GLUME 94 - NUMBER 1
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30 CENTS
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2015
Butterfield Takes Helm of the
Congressional Black Caucus
Cong. G.K. Butterfield held a listening party for
is swearing in as member of the Congress and the
4th Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. The
vent in Durham was at the Hayti Heritage Center on
londay, Jan. 5 Below Andre Vann hosted the event
tHayti. Below are scenes from the event.
H I LL
WASHINGTON, DC - This morning, Congressman G.
K. Butterfield (NC-01) was sworn in as the 24th Chair of
the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) during a ceremo
ny hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Founda
tion (CBCF) at the U.S. Capitol. The historic ceremony
marked the induction of the largest class in the CBC’s 44-
year history, which includes five new members of which
20 are women.
During the event, Chairman Butterfield recognized
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Whip Ste-
ny Hoyer, and Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn,
who were all in attendance, and welcomed Representa
tives Alma Adams (NC-12), Bonnie Watson Coleman
(NJ-12), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Mia Love (UT-04),
and Stacey Plaskett (USVI) to the Caucus.
Elected Black
Republicans Not
Expected to be a Plus
for the Community
By Freddie Allen
NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Black Republicans made
history during the midterm elections in November by
winning in Texas, South Carolina and Texas, but political
analysts wonder if the victories will have any long-term
impact on the future of the GOP in the black community.
Traditionally, black candidates running for elected of
fices not only need a large black turnout, but also a major
ity of the black vote to win statewide and national races.
Senator Tim Scott made history by becoming the first
black Republican elected to serve in both the United
States House of Representatives and the United States
Senate. He won with just 10 percent of the black vote and
82 percent of the white vote, according to exit polls.
Representative-elect Will Hurd beat his Democratic
challenger Pete Gallego in Texas by a narrow 2.1 percent
margin in a predominately Hispanic congressional district
(House District 23) to become the first black Republican
from Texas elected to the United States Congress since
Reconstruction.
When the next congressional term begins, Mia Love, a
black Mormon and daughter of Haitian immigrants, will
represent Utah’s 4th House district in a state where blacks
account for just 1.3 percent of the total population.
Lorenzo Morris, a political science professor at How
ard University in Washington, D.C., said that the black
community shouldn’t expect much from the black Repub
licans during the next legislative session, because they
won largely without black voters. In addition, he said,
their rank as freshmen lawmakers will limit their influ
ence within the party.
“Their collective impact, if they are really outspoken, 1 > ------ ----- - -
will inst be on the mlns side of zero barelv zero” said since - Anyone attempting to define themselves as a leader in the
will just be on me plus siue oi zero, Ddrely zeto, sum . t „„„„^ f) ,„ kl „„v „„„,,|„ ^..v „,-.,.,!, tr, rivet themselves
Morris. “The obvious impact for Republicans is positive
only to the extent that it shows visually, if not substan
tively, an outreach to minorities.”
Scott earned an “F” on the NAACP’s legislative report - . . .
card during the first session of the 113th Congress from Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing of the 1965 Noting Rights Act leaves
t u behind huge lessons - many unintentional. The first would be that
January ^013 - December 26, 2013. without constant pressure on those in power nothing will change.
Thinkprogress.org reported that Scott proposed a bill g ven within the genre of ahistory we already know on a man we’ve
in 2011 to block families from receiving food stamp ben- over-studied, there's that powerful truth.
efits if one of the adults in the home joined a strike, and
as a state legislature Scott supported cuts to South Caro
lina’s HIV/AIDS budget.
In a 2012 speech, Love accused President Barack
Obama of a€oepitting us against each other based on our
of few people in American life to speak brutal honesty on racism .and
income level, gender, and social status’ and said that, “His make a difference.
’ ■ The film reaffirms that Dr. King worked in service of a mission.
policies have failed.” Love has also pledged to take the
Congressional Black Caucus “apart from the inside out.”
If they continue to express views counter to those held or participate on panels. His was a results driven movement,
by the black electorate that overwhelmingly supported Understanding the domino effects of certain actions in Selma and
President Obama with more than 90 percent of their votes how those actions would win results and move the needle on voting
Over the next two years, Chairman Butterfield will
lead the Caucus, also known as the “Conscience of the
Congress” in carrying out its mission of empowering the
African American community and addressing its legisla
tive concerns. (Continued On Page 2)
Monday, January 12 at 12:00 noon at Stanford
Warren Library, The Friends of the Stanford L. War
ren Branch Library in conjunction with the Depart
ment of History at NCCU will host a lunch and learn
luncheon honoring the life and legacy of Dr. John
Hope Franklin. John Gartrell, Director, John Hope
Franklin Research Center, Duke University will serve
as speaker for the luncheon. (DUKE UNIVERSITY
NEWS SERVICE PHOTO)
Selma’is More
than a Movie
By Lauren Victoria Burke
NNPA Columnist
The movie Selma, which debuted on Christmas Day, is an eerily
timely film detailing a history not taught in American schools on a
regular basis. There’s the obvious truth we already knew: Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. is in another stratosphere of leadership compared to
the Who’s Who on the scene today.
In terms of results, no one has come close to Dr. King before or
movement around the black agenda today needs to check themselves
after watching this movie. The film provides a unintended indictment
of the non-strategies that yield no positive results often seen in to
day’s so-called leadership.
Director Ava DuVernay’s depiction of the lead up to President
Selma reminds us of what is required to win results for African
Americans with 300 years of history stacked against them. Even with
the predictable restrictions brought on by the money-grabbing King
kids who forbade the director to use their father’s actual words for
the film - screenwriter Paul Webb tells us that Dr. King remains one
In the case of the Selma campaign, it was voting rights. King did
not get up in the morning to focus on TV interviews, news confer-
in back-to-back elections, Morris said, that their presence rights is featured.
could actually hurt that visual image of minority outreach, It’s jarring to consider how unthinkable it was for blacks voting 111
because it will further di stance the GOP from the politics “ 50 years ago pastas itwas —^nnagme^ black
that are overwhelmingly characteristic of black voters. realized, current black leadership still hasn’t found a way to win.
Raynard Jackson, a Republican strategist and the presi- The post-King era of civil rights groups is more fixated on corpo-
dent and CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, called rate sponsorships, endless roundtables and sprawling conferences. It
Love, “the embodiment of the American Dream” and said also features meetings with people in power that yield no result
(Continued On Page 2) (Continued On Page 2)