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VOLUME 95-NUMBER 5 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2016 TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 50 CENTS
UN working group
suggests US work on
racial reconciliation
By Jesse J. Holland
WASHINGTON (AP) - The
United States should consider
reparations to African-American
descendants of slavery, establish
a national human rights commis
sion and publicly acknowledge
that the trans-Atlantic slave trade
was a crime against humanity, a
United Nations working group
said Jan. 29.
The U.N. Working Group of
Experts on People of African
Descent released its preliminary
recommendations after more
than a week of meetings with
black Americans and others from
around the country, including
Baltimore, Chicago, New York
City, the District of Columbia
and Jackson, Mississippi.
After finishing their fact-find
ing mission, the working group
was “extremely concerned about
the human rights situation of Af
rican-Americans,” chair Mireille
Fanon Mendes-France of France
said in the report. “The colonial
history, the legacy of enslave
ment, racial subordination and
segregation, racial terrorism and
racial inequality in the U.S. re
mains -a serious challenge as
there has been no real commit
ment to reparations and to truth
and reconciliation for people of
African descent.”
For example, Mendes-France
compared the recent deaths of
unarmed black men like Michael
Brown and Eric Garner at the
hands of police to the lynchings
of black men in the South from
the post-Civil War days through
the Civil Rights era. Those
deaths, and others, have inspired
protests around the country un
der the Black Lives Matter mon
iker.
“Contemporary police kill
ings and the trauma it creates are
reminiscent of the racial terror
lynchings in the past,” she told
reporters. “Impunity for state
violence has resulted in the cur
rent human rights crisis and must
be addressed as a matter of ur
gency.”
Some of the working group’s
members, none of whom are
from the United States, said they
were shocked by some of the
things they found and were told.
For example, “it’s very easy
in the United States for African-
Americans to be imprisoned, and
that was very concerning,” said
Sabelo Gumedze of South Af
rica.
Federal officials say 37 per
cent of the state and federal pris
on populations were black males
in 2014. The working group sug
gests the U.S. implement
several reforms, including reduc
ing the use of mandatory mini
mum laws, ending racial profil
ing, ending excessive bail and
banning solitary confinement.
“What stands out for me is
the lack of acknowledgement of
the slave trade,” said Ricardo A.
Sunga III, who lives in the Phil
ippines.
(Continued On Page 2)
SPAULDING
Democratic
candidates for
Young People Will
Lead During Feb. 13
Moral March
By Cash Michaels
NCBPA Reporter
For the past ten years, the annual Historic Thousands on Jones
Street Moral March and People’s Assembly in Raleigh has not only
always involved young people, but also empowered them as well.
“Every Moral reconstruction movement has had young people at
the center of its development,” Rev. William Barber, president of the
NCNAACP and convener of the upcoming Moral March/HK on J
People’s Assembly on Feb. 13 th , says. “In the 1960s during the civil
rights movement, in the second reconstruction youth - black, white
and Jewish - were at the center. And so it must be as we build a
modern day third reconstruction moral movement today.”
This year, young people, known as the #JusticeSquad, will actually
lead the Moral March through downtown Raleigh to the Fayetteville
Street Mall side of the State Capitol, where the People’s Assembly
will take place. It is there where young activists will then pass out
pledge-to-vote cards and literature to attendees for both the March
15 th primaries and the Nov. 8 th general elections. There will also be
tables for voter registration.
Applicants can register online at HKonJ.com on the home page
by clicking the “sign up” link per the third choice under “#Become a
MoralMarch Volunteer.”
“Dr. Barber felt that it would be amazing if this year, we had 200
young people leading this march,” Ty Lawson, NCNAACP Field
Secretary, said. “We’re getting the youth involved and saying, hey,
it’s our time.”
“Over fifty years ago there were young folks out in the streets
registering people to vote, fighting for this cause. Now it’s time for
us to answer the call of duty. It worked then; it’s going to work now.
We’re going to make sure we get the job done.”
Indeed, voter registration for the March 15 tK primary ends on
Friday, February 19 th , with early voting beginning on Thursday,
March 3 rd and ending Saturday March 12 th 'at 1 p.m.
Young people have always played a role in the Forward Together
Movement, Lawson says, recalling how he took part several
years ago. “We’ve built a movement that’s inclusive. This is an
intergenerational movement, and everyone has their eyes on the prize
- making sure that our right to vote is no longer being attacked. And
our Youth Council and College Division is very strong.... doing great
work and mobilizing or HK on J.”
Lawson says the strong, principled leadership of NCNAACP
Pres. Rev. William Barber inspires everyone across race, gender
and generational lines, but he is particularly inspirational to young
people.
“He’s such a charismatic leader. Young people across the state
see that leadership and wisdom. It’s not a movement that has young
people on one side and older people on the other. It’s a movement that
has all of our issues at the core.”
Lawson says young people who take part in the Moral March should be
proud.
“This is our moment. This is the generation that this world has been
looking for, and we need to answer to that call.”
The Tenth Annual Moral March on Raleigh/HK on J People’s Assembly
is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 13 th . Marchers will gather across the street
from Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium at 8:30 a.m. for a pre-march rally.
Then at 10 a.m., the march down the Fayetteville Street Mall to the State
Capitol begins. For more information go to www.hkonj.com.
governor spar
over voting law
By Gary D. Robertson
RALEIGH (AP) - Attorney
General Roy Cooper’s rival for
the Democratic nomination for
North Carolina governor said
(Jan. 29) Friday night it’s wrong
for Cooper to defend in court a
wide-ranging election overhaul
law approved by Republicans
that lawsuits claim discriminate
against minority voters.
Ken Spaulding of Durham,
meeting face-to-face with Coo
per for questions in their cam
paign leading up to the March
15 primary, has hammered the
four-term attorney general be
cause his office is representing
the state in elections litigation
and said Cooper could have re-
fused. A federal trial on a portion
of the law requiring photo identi
fication to vote starting with this
election continued in Winston-
Salem.
The state NAACP, U.S. Jus
tice Department and others sued
to overturn the law. A lawyer
from Cooper’s office sits at the
defense table helping represent
the state.
“My opponent sitting with me
today, he’s been in court with the
Republicans fighting on behalf
of them and against the NAACP,
the League of Women Voters, the
people of North Carolina on a
constitutional issue that he does
not have to represent the state
on,” Spaulding told more than
150 people in attendance.
Cooper defended himself
in the forum, organized by the
African-American and Hispanic
caucus within the state Demo
cratic Party. He said it’s his duty
as attorney general to defend the
state’s laws in court. Cooper says
he’s personally opposed to the
law and urged Republican Gov.
Pat McCrory in 2013 to veto it.
The 2013 election law already
reduced the number of early vot
ing days from 17 to 10 and elimi
nated same-day registration dur
ing the early voting period.
“One of the reasons I’m run
ning for governor is I am sick
and tired of the laws that are be
ing passed by this governor and
(Continued On Page 2)
NCCU Celebrates Black History Month 2016 - North Carolina Central Uni
versity (NCCU) will commemorate Black History Month with a series of events
that are free and open to the public. Political activist, scholar and author Angela
Davis will share her experiences, knowledge and perspectives on Wednesday, Feb.
10, at 7 p.m. in B.N. Duke Auditorium. Davis’ visit is part of the university’s Rock
the Mic lecture series that is sponsored by the Office of Student Engagement and
Leadership in the Division of Student Affairs. (See story on page 2)
Cam Newton: ‘I’m an African American
QB that scares people’
By Steve Reed
CHARLOTTE (AP) - Panthers quarterback Cam Newton suggested for the first time Jan. 27 that race
may play a factor in why he’s become a lightning rod for public criticism.
“I’m an African-American quarterback that scares people because they haven’t seen nothing that they
can compare me to,” said the 6-foot-5, 245-pound Newton.
The No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft out of Auburn, Newton has his share of detractors who either
don’t like how he plays, his celebrations or his abundance of self-confidence.
Newton, a leading league MVP candidate putting up record-breaking numbers, said he learned a long
time ago that he can’t please everyone.
“People are going to judge, and have opinions on things I don’t have control over,” Newton said.
The stout and speedy Newton is beating teams with his arm and his legs, throwing for 35 touchdowns
and running for 10 this season. He has helped lead the Panthers (17-1) to their first Super Bowl since
2003. Carolina plays the AFC champion Denver Broncos on Feb. 7 in Santa Clara, California.
Newton acknowledged being leery of talking about how others may perceive him.
“I think it’s a trick question,” Newton said. “If I answer it truthfully it’s going to be ’Aw, he’s this or
that.’ But I will say it anyway.
“I don’t think people have seen what I am or what I’m trying to do.”
Newton said he hasn’t changed, and has previously responded to his critics.
“I said that prior to me being in this situation,” Newton said of being misunderstood. “But when I said
it then it was like, 'Oh he is immature,’ or, 'Oh he’s young and this that and the third.’ I felt a certain type
of way then and I feel a certain type of way now - nothing has pretty much changed. They talk about ma
turity. They talk about skillset.... The only thing that has changed (about me) is that we’re winning now.”
Panthers coach Ron Rivera doesn’t believe Newton should have to fight perceptions about race.
“I think he has always strived to have that separation,” Rivera said. “I don’t think he wants to be
known as an African-American quarterback; he wants to be known as a quarterback. I think that is what
drives him, to be able to transcend those boundaries, which I think is great.”
Rivera, who is Hispanic, said he has battled that notion to some degree himself.
“It really should be about your merits more than anything else,” the coach said. “More about what you
have accomplished, what you have done.”
Rivera said some people may simply not like Newton because of his personality.
The All-Pro quarterback plays the game with open enthusiasm, pointing his arms forward after run
ning for a first down, doing the “dab” in the end zone and pretending to rip open his shirt like Superman.
He gets his teammates to pose for pictures on the sideline near the end of games when the outcome is no
longer in doubt.
None of that bothers Rivera, who said Newton needs to remain true to himself.
“I think some people believe you should be stoic when you play this game,” Rivera said. “But a lot
of people disagree and think you should have fun. This is a kid’s game. I know there is a lot of money
involved, but at the end of the day it’s about entertainment. If you aren’t enjoying yourself, don’t play the
game -it’s that simple.”
(Continued On Page 2)