VOLUME 97 - NUMBER 40
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2018
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913
PRICE: 50 CENTS
North Carolina legislative
remap challenges still in court
MS. JAMEERAH ALI
NCCU Student
Named White House
Initiative Scholar
North Carolina Central University (NCCU) junior business ma
jor Jameerah Ali has been named as a 2018 HBCU Competitiveness
Scholar by the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges
and Universities (HBCUs), a program that recognizes outstanding
student performance in higher education.
Ali is among 63 students selected based on high achievement in
academics, campus involvement, entrepreneurial ethos and civic en
gagement. To be considered for the honor, students must submit their
college transcripts, resumes, an essay and letters of recommendation.
“Jameerah is a great example of an Eagle soaring and her selection
as an HBCU Competitiveness Scholar is an acknowledgment of her
continuous pursuit of excellence in academics and service,” said Dr.
Ontario Wooden, associate vice chancellor for Innovative, Engaged
and Global Education.
Ali participated among other HBCU Competitiveness Scholars in
the White House HBCU Week Conference held Sept. 16-18 in Wash
ington, D.C. She was formally presented with the award during the
initiative’s Excellence in Innovation and Competitiveness Awards
ceremony on Sept. 17.
Over the course of the next year, Ali will also take part in other
national events and engage via web chats with professionals and fel
low scholars from a range of disciplines.
“Representing NCCU as a HBCU Competitiveness Scholar is a
great honor,” Ali said.
Ali is currently devoting her fall semester to studying marketing,
banking, finance and strategic management at Mahidol University in
Salaya, Thailand, which is 30 miles from Bangkok.
Most recently, Ali spent her summer break with Wells Fargo
Home Mortgage as a Sales and Service Systems intern. She has also
contributed greatly to the NCCU community through her work as
an intern for the Internal Audit Office and also an assistant for the
Department of Residential Life.
The Philadelphia native has been involved with several student or
ganizations, including the Financial Management Society, Alpha Chi
Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and NCCU’s student
chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants Inc., where
she serves as president.
Ali, who is a member of the University Honors Program, also de
votes her time to the community. In her spare time, she volunteers
for Durham Public Schools and the Durham Rescue mission, a non-
profit organization for that assists families who are homeless.
Rep. Waters Lashes out at
‘False Allegations’
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Contributor
@StacyB rownMedia
Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters went on the defensive
when pundits and media friendly to President Donald Trump accused
one of her staff members of secretly releasing the personal informa
tion of three Republican senators.
Waters and Trump have long feuded with the president calling her
names and Waters simply calling for his impeachment.
However, as the contentious confirmation hearings of Trump’s Su
preme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, roared on, allegations
continued.
While the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford took place in
the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room, South Carolina’s Sen.
Lindsey Graham and his GOP counterparts, Sen. Orrin Hatch and
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, saw information that included their phone
numbers and addresses leaked onto Wikipedia.
Gateway Pundit and RedState, both Trump-friendly sites, reported
that the IP address responsible for the leak was associated with Wa
ters’ office and a staff member was responsible.
Waters went on the offensive:
“Lies, lies, and more despicable lies. I am utterly disgusted by the
spread of the completely false, absurd, and dangerous lies and con
spiracy theories that are being pedaled by ultra-right-wing pundits,
outlets, and websites who are promoting a fraudulent claim that a
member of my staff was responsible for the release of the personal
information of Members of the United States Senate on Wikipedia,”
she said in a statement sent to various news outlets, including the
NNPA Newswire.
“This unfounded allegation is completely false and an absolute
lie,” Waters said.
(Continued On Page 12)
By Gary D. Robertson
RALEIGH (AP) - Court ar
guments on General Assembly
district lines that Republican
legislators originally approved
seven years ago have yet to be
exhausted as state judges Sept.
28 weighed whether lines for
several House seats should re
vert to how they were drawn in
2011.
At issue are provisions in
North Carolina’s constitution
that say state legislative districts
“shall remain unaltered” until the
release of each decade’s census
numbers. There are exceptions
to this mid-decade redistricting
ban when courts order changes,
as they have in the 2010s.
The U.S. Supreme Court said
in June that a lower federal court
went too far in ruling 2017 map
changes in Mecklenburg and
Wake counties violated the state
constitution’s prohibition of
mid-decade redistricting because
it wasn’t the lower court’s job to
decide. The alterations were part
of a larger remap by the General
Assembly and an outside expert
after the same lower court had
declared nearly 30 House and
Senate districts were illegal ra
cial gerrymanders.
Before the justices ruled, the
state NA ACP, League of Women
Voters, other groups and voters
had already sued in state court
saying four Wake state House
districts violated the mid-decade
prohibition. They wanted the
districts returned to their 2011
shapes.
Allison Riggs, an attorney
for the plaintiffs, told the state
judges Sept. 28 that altering the
Wake districts adjoining two dis
tricts that had been struck down
for racial bias was proper, but the
four other districts weren’t un
lawful and should have been left
alone. Her clients argue that Re
publicans changed three of the
four districts to improve chances
for Republican election victories
this fall.
The three-judge panel didn’t
rule immediately from the bench
after two hours of oral argu
ments. The case won’t affect this
fall’s election but could alter the
map in 2020, a year before the
next round of redistricting be
gins based on census figures.
Riggs told the panel that past
state redistricting eases show the
mid-decade prohibition “must be
enforced to the maximum extent
possible,” provided it doesn’t
contradict federal law.
“You don’t have to change
every district in the county to
correct the racial gerrymander”
found by federal judges in the
two districts, Riggs told the state
judges.
Phil Strach, a lawyer for
Republican mapmakers, told the
judges redrawing more Wake
districts was one way to com
ply with both the federal court
ruling that found the 28 racially
gerrymandered districts and the
prohibition. Strach cited a previ
ous court opinion suggesting the
legislature could redraw districts
that were “directly and indirectly
affected” by a court decision.
“There’s a menu of options
and a menu of possible reason
able options, and this court is
bound to accept the one that the
legislature used as reasonable,”
Strach said.
“Today on National Voter Registration Day, we’re urging everyone to use their
power to register and mobilize new voters and get involved in one of the most
important election in our nation’s history.” — NAACP President & CEO Derrick
Johnson
NAACP Ramps up Voter Outreach Campaign
on National Voter Registration Day
Power of 5 Campaign Looks to Translate Personal Networks into Votes
during Midterm Elections
BALTIMORE - NAACP, the nation’s foremost civil rights organization, is looking to mobilize
personal networks, activists and supporters to energize its base ahead of the 2018 midterm elections on
November 6.
“Our lives are on the ballot this year, so it is absolutely crucial that African-Americans as a whole
participate in these midterms elections at rates that reflect our true voting power,” said NAACP
President & CEO Derrick Johnson. “Today on National Voter Registration Day, we’re urging everyone
to use their power to register and mobilize new voters and get involved in one of the most important
election in our nation’s history.”
President Johnson’s statement echoes the urgency of NAACP’s message for voting this year. The
increase of brutal #livingwhileblack incidents, the continuous stream of hateful rhetoric, disrespect and
racist policies coming from the White House, all point to the notion that Black lives, civil rights and the
issues of communities of color matter less and less to the President and elected officials in our nation.
The NAACP recognizes this threat and is engaging voters based on the all too real idea of “Vote! Our
lives depend on it.”
NAACP, Derrick Johnson, National Voter Registration Day, African
Americans, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, NAAACP Voter Mobilization, the Power 5 Challenge,
REP. MAXINE WATERS
While the testimony of Dr.
Christine Blasey Ford took
place in the Senate Judiciary
Committee hearing room, South
Carolina’s Sen. Lindsey Graham
and his GOP counterparts, Sen.
Orrin Hatch and Sen. Mike Lee
of Utah, saw information that
included their phone numbers
and addresses leaked onto Wiki
pedia.
ttlivingwhileblack, White House,
At the very core of the campaign is a radical voter registration and mobilization tactic utilizing
social media platforms and personal networks. Fifty-five days out from election-day, NAACP launched
the Power of 5 challenge, asking people to tap into the concept of relational organizing. Enlisting the
help of top tier celebrities, civic leaders, artists, elected officials and everyday heroes, NAACP used
a portrait and PSA series to task people to engage their own networks by registering 5 people to vote,
volunteering for 5 days between now and the election, and sharing the message with 5 friends.
“The most important player in this year’s election is the individual, said Jamal Watkins, NAACP
Vice President of Civic Engagement. “Our recent poll showed a majority of voters of color and nearly
all Black women felt disrespected by President Trump. People of color also believed this president
has set back race relations and these numbers will play a role in both how and why they’ll vote in the
midterm elections.”
The NAACP voter mobilization efforts includes the activation of its over 2200 branches across
the country and key on-the-ground strategic initiatives in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, North
Carolina and Pennsylvania. It will engage faith partners, community leaders and other social justice
organizations, and will serve as a catalyst for NAACP’s five-year civic engagement plan.
“This campaign is about the power of our personal networks to mobilize voters and to ensure that no
elected officials can feel comfortable in disrespecting our communities or taking our votes for granted,”
added Watkins.
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization.
Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in
their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue
areas here.
Legislator, state NAACP propose
voting changes post-Florence
RALEIGH (AP) - A civil rights group and key legislator are concerned enough about how residents
displaced by Hurricane Florence will be able to vote that they’re seeking action on ballot and registration
access.
The state NAACP held a news conference Monday, Oct. 1 asking the state elections board to extend
the traditional voter registration deadline from Oct. 12 to Oct. 17 in 29 eastern counties. State law gives
the board’s executive director power to act unilaterally in some situations.
NAACP leaders also want absentee ballot deadlines eased, options for more voting places and voter
education efforts.