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WILSON LIBRARY
N C COLLECTION - UNC--CH
P 0 BOX 8890
CHAPEL HILL NC 27515-8890
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2015
OLUME 94 - NUMBER 48
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 50 CENTS
Black pastors press Trump on
tone during closed-door meeting
President Barack Obama visits a Dignity for Children Foundation classroom
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nov. 21. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
[CCU Trustee & Alumnus To Lead Commerce For Philadelphia
North Carolina Central University Board of
istees member and alumnus Harold T. Epps
s been appointed to serve as commerce direc-
or for the city of Philadelphia by Mayor-elect
n Kenney.
In this role, Epps will ensure that the city’s
mmercial projects benefit from economic de-
lopment. As the new commerce director, Epps
ans to focus on ensuring that the city’s com-
:rcial corridors benefit from economic devel-
ment.
Epps is a Philadelphia business leader and
icial of one of the nation’s largest minority-
ned firms. Epps has more than 30 years of
rporate experience providing high perfor-
ince products and solutions for complex and
mpliance-driven industries. He has served as
esident and CEO ofPWRT since 2007. He was
ipointed vice chairman of PRWT earlier this
ar. Serving in executive roles with Quadrant
d Manasha Corporation, Epps led subsidiaries
id divisions with annual revenues of up to $175
lillion and 2,000 employees. He also serves as
-chairman of the Comcast National African-
nerican Advisory Council, as an executive
mmittee member of the Greater Philadelphia
lamber of Commerce and on the board of di-
ctors of Center City District U.S. Facilities,
c. and PRWT Services.
HAROLD T. EPPS
Epps also serves as the co-chairman of the
Comcast National African-American Advisory
Council, director and executive committee mem
ber of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Com
merce, director of the Urban League of Philadel
phia and on the board of directors of Center City
District U.S. Facilities, Inc.
After obtaining a B.S. degree from North Caro
lina Central University in 1974, Epps earned his
M.B.A. from Western New England College.
Obama honoring Streisand, Spielberg, Sondheim and more
By Stacy A. Anderson
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama recognized 17 Americans with the nation’s
jhest civilian award Nov. 24, including giants of the entertainment industry such as Barbra
reisand and Steven Spielberg, baseball legends Willie Mays and Yogi Berra, and politicians,
tivists and government innovators.
In addition to filmmaker Spielberg and singer and Oscar-winner Streisand, Obama presented
e Presidential Medal of Freedom to musicians Gloria and Emilio Estefan, singer James Tay-
r, composer Stephen Sondheim and violinist Itzhak Perlman.
Mays was among the first African-American players in Major League Baseball. Berra, who
ed in September, was a Yankee great at catcher, an 18-time All-Star and 10-time World Series
ampion.
The politicians getting the honor are Democrats: Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, who
s championed equal pay and women’s health during her 44 years of public service; former
sp. Lee Hamilton from Indiana, a longtime advocate of American national security and inter-
tional relations; and the late Rep. Shirley Chisholm from New York. Chisholm was the first
frican-American woman elected to Congress and a founding member of what would become
e Congressional Black Caucus.
“Today we celebrate some extraordinary people: innovators, artists and leaders who contrib-
eto America’s strength as a nation,” Obama said.
Of Hamilton, Obama said he helped guide the nation through the Cold War and had a consis-
Jt commitment to bipartisanship. Of Berra, the president said he was born to play baseball but
ted that he also served in World War II. Of Taylor, he said the singer could turn an arena into
living room. Mays, he said, was such a giant that it allowed “someone like me” to consider
inning for president.
Obama spoke about each recipient; among the other honorees were:
■Bonnie Carroll, a veterans advocate, who founded the Tragedy Assistance Program for Sur-
vors (TAPS) to support families and loved ones of military heroes killed during their service.
-Katherine G. Johnson, a NASA mathematician, whose calculations influenced every major
tee program, including the flight of the first American into space.
■William Ruckelshaus, a former chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, who shaped
6 guiding principles of the agency, including a nationwide ban on the pesticide DDT and an
reement with the automobile industry to require catalytic converters to reduce automobile
'llution.
Posthumous recipients include Indian tribal advocate Billy Frank Jr., who led “fish-ins”-
nilar to sit-ins- during the tribal “fish wars” of the 1960s and 1970s, and civil rights leader
inoru Yasui, who challenged the constitutionality of a military curfew order during World War
on the grounds of racial discrimination and spent months in solitary confinement during the
gal battle.
By Jill Colvin
NEW YORK (AP) - Dozens
of black pastors pressed "Repub
lican presidential front-runner
Donald Trump on Nov. 30 to ad
dress what some called his use
of racially charged rhetoric, with
several describing a meeting that
became tense at times as attend
ees raised concerns about his
blunt language.
While some left the gathering
at Trump’s skyscraper in mid-
town Manhattan with hopes their
message had resonated, Trump
said afterward he had no plans to
change his approach, which he
said had taken him to “first posi
tion in every single poll.”
“The beautiful thing about
the meeting is that they didn’t re
ally ask me to change the tone,”
Trump said. “I think they really
want to see victory, because ul
timately it is about, we want to
win and we want to win togeth
er.”
At a rally later Nov. 30 in
Macon, Georgia, Trump told
a nearly all-white audience of
about 5,000 that the meeting was
“inspiring” and “unbelievable.”
“It was a really terrific day,”
he said.
But several pastors who met
with the billionaire real estate
mogul and reality TV star, who
has held a consistent lead in pref
erence polls of GOP voters for
several months due in large part
to his aggressive style of cam
paigning, told a different story.
Bishop George Bloomer, who
traveled to the gathering from
North Carolina, said he arrived
in New York with concerns about
“the racial comments that have
been made and the insensitive
comments that have been made,”
including an incident earlier this
month in which a black protester
was roughed up by Trump sup
porters at a rally in Birmingham,
Alabama.
Trump said after the incident,
“Maybe he should have been
roughed up because it was ab
solutely disgusting what he was
doing.”
“I asked him: 'Are you a rac
ist? People are saying that about
you,’” Bloomer said. “If you are
seeking the African-American
community to support you, at
the least, you’re not helping with
these kind of things that are go
ing on.”
Bloomer said he told Trump
that “if he wants to have our ear
as a community, to at least tone
down the rhetoric some kind of
way, tone it down. And he said
that he would.”
Pastor Al Morgan of Launch
Ministries in Raleigh, North
Carolina, said part of the group’s
discussion focused on whether
Trump should lighten up a bit.
“What he said was that he
would take that into consider
ation,” Morgan said. “So the
thing was trying to be who he
is, so you have to remain true
to yourself. And, in his defense,
that’s gotten him where he is. So
the thing is, how do you convey
a person’s heart with their per
sonality? That’s the dilemma.”
Trump is seeking to replace
President Barack Obama, who
won two terms in the White
House by bringing together a
coalition ofyoung people, single
women and black and Hispanic
voters.
Democrats maintain an enor
mous edge with African-Amer
ican voters, with Republican
presidential candidates faring
poorly among minorities in the
past two elections. In 2012, ac
cording to exit polls conducted
for The Associated Press and
television networks, 93 percent
of black voters backed Obama.
In 2008, the number was 95 per
cent.
But Trump has been court
ing the support of evangelical
black clergy members and other
African-American leaders as he
works to broaden his appeal in a
crowded Republican field.
In Georgia, radio host and
failed 2012 presidential hopeful
Herman Cain was among those
who introduced Trump. Cain
was the lone major black
Republican candidate four years
ago. Trump also interrupted his
own 75-minute speech to bring
another black Georgia Repub
lican to the microphone. Bruce
LeVell, who has served as party
chairman in suburban Atlanta’s
Gwinett County, announced
his endorsement, drawing-roars
from Trump’s backers.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield,
Performers and Speakers
to Commemorate 150 th
Anniversary of the
Abolition of Slavery Dec. 6
Raleigh - December 6, 2015 marks the 150 th anniversary of the
passage of the 13 th Amendment to the United States Constitution,
which officially outlawed slavery in the United States. One of the
most significant days in United States history comes and goes with
no fanfare or even solemn recognition. However, this will not be so
on the 150 th anniversary. Abolition Day: A Celebration of Freedom
commemorates this monumental moment in the history of our country
On Sunday, December 6th from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at The
Garden on Millbrook located at 2400 E. Millbrook Road, Raleigh,
NC 27604, there will be a celebration featuring performances that
range from African drumming to theatrical presentations.
“We are excited to celebrate the day when the United States broke
its own chains by freeing all of the people in bondage and finally
began to truly live the promise of America,” says Chris Hill, Co-
Chair of the Celebration of Freedom event.
The primary sponsor of the event is the Berean Community
Center, Inc., a nonprofit corporation based in Raleigh that serves the
community through educational programs like this. Yasmeen Benton,
Executive Director of the BCC, says “it is vitally important for our
teens and adults to know this history.” She continued, “The Center is
proud to bring this educational event in the form of a celebration with
arts and living history to show young people as well as adults that this
day should be remembered.”
The event will feature special presentations by the Chairman of
the Congressional Black Caucus and long-time U.S. Representative,
The Honorable G. K. Butterfield, and UNC-Chapel Hill Associate
Professor of History and African American Studies, Dr. Reginald
Hildebrand.
The afternoon will also feature special performances by Chuck
Davis and the African American Dance Ensemble, Mike Wiley’s
dramatic presentation of “Fire of Freedom,” a play that explores
events surrounding this historical period, and a stirring performance
by world-renowned opera singer and chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill
Music Department, Dr. Louise Toppin. The celebration includes
additional music performances by Shades of Harmony and the
Berean Baptist Church of Raleigh’s Praise Team.
The Master of Ceremonies for the afternoon will be The Honorable
James A. Wynn, Jr., Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit.
If you would like more information about Abolition
Day: A Celebration of Freedom, please contact Chris Hill at
AbolitionDayNC@gmail.com. For general information about
Abolition Day, visit abolitionday.com. For event ticket information,
visit abolitiondaync.eventbrite.com.
University to dedicate
building to
Parren Mitchell
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - The University of Maryland will
dedicate a building in College Park to Parren Mitchell, the first black
person elected to Congress from Maryland.
The university will dedicate the Art-Sociology Building on Dec.
3. Mitchell was the first African American student to earn a graduate
degree from the college.
Mitchell was elected to Congress in in 1970, and was one of the
13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus. He died
in 2007.
REP. PARREN MITCHELL