REV. DR. T. ANTHONY SPEARMAN
ONE YEAR AFTER DEATH,
REV. DR. T. ANTHONY
SPEARMAN REMEMBERED
By Cash Michaels
An analysis
It was one year ago this week, on the late afternoon of July 19, 2022, that the lifeless body of Rev. Dr. Theodore Anthony Spearman, former president of the N.C. State Conference of NAACP Branches, was found in the basement of his Greensboro home by an NAACP colleague.
With his slouched body resting on a couch, a wound to his head and a large pool of blood from it below him on the floor, a subsequent autopsy revealed that Dr. Spearman apparently took his own life with a gun that he owned.
Many who knew the dynamic civil rights leader and activist refused to believe that the man they respected as a passionate advocate for the least of us and committed fighter for justice, would take his own life, especially with so much more of the social justice to be done.
But now, a year after Dr. Spearman’s death, the NC NAACP that he left behind, in no way resembles the vibrant and admired civil rights and coalition building organization that he helped to build.
While much has been revealed since Spearman’s death about the intense internal backbiting that reportedly went on within the ranks of the NC NAACP during his tenure, at least there was a semblance of effective leadership. Important court cases were being litigated and won. Coalitions and partnerships with other social justice advocates were being built. Effective, visible activism was the “coin of the realm” for NC NAACP, whether it was demanding the freedom of a wrongly convicted murder suspect, or protesting the latest fatal police shooting.
Yes, the NC NAACP leadership of Pres. Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman was very different from his successful predecessor, the Rev. William J. Barber, who led the groundbreaking Moral Monday and Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HK on J) demonstrations. Indeed Rev. Barber was a hard act to follow. No one knew that better than Dr. Spearman, who was one of Barber’s most faithful lieutenants.
But Spearman believed in the same social justice playbook as Rev. Barber, and knew that infusing the NC NAACP with the same infectious spirit of activism that pervaded the organization during Barber’s reign, when it was one of the top NAACP conferences in the nation, was what he was entrusted to do. And so Spearman went to work, undeterred by obstacles from outside the organization, or fierce opposition from those within who felt the mantle of power should have been granted to them.
Spearman had to stare down a vicious opposition even as he took over as president in 2017. That opposition continued throughout his tenure, highlighted with false accusations of he and Rev. Barber taking money from the organization.
Barber ignored the lies, but Dr. Spearman fought back after he was ousted from office in October 2021 with a damning defamation lawsuit against those he alleged were trying to destroy him.
He included in that number no less than the chairman of the national NAACP Board of Directors, and the president/CEO of the national NAACP.
Dr. Spearman was also committed to standing with a young female member of the NC NAACP who alleged being sexually harassed by a supervisor. The case had further divided the NC NAACP leadership, and Spearman did all he could to deal with the breach.
Now, a year since Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman has left us, those of us who knew him, respected him, and loved him as a brother in Christ, dearly miss him. We miss his honesty, his energy, his intellect and his spirit.
We also miss Dr. Spearman’s fearlessness and commitment to justice.
But most importantly, we miss his friendship and fidelity to community.
None of us may ever know what troubled Dr. Spearman’s soul, but we do know that when he left us, he left a deep, deep hole in the hearts of those who loved and respected him.
May GOD continue to bless his soul.
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STRICT RULES FOR VOTER I.D.
COMING FOR THIS FALL’S ELECTIONS
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
As the state prepares for local and municipal elections starting in September, county election boards are preparing for what comes with them - new voter photo identification rules.
As indicated before, all voters in North Carolina, as of this fall, will be required to show photo I.D. in order to cast a ballot, whether they are voting in-person at the polls, or mailing in an absentee ballot.
On Monday, the NC State Board of Elections approved 99 types of student and government photo IDs, which include student IDs from all UNC System campuses, and several private schools, as well as local governments, government agencies, and school systems.
According to the NC State Board of Elections:
Voters must show an acceptable photo ID when they check in at their voting site during early voting or on Election Day. Election workers will check to see if the picture on the ID reasonably resembles the voter. The address on the photo ID does not have to match the voter registration records.
If the voter does not show an acceptable ID, the voter may proceed in one of the two following ways:
1. vote with an ID Exception Form and a provisional ballot, or
2. vote with a provisional ballot and return to their county board of elections office with their photo ID by the day before county canvass. (For municipal elections in September and October, this deadline is the Monday following Election Day. For all other elections, the deadline is the second Thursday following Election Day.)
For absentee-by mail voters:
Voters who vote by mail must include a photocopy of an acceptable ID inside the “photo ID envelope” that comes with their ballot. Or they may complete an ID Exception Form with the absentee ballot return envelope.
What are the acceptable photo IDs for voting? Any of the following that is unexpired, or expired for one year or less:
- North Carolina driver’s license
- State ID for the NCDMV (also called “non-operator ID”)
- Driver’s license or non-driver ID from another state, District of Columbia or U.S. territory (only if voter registered in North Carolina within 90 days of the election)
- U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport card
- North Carolina voter photo ID card issued by a county board of elections (available soon)
- College or university student ID approved by the State Board
of Elections
- State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the State Board of Elections.
Note: A voter 65 or older may use an expired form of acceptable ID if the ID was unexpired on their 65th birthday.
Any of the following, regardless of whether the ID contains an expiration or issuance date:
- Military or veterans ID card issued by the U.S. government
- Tribal enrollment card issued by a tribe recognized by the State or
federal government.
- ID card issued by an agency of the U.S. government or the State of
North Carolina for a public assistance program.
Any North Carolina resident can get a free non-driver’s ID card from the DMV.
Additionally, all county boards of elections will soon be able to issue free voter IDs to registered voters in their county, if the voter provides their name, date of birth, and the last four digits of their Social Security number, and have their photo taken.
For further voter ID information, either go to https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id#onsite, or contact your local county board of elections office.
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