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UME92-NUMBER50
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2013
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30
Pressure Continues to Build for Higher Minimum Wage
By Freddie Allen
NNPA Washington Correspondent
ASHINGTON (NNPA) - Fast food workers won't get
45 living wage in time for Christmas, but their nation-
protests continue to draw attention to the growing
m between the working poor and the super rich,
iring an organized national day of action in early
jmber, thousands of fast food workers went on strike
>zens of cities including Chicago, Boston. New York
Los Angeles and Oakland.
s been more than four years since living wage advo-
t and low-wage workers won their last victory when
ninimum wage was increased from $5.15 to $7.25.
^cording to a report on the minimum wage by the
lomic Policy Institute, a Washington D.C. think tank,
sed on low- and middle-income families: "The value
e minimum wage peaked in 1968 at $1.60. which is
1 $9.44 measured in today's dollars; the current mini-
i wage of $7.25 is 23 percent less than it was in 1968
al terms.”
zen though economic productivity grew more than 80
ent between 1973 and 2011. EPI reported that "real
ly compensation of the median worker grew by less
11 percent."
:onomists have found that if the federal minimum
e had kept paced with inflation and productivity
/th. that wage would have reached $25 per hour,
ecording to the Labor Department, by 2014. 21 states
Washington D.C. will have minimum wages that ex-
the federal minimum wage.
recent months. President Obama has also expressed
upport for a higher minimum wage.
esident Obama stepped up his vocal support for a
er federal minimum wage, during a recent speech in
heast. Washington. D.C., one of the nation capital's
est neighborhoods. Obama said that he's not surprised
Americans are frustrated with Washington, after the
rnment shutdown and the rocky rollout of healthcare,
but that he knows that their frustration runs deeper,
heir frustration is rooted in their own daily battles - to
Some of the NCCU Winter Graduates(NCCU Photo)
“Success Lies Beyond Fear”
NCCU Commencement Speaker
J ends meet, to pay for college, buy a home, save for
;ment. It's rooted in the nagging sense that no matter
hard they work, the deck is stacked against them."
President Obama.
Tells Graduates
bama continued: "The combined trends of increased
uality and decreasing mobility pose a fundamental
it to the American Dream, our way of life, and what
tand for around the globe. And it is not simply a moral
1 that I'm making here. There are practical conse-
ces to rising inequality and reduced mobility."
actical consequences that include workers increas-
The youngest commencement speaker in North Carolina Central University's
history told some 600 new graduates that they must push aside normal fears of
failure in order to successfully pursue far-reaching goals.
"Your desire to succeed must surpass your fear." Dr. Annika Barnett told graduates
during NCCU's 122nd commencement ceremonies, which took place Dec. 14. in
the McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.
■ dependent on the very safety net programs that many ^ NC ^ in 2009 before atlendina
iblican lawmakers want to cut.
a report, titled "Fast Food. Poverty Wages: The
ic Cost of Low-Wage Jobs in the Fast-Food Industry
Barnett. 26. received her bachelor's degree in biology with a minor in chemistry
vard University Medical School. She is
the first NCCU alumna to graduate from Harvard Medical School, where she earned
the Dr. Bemy Jelin Prize for academic excellence.
>nsored by the University of California. Berkeley. Cen-
jr Labor Research and Education and the University
linois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Urban &
onal Planning researchers found that "more than half
percent) of the families of front-line fast-food w orkers
inrolled in one or more public programs, compared to
ercent of the workforce as a whole."
lacks account for 23 percent of front-line fast-food
;ers and 73 percent are women.
ccording to the report. "The federal minimum wage
to provide sufficient income for workers to provide
. housing, health care, transportation and other basic
Is for their families."
’hen employers don't pay their workers livable wages
est of us pick up the tab.
Due to low earnings, fast-food workers' families also
ive an annual average of $1.04 billion in food stamp
:fits and $1.91 billion in Earned Income Tax Credit
nents. People working in fast-food jobs are more
"There are three things that you should never fear: fear of failure, fear of change
and fear of the unknown,'' said Barnett. "If you learn to face these head on. it will
lead to success that you could never imagine."
In order to complete her medical degree. Barnett said she had to overcome each
of these fears.
"No one wants to fall flat on his or her face in front of everyone," said Barnett.
"In this age of social media, it is very easy for everyone to see when you succeed
and when you fail."
She said she viewed her application to Harvard as "just one more application to
put out there" as she neared the end of her studies at NCCU.
Barnett encouraged the class of 2013 to push past the isolation of the unknown.
"When you do something that no one else has done before you. it is lonely." said
Barnett. "It is uncomfortable being the different one. But you have to go out of
your comfort zone to grow."
Barnett graduated from the prestigious medical school in May 2013 and earned a
spot in the highly competitive Johns I lopkins Hospital pediatrics and anesthesiology
residency program. There are only four pediatrics and anesthesiology residency
program in the country and a total of just eight slots.
“Something in me knew that if 1 didn't at least go and try. I would regret it. 1
mber holding a fast-food job has an income below the would always wonder ’what if.‘“ said Barnett. "Don't live your life in regret. Don't
y to live in or near poverty. One in five families with
‘HTnpr holdinn a f Q 1 1 1L
:rty line, and 43 percent have an income two times the
ral poverty level or less." stated the report.
ernard Anderson, professor emeritus at the Wharton
>ol at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia,
that consumer spending represents two-thirds of
lomic activity. Anderson added that if workers are not
ng significant increases in their pay they're not going
ive as much to spend.
nderson continued: "When you increase the minimum
e you give additional income to people who will spend
let fear of failure keep you from going for what may seem like a long shot."
Barnett urged the graduates not to view her story as an anomaly.
"You all have the capability and gifts to achieve your dreams. The tiding holding
you back is fear." said Barnett in closing. "1 pray my story of fearlessness liberates
you today. I challenge you to embrace your fears. Ifyour dream makes you nervous,
then you are on the right track."
Before the conferring ol degrees. NCCU Chancellor Debra Saunders-White
presented a proclamation from U.S. Rep. and NCCU alumnus G.K. Butterfield to
Dr. Bernice Johnson, interim provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.
t of that income. That will help the economy it won't Johnson will retire from NCCU on Dec. 31. after 34 years of service. -
the economy.
For more
even Pitts, an economist and associate chair at the La-
than three decades. Dr. Johnson has positively impacted the lives NCCU students."
said Saunders-White. "Her service to NCCU is beyond compare."
Saunders-White hosted the traditional reception for graduates and their families
Center at the University of California at Berkeley said
oftentimes people who oppose a hard minimum wage
that you can give workers any job and in a year they'll On Friday, Dec. 13. Separate receptions by campus colleges and departments took
oing something else. place a ft er the Commencement ceremony.
continued On Page 3)
Durham
Branch
NAACP to
Meet
The Durham NAACF
of North Carolina will
be conducting a meeting
this Sun.. Dec. 22 at Saini
John's Baptist Church. 917
Onslow Street at 4 p.m
The topic of discussion if
Roses Department Store'
and Maxway Departmem
Stores. This is a prelude tc
the December 23rd Mora
Monday gathering in Ra
leigh against Art Pope anc
the Governor for declining
Healthcare and Unemploy
ment for thousands which
will result in a not so Mer
ry Christmas for the myriac
ofNorth Carolinian's being
effected.
For mi e informatior
contact: Vivian Timlic. ex
ecutive director 919-682
4930
Credit Card Debt
Threatens Black
Middle Class by
Jazelle Hunt
By Jazelle Hunt
NNPA Washington Corre
spondent
WASHINGTON (NNPA)
-Still reeling from the Great
Recession, middle class Blacks
are maintaining their status by
using credit to help cover then
basic living expenses, according
to a report from the NAACP and
public policy research organiza
tion. Demos.
In the Recession's aftermath.
79 percent of middle class Afri
can American households carry
credit card debt. And although
they have less debt than before
the Recession, the credit crunch
continues as Black households
spend an average $368 on credit
to make ends meet.
"The report highlights the
need to look at how much credit
is serving middle class Ameri
cans and how much it's giving
a false illusion." says Dedrick
Asante-Muhammad, senior di
rector of the NAACP Economic
Department and co-author of the
study. "Every body needs credit
but it should be a tool to help
your economic life. Now we see
it as a drain on African Ameri
cans trying to gain a middle
class life."
Released earlier this month,
the report. "The Challenge ol
Credit Card Debt for the African
American Middle Class." is an
outgrowth of a larger national
study on middle class credit
card debt since 2010. It found
that although African Americans
owe less than they did in 2008.
42 percent of households are
rely ing on their cards for basic
living expenses when their in
comes and savings fall short, a
trend that persists across the en
tire middle class. Black families
are also building their futures
on credit, using cards to support
higher education, entrepreneur
ship. and medical expenses.
"Use of credit in long term
investments for the future is a
specific African American
(Continued On Paue 3)