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VOLUME 88 - NUMBER 6
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2009
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30
ECHS sophomore Justin Reid joined NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms at the podium
to offer thanks to AT&T - North Carolina for underwriting the Virtual High School Pro
gram. See story and pictures on page 2.
On 100th Anniversary, NAACP
Challenges First Black President
By Hazel Trice Edney
NNPA Columnist
WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Upon its 100th anniversary this week, the NAACP under the leadership of Benja
min Todd Jealous, set aside euphoria over the historic inauguration of the first black president and challenged the
Obama administration on where he stands on human and civil rights issues as they pertain to people of color.
"We're not simply interested in a bail out for Main Street, it's a good goal. It's a good starting point. But. we
want a fix for back street." says Jealous in a telephone press conference leading up to Feb. 12. the 100th birthday
of the nation's oldest civil rights organization. "At the end of the day. we are not an organization who's here
merely to celebrate any milestone too much. On Jan. 20. we celebrated Obama as the nation's first black president
and first president of color. On Jan. 21. we were well aware that he simply became the 44th president of the United
States and all pressures that have worked the agenda of the presidents before him came to bear on him."
He continues. "So. now. we're out there with everybody else trying to make sure that his agenda is our agenda,
that his agenda is one of civil rights and inclusion and opportunity for all. And right now there are two things that
we're concerned are not getting sufficient attention."
The first issue that he listed was the need for federal enforcement of black participation in jobs and contracts
coming out of the $827 billion economic stimulus act. that has passed the House and is being negotiated in the
U. S. Senate this week.
"White unemployment [stats], since they've been calculated since 1940. have never gotten into double digits.
Yet somehow this country finds it tolerable and somewhat normal to have black unemployment in the double
digits." Jealous says.
The second issue is the need for law enforcement accountability - federal oversight and enforcement of police
profiling and misconduct, which former President Bush promised, but never delivered in 2001.
"We're lifting this up antj placing it squarely in front of the administration and we'll be pushing harder now
now that we know who the erttomey general is." Jeajous says, referring to Eric Holder, also black. "We have a de
cade of repressed aspirations since 1999 when candidate Bush promised to end racial profiling and driving while
black and it hasn't happened yet. But. we also need to see the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act passed.
We also need to see real reforms in police officer use of force and training."
Referring to protests in the wake of the in-the-back police shooting of a restrained unarmed man in an Oakland
subway. Jealous said. "We've had a riot in Oakland in the winter. We've had a riot in an American city in the
winter because of the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police killing."
Jealous said the NAACP has local affiliates dealing with high profile police killings in at least a half dozen
states.
Jealous said he would release specific policy proposals in a "White Paper" on Wednesday this week, the day
before the 100th Anniversary celebration of the organization founded in 1909. A White Paper is an authoritative
report or guide that outlines problems and suggests ways to solve them from expert perspective.
Jealous said proposals in the White Paper would include:
* That the Department of Labor beef up staffing in their solicitors office that handle discrimination. Also
that they beef up staffing in the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs so that as the stimulus dollars
How through, there won't be the same tattered infrastructure left by the Bush administration "and we won't see a
repeat of the sloppiness that we saw in Iraq and that we saw in New Orleans."
* That the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division be rebuilt to enforce a wide spectrum of civil rights
laws.
* That every stimulus-created job that is awarded to a general contractor or to sub-contractors be contract
ed through the federal employment service so that federal authorities will monitor who gets the jobs. "We need to
send a clear message that tax payer dollars should create jobs for everybody. We don't want people diseriminated
against based on age. gender, race or anything else." Jealous said.
* Greater oversight for banks, brokers and a major investment in public education "because we're tired of
black people with good credit and assets being fleeced. We want them protected."
The White Paper will included the N A ACP's Agenda pertaining to the Obama Administration for the first year.
He said the Goals of the NAACP for the next 25 years of the 21st century will be released at its 100th Annual
Convention in July in New 'York.
issuing the White Paper to the Obama Administration is only one major action taken by the civil rights organi
zation amidst the economic havoc in the black community.
The organization is moving ahead with a federal lawsuit to force 15 major financial institutions to cease alleged
racial discrimination and rogue sub-prime home mortgage lending.
A federal Judge last month denied a joint motion filed by the institutions to stop the NAACP from moving
ahead with the suit. The lenders are now required to release information and documents regarding their mortgage
policies and practices, according to an NAACP news release.
The Mortgage lenders named in the lawsuit include: Accredited Home Lenders, Inc.: Ameriquest Mortgage
Co.; Bear Stems Residential Mortgage Corp.; Encore Credit; Chase Bank USA; Citimortgage; First Franklin
'Continued On Page 7)
Thousands in N. C. Expected to Protest
Possible Budget Cuts This Saturday
"We must say to folks
in the state of North
Carolina whom we
love and have great re
spect for that you will
not ride the coattail of
a president of change,
and then keep doing
business the same old
way, ’ - Rev. Barber
By Cash Michaels
Special to the NNPA from the
Wilmington Journal
WILMINGTON (NNPA) - If
recent reports are any indication,
people suffering from HIV/AIDS,
the elderly and children, and even
victims of North Carolina's forced
sterilization program, will see the
short end of the budget stick after
Gov, Beverly Perdue and state law
makers decide how to make up ar
estimated $2 billion budget short
fall.
The state NAACP has wasted no
time demanding that no matter how
bad the deficit, the programs that
serve the poor and needy should be
protected, not decimated.
"Don't balance the state budget
on the backs of the poor." Rev. Wil
liam Barber II. NC NAACP presi
dent. read from a letter addressed
to Gov. Perdue. House Speaker
Joe Hackney and Senate President
Pro tern Marc Basnight at the civil
rights group's winter conference in
Durham.
"We must say to folks in the
state of North Carolina whom we
love and have great respect for that
you will not ride the coattail of a
president of change, and then keep
doing business the same old way."
Rev. Barber continued, reminding
all how Perdue and the Democrats
owe their recent election victories
to the overwhehning black support
President Barack Obama attracted
to the polls last November.
Barber believes that it would be
a double-cross for those same Dem
ocratic leaders to now cut the very
educational and social programs the
black community supports. The NC
NAACPand its 85 coalition partners
plan to further make their case dur
ing their third "Historic Thousands
on Jones Street Rally and March
Saturday. Feb, 14 in Raleigh, which
is expected to attract an estimated
10,000 supporters.
"We are concerned about the
least of these and will they get their
fair share of the general fujids."
Rev. Barber said.
But so far. a week after the Gen
eral Assembly reconvened for its
biannual long session, the NC Leg
islative Black Caucus, led by Dem
ocrat Rep. Alma Adams of Guilford
County, has said precious little in
defense of the programs that serve
a good number of the low-income
African-American constituencies in
caucus members' districts.
Sources close to the black law
makers say they're holding their
fire, if any is to come at all, until
various legislative budget commit
tees get a closer look at what Gov.
Perdue is proposing to cut.
Many of Perdue's possible re
ductions may ultimately include not
only programs, but also across the
board state agency layort's. indeed
Perdue directed agency heads this
week to begin preparing la\ off lists
in case she ultimately has to pull
that budget reduction trigger.
Beyond layoffs, some of the sug
gested program cuts - cuts that the
governor's spokesperson is quoted
as saying may not be deep enough
- indeed impact vital services for
the poor and communities of color
across the state.
"We are going to be hit hard."
said N. Carnell Robinson, president
of the NC Black Leadership Cau
cus. noting that the worst burden is
going to be on those programs that
provide direct services to the poor.
Some "reduction options" al
ready forwarded to the governor,
according to the Greensboro News
& Record newspaper this week, in
clude reducing $458,850 in funding
to the NC Housing Finance Agen
cy. reducing almost a million dol
lars to the Office of Rural Health;
over $2.6 million to the Division
of Aging and Adult Services; over
$25 million to the NC Division of
Child Development; over $2.3 mil
lion from the Office of Education
Services: over $13 million from
REV. BARBER
the state Division of Public Health,
which includes cutting funding
from such programs as public as
sistance to maternity clinics. HIV/
STD Prevention-AIDS Drug As
sistance program, and local aid to
counties: cutting over $16 million
from the Division of Social Servic
es: over $224 million from the Di
vision of Medical Assistance: and
almost $50 million from the Divi
sion of Mental Health, among other
suggested cuts.
"This is the worst time for the
state to transfer the cost of some of
these programs to the local govern
ments." Robinson said, noting how
Durham Mayor Bill Bell this week
warned that unless city employees
develop efficiencies, city govern
ment may have to also cut services
and layoff workers.
Thanks to the global economic
downturn. North Carolina is among
several states swimming in red ink
thanks to lower than expected tax
revenue collections.
Things are so tough that the state
may have to borrow money from
the federal government just to pay
out tens of millions of dollars in
unemploy ment benefits to the over
400.000 jobless here.
Gov. Perdue is hoping to get at
least $16 billion from the economic
stimulus package President Obama
got passed in the US House last
week, and hopes will fly through
the US Senate next, despite staunch
Republican opposition.
One of the measures that couldn't
come at a worst time is a bill, finally-
endorsed by- the state House leader
ship. to pay upwards of $19 million
in damages to the now elderly vic
tims of the state's forced steriliza
tion program.
An estimated 7.600 poor white
and black teenage girls, deemed
many times to be enoneously- men-
taily ill. were sterilization by- order
of the state between 1929 and 1974
to prevent them for having more
children. The practice, upheld by
the US Supreme Court, was pan
of the racist "eugenics" program of
the early I920's.
Rep. Larry Womble of Winston-
Salem has been a staunch advocate
for the victims of the program to be
compensated at least $20,000 each
by the state tor what was done to
them, but thus far all he could get
was an apology from Gov, Mike
Easley in 2003. and state lawmak
ers to strike the eugenics law from
the books thereafter.
There had been stiff resistance to
even addressing the reparations is
sues until Speaker Joe Hackney last
year assured Womble that his bill
would get fair consideration during
a study committee.
House Bill 20. which is now in
the House Committee on Ruies.
Calendar and Operations of the
House, would become effective in
July if passed.
But even though Gov. Perdue
had expressed support for helping
the sterilization victims during her
run for office in January 2008, giv
en the current budget crunch, will
she and the General Assembly fol
low through, or w ill those victims,
many of whom are elderly women
now. continue to die ofT w ithout the
state ever making amends?
Editor's note - The NCN AACP's
Third Annual "HK on J" rally and
march is scheduled for Saturday-.
Feb. 14 starting at 9:30 a.m. w ith a
rally at Chavis Park in Raleigh, and
then at 10:30 a.m. a march to the
White House Unveils Stimulus
Package Impact on Blacks
Special to tne NNPA from the St. Louis American
ST. LOUIS (NNPA) - Responding to an inquiry by the editor of The St.
Louis American newspaper. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood re
cently outlined portions of the $827 billion American Recovery and Rein
vestment Plan that he says will specifically impact the black community.
The White House response came after a telephone press conference
with Midwest reporters during which NNPA award-winning editor Alvin
A. Reed asked LaHood about the minority- participation aspects of the act.
which President Obama has implored Congress to pass this week.
Initially. LaHood hedged, responding, "That's a point I have really not
considered. We'll have to get back to (him.) rather than give an answer I
don't really know."
Only hours after a story reporting the inquiry and response was posted
on stlAmerican.com Feb, 5. LaHood issued the following detailed strategy,
titled. "African Americans and the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Plan" (The response has been lightly edited for style and clarity by the
NNPA News Service):
* General: The majority of the provisions in this recovery and rein
vestment plan will assist African-Americans, who have been dramatically
impacted during these tough times, in making it through this period with
tax cuts for 95 percent of families, programs including extension of unem
ployment benefits. COBRA healthcare benefits, and food stamps and tem
porary' assistance for needy families (TANF). while also preparing them
for new opportunities with training for new jobs in existing and emerging
industries.
* Tax Cuts: This plan seeks to put money in the hands of consumers
as quickly as possible through tax cuts for 95 percent of families. This is
especially important for African-Americans who have experienced a re
versal of fortune in the gains in wages and salary reached during the 1990s
compared to others in the workforce. This immediate infusion of resources
will not only allow them to purchase the items they need for their families,
but also help rebuild our economy.
* Job Creation: The unemployment rate for African-Americans was
12.1 percent and had risen to 12.6 percent when new job numbers were
(Continued On Page 7)