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A4 I JUNE 3,2021 Opinion BERTIE LEDGER-ADVANCE The fabric of Bertie County since 1832 Jones must take job... Two important things need to happen, quickly, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 1. Nikole Hannah-Jones needs to join the faculty. Her qualifications and the times demand it. 2. The university’s board of trustees MUST go on the record and vote on her 'tenure request — which has been routine for others in that job. No credible board would dodge their duty. As is evident from the outpouring of sup port from the UNC faculty, not to mention hundreds of academic leaders nationwide, '' Hannah-Jones will be welcomed as a mem ber of the academic community. The university’s administration and trustees cannot stay silent on the tenure issue. Failing to act is denial, but keeps those responsible from being accountable. They cannot dodge their responsibility or the obligation. Trustees must each go on the record. They must state why Hannah- Jones is being treated differently. Hannah-Jones has other offers for profes sorships from the nation’s top academic posts. Her failure to join the UNC faculty will be Chapel Hill’s loss and the others’ gain. The already stained reputation of ^ UNC, from a variety of administrative mis steps over the last decade, will make it in delible. She cannot let the ideologues win. She needs to be UNC’s next Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism. She cannot let the legislative leadership — who directly and indirectly hold pow er to name campus trustees — and their minions show they’ve wrested control of a nation-leading system of higher education that’s taken a century to build. In that tradition of higher education , leadership and academic freedom, she will teach her students to identify facts, under stand complicated nuance and to have the skills to be independent thinkers. In a UNC classroom she will show those who want to silence her, really are seeking a system of higher indoctrination — not higher education. Every day those seek ing to close the minds of those searching for knowledge at UNC will look and see in Hannah-Jones someone who — regardless of who the students are, where they come from or their personal perspective — is ' devoted to opening minds and welcomes dialogue from diverse points of view. That will be a victory for the University , of North Carolina, for academic indepen dence and for Nikole Hannah-Jones. Ideo- "logues and education bureaucrats cannot be allowed to chase her away and give comfort to those who seek to put a limit on academic freedom. The controversy over Hannah-Jones’ ap pointment isn’t about qualifications. She’s won a MacArthur genius fellowship. She’s been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the So ciety of American Historians. She’s won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary along with Peabody and Polk awards. Her career, vast body of work and accomplishments merit her appointment. Others previously appointed to the Knight chair at UNC — who similarly to Hannah-Jones didn’t come from an aca demic background — were tenured. The late Chuck Stone, a Tuskegee Airman and newspaper columnist was tenured as the Walter Spearman Professor at the school. Because of a statement in an essay that was part of The New York Times 1619 Proj ect she oversaw, Hannah-Jones has be come a lightning rod for ideologues seek ing to abridge teachings about slavery, segregation and racism in schools. The essay Hannah-Jones wrote was the subject of a March 2020 clarification, “to make clear that a desire to protect slavery was among the motivations of some of the colonists who fought the Revolutionary War, not among the motivations of all of them.’’ If anything, this is testament to her open ness in contrast to the ideological rigid ness of her detractors. Hannah-Jones cannot let the detractors ' keep her from taking the job. Today’s editorial is from Capitol Broad casting Company. The views expressed are not necessarily those of this newspaper. We c3Ji’t find enough people to^cjo the needed IHARDMRE HILP WftNTEO APPUV wrrniM LOCKSMITH' HELP Shoes We all have need of special traits... For most people, 16 West Jones Street has a far less familiar ring than 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But what happens inside the Leg islative Building on Jones Street in Raleigh is just as critical to the lives of North Carolinians as what goes on in the White House or on Capitol Hill. Within the col umned walls of the legislature, 170 lawmakers make decisions that di rectly impact our Bob state’s 10 million Phillips residents. From Common our schools and CauseNC roads, to health- care, water quality and access to the ballot box, these legislators play a central role in determining the direction of our state. It’s vital that the people of North Carolina have a front-row seat to keep tabs on their repre sentatives and weigh in on the lawmaking process. Of course, most folks don’t have time to travel to Raleigh to sit in com mittee meetings or floor debates. And the COVID-19 pandemic has made venturing to the legislature especially challenging this past year. Thankfully, we’re fortunate to have some outstanding journal ists providing solid coverage of the legislature. Due to the ever- changing landscape of the news industry, there’s a smaller num ber of reporters assigned to the General Assembly beat than in times past. But the brave few who do remain put in long hours, sometimes well into the night, helping to make sense of the crush of bills and shining a light on what our lawmakers are up to. As a nonpartisan, grassroots or ganization, we at Common Cause NC also strive to keep the public informed about what’s happen ing on Jones Street, with an eye towards holding lawmakers ac countable to their constituents. A half-century ago, we were found ed as “the people’s lobby.” We take that mission seriously, work ing to ensure everyday folks are not forgotten within the halls of the legislature. Meanwhile, legislative leaders deserve some credit for making the General Assembly’s activities a bit more accessible for the pub lic, with live streaming video of committee meetings and House sessions now available through the legislature’s website at NCleg. gov. There’s still much more to do on the transparency front, howev er, such as posting video record ings of legislative proceedings online for those who can’t tune in live. And the NC Senate should follow the House’s lead in turning on cameras in its chamber. At NCleg.gov you can also find information on bills and how to contact your legislators. It’s im portant to let lawmakers know what you think about the issues that matter most to you. The transparency test will also be key later this year as lawmak ers begin the process of drawing new congressional and legislative voting districts. Will legislative leaders shortchange the peo ple of North Carolina through a rushed and partisan redistricting process? Will they craft gerry mandered districts behind closed doors, with politicians trying to shield themselves from account ability to the public? Or will lawmakers break from the sordid past of gerrymander ing? Will they hold meaningful public hearings, actually listen to community members and draw districts that let voters choose their representatives? That would be refreshing and what’s needed to avoid more illegal map-rigging by politicians. We’ll get an answer to these questions in the coming months. If history is a guide, we the peo ple will need to be vigilant, speak out and demand full transparency from legislators drawing our vot ing districts. For now, keep an eye on Jones Street. Bob Phillips is executive director of Common Cause NC. Where were the cool tents, Mark Rutledge The Daily Reflector My children did not do much camping growing up, which seems odd because their mother and 1 have fond memories of camp ing trips with our parents. Sharon and I even met on a camping trip in the Florida Keys with seven of my closest friends. One of my friends worked with my future wife at the time and invited her along. Although my friend Paul and I had mapped out the trip during previous adventures in the Keys, a few of the friends had second thoughts once we got there. It was oppressively hot, and the in sects were vicious. The fact that I was skilled at co existing with Florida mosquitoes earned immediate points with Sharon. It helped also that each of us had stories of family vacations with pop-up campers, sunburns and bug repellant. My parents pulled a Cox fold- out camper behind a 1965 Chevy Impala across half of the country. Most often we went to Morrow Mountain State Park near Albe marle, North Carolina, where we lived during my earliest years. Morrow Mountain is where I learned to swim, build campfires and watch out for snakes and spi derwebs along the wooded path to the pool. Sharon had those same experiences at Indian Lake in northwestern Ohio. During the earliest years of raising our daughters in eastern North Carolina, we assumed that we would carry on those family camping traditions that shaped our own childhoods. Although we did pitch tents with friends on North Carolina’s Ocracoke Island once, that was pretty much the extent of our family camping. It’s true that the mosquitoes on Ocracoke tried to carry away our children. But that’s not why we didn’t go camping more. Our va cations during the child-rearing years mostly alternated between visiting her family in Ohio and mine in Tennessee. For several beach trips with Ohio cousins, we rented vaca tion houses — where the adults sat around and reminisced about childhood family vacations that didn’t feature luxuries such as private bathrooms and air condi tioning. Our daughters did not exactly feel deprived hearing those sto ries in the comfort of a fancy va cation rental. But our oldest al ways wanted to go camping. Carly was the one who pitched tents in the backyard, built tree- houses and asked to go fishing. Her sisters enjoyed those activi ties too but always with Carly as the driving force. Our frustrated pioneer turned 21 this month. For her birthday she bought herself a “tent-on-top” camper. It’s a foldout tent that in stalls on the luggage rack of most any vehicle. Coolest thing ever. “This is the best investment I have ever made,” Carly said proudly after installing it atop her Jeep. She decided to leave it up there for the summer. Sharon and I recently put in a request to borrow Carly’s tent rig for an outing in the North Caro lina mountains. “Oh, so I get the gear and now y’all want to go camping,” she said. “I don’t think so.” I guess we had that one coming. Contact Mark Rutledge at mrut- ledge@reflector. com. Bertie Ledger-Advance The fabric of Bertie County since 1832 The Bertie Ledger-Advance was established in 1928 through the HERITAGE OF ThE WINDSOR LEDGER AND ThE AuLANDER ADVANCE. ' The newspaper traces its history to 1832 when it was first published AS the Windsor Herald and Bertie County Register Kyle Stephens Publisher kstephen s@ncwG6kties .com Michelle Leicester Creative Services Director mletcester@noweeklies.oom Kelly Ayscue Account Executive kayscus@rmtelegram.com Thadd White Editor twhite@noweeklies.oom Leslie Beaohboard Managing Editor lbeachboard@noweekfies.com Brandies Hoggard Staff Writer bhoggard@ncweeklis.com J.W. “Russ" Russeil, Sports Editor Emeritus The Bertie Ledger-Advance (iSSN 051-700) IS PUBLISHED EACH Thursday for $37.00 (plus tax) per yeah (in Bertie County) by Adams Pubushing Group 109 South King St., Windsor, NC 27983. Perxjoioals postage paid at Windsor, NC and entered at additional mailing offices. Subscriptions do not include Premium Editions. To Opt out of premium editions, call 252.329.9505 Postmaster: address changes to the Bertie Ledger-Advance, RO. Box 69, Windsor, NC 27983. Contact Us; Bertie Ledger-Advance RO. Box 69, Windsor, NC 27983. Phone:(252)794-3185 Fax: (252) 794-2835
Bertie Ledger-Advance (Windsor, N.C.)
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