The NAACP family is saddened by the passing of Margaret
Bush Wilson, an activist and lawyer who was the first African
American woman to chair the NAACP Board Of Directors.
Wilson died on Aug. 1 1 . at the age of 90
The importance of the NAACP and its mission were
? ? +1 ii- j vi/: l i..
Margaret Rush Wilson
insiiiicu in wiihot caiiy
in life, as both of her par
ents were active in the St.
Louis Branch of the
NAACP. of which she
became a member as a
youth. Following her
graduation from
Talladega College in
1940, she entered Lincoln
University School of Law
in Missouri, set up one
year earlier after the
Supreme Court ruled that
black .students must be;
admitted to the
University of Missouri
Law School or provide
equal educational oppor
tunities elsewhere.
In 1953, following
liar i<ro/4n<ihi\n c k.i in/?r\r.
IIW ^lUUUUllVni, 31IV 1 1 IV V/I
porated black brokers, organized by her father, who brought the
successful Shelley vs. Kramer case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1956, she began work as volunteer for the St. Louis Branch
NAACP when they formed a Job Opportunity Council to get
local white businessmen to hire black citizens. In 1958, she
became president of the St. Louis Branch.
In early I960, she organized the first statewide NAACP
Conference in Missouri which became the Missouri State
Conference of NAACP Branches, of which she also served as
President. She was later elected to the NAACP Board of
Directors in 1963 and was a member for the next twelve years,
until her election as Chairman in 1975 and served in this posi
tion for nine years through 1983.
After her election as Chairman, when male board members
inquired "What shall we call you? Chairperson? Chairlady?"
she responded. "As long as you recognize that I'm Chairman of
the Board, 1 don't care what you call me." .
Man pleads guilty to Facebook threats
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - An African- American man from
Mississippi admits posing as a white supremacist to send a
death threat across state lines by Facebook.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says 20-year-old Dyron L. Hart
of Popiatv i lis pleaded guilty last week in federal court to mak
ing a threat in November 2008.
Hart admitted creating a name and using a white suprema
cist's photo to pose as a white man who planned to kill blacks
because Barack Obama had been elected president.
He originally was charged with threatening three black stu
dents at Nicholls State - where he had attended one semester -
but pleaded guilty to one count.
He sent the threats from a computer in Poplarville.
The maximum sentence is five years in prison and a
$250 ,000 fine: sentencing is Nov. 18.
Head of seminary
?/
named African ambassador
ATLANTA (AP) - The head of Atlanta's
Interdenominational Theological Center has been named the
U.S. ambassador to the African Union, an intergovernmental
organization consisting of 53 African states.
ITC officials announced last week that Michael A. Battle
has accepted the new post after six years at the historically
black seminary. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Aug.
7.- v" ' V. . _v V.
A swearing in ceremony has been scheduled for Aug. 21 in
Washington. The ITC board plans to name an interim president
by the end of the month and will begin a search for a new leader
to put in place by the 2010-1 1 school year.
No charges for white cop ? -
who killed black colleague
NEW YORK (AP) - A white police officer who killed an
off-duty black colleague in a friendly fire incident that raised
questions about racial profiling will not face criminal charges,
prosecutors said last Thursday.
After hearing from 20 witnesses and examining 68 docu
ments. a grand jury voted not to indict
Officer Andrew Dunton in the May 28
shooting of Officer Omar Edwards on a
dark street, Manhattan District Attorney
Robert Morgenthau said.
Edwards. 25, had drawn his gun and
was! chasing a man who had broken into
his car. Dunton apparently mistook the
off-duty officer for an armed suspect and
shot him .
Since then, some civil rights advo
cates have charged that race was a factor
in the shooting.
Tl. rt a ? . . . . .
i nc Kev. Al Jsharpton said that the
decision was expected, as grand juries rarely indict officers in
friendly fire shootings.
"We w ill continue to call on the governor to authorize a spe
cial prosecutor in this case." Sharpton said.
Edwards' mother. Natalia Harding, said in a television inter
view that she believed Dunton shot her son because he was
black.
"I would like to see him go to jail." Harding said.
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest H.
Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every
Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co. Inc.. 617
N. Liberty Street. Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101. Periodicals
p>stage paid at Winston-Salem. N.C. Annual subscription price
is $30.72.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
The Chronicle. P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem. NC 27102-1636
Group wants officers to give up Tasers
THK ASSOCIATED PR1 sS
AI.Bl QUKkQl K M embers of a Hispanic rights
group are calling tor authorities to gi\e up their Ia>er guns.
gun darts in the hip and head b> the Tucumcari Police Chief
Bobbye Rose, who was later placed on administrative leave
over the incident. It look 18 staples and six stitches to piece
Martinez's head back together.
A crowd from the League of United Latin
American Citizens chanted Saturday, ""lasers
are lethal, make them illegal at
Albuquerque's City Hall
The protesters claim the weapon is
deadly, and authorities are using it
target ethnic minorities more fre
quently than whites.
They want lawmakers to take
the high-voltage weapons away
.from law enforcement officers.
"Our community and the
African American community are
getting tased and getting killed
by these laser guns.'" New
Mexico's LULAC district direc
tor Ralph 'Afe:llanes said-.
There have been 437 stun gun
deaths nationwide since, the* weapon
was introduced in 2(K)(). according to
statistics compiled by LULAC. which is
the nation s largest Hispanic civil rights
? . / ? . /
organisation. >. y
19 29
In Raton. Jesse Saenz died in juu/ alter ne
was shot with a Taser gun Three officers
face charge* in connection with Saenz's
death.
"We don't want to come across
(as) not supporting law enforce
ment, but we want to hold those
accountable who are using these
types of tools and not using
their good judgment" LULAC
State Director Pablo Martinez
said.
A Taser shocks with
50,000 volts, temporarily dis
abling its target.
The Albuquerque Police
Department declined to com
ment on the protest, but said it has
rnrt had problems with the use of
Taser weapons.
"The department feels it's a good
tool, it keeps the officer safe, it keeps the
citizens safi^and it saves lives," Albuquerque
The protesters also pointed to eases in New Mexico
in which they say Tasers" Were used inappropriately.
In July. 14-year-old Kailee Martinez was shot with stun
police spokeswoman Nadine Hamby said.
Albuquerque police cadets get tasered during their train
ing for the department, Hamby said.
Highly Unlikely Allies
Sharpton, Gingrich
push Obarna s
school reforms
BY 1 1BBY Ql AIL)
THE \SS(K I Mi l) I'RI SS
WASHINGTON
Education Secretary Arne
Duncan is joining forces w ith
two unlikely allies, the Rev. A!
Sharpton and Republican for
mer House Speaker Newt
Gingrich, to push cities to fix
failing schools.
The trio will visit
Philadelphia, New Orleans and
Baltimore later this year. They
plan to add more stops as their
tour progresses.
"These are cities that have
real challenges but also
tremendous hope and opportu
nity." Duncan told reporters on
a conference call last Thursday.
Duncan and Gingrich were
scheduled to be ^guests^n
Sharpton "s radio show Friday
afternoon. The reverend was
recording his show in Atlanta
during the National Action
Network's annual conference.
The idea came from a
meeting they had with
President Barack Obama in
May at the White House,
Education is high pn
Obama's priority list. He is
seeking to boost achievement,
keep kids from dropping out of
high school and pu^h every
student to pursue some form of
higher education.
The president has vowed to
make the United States the
world leader in the number of
people who graduate from col
lege.
He argues that students
who do better in school will
help themselves in a work
force that increasingly depends
on high-skilled jobs, and that
the country will benefit as
well.
Obama discussed educa
tion issues in an interview with
Damon Weaver, an 1 1 - vear-old
Florida student.
"On Sept. 8. when young
people across the country will
have just started or are about to
go back to school, I'm going to
be making a big speech to
young people all across the
country about the importance
of education, the importance of
staying in school, how we want
Sharpton
to improve our education sys
tem and why it's so important
for the country." Obama said.
Sharpton. the liberal
Democrat and community
activist, said teachers and
administrators aren't the only
ones responsible for improving
schools.
"The parents need to be
challenged with the message of
'no excuses."" Sharpton said.
Interviewed on NBC's
"Today " show last Friday,
Gingrich and Sharpton were
asked how they had agreed to
work together on education in
view of the many differences
they've had on other issues.
? "I think that he has it exact
ly right, that education has to
be the No. I civil right of the
21st century, and I've been
passionate about reforming
education." Gingrich said.
"And we can't get it done as a
partisan issue."
Sharpton said the time has
come to "change the conversa
tion ... to say we need to put
everybody's hands on the
table."
He said he believes thai "if
Gingrich
there's anything Americans
should be mature enough about
to have a decent conversation,
it's the education of their chil
dren."
Gingrich applauded
Obama for showing "real
courage on the issue of charter
schools." Obama wants to
increase the number of charter
schools, which have a contro
versial history and are a divi
sive issue for his party's base.
Charters get public tax dol
lars, but operate free from local
school board control and usu
ally from union contracts,
making them a target of criti
cism by many teachers' union
members.
"1 strongly believe that
when you can find common
ground, we should be able to
put other differences aside to
achieve a common goal,"
Gingrich said.
Courses Open for Audit
Fall 2009
Beginning Wednesday, August 26th
A History of the Baptists
Dr. Bill Leonard
Black Religion, Culture & Society
Dr. Alton Pollard, III
New Testament Greek I
Dr. James Powell
Sexualities & the Church
Brian Amnions
Women & the Preaching Life
Dr. Veronice Miles l
Divinity School Choir
Laura jane Kist
divinity@wfu.edu
336.758.4157
WAKE FOREST
IT I I V I I I I T 1
August 22
tiimn mil mm Hin-Hifi
MELVA HOUSTON
?? rmff
lllHIIIIIHliHlllllHWMOW
August 28
ERIC ESSEX
MBMEMIE
www.dwsp.org
The Chronicle,
the Choice for
African-American News, is located at
617 N. Libert) Street
Winston-Salem. NC 27101
336-722-H624
Fax - 336-723-9173
news(? wschroniclt .com
www.wschronick.com
The Chronicle was established by
Krnest Pitt and
Nduhisi Egemonye in 1974. and is pub
lished every Thursday by Winston
Salem Chronicle
Publishing Co.. Inc.
The Chronicle is a proud member of :
Sat tonal Newspapers Publishers
Association ?
North Carolina Press Association ?
North Carolina Black Publishers
Association ? Inland Press Association
.The
Home Delivery Subscription Order
i> YES. Please send me The Chronicle
o 2 years: $40,95
o I year: $30.72
o 6 months: $20.48
I
r t"it>
J biwil
| 0 VISA
VuHfi# Number
O Mastercard
0 American Express
0 Check enclosed
Kxpiruion Due
Si ND TO: The Chronicle. P.O. Box 1636. Winston-Salem, NC 27102
0 Please bill mej
Ku\inr\\ Offitt 72M42S, txt I (XI P*tium Mooif
Bu\inrv Oflict 7D-I42I, exL 101 Andhea Most)
-