Raleigh NC – NC DOT official pleads guilty to extortion

A former North Carolina official has pleaded guilty to extortion for taking nearly $30,000 in kickbacks in exchange for awarding an excavation company state contracts. (Rocky Mount Telegram)

Greenville NC – “We Are Not Free” Pitt County NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet

I totally agree with Judge Toby Fitch Jr. that we are not free just because we have a black President. There is still much work to do and we all have a role to play. So what you gonna do?

View the article and comments in the Greenville Reflector Newspaper and then view the entire video here on The DCN TV. If it is not playing at the moment, click On-Demand and click on Pitt County Freedom Fund Banquet. You may also view these pictures.

Durham NC – News Release From The NC NAACP

Immediate Release

April 6, 2009

Contact: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137; Amina J. Turner, Exec Dir, 919-682-4700

STATE NAACP WANTS STATE TO ASSURE EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES
FOR BLACKS & OTHER MINORITIES THROUGH STIMULUS FUNDS

The National NAACP Board of Directors, which includes three members from North Carolina, directed all State Conference Presidents to monitor their State’s Stimulus Funds personnel and procedures to assure that African Americans and other minorities receive equitable opportunities and awards in the spending of Federal funds. N.C. NAACP meets with Dempsey Benton, the N.C. Stimulus Fund Director on Wednesday.

According to Rev. William Barber, State NAACP President, “We must ensure that the stimulus is not stifled by barriers of race or lukewarm outreach to historically underutilized businesses.”

Today the N.C. NAACP asked N.C. Senators Burr and Hagan for a Title VI Office for North Carolina, to ensure equity in the handling of the stimulus funds. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits race discrimination in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. Pres. John Kennedy, who proposed Title VI just before he was assassinated, explained its purpose: Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial discrimination.

NC NAACP Title VI Office Request

Dear Senators Burr and Hagan:

We have reason to believe that the billions of dollars of federal stimulus funds that are beginning to be spent in North Carolina are not being dispersed equally to all people in our society. For instance, we believe that 12 initial contracts awarded by the Department of Transportation, worth millions of dollars, all went to white contractors. The DOT only required them to certify they made a “good faith effort” to reach out to African American subcontractors. These funds are all subject to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits race discrimination in these programs.

Therefore, we respectfully request your help in establishing a Title VI Enforcement Office for North Carolina. This Office would be readily accessible for North Carolinians to file Title VI complaints when they have reason to believe they have been deprived of equal opportunities to bid on contracts, to submit proposals for grants, or when they have been excluded from other key decisions and information which directly impact the flow of these funds. The Office would have jurisdiction to initiate inquiries, and if necessary, open investigations to determine whether these funds are being dispersed in a non-discriminatory manner.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this request.

Sincerely,
Dr. William J. Barber, II President

cc: Gov. Beverly Perdue, State of North Carolina
Mr. Dempsey Benton, Stimulus Fund Monitor for Gov. Perdue

Nashville NC – County shies from recall rights resolution

A group of former Cummins Rocky Mount Engine Plant employees on Monday brought its fight for worker rights to elected officials in Nash County.

The ex-employees — let go from the Whitakers-based plant last month — came before the Nash County Board of Commissioners asking officials to throw some political clout behind their fight. (Rocky Mount Telegram)