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VOLUME 97 - NUMBER 37
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2018
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913
PRICE: 50 CENTS
Supreme Court: 2
amendments fought by
Cooper to be on ballot
By Gary D. Robertson
RALEIGH (AP) - North
Carolina’s highest court de
cided Sept. 4 that two proposed
amendments to the state consti
tution addressing judicial vacan
cies and the state elections board
will be on the ballot this fall.
Both referendums were
fought by Democratic Gov. Roy
Cooper, but the state Supreme
Court affirmed a lower court
decision denying his request to
block for now the questions for
those amendments from appear
ing on ballots.
Cooper’s attorneys had ar
gued the referendum language
remained flawed for voters even
after the Republican-controlled
legislature altered them in re
sponse to an earlier court ruling.
The decision means there will
be six referendum questions on
the November ballot in all - the
same number that GOP legisla
tors submitted to voters in June,
although two were scaled back.
An earlier decision Sept. 4 by the
justices kept in place two refer
endums that had been challenged
by the state NAACP.
Both of the one-sentence rul
ings by the court did not explain
Jhe reasoning of the justices. No
disseWhg opinions were identi
fied. The justices also dissolved
an order they issued last week
that prevented state officials
from preparing state ballots until
told otherwise by the court.
When combined with a sepa
rate ruling Sept. 4 by a panel of
federal judges deciding against
requiring a new congressional
map this fall, the decisions mean
the state elections board can
move on creating ballots to meet
a Sept. 22 deadline for overseas
and military absentee voters.
. “It’s time we let the people
vote,” said GOP state Rep. David
Lewis of Harnett County, who
sponsored many of the amend
ments, referring to “a truly ex
hausting amount of litigation.”
Cooper and Democratic al
lies have criticized the proposals
because they would swing con
trol over filling bench vacancies
from the governor to the legis
lature and give General Assem
bly leaders direct say over who
would serve on the elections
board.
“These amendments are de
ceptive and will erode checks
.and balances in state govern
ment,” Cooper spokesman Ford
Porter said in a release late Tues
day, Sept. 4 adding the governor
will “continue to urge voters to.
understand their true impact.”
Two weeks ago, a majority
of judges on a trial-level panel
had prevented previous versions
of these questions approved by
the General Assembly from go
ing on ballots. That prompted
legislators to hold a special ses
sion and submit slightly different
amendments and questions.
Cooper contended the new
questions were still misleading
and didn’t explain that a sig-
Regardless, they said, the new
referendums were clearly writ
ten.
“The ballot text is fair and
accurate, and despite the gov
ernor’s best efforts, the courts
agree,” state GOP Chairman
Robin Hayes said in a statement.
■ The judicial vacancy amend
ment would require the governor
to fill a judicial vacancy with
someone from among at least
two nominees agreed to. by the
legislature. Those nominees
would originate from a pool of
qualified candidates examined
by an outside commission. Cur
rently the governor makes a
choice, in most cases, without
any legislative participation.
NAACP
To Meet
Sept. 23
MISS AMERICA Twitter Photo courtesy Miss America Pageant
ecutive and legislative branches
would occur if they were ap
proved. But the same judicial
panel agreed unanimously last
Friday, Aug. 31 it was “unable to
find beyond a reasonable doubt
that- that language is facially
unconstitutional.” The Supreme
Court took the case quickly.
Attorneys for GOP lawmak
ers argued the differences' be
tween Cooper and the GQP leg
islators were political questions,
so the judicial branch should
have steered clear of them.
The next NAACP
meeting is scheduled
for September 23 at 4
p.m. at Kyle's Temple
Church 409 Dunston
Ave. Rev. Solomon
Missouri is the Pastor.
NCCU School of Law
Boosts North Carolina
Bar Exam Passage Rate
to 75 Percent
University’s Passage
Rate Third-Highest in
State
Nia Franklin Wins Miss America
Another Black Girl Rocks
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Contributor
@StacyBrownMedia
The genius, intelligence, beauty and spirit of Black women, which continues to transform
the world, shined brightly again Sunday as Nia Franklin became the first Miss America in the
post-swimsuit era. ■
“It took a lot of perseverance to get here,” Franklin, the freshly crowned beauty queen, said
after her win. “I want to thank my beautiful family, my mom and my dad, who is a survivor of
cancer.”
CBCF Annual Legislative Conference begins
Wednesday in DC/CBCF
CBCF Prepares for 48th Legislative
Conference in DC
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Contributor
@StacyBrownMedia
Two senators - Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sen. Ka
mala Harris of California will serve as honorary co-chairs for the
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc.’s 48th Annual Legisla
tive Conference scheduled Sept. 12 through Sept. 16. at the Walter E.
Washington Convention Center in D.C.
It will mark the first time that co-chairs will come from the Sen
ate. Historically, members of the U.S. House of Representatives have
served that role.
The premier conference, which annually attracts nearly 10,000
people from across the world and is the only event of its kind in the
United States, will have the theme, “The Dream Still Demands Cour
age, Resilience, Leadership and Legislation.”
The five-day conference offers more than 90 forums on public
policy issues affecting black Americans.
“For more than 40 years, the Annual Legislative Conference has
provided an extraordinary platform for people - domestic and abroad
- to come together and discuss vital issues related to social justice,
leadership, economic prosperity, entrepreneurship and much more,”
Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, the chair of the CBCF
board of directors, said in a statement.
“As we continue to grow and expand the conference, we know
that we must be unwavering in our approach to have the difficult
conversations, elevate debates about the state of Black America, and
also define new and innovative solutions.”
The impact of civil and social movements over the last 50 years
has played a major role in changing the trajectory of American his
tory, CBCF officials said.
This year’s theme focuses on the influence and legacy of these
moments, while uplifting present-day champions in the fight for ra
cial equality, justice and freedom.
JT st
North Carolina Central
University (NCCU) School of
Law boosted its North Caro
lina Bar Examination passage
rate to 75.5 percent, nearly 20
percent higher than 2017 re
sults. Fifty-three 2018 School
of Law graduates sat for the
North Carolina Bar Exam on
July 24-25, 2018.
NCCU’s first-time bar
exam participants achieved
the third-highest passage
rate in North Carolina. In
April 2018, the university
announced that it was invest
ing more than $300,000 to
support May 2018 graduates
as they prepared to take the
North Carolina Bar Examina
tion in July.
“The hard work and com
mitment demonstrated by our
recent law school graduates
who sat for the bar exam is
well evidenced by this year’s
impressive results,” said
“I grew up at a predominately Caucasian school and there was
only five percent minority, and I felt out of place so much because
of the color of my skin, ” Franklin said. “But growing up, I found
my love of arts, and through music that helped me to feel positive
about myself and about who I was. ”
An opera singer, Franklin is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and earned her mas
ter s degree in music composition from UNC School of the Arts, according to her biography as
reported by CNN.
She moved to New York after being accepted at the Kenan Fellow program at Lincoln Center
Education in Manhattan. '
During the competition, Franklin described how music helped her find her identity.
I grew up at a predominately Caucasian school and there was only five percent minority,
and I felt out of place so much because of the color of my skin,” Franklin said. “But growing
up, I found my love of arts, and through music that helped me to feel positive about myself and
about who I was.”
Her win set Twitter and all of social media ablaze.
“Congratulations to our new Miss America,” famed radio and television personality Donnie
Simpson said. “Nia Franklin represented New York and won the crown last night. She’s obvi
ously very smart, very talented and absolutely stunning. I’m so proud.”
Another popular radio show host, Michael Lyle, Jr., also couldn’t contain his joy for Franklin.
“Huge congratulations. Well-deserved and another reason why Black Girls Rock,” Lyle said.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., the president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers
Association — the trade organization that represents 220 African American-owned newspapers
across the country — said Franklin’s win is just another statement on the outstanding achieve
ments of Black women today.
Johnson 0. Akinleye, Ph.D.,
chancellor of North Carolina
Central University. “I applaud
our administration, faculty,
staff and alumni at the School
of Law for ensuring that our
students are successful as they •
officially begin their career as
our newest Legal Eagles.”
The School of Law is in
the process of preparing for
North Carolina’s transition
to the Uniform Bar Exami
nation (UBE) in 2019. The
UBE provides a transferable
score that allows admission to
other UBE jurisdictions based
on a test taker’s score in one
UBE jurisdiction. The law
school has formed an ad-hoc
committee comprised of fac
ulty, staff and alumni to assist
current students with exam
preparation for the new exam
format.
The NNPA Congratulates 2018 Miss America, Nia Franklin. The genius, intelligence, beau
ty and spirit of Black women impact and transform the world,” Chavis tweeted.
Franklin; who plans to advocate for the arts during her tenure as Miss America, told report
ers that she was also happy that the swimsuit competition — which had been part of the overall
contest throughout its 92-year history — had been discontinued.
“I’m happy I didn’t have to wear a swimsuit,” she said. “I’m more than just that.”
Voter ID, tax cap questions to
remain on N Carolina ballots
RALEIGH (AP) - It appears at least four proposed amendments to the North
Carolina Constitution will be on fall ballots now that the state Supreme Court has
rejected a civil rights group’s request to block questions on voter identification'
and income taxes.
The justices on Sept. 4 denied a motion by attorneys for the state NAACP ask
ing those questions the General Assembly submitted not appear before voters.
One proposal would mandate photo identification to vote in person. The other
would reduce the cap on income tax rates from 10 percent to 7 percent.
The Supreme Court is apparently still weighing arguments- from Democratic
Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican legislators over two other proposed referen
dums addressing judicial vacancies and the state elections board.
Two referendums addressing crime victims’ rights and hunting and fishing weren’t
challenged.