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WILS 08/20/95 **CHILL
WILSON LIBRARY
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N C COLLECTION - UNC-CH
P O BOX 8890
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015
ILUME 94 - NUMBER 44
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 50 CENTS
Supreme Court troubled by
)A’s rejection of black jurors
By Mark Sherman
WASHINGTON (AP) - The
rente Court signaled support
. 2 for a black death row
ate in Georgia who claims
lecutors improperly kept Af-
n-Americans off the jury that
Lifted him of killing a white
nan.
ustice Stephen Breyer lik-
j the chief prosecutor to his
jse-filled grandson. Jus-
■ Elena Kagan said the case
■ned as clear a violation “as
[court is ever going to see” of
les the Supreme Court laid out
■ 986 to prevent racial dis-
■ination in the selection of
ties.
At least six of the nine jus
tices indicated during arguments
that black people were improp
erly singled out and kept off the
jury that eventually sentenced
defendant Timothy Tyrone Fos
ter to death in 1987.
Foster could win a new trial
if the Supreme Court rules his
way. The discussion Monday
also suggested that a technical
issue might prevent the justices
from deciding the substance of
Foster’s case.
Georgia Deputy Attorney
General Beth Burton had little
support on the court for the prop
osition that prosecutor Stephen
Lanier advanced plausible “race-
Wreath-Laying Program
Remembers Founder Dr.
James E. Shepard
forth Carolina Central University (NCCU) continued its
Becoming celebrations on Friday, Oct. 30, with a Founder’s
[Convocation in McDougald - McLendon Arena that honored
life and contributions of Dr. James E. Shepard.
Ihepard, who founded the university in 1910, was educated
[pharmacist at Shaw University in Raleigh and created the
lonal Religious Training School and Chautauqua for the Col
li Race in Durham focusing on “character and sound academic
Jing”
Ihepard believed deeply in education and once said, “It is the
Bel that education is not a philanthropy, hot an expediency,
[he bone and the sinew, the life or the death, of democracy...”
Ie was praised in a resolution from the North Carolina State
■slature in February 1949, which called him “a man who
led without servility, spoke without guile, fought without ran-
land could lose with dignity and win with humility.”
[July 10,2015, marked a significant milestone for North Caro-
[Central University,” said Chancellor Debra Saunders-White
Jng her 2015 Convocation remarks. “We entered our 105th
■ of serving as a hub for intellectual dialogue and discourse
id a source of academic distinction for North Carolina, this re-
the nation and the world.”
Other significant milestones in the life of Shepard and the uni-
ity are being celebrated this year:
November 3,2015, marked the 140th birthday of Shepa-
In 1925, the Shepard House, which served as the home for
)ard and his family, was completed.
In 1925, NCCU became the nation’s first, liberal arts, state-
>orted, four years institution for African-Americans.
Delivering the address was Class of 1965 member The Honor-
e A. Leon Stanback Jr., who is a Double Eagle, holding two
ees from the university. Stanback graduated from NCCU
)ol of Law in 1968. During his career, he served as the first
can-American assistant prosecutor, served as the assistant
ict attorney in Guilford County, was named to the North
)lina Parole Board, and was appointed to the Superior Court
ch for the State of North Carolina, where he served for 21
tanback took the assembled guests through a historical time-
beginning with the opening of the university in 1910, through
events that were occurring in the country when the Class of
E stepped onto the campus in 1961 as freshmen, and ending
their involvement in the racial challenges and protests ofthe
NCCU and its students were instrumental in forcing chang-
n laws in Durham and North Carolina,” said Stanback. “We
ild all be proud of being part of this time in the ensuing
>ts. The lives of many of our classmates are a testament to
intellect and courage of the members of the Class of 1965. It
deed a privilege and an honor to be a member of this Golden
e Class.”
wreath-laying ceremony was held at the Shepard Circle on
pus near Brant and Fayetteville streets immediately follow-
he Convocation.
neutral” reasons that resulted in
an all-white jury for Foster’s tri
al. Foster was convicted of kill
ing 79-year-old Queen Madge
White in her home in Rome,
Georgia.
Several justices noted that
Lanier’s reasons for excusing
people from the jury changed
over time, including the arrest
of the cousin of one black juror.
The record in the case indicates
that Lanier learned of the arrest
only after the jury had been seat
ed. “That seems an out and out
false statement,” Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg said.
Breyer drew an analogy with
a grandson who was looking for
any reason not to do his home
work, none of them especially
convincing.
“And so I would say my an
swer to my grandchild is, 'Look,
you’re not too tired to do your
homework,’” Breyer said.
With Lanier, he said, “I think
any reasonable person looking at
this would say no, his reason was
a purpose to discriminate.”
Justice Samuel Alito, who
typically sides with prosecutors
in criminal cases, was bothered
by Lanier’s explanation that the
same juror whose cousin was
arrested also was not chosen
because she was close in age to
Foster. “She was in her 30s. He
was 18 or 19,” Alito dryly said.
The discussion of the juror’s
cousin also prompted Justice So
nia Sotomayor to say that Lanier
never established whether the ju
ror even was close to her cousin.
“I have cousins who I know
have been arrested, but I have
no idea where they’re in jail. I
hardly -- I don’t know them,”
Sotomayor said.
Georgia courts have consis
tently rejected Foster’s claims
of discrimination, even after his
lawyers obtained the prosecu
tion’s notes that revealed prose
cutors’ focus on the black people
in the jury pool. In one example,
a handwritten note headed “Def
inite No’s” listed six people, of
whom five were the remaining
black prospective jurors.
The sixth person on the list
was a white woman who made
clear she would never impose
the death penalty, Foster’s law
yer, Stephen Bright said Mon
day. “Even she ranked behind
the black jurors,” Bright said.
Burton tried to persuade the
justices that the notes focused on
black people in the jury pool be
cause prosecutors were prepar
ing to defend against discrimi
nation claims. Burton said the
Supreme Court’s ruling about
race discrimination in jury se
lection was about a year old
when Foster’s case went to trial.
The 1986 decision in Batson v.
Kentucky set up a system by
which trial judges could evalu
ate claims of discrimination and
the race-neutral explanations by
prosecutors.
Foster’s trial lawyers did not
so much contest his guilt as try to
explain it as a product of a trou
bled childhood,- drug abuse and
mental illness. They also raised
their objections about the exclu
sion of African-Americans from
the jury. On that point, the judge
accepted Lanier’s explanations
that factors other than race drove
his decisions. The jury convict
ed Foster and sentenced him to
death.
The jury issue was revived
19 years later, in 2006, when
the state turned over the pros
ecution’s notes in response to a
request under Georgia’s Open
Records Act.
The name of each potential
black juror was highlighted on
four different copies of the jury
(Continued On Page 3)
Mrs. Sybrina Fulton
Trayvon Marton
Trayvon Martin’s Mother,
Sybrina Fulton, to Visit NCCU
North Carolina Central University’s Department of Student Engagement and Leadership in the Divi
sion of Student Affairs presents activist Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, Wednesday Nov. 11,
for the third installment of its Rock the Mic speaker series.
Fulton has become known as an inspirational spokesperson on behalf of parents and concerned citi
zens after the death of her 17-year-old son, Trayvon Martin, in February 2012. Fulton and Trayvon’s
father, Tracy Martin, founded the Trayvon Martin Foundation to advocate against violence towards chil
dren and on behalf ofhealthier, safer communities.
Fulton has traveled throughout the United States and internationally to bring her message of hope and
change, create awareness of how violent crime impacts the families of the victims and provide support
and advocacy for those families.
Fulton holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Florida Memorial University. She worked for the
Miami-Dade County Housing Development Agency for more than 25 years.
The event will begin at 7 p.m. in B.N. Duke Auditorium and is free and open to the public. Doors open
at 6 p.m.
Voter Rights Forum Set For Fayetteville;
Protecting and Expanding Rights
Efforts to protect arid expand voting rights in North Carolina continue to gain strength. A plan by
Black elected officials and a coalition of Black publishers to convene a series of voting rights forums
has taken shape. It it designed to help address the need to protect and expand Black voters access to the
ballot. Our plan has been well-received and the first forum is scheduled in Fayetteville on Nov. 7. It will
be held at the Westove Recreation Center located at 267 Bonanza Dr. Fayetteville, NC 28303 from 10:00
a.m.-1:00 p.m.
The forum is free and open to the public.
The NC Caucus of Black School Board Members (NCCBSBM) and a coalition of Black publishers
are cosponsoring the Fayetteville forum. Participating Black publishers will continue to update their
readers with agenda specifics and vision ideas as our planning continues. We plan to analyze the political
landscape and identify areas that need attention or shoring up.
As previously noted, while holding the forums, publishers will engage in messaging and outreach in
order to ensure that all who wish to get involved with the task of protecting and expanding our voting
rights will know how to get involved. Educating, organizing and mobilizing Black voters are inherent
in our efforts to succeed in protecting voting rights. Because we’re planning multiple forums leading up
to the November 2016 General Elections, leaders and communities will be able to engage in ongoing
dialogues to plan and evaluate community engagement strategies.
We believe that the way we address the issue of protecting the voting rights of Blacks will go a long
ways with effortt to bring economic equity to black communities. The challenges to protect voting rights
are the same as those wo face in creating economic equity. Both challenges require ongoing effort of
interaction between all segments of oun communities and the leadership of Black elected officials. We’ve
found that fundamental to solving problems is tho ability to accurately define them and to educate con
stituents. Because Black elected officials represent the reservoin of political and economic empowerment
potential of our communities, it is essential that they describe our strategies, goals and objectives in these
arenas and lead efforts to achieve them.
Gates hoping to inspire love of STEM through genealogy
By Jesse J. Holland
WASHINGTON (AP) - Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. hopes to trigger a love for science,
technology and math among American students by turning them on to searching for their family roots.
Gates, the Harvard University scholar and host of a genealogy show on PBS, and fellow researchers
from Spelman College and Pennsylvania State University recently received a $355,000 grant from the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create a genealogy and genetics summer camp for middle school
children, as well as a $304,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for college-level courses.
The summer camps will start at Penn State University and the University of South Carolina this sum
mer, and at the American Museum of Natural History in 2017. The college courses, in biology with a
genetics and genealogy-centered approach, will be held at Spelman College and Morehouse College in
Atlanta, and North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“Ancestry chasing through genealogy and genetics is about one thing ultimately and that is you,”
Gates said in a phone interview. “And what’s your favorite subject? Your favorite subject is yourself.”
Gates, host of “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” on PBS, said the curriculum he is
developing would teach social science, history, interview skills, archival skills and biology. The goal is
to help students discover an innate love of science, technology, engineering and math that may lead to
careers in STEM fields.
Hispanics, blacks, and Native Americans together comprise only 10 percent of workers in science and
engineering jobs and 13 percent of science and engineering degree holders, according to the National
S cience Board’s Science and Engineering Indicators 2014 report, though they represent 26 percent of the
population.
The popularity of genealogy and finding ancestors would get children hooked, potentially inspiring
future professors, scientists and mathematicians, said Gates. He said he wasn’t worried about being able
to keep the attention of young people.
“We’re going to teach them about Y-DNA if you’re a man, how you get that from your father who
got that marker from his father and his father,” said Gates, referring to the Y chromosome. Students also
will learn about mitochondrial DNA, “which you get from your mother and her mother and her mother,
whether you’re a man or a woman.”
Gates will work with Penn State University professor Nina Jablonski on the summer camps. Jablonski
said the grants will make the camps affordable for parents, and help to right an imbalance in STEM fields.
“This new approach seeks to improve the retention of minority students in the sciences by inviting
students into biology education with the discovery of unique facts about themselves,” Jablonski said.
We would be “taking this whole idea of asking the question of 'Who am I?’ into the classroom and
getting students of varying ages to investigate themselves, leading to - we would hope - a whole cascade
of positive things,” she added.
“Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” starts its third season on PBS on January 5.