DR. E. LAVONIA ALLISON, 94,
FORMER CHAIR OF DURHAM COMM.
ON AFFAIRS BLACK PEOPLE, DIES
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Anyone knowledgable about Democratic politics in North Carolina for the past fifty years will agree, Dr. E. Lavonia Allison was an absolute political force who Democratic politicians ignored at their own risk.
“She was a close friend of my father’s,” says former state Senator Floyd Mckissick Jr. “They worked together in the civils rights movement.”
From that perch, Dr. Allison got involved in Democratic politics, chairing the powerful Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People for fourteen years. Doing her tenure, powerful Democratic politicians from Jim Hunt to Roy Cooper know if they wanted Durham’s important Black vote, they had to vy for Dr. Allison and the Durham Committee’s influential candidate endorsement to get it.
On January 7th, her son, Vincent, posted on Facebook to the world that at age 94, his mother had passed on peacefully, surrounded by her family. Dr. Allison was an incredibly strong woman who dedicated the majority of her life to the fight for social justice for her people. Her resilience, wisdom, and boundless love were the cornerstone of our family, and she will be profoundly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her," he wrote.
The tributes immediately started flowing in, from former Gov. Roy Cooper on X.
“North Carolina and Durham lost a trailblazer. Dr. Lavonia Allison was a steadfast advocate for her community, for education, civil rights, and so much more. Her family, friends, and everyone touched by her work are in my thoughts."
To succeeding NC Gov. Josh Stein.
With the passing of Dr. E. Lavonia Allison, we lost an icon,” Gov. Stein wrote in a statement the next day. “She was a fierce and strong leader - a powerful and inspiring advocate for the people of Durham. I feel privileged to have known her for the past 25 years. I offer my condolence to her family and friends. May her memory be a blessing.”
Fourth District Congresswoman Valerie Foushee joined in the tributes.
‘From her time saving as First Vice Chair of the Durham County Democratic Party to hr leadership as Chair of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People , she worked tirel3sly to uplift the African-American community and ensure that Black voices were heard and represented in local politics.”
Retired state Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan called Dr. Allison “a relentless force in community and political activism whose fierce dedication to civil rights, fairness and uplift for ll remains unparalleled.”
Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams agreed.
Dr. E. Lavonia Allison, a Durham icon, NC legend, a United States haymaker, helped carve the way Black women in office created access to voting rights , and was a warrior for civil and social rights. She will truly be missed, but always felt. May her soul forever live in our hearts , drive our purpose, and create change needed for the people of Durham.
Dr. Allison was a native Durham who attended segregated Hillside High School during the 1940s, then went on to Hampton Institute, where she joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Dr. Allison later taught at North Carolina Central University and was active in the civil rights movement.
It was 1968 when her husband, the late F.V. “Pete” Allison, encouraged dr. Allison to become the first female first Vice Chair of the Durham County Democratic Party, which later led to her becoming the chair of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, retiring from there in 2011.
She has remained active in Durham local politics ever since.
Dr. Allison’s legacy Has also beeN heralded by the North Carolina Black Alliance; NC Democratic Party Chair Bobbie J. Richardson, who met Dr. Allison during her freshman year at NCCU when she taught Physical Education, and Durham State senator Natalie Murdock, who recalled Dr. Allison working on the “legendary Shirley Chisholm for President campaign during the 1970s.
Funeral Arrangements for Dr. Allison had not been set by prestige Monday.
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JOYNER SAYS BLACKS
SHOULD BE CONCERNED
ABOUT JUDGES’ ELECTION
CONTROVERSY
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
According to at least one political observer, African-Americans in North Carolina better be paying close attention to the post election controversy between Democratic state Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs and Republican NC Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, because it may contain the lastest ploy by Republicans to steal an election after they have lost it.
In this case, Justice Riggs, one of two Democrats presently on the seven-member state high court, defeated Judge Griffin in the 2024 general election to keep her seat after winning two recounts, one showing that she outpaced griffin by over 700 votes.
Normally after a recount (in this case two), an election is certified, and the NC Board of Elections declares the winner. But Griffin has challenged the results, claiming that 60,000 votes should be discounted from the final total because 60,000 voters did not have either a driver’s license number or partial Social Security number on their voter registration applications.
Republicans have argued for years that those people are not legitimate voters, thus their votes should be disallowed, but the NC Board of Elections disagreed, as did the federal courts months ago.
Now the matter has been sent to the Republican majority state Supreme Court, which has agreed to review the matter and decide, not allowing the State Board of Elections to close the matter.
If the Republicans on the state Supreme Court decide at disallow the 60,000 votes, not only is Judge Griffin likely to win, but that means 60,000 voters were purged from an election after they had already cast their ballots, in effect, changing the results of an election after it was declared over.
Irving Joyner, professor of law at North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham, says if Republicans on the state Supreme Court are allowed to change the race between Riggs and Griffin after it is over, it is something African-Americans in North Carolina better pay close attention to.
“African Americans should be deeply troubled and fearful of the latest attempts by right-wing Republicans to grab power and destroy constitutionally protected voter rights in North Carolina,” Prof. Joyner says. “The attack on voting rights has been a prime target of right wingers since the Republican take-over of the General Assembly in 2010. That political power grab has resulted in almost total control of the General Assembly and the capture of the Judicial branch of government.”
Joyner continued, “These right-wingers are brazen in their bold efforts to gain total control of North Carolina government and the destruction of African Americans’ political power and participation is its principle target. Even though there isn’t a legal basis to throw out the votes of 60,000 legitimate voters, the right-wing oriented Supreme Court is now in a position to further subvert the North Carolina Constitution by endorsing this latest effort.”
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