4 Tiik VoK i:, For Students. By Stiiilont.s
Foatui'os
Soi)t«‘iiilK'r 13.
“40 Years is Long Enough”
By Francena Turner
The surviving members of
the “Wilmington 10” want
Governor Beverly Purdue to
issue them a pardon of inno
cence and they need your help!
On September 5, 2012,
FSU’s Technology Assisted
Legal Instruction and Servic
es Center (TALIAS) allowed
both FSU students and people
in the surrounding community
to be a part of a web roundta
ble on the topic based at North
Carolina Central University,
and including students from
Elizabeth City State Univer
sity, Winston Salem State Uni
versity, and Fayetteville State
University. The panel includ
ed host Attorney Irving Joyner,
Reverend Benjamin Chavis,
Rev. Kojo Nantambu, Judy
Mack (daughter of Anne Shep
pard Turner, the only woman
Courtesy o/TALIAS
and the only white member of
the Wilmington 10), and Attor
ney James Ferguson.
The Wilmington 10, consist
ing of nine young black men
and one white woman, were
a group of activists who were
imprisoned after being con
victed of setting a Wilmington,
NC grocery store on fire in
1971 and conspiring to shoot
at police officers.
“Two years prior (1968-69)
they closed down the black
high school and made the
black students attend one of
the two white high schools.
The students were angry.
There were few black teachers
or counselors. They made it
hard for black student athletes
to play [sports]. There was no
black history taught. Students
protested for equitable repre
sentation. The school refused
to hear us. We decided to not
go to school [in protest],” Nan
tambu stated. Nantambu was
one of the organizers of the
protest and was not jailed with
the young people involved in
the pardon request.
Chavis, who is now the
President and CEO of the Hip
Hop Action Summit, says that
he was a “veteran in the civil
rights movement” at the time
and went to Wilmington on
February 1, 1971 to assist the
protesters at the request of the
United Church of Christ Com
mission on Racial Justice.
While organizing the pro
testers and contacting various
authorities to try to garner pro
tection for the students, Chavis
said the violence increased.
Several students were shot or
verbally attacked. When white
students decided not to attend
school either, the violence hit a
fever pitch.
“They didn’t do it in support
of our efforts, they said if the
[blacks] weren’t going to go,
they weren’t either” Nantambu
recalled. That weekend result
ed in several fires, shootings,
and fire bombings.
The following year, 16
young people were arrested
and eventually 10, the Wilm
ington 10, were tried for the
bombing of Mike's Grocery
Store.
In a series of questionable
trials, all 10 were convicted,
sentenced to a sum total of 242
years, and served prison time.
In 1977, Amnesty International
declared them “political pris
oners of consciousness”. This
was significant because it had
never happened in the United
States. By 1980, the convic
tions were overturned and they
were released from prison.
On May 17. 2012. the re
maining members of the
Wilmington 10 (four are de
ceased) petitioned Governor
Bev Purdue to grant them
pardons of innocence. Ac
cording to the North Carolina
Department of Corrections, a
pardon of innocence is granted
when an individual has been
convicted and the criminal
charges are subsequently dis
missed. Application for this
type of Pardon allows an indi
vidual to petition the Governor
for a declaration of innocence
when the individual has been
erroneously convicted and im
prisoned and later determined
to be innocent. In such cases
where this Pardon is granted,
an individual is allowed to
seek compensation from the
state.
Chavis stated the group’s
focus is to get their pardon.
Compensation is not their fo
cus at this time. Ferguson, the
original attorney for the Wilm-,
ington 10, emphasized that the'
pardon request is at Governor
Purdue’s discretion. He said.
“The process is fluid, it would
really help if those familiar
with the case and the pardon
request contacted the gover
nor’s office and indicated that
they support it.” Governor
Purdue is not seeking re-elec
tion and will leave office in
January 2013. If she does not
address the pardon request,
the group will have to start the
process over again with the
next governor
Nantambu, president of
the Charlotte chapter of
the NAACP, added that all
NAACP chapters have pe
titions available. FSU’s
NAACP President Tiara
Walker can be reached at twai-
ke20@broncos.uncfsu.edu
Contact information for
Governor Bev Purdue:
Office of tfie Governor
Constituent Services Office
116 West Jones Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603!
Phone; (800) 662-7952
(919)733-2391
Fax:(919) 733-2120
Email; governoroffice@nc.gov
Twitter: ©ncgovoffice
Facebook; https://www.
facebook.com/pages/Bev- !
Perdue/11552180685
SGA
World Wide
By Jalynn Jones
Broncos have touched Indian and Chi
nese soil! After having two executive
board members study abroad, Fayetteville
State University’s Student Government
Association is off to a productive start,
and have decided to bring the global mind
set back to FSU. SGA Executive Board
members consisting of Jermaine Coble,
Jessica Norfleet, Tristin Rainey, and April
Love traveled to Greenville, North Caro
lina on August 24th through the 26th to
collaborate with the 17 members of the
UNC school system to implement better
planning and service to their respective
student bodies. FSU’s SGA will also be
meeting North Carolina Central Univer
sity’s Student Government Association
at our first Football game of the year on
September 1st. SGA Week is readily ap
proaching beginning on September 17th.
The next senate meeting is on Wednesday,
September 26th at 5 p.m. in the Rudolph
Jones Student Center room 236. Feel free
to come voice vour concerns.
September 2012
16
3 Labor Day
University
Closed
10
17 Bronco
Kick-Off
ll-2p»n
Club &
Organization
Fai r
11
5 Senate
Meeting &
5 pm
6 AUTOS Cavipus
police foruci!’
Fall Elecfion
Application
Deadline
12 Committee 13 Hispanic 14
Meeting @ Oay Program
5pm Clect-ion Mtg.
18 Chantellor's 19 Bronco
Speaker Series off
Community _ „
Service
Mass Off
20 ciMuirj) f*i»
SGA Voter
Empowerment
Program
21 Bon Fire/
Pep Rally
23 Class Queen 24 FSU vs. 2 5 Speeches
* Kings Inter- St. Aug. Voter
views Volleyban Came Registration
Day
30 Miss
Black and
Cold Pageant
26 Senate
Meeting @
Spra
27
Election Mtg.
for Mr. PSU and
Miss/Mr. HC
I’rcvcnliiiii VVfi k
Alphi^Wcckih » « »ll i; ll I 1 ,1
FSU vs. NCCU
Durham, NC
6 pm
Bus Trip _
8 FSU vs.
UNC-P
Pembroke
6 pm
Bus Trip
15 Tail Cate
FSU vs.VA
6 pm
22Tailgate
FSU vs. ECSU
Home
I 6 pm
29 FSU vs. Chowan
Away 6 pn
Inf«mat1onal
Festival
Chance nor's
Speaker Series