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VOLUME 95 - NUMBER 49
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2016 TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 50 CENTS
North Carolina Gov. McCrory
concedes he lost re-election
By Emery P. Dalesio
(AP) - North Carolina Gov.
Pat McCrory conceded the gov
ernor’s race Dec. 5, clearing the
way for Democrat Roy Cooper
to be declared the winner nearly
four weeks after Election Day.
The win by Cooper, the state’s
outgoing attorney general, gives
Democrats an important conso
lation prize after a disappoint
ing election across the country.
However, Republicans retain su
per majorities in both legislative
chambers.
In a video message from his
office posted to YouTube, Mc
Crory said, “Despite contin
ued questions that should be
answered regarding the voting
process, I personally believe that
the majority of our citizens have
spoken, and we now should do
everything we can to support the
75th governor ofNorth Carolina,
Roy Cooper.”
McCrory, who became the
first sitting North Carolina gov
ernor to lose a re-election bid,
was weighed down by a series of
divisive laws he signed, includ
ing House Bill 2.
That law limited LGBT rights
and directed transgender people
to
use restrooms in schools and
government buildings corre
sponding to the sex listed on
their birth certificates. It led to
companies, sports organizations
and entertainers pulling their
business from the state, costing
hundreds ofjobs and millions of
dollars in spending.
With appeals drying up and
postelection counts padding
Cooper’s narrow lead, McCrory
announced he was giving up.
McCrory, who won the of
fice by a comfortable margin
four years ago, was unable to
generate the same voter support
that lifted Republicans Donald
Trump and Richard Burr to vic
tory in the state.
Unofficial results at the State
Board of Elections showed Coo
per leading McCrory by slightly
more than the 10,000 votes need
ed to avoid an automatic recount.
A total of about 4.7 million votes
were cast. The state board still
must officially certify the results.
Cooper has stated he wants
HB2 repealed because he said it
promotes discrimination and has
harmed North Carolina’s brand
as good place to do business.
McCrory defended signing
the law and unsuccessfully tried
Durham police: Officers heard
shot before 1 fatally shot man
(AP) - Three North Carolina police officers involved in last week’s
fatal shooting of a 34-year-old man heard a gunshot before one fired
his weapon, according to a preliminary police report.
Frank Nathaniel Clark of Durham reached for his waistband while
being questioned Nov. 22 by two of the officers at a public housing
complex, and a struggle ensued, according to the report, which did
not provide the officers’ full first names. Officer M.D. Southerland
fell to the ground, and officer C.S. Barkley shot Clark.
Radio communication given in the report suggests confusion.
Officer C.Q. Goss called for help, saying “Shots fired! Suspect
down!” Another, unidentified officer says, .“Shots fired! I got an of
ficer down.” Seconds later, Goss replied, “We have one officer that is
injured. He is not down. The suspect is down.”
Clark died at the scene. Southerland was treated at a hospital for a
leg injury and released.
The report does not say where Clark was struck, how many shots
were fired or whether Southerland was shot.
A woman who identified herself as Clark’s sister told reporters last
week he didn’t have a gun when he was shot. The report says officers
found a loaded 9mm handgun on the ground next to Clark that was
reported stolen in January.
Police met with residents of the public housing complex where
Clark was killed, but an attorney representing members of his family
said that law officers didn’t share their preliminary report before it
was released publicly.
“We have no definitive narrative. A gun may have gone off. We
don’t know whose. We can speculate all day long it was an officer’s
gun” or another gun, said attorney David Hall, who is representing
Clark’s two brothers and a sister. “I’m saying that at this early point
in the investigation, the police narrative leaves lots of questions un
answered.”
State prison records show Clark had a criminal history dating back
17 years, starting with a 1999 conviction for possessing stolen goods
and including assault on a female and possessing a firearm as a felon
He was released from prison in April 2015 after serving five years
for trafficking opium or heroin.
(Continued On Page 2)
to focus his campaign on the
state’s recovering economy
and finances during his four
years in office. Flooding after
Hurricane Matthew in October
also gave McCrory the oppor
tunity to project the image of a
leader as he directed recovery
efforts as cameras watched.
Cooper, a former state leg
islator first elected attorney
in 2000 won’t enter office from
a position of strength. Republi
cans hold veto-proof majorities
in both chambers of the legis
lature, making it difficult for
him to push his agenda - or stop
theirs.
Associated Press writer Gary
Robertson contributed from Ra
leigh
Mrs. Valeisha Butterfield Jones
Google Executive Valeisha
Butterfield Jones to Address
NCCU Fall Graduates
Valeisha Butterfield Jones, director of Black Community Engage
ment for Google and co-founder of the national Women in Entertain
ment Empowerment Network (WEEN), will deliver the keynote ad
dress during the 128th Commencement Exercises at North Carolina
Central University (NCCU) on Dec. 10.
The ceremony for approximately 600 graduates of the university’s
undergraduate, master’s and professional programs will take place at
9 a.m. in McDougald-McLendon Arena.
Butterfield Jones is a 2000 graduate of Clark Atlanta .University.
She began her career at Rush Communications, owned by music in
dustry executive Russell Simmons, working first as an assistant and
later as national director for Simmons’ Hip-Hop Summit Action Net
work.
In 2009, she was named by President Barack Obama as deputy
director of public affairs for the International Trade Administration.
She went on to serve as the national youth vote director for President
Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign and gained a reputation for her
ability to connect with millennials and other young voters.
In 2007, she and actor-producer Sabrina Thompson founded
WEEN, a national nonprofit, to foster mentoring relationships and
other supportive programs aimed at counteracting biased portrayals
of women, especially women of color, in the entertainment industry
and society.
Butterfield Jones is married to 2016 NBA champion Dahntay
Jones and is the daughter of U.S. Congressman G.K. Butterfield and
N.C. State Legislator Jean Farmer Butterfield. Her parents are alumni
of NCCU.
For more information on Commencement Exercises, please visit
http://web.nccu.edu/commencement.
City of Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane presented City of
Durham Mayor Bill Bell with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine
Award during the 15th Anniversary & Legislative Awards Din
ner of the N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition on December 1,
2016. The award is among the most prestigious awards conferred
by the governor for exemplary service to the state.
Durham Mayor Bill Bell
named to prestigious Order of
the Long Leaf Pine
City of Durham Mayor William V. “Bill” Bell was
named to The Order of the Long Leaf Pine last night at a
ceremony held during the 15th Anniversary & Legislative
Awards Dinner of the N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coali
tion.
Considered among the highest honors the Governor can
confer, the award recognizes citizens for their exemplary
service and outstanding contribution to North Carolina.
Other recipients have included Andy Griffith, Bill Friday,
Reverend Billy Graham, and Michael Jordan.
City of Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane presented the
award to Mayor Bell, who was recognized for his decades
of service to the Durham community as well as his state
wide and national leadership.
For more information about The Order of the Long
Leaf Pine, contact The Office of the Governor or visit The
Long Leaf Pine Society website.
Louisiana lawmaker tapped
to head Congressional
Black Caucus
WASHINGTON (AP) - Louisiana Democratic Rep. Cedric Rich
mond has been elected chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
The three-term lawmaker will take over for the current chairman,
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., in January when a new Congress is
sworn in.
The 43-year-old Richmond has a reputation of working with
Democrats and Republicans.
Butterfield says he is confident Richmond will provide strong
leadership. Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland says the CBC is the “con
science of the Congress” and says Richmond will bring energy to
the job.
The CBC filled out its leadership ranks with Reps. Andre Car
son, D-Ind., Karen Bass, D-Calif., Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich., and
Gwen Moore, D-Wis.
NCCU’s Mack Voted AFCA Regional Coach of the Year
WACO, Texas - North Carolina Central University football head coach Jerry Mack has been recognized as an American
Football Coaches Association (AFCA) 2016 Regional Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to their third consecutive
conference championship and the program’s first NCAA Division I-FCS national ranking.
Mack, the 2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Football Coach of the Year, guided the Eagles to their most wins in
the program’s Division I era with a 9-2 overall record and an unbeaten 8-0 mark in league play. NCCU defeated nationally-
ranked North Carolina A&T 42-21 on Nov. 19 to capture the MEAC championship. After sharing the league crown in 2014
and 2015, the Eagles are the conference’s first outright champion since 2012.
The Eagles received their first national ranking as a Division I-FCS program on Nov. 7, when the FCS Coaches Poll an
nounced NCCU at No. 25. By the end of the regular season, the Eagles jumped to No. 18.
Mack has achieved unprecedented success in his first three seasons as head football coach at NCCU.
Taking over a program that posted a losing record prior to his arrival in Durham, Mack has led the Eagles to three con
secutive MEAC championships and an overall record of 24-10, including a 21-3 mark against conference opponents. His 24
victories are more than any NCCU football coach has ever collected in their first three seasons.
In addition to the AFCA Regional Coach of the Year and MEAC Coach of the Year awards, Mack has been named as one
of 15 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award as the FCS Coach of the Year.
Mack is just the second coach in school NCCU history to receive the AFCA award, as George Quiett captured the honor
in 1972.
The 2016 FBS and FCS Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at the inaugural American Football Coach
es Awards, televised live on CBS Sports Network on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 9 p.m. EST.
The AFCA?recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association’s five divisions :?Football Bowl
Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA. The winners are selected by Active
members of the Association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.