REPORT: REV. DR. SPEARMAN
DIED OF “SELF-INFLICTED
GUNSHOT WOUND TO HEAD”
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
According to the “summary and interpretation” from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the cause of death of Rev. Dr. Theodore Anthony Spearman, former president of the North Carolina NAACP, “is attributed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound of the head resulting in significant internal injury involving the skull and brain matter.
The summary continued, “a bullet associated with the firearm discharge involved was recovered from the body at the time of the autopsy.”
But the summary has another startling revelation.
“Postmortem examination additionally revealed apparent self-inflicted small superficial cuts along the inside of both wrists- which did not substantially contribute to the demise.”
The report earlier states under “No contributory non-firearm injury identified - incised wounds of wrists, apparently self-inflicted using an X-ACTO knife.”
“No contributory natural disease is identified; and toxicological analysis of the blood showed no evidence of alcohol consumption.”
The final line of the summary makes clear how Dr. Spearman died.
“In view of the overall death investigation and postmortem examination findings, the manner of death is classified as Suicide.”
Indeed the official “certification cause of death” is listed as “gunshot wound to the head.”
The listed “Direction of fire” for the “projectile track” of the bullet that killed Rev. Dr. Spearman “is from the decedent's right to left and slightly front to back. “
As reported by the Black Press in July of last year, the lifeless body of Rev. Dr. Spearman was found in the basement of his Greensboro home, spread out on a couch amid a large pool of blood, by then Greensboro NAACP President Bradley Hunt, on the afternoon of July 19, 2022. According to the ME’s report, the autopsy was conducted on July 27, 2022. The medical examiner of record was Nabila Haikai MD, who signed off on the report on February 14, 2023.
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WILL NEW NC DEMOCRATIC
PARTY CHAIRWOMAN HELP OR
HURT BLACK INTERESTS?
By Cash Michaels
The challenges facing the NC Democratic Party (NCDP) are great, especially with the 2024 presidential and gubernatorial elections quickly coming up, and all North Carolina Democrats have to show for preparation is a continuing streak of losing big elections, and with it, a poor standing with the state’s black voters.
A common complaint of Black Democrats is that while the party is always asking for support, it doesn’t deliver tangible returns on African-American issues. Observers say that’s hard to do when the NCDP hasn’t been able to win the NC General Assembly back since 2010, has not won a U.S. Senate seat since 2008, has not helped elect a president since 2008, and in the 2022 midterm elections, didn’t even bother to put up a candidate in at least 40 House races, in addition to decisively losing the majority on the NC Supreme Court.
Post-2022 midterm election numbers show that among those who did not show up in sufficient numbers to make the difference, African-American Democrats led the way. This was especially troubling given that former NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley lost an inspired bid to be elected the first Black woman elected the U.S. Senate from North Carolina.
While the picture for the 2024 presidential contest is still coming together (will the embattled Democrat President Joe Biden run for reelection with Vice Pres. Kamala Harris by his side? And will controversial Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continue to undermine former Republican Pres. Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination?), and the race for North Carolina governor is starting to shape up between expected candidates Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Democrat State Attorney General Josh Stein, there is no question that how strong the NC Democratic Party is going forward to 2024 will determine who wins these elections just around the corner.
And that’s why last weekend’s NCDP Executive Committee election of new leadership for the next two years was so important. The new chairperson, Anderson Clayton, 25 of Roxboro, currently the chair of the Person County Democratic Party, promised fresh, young, energetic and inclusive leadership in her bid to unseat former NC House member Bobbie Richardson, 73, the first African-American to chair the NCDP, and her leadership team which included former state Sen. Floyd McKissick Jr., 70, as first vice chair.
Richardson had the backing of the state Democratic Party establishment, including Governor Roy Cooper, but to no avail.
A young white woman barely out of college, Ms. Clayton will now get her chance to prove her vision amid a daunting record of consistent electoral failure that has convinced the average NC Democrat that their party simply can’t win.
Not only must she adequately and efficiently mobilize the party’s resources to convince African-American Democrats, the most loyal base of the party, that their support means something, but she must also convince rural white voters throughout the state that her party is the one which has their best interests at heart.
The Republican Party in North Carolina has been wildly effective in convincing rural white voters that Democrats are liberals who just want to tax them blind, then spend their money to support so-called “woke” social policies like critical race theory that are cratering the country.
How can NCDP Chairwoman-elect Clayton succeed where other, more seasoned Democrat leaders have not remains to be seen. But if a July 2021 interview with the rural website The Daily Yonder is any indication, Ms. Clayton’s reasoning for wanting to see more of a Democratic presence in rural North Carolina areas may give her leadership a fighting chance.
Clayton was 23 at the time of her remarks to The Daily Yonder, had graduated Appalachian State University in 2019, and then worked for the Kamala Harris’ and Elizabeth Warren 2020 presidential campaigns “in the cornfields of Iowa.” Doing so convinced her that what she was doing in rural Iowa could be done back home in rural Person County.
Ms. Clayton continued that the rural Democrat caucus voters of Iowa taught her that for them, “it was about people, not partisanship or politics.”
“They believed in having intentional conversations with folks that didn’t agree with them, because they knew it was about building a coalition of rural people to show that we live in these communities too, Clayton said. “And honestly, I had never seen anything like it. Growing up in Person County, no one ever said they were a Democrat out loud, and I knew if there were people like this in rural Iowa, there were people like this in rural North Carolina.”
Clayton continued, “I leaned into the Iowa experience, and realized that the way to make changes in places like where I grew up was to go home and actually organize there. Rural Iowans felt forgotten, and I was the first organizer they met who believed deeply in the possibilities of their communities.”
She also realized upon coming back home to rural North Carolina that she needed to “…organize in order to make Person County a place that young people with bright ideas don’t feel forced to leave, but instead want to come back home to.”
Later on in the interview, Ms. Clayton said disinformation, a lack of organizing and a lack of pride for what the Democratic Party stands for, are what is killing the party in rural areas. She made clear that organizing just can’t happen in those communities around election time, but year-round, 24/7.
“So, my issue is that when the Democratic Party abandoned rural America, they gave way to Republican fear mongering controlling our communities. County parties are supposed to be the grassroots, or the “local voice” of the Democratic Party. Yet in rural communities, Democratic county parties are struggling or non-existent, and have been since the national party diverted it’s attention from focusing efforts on organizing in rural America.”
Anderson Clayton isn’t under any illusion that it is going to take several election cycles before the NCDP will be able to turn rural North Carolina around. But to do that, Clayton haas outlined a five-point-plan she says can strengthen the party not only in rural areas, but across the state.
Reinvest in local county parties; establish a year-round presence and support in the community; funding a better NCDP; engaging Democrats for the future; and messaging what matters.
And Clayton dares to express a vision that goes beyond the 2024 elections.
“We need to prepare for an important date: Election Day 2030,” she says. “For Democrats to have a seat at the table when redistricting happens, we must have a plan to win back the NC General Assembly. Our job as a party is to prepare now to get us there.”
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HELP FOR LOW INCOME RESIDENTS
LOOKING FOR HOME HEATING
BILL ASSISTANCE
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Depending on where you live in North Carolina, your monthly bill to heat your home or apartment could be extremely high this winter as temperatures have hit the low 20’s and below in most areas. And if you’re low-income, your monthly home heating bill could cost hundreds of dollars, putting a strain on other utility costs to get through the rough winter.
That’s why if you’re low income, you should know about the resources available to help you pay your high heating bills so that you and your family don’t get cutoff.
Right now, thanks to a rate increase, more North Carolinians this winter are seeking help with their high heating bills. According to published reports, there has been a five percent increase (or over 117,000) in applications to the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) over this same time in 2022 statewide, reports the NC Dept. of Health and Human Services.
Based on your income, you can apply through March 31st (or until the funding runs out) for LIEAP funding to help with your heating bills. If granted, you will receive a one time grant in assistance. Applicants must meet income qualification requirements.
You are automatically qualified for LIEAP assistance if you participate in the SNAP food stamps program, TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) program, or receive Social Security benefits.
North Carolina has $125.3 million for its LIEAP program from a federal block grant. That funding is allocated to all 100 counties based on a formula that considers population and households that are receiving food stamp benefits.
If you need assistance, apply through your county LIEAP office. Call your local county Department of Social Services office, or go online, and enter your county, and then “LIEAP office” to find out where it is, how to contact it, and how to obtain an application for home heating assistance.
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