nation was faced
with some difficult, scandal-a-day choices leading right into the November 2016
elections, where the shock really came – Trump won!
To
say that everyone with any sense was speechless, is an understatement. It
seemed certain that Hillary had the election sewn up…until the results began
coming in, and she stalled. All of a sudden, we were all left with figuring out
just how bad a Trump presidency could possibly be, based on what we knew of his
past history of both personal and professional disasters.
When
January 20th, 2017, we immediately found out, as Trump gave a red
meat inauguration speech, sending a clear message that the days of solid,
reasoned leadership by outgoing Pres. Barack Obama were definitely over.
It
wasn’t long before we got baldfaced lies, and more lies from the White House
about literally everything, and the premature pronouncements about the death of
Obamacare and how a Republican-led Congress, along with this
“take-no-prisoners” new Republican president, were going to radically change
America “forever.”
There
were court fights over Trump’s Muslim-ban; stunning revelations that Russia had
tried to influence the US presidential elections, with growing evidence that it
was in concert with the Trump campaign; the firing of FBI Director James Comey
and resulting controversy of allegations that Trump was attempting to shut down
the FBI investigation into his campaign; accused former Pres. Obama of
illegally wiretapping him before he was elected; hiring a paid agent for a
foreign government to be his national security advisor, only to fire him for
lying to Vice President Pence….and the list of Trump outrages continued into
this week with a frightening war of words with North Korea, the fatal tragedy
in Charlottesville, Trump rhetorically patting white supremacists on the back
as “fine people,” and the list goes on and on.
And
now we have a monster hurricane which has devastated parts of Texas, and North
Korea has indeed fired a missile that has landed in the sea of Japan.
How
much more can we take?
It
seems as if we’re all at each other’s throats, and that things are getting
worse, not better. More importantly, there seems to be no moral leadership we
can point to. Even leaders of the church seem to be in our crooked president’s
back pocket.
Yes,
we are having a collective nervous breakdown, and it seems to be getting worse
every day.
And
yet, we’ve been here before, and we’ve come out of it stronger and wiser.
We
can only hope and pray to GOD that that is exactly what will happen after this
trying experience.
The
only question left is …when?
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NC Associate Justice Cheri Beasley
NC Associate Justice Michael Morgan
US Fourth Circuit Judge James A. Wynn, Jr.
Congressman G. K. Butterfield
SOME PREDICT NEW MAPS
COULD END UP BACK IN
US SUPREME COURT
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Republican
legislative leaders insist that they redrawn fair maps per the federal court’s
directive, making sure that race has played no part in their construction.
Thus, both the state House and Senate Republican majorities have approved their
maps with few changes, over the objections of Democrats, and citizens statewide
who pleaded for a nonpartisan process.
Anita
Earls, lead attorney in the Covington lawsuit that led to the US Supreme Court
and a federal court to order the GOP-led legislature to redraw the voting
districts,
maintains that is “just lying” that the court eliminated the
use of race in redrawing the districts. The federal court clearly ruled that
race could not be the predominate factor.
“This
is the worst [racial] gerrymander anyone has seen in the country,” Earls said
Tuesday, adding that The Republican spin on the court directive is just “open
defiance.”
Those
maps will be submitted to the three-judge panel on Friday, Sept. 1st
for judicial review. If approved, those redrawn districts (28 of 170 were ruled
to have been illegal racial gerrymanders when drawn per the 2011 redistricting
plan), will be in effect for the 2018 midterm elections.
Democrats,
on the other hand, counter that the process was anything but fair; highly
partisan, and the newly redrawn maps will be seen as equally inadequate as
before.
“I would have
hoped that we could have worked more with the majority party on creating fair
maps,” said Sen. Paul Lowe (D-Forsyth) “There’s nothing magical in creating
fair, legal, compact districts. Whether or not the committee looked at race,
the court will. You can’t say that you’ve fixed the issue if you haven’t done
the appropriate analysis. A more balanced representation encourages more robust
debate and discussion and creates better, more balanced policy for the people.
I look forward to serving the people of Forsyth County as I seek re-election.”
Rep.
Pricey Harrison (D- Guilford) shared the frustration.
“…[T]he proposed
plans do not offer an adequate remedy and do not represent appropriate remedies
free from other constitutional flaws, including racial gerrymandering and
grossly unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering, “Rep. Harrison said. The
proposed maps also violate the state constitution’s Whole County Provision. In
addition, the proposed Wake and Mecklenberg maps violate the state
constitution’s prohibition on mid-decade redistricting. I believe
the maps will be challenged and may have a hard time passing muster with the
federal court. I do not know if that will affect the 2018 elections, but we
will be spending more taxpayer money defending the indefensible.
Republican Rep. Donny Lambeth said
he wasn’t sure whether the new maps will be a done deal with the federal court,
but feels the court’s directions were properly followed.
“Always hard to
know and predict,” the Forsyth County Republican said. “It appears the
committee who worked on this followed the court order and it has been done by
the deadline.”
State
Sen. Joyce Krawlec (R-Forsyth) also believes the redistricting process was
fair.
“The redistricting hearings have
been thorough, transparent and citizens have had the opportunity to provide
input. I believe the districts are fair and constitutional. Only time will tell
if another court case will be forthcoming. I do believe the districts will
eventually be upheld and midterm elections will take place as scheduled.”
But state Sen. Gladys Robinson
(D-Guilford) clearly has little faith in the new GOP-drawn maps, and feels that
the federal court may have to be the final arbiter.
“North Carolina is actually a purple state-
having 2.6 million Democrats; 2 million Republicans and 2 million unaffiliated
voters. So the reality is that manipulating the districts to be majority
Republican is neither fair, nor legal,” Sen. Robinson says. “The Republicans
insisted that they did not consider race, but how can you remedy “racial
gerrymandering” without looking at how they packed the districts with African
Americans in 2010. The map they have now drawn for District 28 and even
in Cumberland Districts 19 and 20 continue to be gerrymandered based on racial
composition.”
Sen. Robinson continued, “The courts
specifically looked at my District 28 and commented on its composition.
Republicans are intent on protecting Senator Trudy Wade for whom they created a
district by packing 28. I expect that the only remedy will be in the courts.”
Robinson’s Guilford County colleague, Rep. Amos
Quick III, also a Democrat, agreed.
“The effect that we are seeing
from these maps is still that some votes don't count as much as others,” Rep.
Quick said. “The courts have implied in their past rulings that that is
unacceptable; and I hope that continues to be the case.”
Amen to that, agrees Rep. Evelyn
Terry.
“Nuanced maps favoring or
disfavoring individual interests, not fairness, will likely dominate the
decision,” she said Tuesday. “Power and money impact public policy and
political influence, absent character and integrity.”
Rep. Cecil Brockman (D-Guilford)
concurred.
“In drawing these new maps, Republicans failed to use any
racial date in order to fix their own illegal racial gerrymander. This leaves
me concerned that the General Assembly will once again have drawn illegal maps.
However, I believe an independent, non-partisan process enacted by the court
could overall be in the best interest of North Carolina voters.”
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Chief Justice Henry E. Free
PAST, PRESENT BLACK
NC
BLACK JUSTICES
HONORED
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Count
today as a landmark in North Carolina history.
For
the first time ever, all past and present African-American justices of the
North Carolina Supreme Court are being honored for their invaluable
contributions to the state’s judicial
history during a special celebration at the Law and Justice Building in
Raleigh.
The
event is part of the upcoming recognition of the 200th anniversary
of the NC Supreme Court.
“On the cusp of those Court
celebrations, it is timely that we reflect on the importance of diversity
throughout the judiciary,” says NC Associate Justice Cheri Beasley, one of the
black justices. “It's important to remember and honor Chief Justice Henry Frye
for courageously accepting the challenge to move justice forward for the people
of the state when 34 years ago, he became the first African-American to serve
on the state's highest court. His elected service began as a legislator working
to eradicate Jim Crow laws and culminated in his service as Chief Justice on
the state's highest Court.”
Justice
Beasley continued, “As former and current members of the high court, Judge
James A. Wynn, Jr., Congressman G.K. Butterfield, Justice Patricia
Timmons-Goodson, Justice Michael R. Morgan and I are beneficiaries of the noble
course Chief Justice Frye charted. In times like these when the state and the
nation wrestle with issues often marred by racial tension, we must be mindful
that it is important for the makeup of the courts to be reflective of the
diverse makeup of the state's people."
Indeed, in the 200 years of the NC Supreme Court, there
have only been six African-American members to sit on the high bench. Chief
Justice Henry Frye was the first.
Frye retired from the practice of law in 2016. A native
of Ellerbe in Richmond County and an alumnus of NC A&T University, Frye
decided to become an attorney when he was denied the right to vote after being
confronted with a “literacy test” as a young man fresh out of the military. He
graduated UNC School of Law, later becoming one of the first blacks to be
appointed as a federal prosecutor in the South.
It was 1968 when Frye was first elected to the NC
House, and 1980 when he became a state senator. In 1983, he was appointed to
the NC Supreme Court, and 16 years later, Justice Frye was appointed the first
African-American to become chief justice. He served in that capacity for two
years.
“You do the best you can because you want to set an example
for others,” Chief Justice Frye once said.
US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James A. Wynn,
Jr. was appointed to the federal bench in 2010 by then Pres. Barack Obama. But
years before, Judge Wynn briefly served on the NC Supreme Court from September
28th to November 3, 1998, after which he returned to the NC Court of
Appeals from 1999 to 2010.
The
Robersonville native holds degrees from UNC-CH, Marquette University Law, and
the University of Virginia School of Law. Afterwards, Wynn served in the US Navy’s
Judge Advocate General Corps as a JAG officer, and later a military judge.
Wynn later practice law in Greenville, and was
appointed to the NC Appellate Court in 1990 before briefly serving on the NC
Supreme Court, and then returning to the state appellate court before being
confirmed for the federal appellate bench.
Congressman G. K. Butterfield (D-12-NC) was first
elected in 2004, after serving a brief stint on the NC Supreme Court from 2001
to 2002. He returned to the Superior Court before being elected to Congress two
years later.
The Wilson native earned his law degree from North
Carolina Central University School of Law in 1974, and years later, was elected
a Resident Superior Court judge, presiding over criminal and civil cases in 46
counties.
In a telephone interview Tuesday, Butterfield said
today’s celebration really began with his suggestion that the six veteran
justices just come together and take a picture. The next thing he knew, it
evolved into a major ceremony.
“I’m excited,” the congressman said. “It’s my belief
that the judicial system must be reflective of the community that it serves.
You cannot have an all-white, and all-male judiciary. That is not democracy.”
Congressman Butterfield also paid tribute to Chief Justice
Henry Frye, calling him “the greatest American.”
The first black woman ever to serve on the NC Supreme
Court was Patricia Timmons – Goodson, from February 2006 to December 2012. The
Florence, South Carolina native earned her law degree from UNC-CH School of Law
in 1979, and Master of Laws degree from Duke University School of Law in 2014.
In the early 1980s, Timmons – Goodson served as a
prosecutor in Fayetteville, and then a staff attorney for the Lumbee River
Legal Services. In 1984, she became a District Court judge, serving four terms.
In 1997, Judge Timmons-Goodson was appointed to the NC Court of Appeals,
retiring in 2005.
In 2006, then Gov. Mike Easley appointed
Timmons-Goodson to the NC Supreme Court to take the place of the retiring
Justice Sarah Parker, becoming the first black woman to ever serve. She was
elected to continue on the high court in November 2006, stepping down in
December 2012 so that then Gov. Beverly Perdue could appoint state Court of
Appeals Judge Cheri Beasley to the seat.
Justice Timmons-Goodson was the appointed to the US Commission
on Civil Rights by Pres. Barack Obama in 2014.
Before being appointed to the NC Supreme Court, Judge
Beasley was elected to the state Court of Appeals in 2008, becoming the first
African-American woman to win a statewide office without being appointed
first. She won a full eight-year
term to the Supreme Court in 2014.
An alumna of Rutgers University and the University of
Tennessee College of Law, Beasley was appointed as a Cumberland County District
Court judge in 1999. She elected twice again until her appointment to the Court
of Appeals.
Finally, Justice Mike Morgan had been a judge for over
26 years before being elected to the state Supreme Court. He served five years
as a NC Administrative Law judge; ten years as a District Court judge; and had also
served as a Superior Court judge since 2005.
Morgan is an alumnus of Duke University, having earned
his law degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law.
Pres. Barack Obama endorsed Judge Morgan for the state
Supreme Court in 2016, saying, “Judge Morgan is a fair, experienced judge who
is more than qualified…”
Associate Justice
Mike Morgan was the last African-American to join the state’s high court,
having been elected in November 2016. He is ever mindful of the important
judicial lineage he maintains.
"This salute to those of us who have been fortunate to
serve on the Supreme Court of North Carolina is a tremendous, fulfilling
experience,” the New Bern native said. “I'm humbled to be associated with this
strong legacy of African-American justices on our state's highest court and to
be recognized with my judicial colleagues in this wonderful way. I am a
great admirer of all of them and am thrilled to share this celebration of our
service with them."
Justice Morgan is also mindful of the important contributions
made by African-Americans to the state’s judicial system.
“The richness of diversity which African-Americans have
brought to the court system of North Carolina as judges has contributed
mightily to the pursuit of justice. We've served on all levels of the
state's court system, decided the most challenging of cases, and have done so
with proven ability and with steadfast commitment to the preservation of the
rule of law."
Winston-Salem attorney Eric Ellison says having these six servants
of justice on the highest bench in the state has everlasting meaning.
“To honor our distinguished African American
Supreme Court justices is long overdue,” Ellison, who is also chair of the Forsyth
County Democratic Party, said. “I personally know that each of the honorees are
exemplary public servants and at the top of the legal profession. It is
significant to honor them because our judicial system serves a diverse
population and likewise, we need a diverse body of judges to preside over
people’s affairs. Only when our judges, juries, clerks, and police officers
reflect the community they serve, do we grow closer to liberty and justice for all.”
Irving Joyner, professor of law at NC Central University’s
School of Law, says the fine tradition of blacks serving on the NC Supreme
Court is being keenly upheld.
“Their presence on the Supreme Court bench
gives us optimism that our legal system will deliver the caliber and level of
justice to which we are entitled,” Prof. Joyner says. “Those African Americans
who have served on the Supreme Court made outstanding contributions to the state's
embracing of the "rule of law" and have elevated the North Carolina
justice system to heights which it has never attained before.”
“It is now up to us to continue the
aggressive fight for a more diverse and progressive court system at all
levels,” Joyner continued. “We are in the middle of a heated battle right now
to make our court system better responsive to the needs and aspirations of all
North Carolina citizens. We need to organize our political power bases to
resist those efforts which are designed to undermine that progress and we want
to ensure that the court system continues to be a progressive voice and moral
authority which are needed so badly in this state.”
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 08-31-17
74th
ANNUAL NC NAACP STATE CONVENTION IN RALEIGH, Oct. 5-7
[RALEIGH]
The NC NAACP has announced that its 74th Annual Convention will be
held in At the Raleigh Convention Center on the weekend of Oct. 5-7th.
The theme for this year’s convention is “Forward Together, Not One Step Back:
For Justice We NEVER Sound Retreat.” This will also be Bishop Dr. William
Barber’s last state convention as president, which he has served as for the
past 12 years. New officers for the civil rights organization will be elected
at this time.
FEDERAL COURT ALLOWS
CHALLENGES TO 2016 NC CONGRESSIONAL MAPS TO PROCEED
[RALEIGH]
Despite the fact that the US Supreme Court isn’t due to hear a Wisconsin case
on the constitutionality on partisan redistricting until next year, a
three-judge federal panel in Raleigh ruled this week that challenges to North
Carolina’s 2016 congressional maps can proceed to trial before then. The panel
rejected Republican arguments that the case should wait until the Wisconsin
case is decided. The North Carolina trial, originally scheduled for next
summer, was postponed awaiting this court’s decision.
DURHAM BOARD OF
EDUCATION VOTES TO BAN THE CONFEDERATE FLAG
[DURHAM]
In a unanimous 7-0 vote Monday, the Durham School Board decided to ban all
symbols of the confederate flag, Ku Klux Klan or Nazis from its dress code on school
campuses. The board also voted to strip the name of white supremacist Julian
Carr from the middle school building at the Durham School of the Arts. Carr, a
former confederate soldier, bragged at the dedication of the Silent Sam statute
on the campus of UNC at Chapel Hill of how he beat a black woman so bad, her
arms were ripped to shreds.
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