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VOLUME 91 - NUMBER 2 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012 TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30
No Child Left Behind Education law’s promise falls short
STARTING A NEW YEAR - Kwanzaa was celebrated Jan. 1 at the Durham
. Armory with a end of week celebration. (Photo By Lawson)
NO Racial Justice Act
intact, still no override
By Gary D. Robertson
RALEIGH (AP) - The North
I Carolina House appeared Jan. 4
I to have given up for now on try-
ling to override Democratic Gov.
iBeverly Perdue’s veto of a bill
that would have gutted key sec-
tions of the Racial Justice Act.
Hours after the Senate voted
Ito cancel Perdue’s veto of the bill
that would dismantle the new
procedure for death-row inmates
Ito argue racial bias influenced
titheir sentences, House Republi
cans sent the measure to a judi
ciary committee.
House Majority Leader Paul
Stam said it was unlikely it
would be taken up again soon.
Instead, Republicans an
nounced the creation of a spe
cial committee that would look
at racial discrimination and how
the death penalty is carried out.
While Republicans in the Sen
ate have a veto-proof majority,
House GOP leaders would have
needed the help of four Demo
crats to let the bill become law
aver Perdue’s objections.
Stam, R-Wake, said the com-
nittee was formed in part be
cause some Democrats indicated
Ian. 4 they had some ideas of
ways to fix the 2009 Racial Jus
tice Act.
Hillside Band members perform at Kwanzaa cel
lbration Jan. 1 (Photo by Lawson)
“We haven’t heard what their
ideas are, but maybe they have
some ideas,” he said.
The Racial Justice Act allows
condemned prisoners and mur
der defendants to use statistical
evidence to bolster arguments
that racial discrimination was a
significant factor in their death
sentence or a district attorney’s
decision to seek the death pen
alty. Such evidence might in
clude the percentage of blacks
sentenced to death in a particular
county or region, for example. A
judge who agreed with the argu
ment could reduce a death sen
tence to life in prison without
parole.
Republicans have said the le
gal procedure is being abused by
death-row inmates, even in cases
where white murderers were
convicted by white juries for
killing white victims. GOP lead
ers were buoyed by local pros
ecutors, who lobbied hard for
the new law and criticized Per
due for the veto. The 2009 law,
district attorneys say, is causing
more delays in carrying out capi
tal punishment.
Rep. Bill Brisson, D-Bladen,
one of a handful of conservative
Democrats that have joined Re
publicans on previous vetoes,
said he would like the committee
to recommend what he calls fair
changes to address some of the
concerns of DA by the time the
next budget-adjusting session
begins in May.
“It’s not something that’s go
ing to be a quick thing or a quick
fix,” Brisson said. “But it is cer
tainly something that I feel like
needed attention ... obviously
something is wrong and we need
to get it corrected.”
An advocate in support of
the 2009 law and Perdue’s veto
expressed little relief at Jan. 4
outcome. Lawmakers still hadn’t
adjourned as of late Jan. 4, rais
ing questions whether Republi
cans would attempt parliamen
tary maneuvers to take up other
legislation or several pending
vetoes, perhaps after midnight.
“There’s so many games go
ing on that I really don’t trust
what’s going to happen,” said
Scott Bass, director of the Mur
der Victims’ Families for Recon
ciliation, who had been walking
the halls of the Legislative Build
ing on Jan. 4 to lobby against an
override. “Unfortunately, when
they start playing these games
and push things late at night and
make deals behind doors, the cit
izens really aren’t served.”
House Republicans were ne
gotiating with their Senate coun
terparts on what, if anything,
they intended to do before ad
journing until mid-February at
the earliest, according to Rep.
Tim Moore, R-Cleveland. Some
Democrats questioned whether
GOP leaders would cross the
(Continued On Page 15)
By Kimberly Hefling
WASHINGTON (AP) - The
No Child Left Behind educa
tion law was cast as a symbol of
possibility, offering the promise
of improved schools for the na
tion’s poor and minority children
and better prepared students in a
competitive world.
Yet after a decade on the
books, President George W.
Bush’s most hyped domestic
accomplishment has become a
symbol to many of federal over-
reach and. Congress’ inability
to fix something that’s clearly
flawed.
The law forced schools to
confront the uncomfortable re
ality that many kids simply
weren’t learning, but it’s primar
ily known for its emphasis on
standardized tests and the label
ing of thousands of schools as
“failures.”
Jan. 8 marked the 10-year an
niversary of the day Bush signed
it into law in Hamilton, Ohio.
By his side were the leaders of
the education committees in
Congress, Rep. John Boehner,
R-Ohio, and Sen. Ted Kennedy,
D-Mass. The bipartisanship that
made the achievement possible
in the months after the Sept. 11
attacks is long gone.
The same Senate committee
approved a revamped education
bill last year, but deep-rooted
partisanship stalled the measure
in the full Congress. In this elec
tion year, there appears little
political will for compromise de
spite widespread agreement that
changes are needed.
Critics say the law carries
rigid and unrealistic expectations
that put too much of an empha
sis on tests for reading and math
at the expense of a more well-
rounded education.
Frustrated by the congressio
nal inaction, President Barack
Obama told states last fall they
could seek, a waiver around
unpopular proficiency require
ments in exchange for actions
his administration favors. A vast
majority of states have said they
will go that route, seen as a tem
porary fix until lawmakers do
act.
Like Obama, Republican
presidential candidates have
criticized the law. One, former
Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santo
rum, even saying he regrets vot
ing for it.
“If you called a rally to keep
No Child Left Behind as it is, not
a single person would show up,”
said Democratic Sen. Michael
Bennet of Colorado, Denver’s
former school superintendent.
The view was drastically dif
ferent 10 years ago, when Bush
took what was an uncommon
stance for a conservative in seek
ing an aggressive federal role
in forcing states and districts
to tackle abysmal achievement
gaps in schools.
He was able to get fellow
Republicans such as Boehner,
the current House speaker, and
Democratic leaders on educa
tion such as Kennedy, who died
in 2009, and Rep. George Miller,
D-Calif., to join him. The man
date was that all students read
and perform math on grade level
by 2014.
“No longer is it acceptable
to hide poor performance. No
longer is it acceptable to keep
results from parents,” Bush said
when he signed the legislation.
“We’re never going to give up
on a school that’s performing
poorly; that when we find poor
performance, a school will be
given time and incentives and
resources to correct their prob
lems.”
DR. STEWART B. FULBRIGHT
NCCU Mourns Death of
Stewart Fulbright, Professor
And Tuskegee Airman
Dr. Stewart B. Fulbright, 92, a Tuskegee Airman during World
War II who later became the first dean of the School of Business at
North Carolina Central University, died in Durham on Jan. 1.
Born in Springfield, Mo., in 1919, Dr. Fulbright attended Lincoln
University in Jefferson City, Mo., graduating in 1941 with a bachelor’s
degree in French. He remained at Lincoln as an instructor in French.
In early 1943, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, which in 1941
had created a program in Tuskegee, Ala., to train African-American
aviators. He was one of nearly 1,000 men who trained there to be pilots,
navigators and bombardiers during the war. He was commissioned as
a second lieutenant and pilot in December 1943 and served as a B-25
bomber pilot for the rest of the war. His all-black 477 ,h Bombardment
Group was preparing for deployment in the Pacific theater when the
war ended in 1945.
After completing his military service, he enrolled at the University
of Chicago, where he received an MBA degree in 1947. He joined the
faculty of the Commerce Department at North Carolina College (now
NCCU) that same year. He subsequently earned a Ph.D. in business
administration from Ohio State University in 1953.
He served as acting dean of the Undergraduate School from 1966
to 1968, then returned to the Commerce Department as its chair in
1968. When the department became the School of Business in 1972,
he became its first dean, serving in that position until 1976. After his
retirement in 1982, Dr. Fulbright was honored by the university with
the title of professor emeritus.
“Everyone thought of him as a friend,” said Dr. Howard Fitts,
former chair of Public Health programs at NCCU and a longtime
colleague. “He was well-liked and respected, and students felt at ease
with him.”
NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms added, “During my tenure
here, I have always felt I owed a great debt of gratitude and respect to
the men and women who founded and built this university. I know I
stand on the shoulders of giants, and Dr. Fulbright was one of those
giants.”
Dr. Fulbright remained in contact with his wartime comrades
through his active membership in the Wilson V. Eagleson Chapter of
Tuskegee Airmen, based in Goldsboro. He was among the Tuskegee
Airmen present in Washington in 2007 when they were awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal.
Dr. Fulbright is survived by his wife of 68 years, Della Marie
Fulbright; a daughter, Gina Fulbright-Powell, of Silver Spring, Md.,
a son, Edward, of Durham; a granddaughter, Camille Fulbright; and
a sister, Marilyn Fisher, of Las Vegas, Nev.
The funeral service will be on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Covenant
Presbyterian Church, 2620 Weaver St. in Durham. The family will
receive friends an hour before the service.
The family requests that donations be sent to two institutions that
Dr. Fulbright loved. One is the Dr. Stewart B. Fulbright Memorial Fund
at NCCU. Contributions should be sent to the NCCU Foundation,
P.O. Box 19363, Durham, N.C., with the Fulbright Memorial Fund
in the memo line. The other is the Covenant Presbyterian Church
Building Fund, 2620 Weaver St. Durham, NC 27707.
The law requires annual test
ing. Districts must keep and pub
lish data showing how subgroups
of students perform. Schools that
don’t meet requirements for two
years or longer face increasingly
tough consequences, from bus
ing children to higher perform
ing schools to offering tutoring
and replacing staff.
The test results were eye-
opening, recalled Miller, the top
Democrat on the House
(Continued On Page 15)
Democrats deposit $4 million in North
Carolina banks ahead of convention
(AP) - Democrats are trying to show that this year’s national con
vention nominating President Barack Obama for a re-election run
will translate into money for North Carolina.
The CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee is
announcing $2 million in deposits each with two minority-focused
financial institutions in Durham.
Convention committee CEO Steve Kerrigan says the deposits are
being made with Mechanics and Farmers Bank and the Latino Com
munity Credit Union to help the institutions increase their loan activ
ity. Kerrigan says the money will stay in accounts that generate no
interest for the Democrats, who will tap the funds slowly as money is
needed for convention expenses.
The Jan. 4 loan announcement was the first event by the conven
tion committee outside Charlotte, which will host the four-day con
vention later this year.