**CHILL 1
LiNC-CH TRIALS DEPARTMENT
L-it
CD U
aroUia States
[volume 93 - NUMBER 2
Dr. Marc Lamont Hill
NCCU to Honor Dr. Martin Luther
King With Service and Celebration
Author, television host and commentator Dr. Marc Lamoni
Hill will bring his hip-hop perspective to North Carolina Central
Universit} Thursday. Jan. 16. as part of a series of events and service
activities honoring the life and legac} of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.
Hill will be the keynote speaker at the university's MLK
Convocation, which will take place at 9:45 a.m.. in B.N. Duke
Auditorium. I his event is free and open to the public.
As one of the country's most prominent hip-hop generation
intellectuals. Hill provides regular commentary for media outlets
such as NPR. Washington Post. Lssencc magazine and I he New York
limes. He is the host of the national!} syndicated television show.
"Our World with Black Enterprise.” which airs Sunday mornings on
I V One and in broadcast markets throughout the country.
Trained as an anthropologist. Hill is the author of two books:
"Beats. Rhymes, and Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy" anil "Ilie
Politics of Identity and the Classroom and the Cell: Cony ersalions on
Black Lite in America." Since 2009. Hill has been an associate pro
fessor of education on the faculty of Columbia University s leacheis
College. He also holds an affiliated facult} appointment in African-
American studies at the Institute for Research in African-American
Studies at Columbia Universit}.
The MLK Communit} Builder event, slated for 1:30 p.m.. Sun-
da}. Jan. 19. will bring together Durham residents to discuss wa}s of
improv ing the local communit} through partnerships and collabora
tion. Ihe event will take place in the A.1 . Student Union, lajii Kim-
izes in mobile communication to help nonprofit organizations reach
their fundraising goals, will be the featured speaker. Ibis event is
sponsored bv the NCCU Centennial Scholars Program and is open to
the public. Refreshments will be served.
NCCU will kickoil its King Holiday Observance bv ringing the
Shepard Bell at 9:15 a.m. on Jan. 20. NCCU Chancellor Dr. Debra
Saunders-White. United Wav ol the Greater t riangle CFO and Presi
dent Mack Koonce and Ms, I clccia Quinn, resident of McDougald
Terrace, a multi-lamil} public housing communit} near NCCU. will
ring the bell and prov ide brief remarks. Flic bell ringing ucremonv is
part of a national initiative spearheaded bv the Marlin I uiher King.
Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta. I he ringing of
the bell svmboliz.es a commitment to choosing nonviolence and
peace in 2014.
At the conclusion ol the bell ringing. NCCU. in partnership with
the United Aav of the Greater I riangle, w ill sponsor communit} ser
vice activities to benefit the residents of McDougald lerrace. I he
event will take place from 9:30a.m. to I p.m. in the LeRo} I. Walker
Complex on the NCCU campus. More than 200 volunteers will cre
ate soup.mixes and pantr} items, make warm scarves and tedd} bears
and create educational flash cards for residents, in response to com
munity requests. Financial and other educational workshops w ill be
Continued On Page 6)
More MLK Fvents On Pge 3)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014
Proposed Tobacco Settlement
Excludes Black Medi
By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-chief
WASHING ION (NNPA) - Ihe U.S. Justice Department and the
lobacco-Free Kids Action Fund have reached an agreement w ith the
four major tobacco companies that requires them to spend more than
$30 million advertising w ith the three major telev ision networks and
run full-page ads in 35 white and Hispanic newspapers as well as
purchasing space on their respective websites but not make a single
purchase from a black print or
broadcast media company.
Ilie 24-page proposed consent agreement reached Frida}, was
scheduled logo before U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler in the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday Jan. 15.
lor final approval. I he proceeding has been rescheduled for Jan. 22.
"We arc shocked and deep!} disappointed that the Justice Depart
ment. the lobacco-free Action fund anil the tobacco industry would
all agree to sign off an advertising plan that totally disrespects the
black communit}." said Cloves C. Campbell, chairman of the Na
tional Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). a federation of
nearly 200 black new spapers. " I he industry's past efforts to target
African-American consumers have been thorough!} documented. It
is sad that an industry that sought to exploit our communit} with a
product that is harmful to our health now seeks to further devalue Af
rican-Americans b} ignoring the black media when it is being forced
to atone what a federal judge determined was a deliberate effort to
Peter S. Ilanim. director of communications for the lobacco-free
Kids Action, said on Monday that the media outlets were selected b}
Judge Kessler anil disclosed in an order issued Aug. 17. 2006. Ilanim
said he did not know how she determined what media outlets would
be utilized to can} the new spaper ails and tclcv ision commercials.
A telephone call Monday requesting comment from the Justice
Department was not returned..
News. published bv Ken Sniikle. I he Chicago-based publication said
an advertising source placed the value of the total bu} al S30 million
to S45 million.
I he advertising campaign, which won't go into effect until all ap-
lo as part ol a selllcmenl dial found tobacco companies mislead the
R.J. Reynolds lobacco. l.orillard anil Philip Morris I SA.
Flic I .S. Justice Department filed suit against the cigarette manu-
lacturers on Sept. 22. 1999 charging that thev had violated the Rack
eteer Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act (RICO). I hev
were found guilt} al the conclusion of a trial that lasted from Dec.
21. 2004 to June 9. 2005.
and profits, from
a high!} addictive product which causes
igering number of deaths per vear. an ini-
measurable amount of human suffering and economic loss, anil a pro
found burden on our national health care s} stem. Defendants have
edge, thev have consistent!}, repealed!}, and with enormous skill and
sophistication, denied these lacts to the public, to the (io\ernment.
and to the public health communit} - In short. Defendants have mar
keted anil sold their lethal products with /cal. with deception, with
a single-minded focus on their financial success, and w ithout regard
I he judge prohibited the conipanies from comm ill ing similar acts
going forward and ordered them to make "corrective statements"
about the lies the} hail told about the dangers ol smoking.
Kessler s ruling was unanimous!} upheld March 22. 2009 bv a
three-judge panel ol the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia. On. .lune 28. 2010. the U.S. Supreme Court declined to
accept an appeal.
Carefull}-crafted ■corrective statements" that include the word
ing. placement am.! timing of I V commercials and the content, tv pc
agreement reached Friday. The statements w ill acknow ledge that the
advertising is being done under court order and that companies had
misled the public on the health effects of smoking, the addicli\cnes
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30
REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
See local events on page 3
of smoking and nicotine and the health effects of secondhand smoke.
Ihe companies will also admit that the} false!} sold and adver
tised low-tar and light cigarettes as less harmful than regular ciga
rettes and designed cigarettes to enhance the deliver} of nicotine.
Under the agreement, each company w ill decide whether to place
commercials on CBS. ABC or NBC.
" Flic I V spots will run a total of live times per week, subject to
the availability of network time and upon approval of the network (s)
on which the spots w ill air." the agreement stipulates. "The live I V
spots to be run each week will be run by each Defendant at its choice
between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. in the lime zone in which the spot
airs.bctween Monda} and Thursday for one }ear.”
In the event the desired time slot is unavailable, the companies
must continue to purchase spots until the} have run the corrective
statements al least 50 times and have aired a total of260 spots.
I or newspapers. the lobacco companies arc required to purchase
a lull-page ad in the first section of the Sunday edition of each news
paper. Each ad will contain one of the live corrective statements in
their entirety I he companies are also required to advertise on the
newspapers' web sites. Those same requirements will run in Spanish
in Spanish-language newspapers.
Ihe ads and commercials will state. "A Federal Court has ruled
that Altria. R.J. Reynolds lobacco. l.orillard. and Philip Morris USA
deliberate!} deceived the American public and has ordered those
companies to make these statements. Here is the truth:" Texts, of the
corrective statements will then be prov ided.
Under Judge Kessler's 2006 order, ads will be placed in the fol
lowing. newspapers: Atlanta Journal Constitution. Boston Globe.
Boston Herald. Charlotte Observer. Chicago Sun limes. Chicago
Iribunc. Dallas Morning News. Florida limes Union. Fresno Bee.
I t. Worth Star- Telegram. Houston Chronicle. Eos Angeles Times.
Miami Herald. New York Dail} News. New York Post. New York
Sun. New York l imes. Orlando Sentinel. Palm BeachPost. Philadel
phia Inquirer. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Sacramento Bee. San Di
ego Union-I ribunc. San Francisco Chronicle. St. Petersburg Times,
lallahassee Democrat. USA Today Wall Street Journal. Washington
Post. FA Eastern Group Publications. San Francisco La Oferta Re
view I.I Vistaz-Combo.’NAHP. Chicago Lawndale Group News and
NAI IP Houston - Que Onda!
The School Nobody Wanted - Except the Community
By Khalil Abdullah
Special to the NNPA from New America Media
The recently announced closure of Sarah T. Reed Senior I 1 igh School in New fi-leans
will usher in the first school district in the country with no publicly run schools - and
some community advocates see Reed’s demise as a sign that the local community's voices
don’t count.
“People in our community in New Orleans feel like the voices of parents, students,
and teachers have been left out. It’s a perception, especially during this education reform
process after Hurricane Katrina. That is how folks have been feeling for years," says Chris
Sang, the communications director of the Vietnamese American Young Leadership As
sociation (VAYLA), a community-based organization that has fought to save the school.
Reed is located in the eastern part of the Big Easy. Its students are drawn from the
surrounding neighborhoods, which are predominantly composed of African American,
Latino, and Vietnamese families.
The school’s closure was announced by the Recovery School District (RSD), an agency
established by the state in 2003 to address the problem of failing schools. The state legis
lature strengthened RSD’s authority to expedite school closures in the aftermath of Hur
ricane Katrina, when many New Orleans schools were physically devastated and student
and teacher populations became dispersed.
While the RSD oversees failing schools, other public schools in New Orleans oper
ate under the Orleans Parish School Board and the Louisiana Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education. But the majority of the schools that receive public funding in New
Oricans - ov 2 of less than 90 schools - are under the RSI), which is now exclusively
composed ol charter schoo's. ('harter schools receive public funding but are run by iii^
dependent boards and are subject to different regulatory requirements than traditional
public schools.
As of 2013, 85 percent of tl c city’s nearly 43,000 public school students are enrolled in
a charter school - bv far the highest percentage in the country, according to the National.
Alliance ol Public (.barter Schools.
Sarah 1. Reed and George Washington Carver Senior High School were the last public
nun-charter high schools under the RM). Along with Reed’s closure, it was simulta
neously announced that George Washington Carver would transfer to charter control.
1 hough some publicly run schools continue operating under the Orleans Parish Schoo]
Board, the RSI) will be the country’s first all-charter school district.
Sang says VAYLA will continue to provide academic tutoring and counseling to sup
port former Reed students, as it has for other students who have been reassigned to dif
ferent schools.
“For students from our community, (it’s meant] going to schools where there’s this
implicit sense that it you can’t make it here, someone else will take your place,” say^
Sang. “We see a lot of charters that have written off the local culture here - particularly
the culture of African American students - and promoted more of a corporate message.:
Ihe parents do not want their children to be looked at as just a number or a test score” -
. ((Continued On Page 4)