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DBVI7 12/01/16 **c
UNC-CH SERIALS DEPARTMENT
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DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2016
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 50 CENTS
VOLUME 95 - NUMBER 25
North Carolina photo ID, voting
law challenges return to court
By Gary D. Robertson
RALEIGH (AP) - Far-
reaching voting changes in
North Carolina approved
by Republicans three years
ago and upheld by a federal
judge now head to an ap
peals court that previously
sided with those chal
lenging the law on racial
grounds.
The 4th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals sched
uled oral arguments, just
two months after a lower
court ruled photo identifi
cation requirements to vote
in person, early-voting re
strictions and other chang
es violated neither the fed
eral Voting Rights Act nor
the Constitution.
The appeals court’s de
cision to accelerate review
of the case reinforces the
stakes involved with the
outcome in an election
year, particularly in North
Carolina. The presidential
battleground state also has
big races for governor and
U.S. Senate on the fall bal
lot.
“The legislative actions
at issue must be analyzed
in the context of the high
levels of racially polarized
voting in North Carolina,
where many elections are
sensitive to even slight
shifts in voting,” lawyers
for the U.S. Justice De
partment wrote in a brief
heading into the arguments
before three judges in Rich
mond, Virginia.
Congressional
Black Caucus
Chairman G.
K. Butterfield
Demands
Apology From
FOX News’
Bill O’Reilly
WASHINGTON, D.C.
- CBC Chairman G. K.
Butterfield (NC-01) is
sued the following state
ment in response to FOX
News’ Bill O’Reilly and
disparaging comments
he made about Assistant
Democratic Leader James
E. Clyburn:
“The Congressional
Black Caucus is outraged
Bill O’Reilly would make
such a disparaging state
ment on national tele
vision regarding an es
teemed member of the
CBC. His statement is
insulting, provocative and
unbecoming of a profes
sional commentator. Mr.
O’Reilly should disavow
his comments and issue an
apology to Congressman
Clyburn immediately.”
The 2013 law being chal
lenged by the department,
state NAACP and other
groups and voters required
voters to show one of six
qualifying IDs before cast
ing a ballot. A change to the
law last summer granted
more exceptions to
Dr. William T. Logan
Durham Educator Named 2016
NCAE Principal of the Year
Hillside High School Principal Dr. William T. Logan
III is the recipient of the 2016 North Carolina Associa
tion of Educators’ (NCAE) Principal of the Year Award.
He will be recognized during a special presentation at
the Durham County School Board meeting, 6:30 p.m.
on Thursday, May 26, (511 Cleveland St.), where NCAE
Vice President-Elect Kristy Moore will present him with
a plaque.
The Principal of the Year Award is given annually by
the Principals/Administrators Division of the North Caro
lina Association of Educators.
Logan describes his choice to pursue a career in educa
tion as “divine intervention.” “I had hopes of becoming
an attorney when I entered college. To learn more about
the profession, 1 attended a panel discussion on campus
during the week of orientation. It was at this discussion
that I learned I did not have to major in political science
to attend law school. Impressed by the presenter, I decid
ed to study the same major as he - professional English. I
fell in love after registering for my first education course
and participating in my first classroom observation.”
An educator for 19 years, Logan has dedicated his ca
reer to ensuring that teachers increase their professional
capacity and that students, especially those who are un
der performing, achieve at levels unimagined by most.
“Helping my colleagues and students grow is what keeps
me motivated,” he said.
Logan has served as the principal of Hillside High for
four years, where he also held the position of new tech
high school principal and assistant principal. Prior to
becoming an administrator, he was a middle school lan
guage arts teacher and a high school English teacher.
A graduate of South Carolina State University, Logan
has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Education and
a master’s in Counselor Education. He earned his doctor
ate in Education Administration and Supervision from the
University of Southern Mississippi.
NCAE is the state’s largest education advocacy organi
zation for public school employees and represents active,
student, and retired members.
Register Now to
Vote in 2016
those unable to obtain an
ID. The photo ID mandate
began with the March 15
primary. Close to 20 states
have photo ID mandates,
including a Texas law that
is now being examined by
the full Sth Circuit.
The law also reduced
early-voting by seven days,
eliminated same-day reg
istration during the early-
voting period and barred
the counting of Election
Day ballots cast in the
wrong precinct.
During two trials over the
past year, those who sued
said the changes were dis
criminatory because they
disproportionately harmed
black voters that use early
voting and cast out-of
precinct ballots more than
other voting groups. Their
lawyers also said minority
residents lacked photo ID
more than others.
But U.S. District Judge
Thomas Schroeder in Win
ston-Salem wrote in April
the plaintiffs didn’t prove
the laws made it harder
for minority voters to cast
ballots. Schroeder empha
sized data showing higher
voter registration and turn
out rates among black resi
dents in 2014, when many
changes were implement
ed, compared to 2010.
Attorneys for the state
and GOP Gov. Pat Mc
Crory, who signed the
challenged laws, say the
appeals court should leave
Schroeder’s 485-page deci
sion alone.
The “plaintiffs have
failed to cite a single case
where a state has been
guilty of purposeful dis
crimination because it en
acted photo identification
requirements or any of the
current election practices
implemented,” the lawyers
wrote in their appeals brief.
They pointed to testimony
that 94 percent of all regis
tered black voters had ac
ceptable ID and more than
99 percent voted without
casting an out-of-precinct
ballot.
Still, that equates to
thousands of people being
disenfranchised, according
to those challenging the
law.
The plaintiffs stress a
2014 ruling in the case by
a majority on a three-judge
panel at the 4th Circuit that
found two elements neces
sary for a vote-denial claim
to be successful: the vot
ing laws must impose a
discriminatory burden on a
protected class and must be
caused or linked to social
or historical conditions.
“On each ofthese scores,
the case-critical evidence
remains undisputed,” the
plaintiffs’ attorneys wrote.
That divided panel or
dered a preliminary injunc
tion directing same-day
registration and out-of-
precinct voting continue
while the case was pend
ing. A majority on the U.S.
Supreme Court soon dis
agreed and blocked that or
der for the November 2014
election. But subsequent
court rulings have allowed
Long-time civil and community activist Mrs. Ann Atwa
ter died Monday June 20. She was 80 years old. Mrs. Atwa
ter was best known for her alliance with former Ku Klux
Klansman C.P. Ellis. What started as a fight over desegre
gation of Durham Public Schools ended with an alliance to
fight for better schools for underprivileged black and white
students. The union was documented in the book “The Best
Of Enemies: Race And Redemption In The New South,” by
Osha Gray Davidson.
Here she is shown at the dedication of the Civil rights
Mural in downtown Durham in January 2015.
same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting to re
sume.
It’s unclear whether the same three-judge panel will
hear Tuesday’s arguments. Attorneys don’t know which
judges will be seated until the morning of the hearing.
Accrediting agency warns
Elizabeth City State
ELIZABETH CITY (AP) - The agency that reviews accredi
tation for Elizabeth City State University has warned the histori
cally black college it needs to improve its financial aid practices
or it could end up on probation.
An audit by University of North Carolina system officials
found the school admitted students who did not qualify and gave
financial aid to students who did not properly apply or deserve it.
Elizabeth City State officials say they will implement recom
mendations made by UNC by the end of the year and that should
solve the problems cited by the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools Cdmmission on Colleges.
The warning is not as serious as being put on probation.
The school has an enrollment of about 1,600 students.
Fraternity criticizing Trump
in defense of federal judge
WASHINGTON (AP) _ One of the nation’s largest black fra
ternities is criticizing presumptive Republican presidential can
didate Donald Trump for his attacks on a federal judge.
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. has come to the defense of
U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is a member of that fra
ternity.
Trump has claimed the U.S.-born Curiel cannot preside fairly
over a case involving Trump University because the judge is of
Mexican heritage and Trump wants to build a wall between the
U.S. and Mexico.
The fraternity’s leader, Thomas L. Battles Jr., says "Kappa
Alpha Psi stands firmly against the practice of judging a man
solely by his race, creed or national origin.”
Curiel joined Kappa Alpha Psi at its alpha chapter at Indi
ana University. The fraternity has more than 150,000 members
around the world. /
Mother of hanged teen is satisfied
with federal investigation
RALEIGH (AP) - A civil rights group says the mother of a
black teen whose body was found hanging from a swing set by a
dog leash and a belt that didn’t belong to him are satisfied federal
authorities did a thorough investigation that determined the death
was a suicide.
The North Carolina NAACP released a statement saying that
17-year-old Lennon Lacy’s mother also received a promise the
case could be re-opened if new evidence was found, noting there
is no statute of limitations on a murder charge in the state.
Lacy was found hanging in August 2014 in Bladenboro about
100 miles south of Raleigh.
A day after federal prosecutors announced their investiga
tion was closed, local prosecutors said Friday they also think the
death was a suicide.