NAACP NC – Press Statement by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II NC NAACP STATE PRESIDENT: APPLYING OLD STRATEGY TO WAKE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION: Changing Mid-stream

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Subj: 09 OCT 22 PRESS STATEMENT REV BARBER

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE

NORTH CAROLINA STATE CONFERENCE

114 W. Parrish Street, Second Floor Ÿ Durham, North Carolina 27701

866-626-2227   Ÿ    919-682-4700   Ÿ   FAX  919-682-4711

www.naacpnc.org www.ncprosecutorialmisconduct.com www.hkonj.com

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II                                                                                                    Amina J. Turner

President                                                                                                                              Executive Director

Immediate Release

22 October 2009

Contact:  Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137

                  Mrs. Amina J. Turner, Executive Director, 919-682-4700

APPLYING OLD STRATEGY TO WAKE COUNTY

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION: 

Changing Mid-stream

Press Statement by

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II

NC NAACP STATE PRESIDENT

This election for school board in Wake County has turned on the issue of whether we want an American school system here in Wake County that follows the Constitution, upholds the mandates of Brown vs. Board of Education and provides a high quality diverse integrated educational environment or whether we want to abandon the Constitution and some progress for a return to resegregated high poverty schools, which discriminate and undermine commitment to fundamental high quality education. Some seemingly want to run back to and old America while those wanting to maintain diversity desire to keep pushing towards a better America and North Carolina.   

While this is supposed to be a non-partisan election, we can clearly see this push against diversity is being done and orchestrated to some degree by persons affiliated with the Republican Party.  And, it is being carried out by reviving the old Nixon Southern Strategy of the late 60s and early 70s in new ways. We have seen in this election cycle the re-vitalization of Nixon’s Southern Strategy Proven Slogans against "Forced Busing" and for "Neighborhood Schools," which then and now meant resegregation and serve as code words to engender racial fear and division. 

Now, this week, a new manipulation is being employed: the engineers of this plan, plan to hijack the school board, do away with diversity, and have gone beyond coded political debate to an attempt to disenfranchise voters and railroad the voting process itself.   We cannot stand for this as a community. People of all races and backgrounds who believe in fundamental fairness must challenge these efforts. It is one thing to be wrong in your debate and misleading in your political positions.  It’s entirely another thing to try and manipulate the law and voting process in the middle of an election where voters have already gone to the polls.  This is anti our democratic process.

We call on the county and state boards of elections to adhere to a logical interpretation of the Law.

According to statute (NCGS 163-111(c)(2-3):

“(2) A candidate who is apparently entitled to demand a second primary, according to the unofficial results, for one of the offices listed below and desiring to do so, shall file a request for a second primary in writing with the chairman or director of the county board of elections no later than 12:00 noon on the ninth day (including Saturdays and Sundays) following the date on which the primary was conducted, and such request shall be subject to the certification of the official results by the county board of elections:

(3) Immediately upon receipt of a request for a second primary the appropriate board of elections, State or county, shall notify all candidates entitled to participate in the second primary, by telephone followed by written notice, that a second primary has been requested and of the date of the second primary.”

These provisions clearly mean that a candidate had, in this instance, through October 15 to seek a second primary (which I assume the second place finisher did in this case).  The reasoning behind this is pretty clear: making sure that preparations can be made in a timely fashion for the run-off if it is necessary.  Approaching this reasoning from the other perspective, one could reason that, in this scenario, if the second place finisher said she would seek a run-off by October 15, then the election’s board will operate on this information going forward from this date, and, therefore, subsequent efforts to get off the ballot after this date, when preparations have already been made for the election, should be disallowed.

We must not allow the political chicanery of any group for its own political reason to upset or overturn the rights of the voters and the integrity of the system.

Beyond today we are organizing a NAACP MASS meeting on Oct. 30 at 7pm at Martin St. Baptist Church to expose this New Southern Strategy under the guise of “neighborhood schools” and to articulate our clear legal and activism strategy going forward.  We are committed to SAVE OUR DIVERSITY AND SAVE OUR CHILDREN.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.  For more information, call the State Office at 866-626-2227 or e-mail us at execdirnaacpnc@gmail.com.  ###

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NAACP NC