VOLUME 95 - NUMBER 33 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2016 TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 50 CENTS
Federal panel strikes down N.
Carolina legislative districts
Justice James Wynn Says Blacks Suffered Harm
By Gary D. Robertson
RALEIGH (AP) - Federal judges on Aug. 11 struck down nearly 30 North Carolina
House and Senate districts as illegal racial gerrymanders, but will allow General As
sembly elections to be held using them this fall.
The decision by a three-judge panel comes six months after another set of judges
struck down North Carolina’s congressional districts for similar reasons. Thursday’s
(Aug. 11) ruling covering 19 House and nine Senate districts is yet another blow to the
GOP lawmakers in North Carolina, which has seen several laws it enacted either par
tially or wholly overturned by the federal courts.
The U.S. Supreme Court announced in June that it would hear the appeals of Repub
lican state leaders in that case, where two majority-black congressional districts were
thrown out. The previous map drawn in 2011 and still being challenged helped give the
state GOP more seats within the congressional delegation in the swing state.
The legislative maps, also approved in 2011, also helped Republicans pad their ma
jorities in the two chambers after they took control of the legislature for the first time
in 140 years the year before.
Writing for the panel in Thursday’s (Aug. 11) ruling, U.S. Circuit Judge James Wynn
said requiring lawmakers to redraw maps now would result in confusion for voters,
candidates and election officials. State lawmakers will be required to fashion new plans
when they reconvene for their legislative session early next year.
Postponing the 2016 legislative elections “would cause significant and undue disrup
tion to North Carolina’s election process,” Wynn wrote. “Nonetheless, plaintiffs, and
thousands of other North Carolina citizens, have suffered severe constitutional harms
stemming from defendants’ creation of 28 district racially gerrymandered in violation
ofthe equal protection clause.”
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NCCU Eagle smoved in fo the start of a new year. See photos on page 7. (NCCU
Photo)
150 years On: Johnson C. Smith marks university founding
CHARLOTTE (AP) - Johnson C. Smith University is kicking off a yearlong celebra
tion marking the 150th anniversary of the university’s founding.
The historically black university in Charlotte has a student body of about 1,500 and
was chartered in 1867.
Special programs are being planned at the university throughout the coming school
year. The new academic year began on Aug. 15 with an event on campus featuring cof
fee and an address by university president Ronald L. Carter.
The university’s sesquicentennial logo is also being unveiled and 150 biodegradable
balloons in the school colors of gold and blue are being released.
Michael Jordan pledges $5 million to
African-American museum
WASHINGTON (AP) - Michael Jordan has made another major donation, pledging $5 mil
lion to the Smithsonian’s new African-American history museum on the National Mall.
Officials at the National Museum of African American History and Culture announced the
gift from the basketball great Aug. 8. The museum is set to open Sept. 24.
In recognition ofthe gift, the museum will name a section of its sports gallery after Jordan. He
also donated a jersey he wore during the 1996 NBA Finals to the museum’s collection.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to support this museum,” Jordan said in a statement. “I also
am indebted to the historic contributions of community leaders and athletes such as Jesse Ow
ens, whose talent, commitment and perseverance broke racial barriers and laid the groundwork
for the successful careers of so many African Americans in athletics and beyond.”
Museum Director Lonnie Bunch said the gift will aid the museum’s vision of exploring how
black athletes changed sports and changed American society.
“We are extremely grateful to Michael Jordan for his game-changing support,” Bunch said in
a statement. “His gift will enable our visitors to explore how sports were used to break barriers
as a way to gain full participation in American society.”
Last month Jordan spoke out on racial tensions in America in hopes of easing conflicts be
tween blacks and law enforcement.
The NBA great and Charlotte Hornets owner also announced he was giving $1 million to the
Institute for Community-Police Relations and another $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense
Fund. The aim is to help build trust after several shootings across the country.
The Durham Bulls baseball team celebrated local Negro League players on Sun.,
Aug. 14 at the Durham Bulls Ball Park. At left is Dickie Edwards of the Indianapo
lis Clowns. Edwards and the Indianapolis Clowns were in “Bingo Long and the
Traveling All-Stars” movie with Richard Pryor. At right is Ozzie Timmons, hitting
coach. The Little Leaguer, center, is Edwards’ grandson, 2-year-old Ashton. See
photos on page 7.
Justice Dept, report critical
of zero-tolerance policing
By Eric Tucker
WASHINGTON (AP) _ To supporters, zero-tolerance policing has long represented
a logical crime-fighting approach: Crack down on minor infractions before they mush
room into more serious and disruptive violence.
But a scathing federal government report on the Baltimore Police Department sug
gests the costs of that strategy outweigh any reduction in crime. The Justice Department
report released Wednesday blames zero-tolerance policing for a legacy of discrimi
natory law enforcement in which black residents are disproportionately stopped and
searched without cause.
"The police department’s 'zero tolerance’ street enforcement strategy became a quest
to produce large numbers of enforcement actions _ pedestrian stops in particular _ often
without enough consideration of their limited impact on solving crime and their caustic
damage to community relationships,” Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s
civil rights division, said at a news conference.
The conclusion forcefully rejects a strategy critics condemn as unduly harsh and one
that has fallen out of favor in some of the same cities, including Baltimore, where it
was developed and regularly employed. The report also revives a public dialogue that
surfaced repeatedly on the presidential campaign trail, particularly as former Baltimore
Mayor Martin O’Malley, who still defends the zero-tolerance policy, sought the Demo
cratic nomination.
Over the years, the strategy has divided academics and police and government of
ficials.
"It reflects a debate that’s been going on for quite a while, and to the extent that we
can find the government acknowledging those costs and downsides, it’s about time,”
said David Harris, a University of Pittsburgh law professor who specializes in police
policy and conduct.
Zero-tolerance emerged as a popular strategy in Baltimore more than 15 years ago.
Its effectiveness was touted by O’Malley, who was elected in 1999 at a time when homi
cides were regularly topping 300 a year. A similar "broken windows” philosophy was
promoted even earlier in New York City and elsewhere, with the theory that policing
petty offenses, such as graffiti and public urination, can protect against more serious
crimes.
In Baltimore, officials advocated "stop and frisk” policies and cracked down on pub
lic drunkenness, disorderly conduct and similar offenses. In 2005, more than 100,000
people were arrested _ roughly one sixth of the city’s population.
The city’s homicides remained below 300 for the next decade, but complaints swiftly
emerged that citizens were being targeted for misdemeanor offenses. A grand jury
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