OLUME 94 - NUMBER 10
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30 CENTS
[n Selma, Obama Proved
hat he is ‘Black Enough’
By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief
SELMA, Ala. (NNPA) - Throughout his campaign for the presidency, Barack Obama
as dogged by one question: Is he black enough? The question was repeated so often
at after showing up late for an appearance at the 2008 annual convention of the Na-
jnal Association of Black Journalists in Las Vegas, Obama said, “I want to apologize
ir being late, but you guys keep asking whether I am black enough.”
After a 33-minute speech Saturday in Selma, Ala. commemorating the Selma to
Montgomery March and passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, nobody was asking: Is
arack Obama black enough?
NEW ANALYSIS
President Obama rarely discussed the issue of race in his first six years in office
;cept in reaction to a major racial catastrophe such as the shooting deaths of Trayvon
artin in Florida and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. or the arrest of Harvard Univer-
y Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for breaking into his own home.
On Saturday, however, President Obama seemed comfortable discussing race in pub-
:, showing he has a deep appreciation for the accomplishments of the Civil Rights
ovement and quoting or referencing the Bible, black spirituals, James Baldwin, So-
umer Truth, Fannie Lou Hamer, Langston Hughes, the Tuskegee Airmen, Jackie Rob
son and even his favorite hip-hop artist Jay-Z.
While connecting with African Americans, President Obama also underscored the
gnificance of civil rights warriors making America hold true to its creed.
[“As John [Lewis] noted, there are places and moments in America where this nation’s
jestiny has been decided. Many are sites of war - Concord and Lexington, Appomattox,
Gettysburg. Others are sites that symbolize the daring of America’s character - Inde
pendence Hall and Seneca Falls, Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral,” the president said.
NCCU RETIRES JERSEY OF CELTICS LEGEND, BASKETBALL HALL OF
FAMER SAM JONES - Sam Jones with wife Gladys and NCCU Chancellor Dr.
Debra Saunders-White (photo by Dyann Busse)
President Barack Obama, center, holds hands with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., left and Mrs. Amelia Boynton Robinson, right, who were
)th beaten during “Bloody Sunday,” as they walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., for the 50th anniversary of “Bloody
inday,” a landmark event of the civil rights movement. From left are Sasha Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Mrs. Boynton Robinson
id Mrs. Adelaide Sanford. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin).
■ “Selma is such a place. In one afternoon 50 years ago, so much of our turbulent his-
Iry - the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of segregation and tyranny
[Jim Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham; and the dream of a Baptist
l eacher - all that history met on this bridge.”
I He made his comments with the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where civil rights marchers
I ere attacked by Alabama State Troopers on “Bloody Sunday,” serving as a backdrop.
I “It was not a clash of armies, but a clash of wills; a contest to determine the true
meaning of America,” Obama said. “And because of men and women like John Lewis,
Joseph Lowery, Hosea Williams, Amelia Boynton, Diane Nash, Ralph Abernathy, C.T.
Vivian, Andrew Young, Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and so many
Ihers, the idea of a just America and a fair America, an inclusive America, and a gener
ous America - that idea ultimately triumphed.”
I President Obama also acknowledged the contributions of thousands whose name will
rer be known to the public yet played a critical role in securing the right to vote.
“As is true across the landscape of American history, we cannot examine this moment
isolation. The march on Selma was part of a broader campaign that spanned genera-
ns; the leaders that day part of a long line of heroes. We gather here to celebrate them.
: gather here to honor the courage of ordinary Americans willing to endure billy clubs
1 the chastening rod; tear gas and the trampling hoof; men and women who despite
; gush of blood and splintered bone would stay true to their North Star and keep
itching towards justice.
“They did as Scripture instructed: 'Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be con-
nt in prayer.’ And in the days to come, they went back again and again. When the
rnpet call sounded for more to join, the people came - black and white, young and
I Christian and Jew, waving the American flag and singing the same anthems full of
|ith and hope.” (Continued On Page 2)
Ritz-Carlton Charlotte
apologizes for charge
during CIAA tourney
CHARLOTTE (AP) - A Charlotte hotel has apol
ogized for levying a 15 percent service charge fot
lounge patrons during a black college basketball
tournament last month.
The Charlotte Observer reports it obtained a copy
of an apology from the Ritz-Carlton for the charge
levied during the Central Intercollegiate Athletic
Association tourney.
The hotel apologized to any guests it may have
offended and said the service fee was not to single
out any group or organization.
A patron told television station WBTV about the
charge and gave the station a copy of her receipt.
The hotel told WBTV that because of the size ol
the event, it added the extra charge for lobby bever
age servers. But the station said the hotel did not
respond when asked if such charges were added fop
other events.
NCCU Retires
Jersey Of
Celtics Legend,
Basketball Hall
Of Famer Sam
Jones
Nccueaglepride.com
On Thursday, March 5, North
Carolina Central University of
ficially retired the jersey and its
number of alumnus and Boston
Celtics legend Sam Jones during
a ceremony between the NCCU
women’s and men’s basketball
games against rival North Caro
lina A&T inside McDougald-
McLendon Gymnasium-
Prior to the unveiling of the
jersey hanging from the rafters
ofthe gym where he played more
than 50 years ago, Governor Pat
McCrory presented Jones with
The Order ofthe Long Leaf Pine
award, the highest honor that cad
be bestowed upon a citizen of
North Carolina.
One of the greatest NBA
players of all-time, Jones
played at NCCU from 1951-54
and 1956-57, and remains the
school’s second-leading career
scorer with 1,745 points in four
seasons under head coaches John
McLendon and Floyd Brown.
Born in Wilmington, North
Carolina and a high school grad
uate of Laurinburg (N.C.) Insti
tute, Jones was chosen by the
Boston Celtics with the eighth
overall pick in the first round of
the 1957 NBA Draft.
His 12-year career with the
Celtics included 10 NBA Cham
pionships, five All-Star Game
appearances and three selections
to the All-NBA Second Team.
Nicknamed “Mr. Clutch,” Jones
amassed 15,411 points, an av
erage of 17.7 points per game,
4,305 rebounds and 2,209 assists
in 871 contests.
Jones was inducted into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball
Hall of Fame and the NCCU
Athletics Hall ofFame in 1984,
as well as the North Carolina
Sports Hall ofFame in 1969. He
was selected to the NBA 25th
Anniversary All-Time Team
in 1970, and was later named
among the top 50 players in
NBA history as a member of
the 50th Anniversary All-Time
Team in 1996.