THE CASH STUFF FOR SEPT. 19TH, 2024

 

                                                                       JAVION MCGEE

WAS JAVION McGEE LYNCHED?

FAMILY SUSPECTS YES, BUT 

VANCE COUNTY SHERIFF SAYS NO 

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

A young Black truck driver from Chicago, Illinois was found dead in Vance County last week with a rope around his neck, in a seated position,  at the base of a tree, but despite his family’s suspicions, authorities say this was not a lynching.

The death of 21 year-old Javion McGee has been officially ruled a suicide, although at press time, full autopsy results from the state medical examiner have not yet been disclosed. According to a warrant, McGee’s body was found September 11th under a tree near Henderson, reportedly off a rural road not far from his truck. Based on evidence recovered, including the rope found around his neck, a receipt showing that the rope was purchased at a nearby Wal-mart distribution center where he had to make a delivery, and video from that Wal-mart showing McGee going in, making the purchase, and then leaving that store alone along with other evidence, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office determined that McGee committed suicide with that rope, and no one else was involved.

But McGee’s family isn’t buying it, saying the young man had no history of known mental illness.

This case got public attention when the victim’s cousin, Ms. Scottie Primpin, went on the social media platform Tik Tok to tell it’s mass audience about her cousin’s death, and her suspicions about it.

“We obviously don’t believe that, and we are just asking for your help to push his story out there,” Ms. Primpin said online. “Please help in getting justice for my little cousin.”

It wasn’t long before some social media users chimed in that Henderson was a “sundown town” where decades ago, Blacks were not allowed to be out after a certain time of night less they be killed by white racists.

The family also claimed to have difficulty seeing McGee’s body, and had to wait until his father reportedly gave  permission.

Vance County Sheriff Curtis R. Brame, an African-American, told local reporters that his officers were conducting the death investigation, and that there were no signs of foul play.

"I understand there's over 1,000 hits on Tik Tok (accusing) the sheriff's office of not being transparent, not providing information to the family and that is not true," Brame said. "There's been information put out there that there's a lynching in Vance County. There is not a lynching in Vance County. The young man was not dangling from a tree. He was not swinging from a tree. The rope was wrapped around his neck. It was not a noose. There was not a knot in the rope, so therefore, it was not a lynching here in Vance County."

Sheriff Brame said his investigators are waiting for toxicology results on McGee’s body from the state medical examiner, but thus far, based on preliminary autopsy results,

there were no obvious signs of defensive wounds or scars on his limbs including arms and legs, but there were signs of hemorrhaging around the soft part of the victim’s neck.

But even with the Black sheriff’s pronouncement, Javion McGee’s family remain unconvinced, and believe he was the victim of a hate crime.

Candace Matthews, a spokesperson for McGee’s family in Illinois, told Raleigh media, "We have a lot of questions, not enough answers," This does not sound logical at all ... we want to see everything that pertaining to the investigative process. We want full transparency.”

Sheriff Brame has asked the Vance County District Attorney and the State Bureau of Investigation to assist in the probe. 

Meanwhile, McGee’s family has secured civil rights attorneys to monitored the case, and the investigation.

The family has also secured the support of The NC NAACP, which expressed “deep concern,” and from national civil rights leader, former NC NAACP Pres. Bishop William Barber.

“The death of a young person is hard and painful enough, but in this circumstance, we must have truth and transparency. Hanging, whatever the cause, is not a form of death that can be easily dismissed, particularly here in the South where it has been used as a weapon of terror against Black families for generations," said Bishop Barber in a statement. "I join [the] attorneys …as they seek transparency, truth, and justice for Javion Magee and his family.  We must and will find out what has happened.”

Anyone with information about the death of Javion McGee is asked to contact the Vance County Sheriff's Office at 252-738-2200 or Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252-492-1925.

-30-

ALL INDICATIONS ARE

WHEN ELECTION DAY

ENDS, TROUBLE BEGINS

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

Except on rare occasions in the past, when the November general elections came and went, the public had what many believed were the results, and life could go on.

But as the 2020 general elections proved, that state of mind is now a thing of the past.

There are legal challenges, rule changes, and toxic rhetoric aplenty this election year that threatens to prolong the final official voting counts, not to mention voters being able to have unfettered access to cast their rightful ballots, that registered voters must be aware to make sure that their vote counts in the end for the candidates they choose to be in office.

Translation - that means it’s going to take a little more work on your part to make sure that if you’re going to spend valuable time on a long line once early voting begins on Thursday, October 17th  (Sept. 24th for all voters who have requested a mail-in absentee ballot), and of course, on Election Day, November 5th.

Over 166,000 absentee voters have requested mail-in ballots, and there was some question if they would be able to get them by mandated deadline after third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently litigated to have his name removed from North Carolina’s ballot for the sole purpose of helping Republican former Pres. Donald Trump’s campaign in the state.

With the Republican-led state Supreme Court ruling in Kennedy’s favor, local boards of election had to scramble and spend millions to get RFK’s name off in time to distribute ballots starting on Friday, Sept. 20th, one day before the federal deadline.

The local county boards were previously prepared to distribute mail-in ballots on Sept. 6th before the state High Court ruling.

All North Carolina registered voters can use a mail-in ballot, but request one by October 29th, and be properly submitted back to their local County Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5th, Election Day

As noted before, especially for African-American voters, it’s important to either check online (www. ncsbe.gov) or at your local county Board of Elections to ensure that your personal voter registration is correct and up-to-date (proper and current address, etc.) so that your ballot is not rejected for some reason.

Voter registration ends Oct. 11th at 5 p.m.

In-person Early voting/Same Day registration begins Oct. 17th, and ends Saturday, Nov. 2nd.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Thanks to four lawsuits from the Republican National Committee and the NC GOP, under the guise of “Protect the Vote,” it is now being alleged that the NC State Board of Elections is improperly allowing non-citizens, or people who have not provided proper identification, to vote, among other issues. The GOP is seeking to purge 225,000 voters from North Carolina  voting rolls. It has been suggested that if the GOP is successful, the massive purge could possibly cover the margin of victory for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, and gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein over their respective Republican opponents.

The State Elections Board is vigorously denying the GOP allegations.

NC House Democratic Leader Robert Reives is clear about what he thinks the Republican Party is up to, and why.

“Voters in our state will have the opportunity to reject Republican extremism at the ballot box,” wrote Rep. Reives in a recent op-ed. “If anything, maybe GOP attempts to block access to the ballot will motivate even more North Carolinians to make sure their vote is counted this election.”

-30-

CASH COMMENTARY FOR SEPT. 16, 2024

 

                                                                 CASH MICHAELS

                                               BAD BADGES

                                              By Cash Michaels

The largest police union in the nation admits to being MAGA!

That is not at all comforting to me, and nor should it be to anyone who truly believes in freedom and justice.

When I encounter a law enforcement officer, I shouldn’t, among other things, worry what his or her politics are. Quite frankly, that should be none of my damn business.

But now, thanks to their enthusiastic endorsement of Donald Trump recently in Charlotte by the National Fraternal Order of Police (NFOP), the next time a cop stops me for anything, it very much is my damn business!

Now let’s be clear about something - do I support good police officers, and the tough, tough job they have to do in our communities to make them safe? Absolutely!

The earnest young men and women who put on the uniform everyday, and leave home…leave their families, not knowing whether they will be returning that evening, or the next morning, let alone returning at all - yes I support them, and always have.

It can be either a thankless job, or a fruitful vocation. It depends what an officer’s attitude is about him or herself, and the people he or she is supposed to be sworn to serve and protect. Honest officers. I believe there are still some left.

Take it from a reporter who has covered my share of police stories through the years, especially in the Black community. Folks depend on the police, and they want desperately to trust the police, because they need to know that the constables on patrol (aka cops) are always on the job when they need them most.

So when I read this recent mess from Charlotte: FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE ENDORSES TRUMP BEFORE HIS CHARLOTTE SPEECH, I felt my sick to my stomach.

You see, again, I’m one of those old-timers who believes that the majority of law enforcement officers are good people, and thus, deserve respect for the tough job that they do.

The common sense rational behind that thinking is that you never know when you need one if you find yourself in the kind of trouble you’re simply not prepared to handle yourself.

But now, we’ve got the 377,000-member NFOP - through their president, Patrick Yoes, telling the annual convention in Charlotte Sept. 6th, that support from member officers was “overwhelming” for their Trump endorsement.

“Our members carefully considered the positions of the candidates on the issues and there was no doubt—zero doubt—as to who they want as our President for the next four years: Donald J. Trump,” Yoes bellowed.

"During his time at the White House, we had a partner and a leader.”

“Today. Mr President, we stand with you.”

And this from NFOP’s official announcement - “The FOP is the number one voice of America’s law enforcement. We have a responsibility to our members, to the 700,000 sworn law enforcement officers in the United States, and to the communities they serve to do our part in determining the direction in which our country will head.” 

  Finally, before I completely crap all over myself here, this from the NFOP’s Second Vice Pres. John Hoyt -

“An endorsement from the National FOP will greatly enhance the legitimacy and credibility of the chosen nominee. In a time where voter trust is a crucial factor, our endorsement would signal to the public that the candidate is a trustworthy and capable leader. This endorsement will be particularly influential for undecided voters who look to our organization for guidance and validation.”

  Hey, NFOP, the man is a crazy, convicted felon and a megalomaniac, and if it wasn’t for his unhinged and unpatriotic actions on January 6th, 2021, five brave U.S. Capitol and Washington, D.C. Metro police officers wouldn’t be dead in their graves today. Have you forgotten about them? What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you, for the third time since the 2016 election, aligning yourself with someone who is arguably seen as a looming unhinged threat to our democracy?

Unless that’s what you want us to think of cops as well.

        I mean top members of Trump's own past administration - people who actually worked for, or with the man - now refuse to have anything to do with him, let alone endorse him

for a second term. Retired military leaders have even signed a letter opposing Trump's re-election, saying he's a threat to national security.

        Hell, Dick and daughter Liz Cheney, two hardcore right-wingers, say the same thing.

        But the NFOP calls Trump a "trustworthy and capable" leader? Are you kidding me?

        The nut has Haitians in Springfield, Ohio eating dogs and cats, putting innocent people in danger with racist lies! Is that "trustworthy and capable" to you?

And get this - not only is it crazy nuts to get in political bed with this convicted criminal, but it’s even more insane to do so when he openly lies about the job cops are doing.

We’ve all heard it by now - Trump wants us all to believe that America under Biden-Harris is nothing but a cesspool of crime. That crime is up everywhere, and the average American street is not safe to walk down. Effectively, he saying the police aren't doing their  jobs.

Well guess who disagrees with that bull besides every fact-checker on planet Earth?

The NFOP!

Quote from the Sept. 6th “NFOP endorses Trump” press release:

"During his first term, President Trump made it clear he supported law enforcement and border security. In the summer of 2020, he stood with us when very few would.  With his help, we defeated the ‘defund the police’ movement and, finally, we are seeing crime rates decrease.  If we want to maintain these lower crime rates, we must re-elect Donald Trump.” 

So even though Trump and NFOP don’t agree on the state of crime in the U.S., the NFOP - which has only endorsed one Democrat for president, Bill Clinton since 1996 - still supports Trump in 2024.

And for the record, NFOP did not support anyone for president in 2012. Guess Obama and Mitt Romney were too liberal for them.

Quite frankly, even though the NFOP is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit, I wish they were not allowed to endorse anybody, because their membership are supposed to be public servants. In my view, their job is to serve and protect no matter who the president or governor or mayor is.

Of course every police officer is entitled to their own political beliefs and choices, but that doesn’t mean I have to know about them.

When the NFOP Trump endorsement was announced, at least 100 law enforcement officers across America publicly disapproved, including Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead.

True, he’s supporting VP Harris for president, but again, that’s not something I feel I need to know. 

The only thing I should assume if I encounter Sheriff Birkhead is “this is a good man and good officer and he’ll treat me fairly” and give him the requisite respect accordingly, not, “ Hey, he supports Kamala, so homeboy will let me slide on that ticket I otherwise can’t talk myself out of.”

Politics should not define how we interact with our law enforcement.

And yes, I said “our,” because every cop on the beat, or on the street, or anywhere taxpayer dollars provide for, is working for US, and is accountable to US.

All 708,000 of them as of 2022 in the United States.

NFOP, by endorsing the well-known criminal Trump for president, you’ve signaled that the very laws you are sworn to uphold in our nation mean NOTHING to you! Your endorsement also clearly signals that if Trump were to win the presidency again, and ordered your 377,000 members to also break the law when it comes to policing citizens, you might very well do it!.

That makes me very nervous.

It also made Blacks in Law Enforcement of America nervous too in 2020. They had several dues paying members in NFOP, and they called that Trump endorsement an “outrage.”   

        Imagine what they think of it now.

There have been individual police injustices in the past and present - George Floyd and Sonya Massey come to mind - that have hinted at a dangerous right-wing culture that people of color in particular have to be always cognizant of, but now the largest police union in the nation has unabashedly signed on to become the devil’s MAGA paratroopers.

  Should I keep a watchful eye out now for new “stop & frisk” policies to go into effect if Trump is reelected? Perhaps cops breaking down my door in the middle of the night because page 107 of the Project 2025 handbook says its mandatory for it to happen to all journalists who write that Fuhrer Trump can go to Hell!

         The man has lost his mind, NFOP, and wants to be a dime store dictator. You saw his unhinged behavior at the last debate with VP Harris. Or do you approve of that kind ofwarped, unpresidential behavior?

  Don’t waste your time calling my number, or sending me solicitation messages by email or snail mail ever again, NFOP. As far as I’m concerned, you DO NOT represent the true blue officers of the law I look to with respect in this society. 

           NFOP, I refuse to believe you and your members are this dumb. This is clearly something else, something that tells me you can't be trusted under any circumstances!

  You’re nothing but a bunch of corrupt MAGA bad badges now, and you’ll soon discover that linking up with an insane convicted criminal for president will be your undoing in history.

-30-

THE CASH STUFF FOR SEPT. 12, 2024

                                          DURHAM COUNTY SHERIFF CLARENCE BIRKHEAD

BLACK DURHAM COUNTY SHERIFF

DISAGREES WITH NFOP

ENDORSEMENT OF TRUMP

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

Last Friday in Charlotte, the National Fraternal Order of Police (NFOP) during their annual convention, endorsed Republican candidate Donald J. Trump for president.

The NFOP, which boasts a membership of 373,000 nationwide, issued a statement, saying in part, “Our members carefully considered the positions of the candidates on the issues and there was no doubt—zero doubt—as to who they want as our President for the next four years: Donald J. Trump.” 

But African-American Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead joined a reported one hundred law enforcement officials nationwide in condemning the NFOP endorsement, saying that the police group was supporting “a convicted felon over a former prosecutor.”

Birkhead is one of seven Black Democratic sheriffs who lead departments in Durham, Wake, Buncombe, Guilford, Forsyth, Pitt and Mecklenburg counties.

Sheriff Birkhead added that Democratic presidential Vice President Kamala Harris, who was a district attorney in San Francisco, then elected twice as California state attorney general, “… understands the needs of communities like mine, and has always had our back.”

Sheriff Birkhead was part of a Harris-Walz campaign press call last Friday, along with former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, also an African-American, who risked his life defending the U.S. Capitol during the infamous January 6th, 2021 attack that former Pres. Trump is criminally accused of leading. 

That NFOP Trump endorsement came despite the fact that five police officers later died, and about 150 police officers from the Capitol Police and the assisting Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Dept, along with other local agencies, were injured as a result of the January 6th insurrection.

Trump faces four charges for his alleged role in the Jan. 6th U.S. Capitol attack. Still, the NFOP, called the nation’s oldest and largest police union, chose to overlook that, plus the 34 felonies the Republican presidential candidate was convicted of in New York earlier this year in his infamous porn star hush money case. He awaits sentencing on those 34 felony counts after the election.

At presstime, Birkhead was the only North Carolina law enforcement official on record publicly condemning the NFOP Trump endorsement, even though the other six Black sheriffs are also Democrats. No doubt each Black sheriff has been endorsed by their local Black political action committee, a coalition of which came together last week and announced their statewide endorsements last week in the upcoming November 5th general elections.

All of those Black PACS announced their support for the Harris-Walz Democratic presidential ticket, along with Democrats state Attorney General Josh Stein for governor, and incumbent Jessica Holmes to continue as state auditor.

  This is not the first presidential election where the NFOP has endorsed Donald Trump for president, and has been blasted for it by Black law enforcement members. In September 2016, NFOP first endorsed Donald Trump for president, despite opposition from Blacks in Law Enforcement of America.

In October 2020, then Pres. Trump, while in office, soft-pedaled the police killing of George Floyd, despite a national outpouring of anger and disgust. The NFOP endorsed Trump for reelection then as well, again to the dismay of many of its Black members who had voiced concerns about how white officers treated citizens in the Black community.

“We are members of these [police] unions, and they don’t take into consideration our feelings about Donald J. Trump, then they don’t care about us and … they don’t care about our dues,” said Rochelle Bilal, then the immediate past president of the Guardian Civic League of Philadelphia. She called the NFOP’s Trump endorsement an “outrage.”

With this year’s NFOP Trump endorsement, NFOP National Pres. Patrick Yoes said the support for the former Republican president was “overwhelming.”

"During his time at the White House, we had a partner and a leader,” Yoes said before bringing Trump onstage in Charlotte. “Today. Mr President, we stand with you.”

-30-

ACTIVISTS PREPARE FOR

“LONG MARCH FOR UNITY

AND JUSTICE”

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

From Friday, Sept. 20th to Sunday, Sept. 29th, they will walk across the state of North Carolina, from the mountains of the Cullowhee to the coast of Wilmington, picking up like-minded social justice leaders along way to dramatize the importance of voting, community organizing, grassroots activism and the arts.

They call it “the Long March for Unity and Justice.”

Sponsored by the BCC (Beloved Community Center) in Greensboro, which is co-executive directed byJoyce Hobson Johnson and Rev. Nelson Johnson , the objectives of the Long March are to grow and make visible the urgent need to join with others to build a powerful statewide transformative movement for truth, justice, healing and reconciliation that not only impacts North Carolina, but the nation; to heal deep divisions and growing wounds from the past; to uplift issues that connect communities; mobilize communities to promote voter education and actively increase civic engagement; and forge the people’s power and transform oppressive systems and structures.

       "We must address our nation's crossroads: either continue toward authoritarianism or expand democracy with greater freedom and wealth distribution,” said Rev. Johnson.

The mission of the Long March for Unity and Justice is to create a compassionate and more just North Carolina that responds to the needs of environmental justice, women’s rights, reproductive justice, youth and students, racial and social justice, faith and religious inclusivity, gender and LGBTQ equality, worker and labor rights, immigrant justice and disability justice.

The Long March will begin from Cullowhee in Jackson County with a rally on Day One (Sept. 20th), followed by a second rally in Asheville in Buncombe County. On Day Two (Sept. 21st) the Long March goes to Boone in Watauga County.

On Day Three (Sept. 22), the Long March heads to Charlotte in Mecklenburg County with march start at 4 p.m. from 1600 West Trade Street, and rally site at 6 p.m. at 1729 Griers Grove Road.

Day Four (Sept. 23) will see Greensboro in Guilford County and the BCC at 417 Arlington Street. Day Five (Tuesday, Sept. 24), the Long March arrives in Durham in Durham County and Raleigh in Wake County. Day Six (Weds, Sept. 25th) the Long March arrives in Gaston County and Roanoke Rapids in Halifax County.

Day Seven (Thursday, Sept. 26th) the Long March arrives in Greenville in Pitt County. Day Eight (Friday, Sept. 27th), the Long March goes to Fayetteville in Cumberland County. Day Nine (Saturday, Sept. 28) the penultimate Long March stop is in Laurinburg in Scotland County.

And on the final day of the Long March, Day Ten (Sunday, Sept. 28), Wilmington in New Hanover County.

The Long March is supported by the NC Black Alliance, NC Council of Churches, Black Workers for Justice, Blueprint NC, Forward Justice, Down Home NC, Freedom Center, Red, Wine & Blue, Poor People’s Campaign, Second Chance Alliance, Union of Southern Service Workers, People’s Power Coalition, Justice Served NC, Southern Vision Alliance, and NC BLOC, and fosters unity and collaboration through the We The People Unity Covenant. 

The BCC previously led the nation’s first Truth and Reconciliation Process to disclose the truth related to the November 3, 1979, Greensboro Massacre - that the police on that day, by deliberately being absent, allowed the Ku Klux Klan to attack community protesters.

    That process led to a formal apology from the Greensboro City Council  in 2020.

-30-