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DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
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VOLUME 94 - NUMBER 18
Problems facing poor inch
into ‘16 presidential race
Activist groups hold protest rally in Durham
(AP and Staff Reports) - A march and rally in Durham in support of Baltimore pro-
sters angered by the death of a black man in police custody was held May 1.
(hash)BlackLivesMatter says it organized a rally with other groups late Friday
1 front of the Durham Police Station and was followed by a march to the Durham
County Jail.
Hundreds of people have marched in cities across the country in recent days - cities
ncluding Boston, New York and Indianapolis - to protest the April 19 death of Fred-
lie Gray in Baltimore.
Gray’s arrest was recorded on cellphone videos by bystanders. His death has led to
irotests, rioting and looting in Baltimore.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore, Md., speaks to a staffer during a swearing in
eremony earlier this year. (Courtesy Photo/Office of the Mayor)
Justice Not Delayed
In Baltimore
By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief
WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Three extremely qualified African American women are at the forefront
fmaking certain that Freddie Gray’s death at the hands of police in Baltimore will not go unpunished.
Loretta Lynch began her first day as U.S. attorney general by focusing her attention on Baltimore and
iflering the assistance of her department. Within hours of receiving a report from the medical examiner
hat Gray’s death had been ruled a homicide, state attorney Marilyn J. Mosby promptly announced the
Hing of charges against six Baltimore cops in connection with Freddie Gray’s death. A couple of hours
ater, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake followed up with a strong warning to rogue cops that her admin-
stration would not tolerate racism.
Mosby summed it up this way: “If, with the nation watching, three black women at three different
wels can’t get justice and healing for this community, you tell me where we’re going to get it in our
uuntry.”
NEWS ANALYSIS
One legal maximum holds that justice delayed is justice denied. If that’s the case, early indications are
hat there will be no delay in justice in Baltimore in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, who was
Tested and placed in a police van without a seat belt on April 12. He fell into a coma en route and died
1 week later as a result of injuries to his spinal cord.
Mosby, a descendant of five generations of police officers, surprised the public last Friday by how
luickly she filed charges against six police officers.
At the news conference, she said: “To those that are angry, hurt or have their own experiences of injus-
ice at the hands of police officers I urge you to channel that energy peacefully as we prosecute this case
have heard your calls for ’No justice, no peace,’ however your peace is sincerely needed as I work to
ieliver justice on behalf of Freddie Gray.”
Mosby is a graduate of Tuskegee University, a historically Black institution in Alabama. At 35 years
Hd, she is believed to be the youngest chief prosecutor in the nation. And she clearly aligned herself with
he young people who had protested Gray’s death.
“To the youth of the city. I will seek justice on your behalf. This is a moment. This is your moment,
-et’s insure we have peaceful and productive rallies that will develop structural and systemic changes for
lenerations to come. You’re at the forefront of this cause and as young people, our time is now.”
(Continued On Page 2)
By Julie Pace
WASHINGTON (AP) - In
a presidential campaign where
candidates are jockeying to be
champions of the middle class
and asking wealthy people for
money, the problems facing the
poor are inching into the debate.
Tensions in places such as
Baltimore and Ferguson, Mis
souri, have prompted candidates
to explore the complicated rela
tionship between poor communi
ties and the police, and the deep-
seated issues that have trapped
many of the 45 million people
who live in poverty in the United
States.
But addressing the long-run
ning economic, education and
security troubles in underprivi
leged neighborhoods is a chal
lenge with few easily agreed
upon solutions.
A. frustrated President Barack
Obama challenged the nation to
do "some soul-searching” after
riots in Baltimore followed the
death, of 25-year-old Freddie
Gro in police custody. There
have been other deadly alterca
tion between police and black
me or boys in Ferguson, New
York Staten Island, Cleveland
and North Charleston, South
Carolina.
- Tm under no illusion that
out of this Congress we’re going
to get massive investments in ur
ban communities,” Obama said.
“But if we really want to solve
the problem, if our society really
wanted to solve the problem, we
could.”
To some of the Republicans
running to replace Obama, his
call for spending more money in
poor areas underscores the prob
lem with many current anti-pov
erty programs. The GOP largely
opposes new domestic spending
and party officials often say fed
erally run programs are bloated
and inefficient.
Duke: Student
disciplined for
hanging noose,
not expelled
By Jonathan Drew
RALEIGH (AP) - A student
who left a noose hanging from
a tree at Duke University has
been disciplined but can return
to campus next semester and
won’t face criminal charges, the
university said May 1.
In announcing that it finished
its investigation, the university
also released an open apology
letter written by the person re
sponsible, who says the noose
was made as a joke and care
lessly left behind. The discovery
of the noose last month sparked
outrage on the school’s Durham
campus and made headlines
across the country.
The letter says the person
didn’t fully understand its his
torical connection to lynchings
in the South.
“Once I realized the histori
cal connotations, I contacted the
Administration, and explained
that I never had any racist intent
- which anyone who knows me
could testify to,” the letter states.
“I apologized and co-operated in
every which way I could.”
The university said its investi
gation determined the noose was
left as a result of ignorance and
bad judgment. Investigations by
law enforcement officials have
also concluded.
The undergraduate student,
who hasn’t been identified, said
the noose was part of a poorly
conceived joke.
(Continud On Page 10)
“At what point do you have
to conclude that the top-down
government poverty programs
have failed?” said Jeb Bush, the
former Florida governor and ex
pected presidential candidate. “I
think we need to be engaged in
this debate as conservatives and
say that there’s a bottom-up ap
proach.”
Republicans have struggled
in recent years to overcome the
perception that the party has
little interest in the plight of the
poor.
Mitt Romney, the GOP presi
dential nominee in 2012, was
criticized for saying he was “not
concerned about the very poor”
Arne Duncan,
U.S. Secretary of Education
and that it was not his job to
worry about the 47 percent of
Americans who he said “believe
that government has a responsi
bility to care for them.”
More than 60 percent of vot
ers who made less than $30,000
per year backed Obama over
Romney in that campaign, ac
cording to exit polls.
Blacks and Hispanics, who
overwhelmingly backed Obama
in the past two presidential elec
tions, are most likely to be poor.
According to the census, about
27 percent of blacks and 25 per
cent of Hispanics were poor in
2012, compared with 12.7 per
cent of whites.
(Continued On Page 2)
Dr. Dwight D. Perry
Dr. Dwight D. Perry to Speak at NCCU
May 8 Commencement
Pioneering doctor of ophthalmology and prominent Durham com
munity leader Dwight D. Perry, M.D., will be the speaker for North
Carolina Central University’s 125th Graduate and Professional Com
mencement on Friday, May 8.
The ceremony for approximately 400 graduates ofthe university’s
35 master’s, doctoral and professional programs will take place at 3
p.m. in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.
Reared in Durham with 15 brothers and sisters, Perry worked his
way through college at North Carolina Central University, where he
graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biology. He earned his
medical degree at University of North Carolina School of Medicine
and has been in private practice since 1985.
His research interests have involved vascular healing after argon
laser photocoagulation and the effect of tetrahydro-cannabinol on
glaucoma. Perry is a specialist in cataract and refractive surgery. He
is an attending physician at North Carolina Specialty Hospital and
Duke Regional Hospital and for 10 years was an assistant clinical
professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at UNC.
Perry recently completed three years as the chairman of NCCU’s
Board of Trustees and continues to serve as a board member. A dedi
cated public servant, Perry has occupied various leadership roles
throughout Durham and mentors aspiring medical students in high
school and college.
NCCU Announces 125th Commencement
Speaker: Arne Duncan
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will deliver the keynote
address to NCCU’s Class of 2015 during the 125th Baccalaureate
Ceremony at 8 a.m., Saturday, May 9, in O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium
on the campus.
Secretary Duncan began serving in 2009, following his nomina
tion by President Barack Obama. The secretary sent personal greet
ings in a video to the NCCU Class of 2015 expressing his excitement
over being asked to serve as the ceremony's keynote speaker, http://
bit.ly/NCCU15
Secretary Duncan’s tenure in the U.S. Department of Education
has been marked by a number of significant accomplishments, in
cluding congressional support for President Barack Obama’s edu
cation programs that led to a $100 billion funding bill for 325,000
teaching jobs through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
He also has overseen reform efforts, such as Race to the Top and
Investing in Innovation.
Other issues taken up by the secretary include steps to ensure that
colleges and universities provide more transparency around gradua
tion, job placement, and student loan default rates.
Secretary Duncan also has worked to strengthen the Federal Pell
Grant program, which helps young Americans attend college and re
ceive postsecondary degrees. The funding increase supports Presi
dent Obama’s goal of rebuilding the nation’s college graduation rate
to surpass that of all other countries by 2020.
More than 650 undergraduate degrees will be awarded during the
May 9 ceremony, according to preliminary estimates from NCCU
Registrar’s Office.