Ron Margiotta Speech to The North Raleigh Republican Club Discusses Breaking Up The County’s School System

Subject: WRAL video of Mr. Margiotta’s speech, Great Schools Forum

WRAL has the full video of Chairman Ron Margiotta’s speech to the North Raleigh Republican Club.  In his talk, he discusses breaking up the County’s school system, and he got big cheers for saying he was ending "busing for the sake of diversity."  He said "No one should be shocked–it (diversity) was the main issue of the campaign."  He says those opposing him and the new Board majority are those "who lost the election" in the fall and those "who do not accept the election."  He emphasized how "strong" the five majority Board members are as a group.

Hear research and data on the Wake County Public School System at the March 20 forum sponsored by Great Schools in Wake.  Mr. Margiotta and Debra Goldman were invited but declined the invitation to speak at the forum.  There will be other national, state, and local speakers, including folks from Charlotte as well as Raleigh. 

More details are online about Won’t You Be My Neighbor?  The Great Schools in Wake Coalition Forum.  It will be held Saturday, March 20, 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, with Community Action Sessions, 1:30 to 2:30 pm; McKimmon Center, NC State University, 1100 Gorman Street (corner of Western Blvd.), Raleigh;  Nationally recognized speakers include Gerald Grant, author of Hope and Despair in the American City:  Why There are no Bad Schools in Raleigh; Richard Kahlenberg, Senior Fellow, Century Foundation; former WCPSS Superintendent Bill McNeal; Benita Jones, JD, UNC School of Law; and others.  Go online to register.  Admission is free and open to the public.

See related:

Wake County Public Schools

Diversity policy voted down in tense meeting – Source: The News & Observer

RALEIGH In a chaotic and conflict-filled meeting, Wake County’s school board voted Tuesday night to kill the district’s long-standing diversity policy and begin implementing neighborhood schools. (Read more @ The News & Observer)

An opinion from a DCN Reader

Wow!  Even if this was remotely good intending, this formula to eliminate “diversity busing” harms not only children of color, but it also harms the opportunities for Caucasian children to be exposed to other cultures early.  Making the claim for neighborhood “only” schools would seem to be the perfect recipe for “turning back” the clocks particularly given that existing and poorer schools are currently NOT adequately funded and because existing funding seems chronically limited and always favors building new/modern schools in high growth areas. This seems to be a perpetual chase without win for those that cannot afford to move to the better area.  Often the new and modern schools have some of the “best teachers” and student ratios and are often away from economically deprived areas and areas of color.    The courts have long been a better ally of last resort for demanding equal and adequate funding for existing schools and for demanding this reasonable equality before allowing new schools to be built.  What say you?   This is not just a local issue strategy for preserving the best opportunities for the select few while using the collective’s resources.  Amazing – elimination of the diversity policy reminds me so much of the plan and justification for “Separate But equal Schools” but in this case it seems to allow an exemption for socioeconomic status because of the neighborhood you live in.

Just an opinion,

See related:

Wake County Public Schools

NAACP FILES COMPLAINT WITH SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS and CALLS FOR THE STEPPING DOWN OF WAKE CHAIRMAN MARGIOTTA at MORNING PRESS CONFERENCE

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 President                                                                                                                                      

Amina J.  Turner Executive Director                                                                                                                                                               

 

Immediate Release

March 5, 2010

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

                 Atty.  Al McSurely, Communications, 919-389-2905

NAACP FILES COMPLAINT WITH SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS and CALLS FOR THE STEPPING DOWN OF WAKE CHAIRMAN MARGIOTTA at MORNING PRESS CONFERENCE

(Durham, NC)  Today, State NAACP President Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II and Attorney Al McSurely, Communications Chair, unveiled the formal complaint to the prestigious Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).  “We believe these acts are in violation of SACS CASI standards including, but not limited to Standard 1, vision and Purpose; Standard 2, Governance and Leadership; Standard 6, Stakeholders Communications and Relationships; and Standard 7, Commitment to Continuous Improvement.”

In addition, the NAACP called for the Wake County School Board Chair, Ron Margiotta to step down as chair of the largest school district in the state.  In this regard, Rev. Barber said, “Mr. Margiotta openly referred to the many stakeholders of color at a public meeting as ‘animals’ into his microphone, so that all could hear: ‘Here come the animals out of their cages.’  The obvious racial meaning of this remark is even more hurtful because, if the Chair of the Wake School Board feels comfortable in openly deriding people of color who have been waiting to make their public comment as ‘animals out of their cages’ without fear of ostracism… we can infer [that they] must feel free to express similar derogatory and racist attitudes toward people of color in their secret meetings.”

Click on the link: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org:80/2010/03/04/margiotta-calls-parents-animals/.  See the full complaint attached.

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 President  Amina J. Turner Executive Director

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

5 MARCH 2010

CONTACT: REV. DR. WILLIAM J. BARBER, II, PRESIDENT, 919-394-8137

MR. AL MCSURELY, COMMUNICATIONS, 919-389-2905

REMARKS from NC NAACP’s NEWS CONFERENCE

March 5, 2010

Al McSurely, Communications Chair & member Legal Redress Committee

North Carolina NAACP

Good morning. I want to make two points. I realize many people are not familiar at all with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and its Council on Accreditation and School Improvement. This prestigious organization has been in business since 1895, when it was formed to insure that the new public school systems in the South met best practices standards of good education. The NAACP, a national and state-wide organization, is constantly learning about effective ways to push forward our purpose of DE-Segregating our society—our neighborhoods and our schools. Recently we learned from our Burke County Branch that it had received a quick, effective response from the SACS when some members of its School Board had been engaging in similar autocratic, racially-discriminatory acts. SACS sent in a team of investigators, corroborated the NAACP’s allegations and found some other violations of the SACS standards for accreditation, all in a couple of months. The SACS team required several fundamental changes in how the Board related to the minority community and our members involved in the process have been impressed by the professional and thoughtful way the SACS has intervened. We are aware of another case in Clayton County, Georgia, where SACS withdrew its accreditation, and wholesale changes were initiated to bring the school system into compliance. I urge you to research this prestigious organization and its solid track record of responding quickly and effectively to this type of complaint.

Secondly, I want to emphasize that the complicated task of repairing the breach in the human family, rent asunder by slavery and Jim Crow, cannot be captured in 30 second sound bites, or in caricaturing individuals and their statements to imply this exercise in democracy has degenerated into a yelling match. This story is not about Ron Margiotta’s “animals” and “cages” remark. Nor is it about individuals, Black and White, who have been systematically shut out of the decision-making process by the ideologically driven Caucus of five. It is clear, as we have alleged in our complaint, that they hold secret caucus meetings before the public meetings, that they make their decisions then, and that they even plan on how Mr. Margiotta will handle the “public.” This is not democracy. These are acts of a small group of conspirators, afraid of democracy, afraid of the “animals” –all of us—getting out of our “cages” and expressing our hopes for our children.

Let us who have dedicated ourselves to truth and justice renew our commitment to providing the historical context, the political agenda, and the financial foundations that lay behind the racially demeaning remark of Mr. Margiotta. Let us ask our editors, our supervisors, our teachers, and anyone interested in the De-Segregation of our society, to tell the whole complicated story occasionally and the pivotal role the NAACP has played for 100 years in guiding our society toward one nation, with freedom and justice for all.

Amina J Turner, Executive Director, NC NAACP

As a former school board member, it is understandable that there can be heated debates and arguments around policy and direction in which a school board should lead its schools and educate its children. But it is unacceptable that the heat of the moment as described by Mr. Margiotta was the excuse for not be respectful of people exercising their rights to hold divergent opinions in a democratic society by calling them animals. If it is a matter of managing the public, as chairperson you use the gavel. You don’t resort to school yard tactics of insults and one-upmanship through verbal attacks. This behavior seems rather arrogant and anti-community building, anti-seeking common ground, anti- working on behalf of all children and their families in the Wake County School District.

A gavel will do when trying to maintain order. But the use of charged language in an already fractious situation is highly improper and demonstrates a lack of understanding of history, and the purpose of civil discourse. Civil discourse is what has lead to the gains in civil rights in our country. But to shut discourse down through the Margiotta Method will not raise test scores, maintain diversity in public schools nor support equitable distribution of resources and in opportunity for learning.

Mr. Margiotta, enough is enough! Your position demands more of you for all of Wake County’s citizens as well as those you were elected to serve—Wake’s public school children and their families.

Rev. Nancy E. Petty, Pastor, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church

I am the pastor of a church in Raleigh that, for 125 years, has stood for justice and equality for all people. I am here today to speak to an issue that is facing our nation and now, specifically, Wake County— a crisis in moral and ethical leadership when it comes to seeking justice in our world.

For certain, we don’t need our public servants, our elected officials calling people animals. We don’t need leaders who are unwilling to listen to their constituents; who are inflexible; who cannot make wise decisions about the best interest of the good of the whole; and who cannot after looking at the facts admit that they may be wrong.

I have worked with Rev. William Barber for some months now, specifically on the issues surrounding the Wake County Public School System. What I can say is that he is a man of integrity (a character trait we teach in Wake County’s school curriculum) and he is a man who respects (another character trait we teach in our public schools) his fellow human being regardless of race, gender, or political affiliation. He is a man who works with people, not against people. But more than that, he is a man of justice; and when he sees injustice, he shows up to shine a light.

As to the article in the News & Observer today (March 5, 2010) quoting him saying, “This is not a dictatorship. This is not a gang. This is not a Mafia meeting. This is a democratic process.” –his words speak the truth. We are citizens of a democracy, not a dictatorship. We are not “animals having been let out of cages” as chairman Marigotta called the citizens of Wake County; but rather we are people who are concerned for our children and our community. Rev. Barber in his remarks spoke to our PROCESS. Marigotta called people animals. That is very different.

The issues before us—our children and the well-being of our community as a whole—deserve our best. The issues deserve our highest respect and the integrity of a fair and transparent process. Anything less is an injustice!

If we are to move forward in this world as one humanity, we need more leaders like Rev. William Barber and more organizations like the NAACP who are willing to shine the light of truth and justice where the darkness of inequality and evil would wish to persist and prevail.

Michelle Laws, President, Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP Branch

District 8 Director

The question of what’s in the school board chair’s heart is best measured by his actions and his record. The hostile and politically regressive climate that we are now operating in requires us all to be very careful about the words that we utter that can spark the flames of destructive and division politics. As our president, Rev. Barber said, the issues affecting the education and therefore, life outcomes of our children are serious; they are not psychosomatic or simply in our heads but the repercussions are far too grave for us to take lightly. So, no one gets a pass for using racist rhetoric to get a point across or demonstrate powerful influence.

Rev. Curtis E. Gatewood, Second Vice President

The actions of five who make up the majority on the Wake County School Board continues to violate the best interest of poor children and a disproportionate number of African Americans. The fact that they make up a majority does not negate the fact they have a responsibility to serve the best interest of all. Furthermore, the chair’s reference to the supporters of the diversity plan as “animals coming out of cages” is consistent with his blatant disregard for justice, morality and protocol.

NAACP files complaint against Wake school board – Source: News 14

DURHAM – The North Carolina NAACP announced on Friday that it’s filing a complaint with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the group that accredits many of Wake County’s schools. (Read more @ News 14)

See related:

Wake County Public Schools

Rev. William J. Barber to be honored with Human Rights Medal Award

EMBARGOED 7:00AM FEBRUARY 1, 2010

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

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

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber to be honored with Human Rights Medal Award

at the 50th Sit-In Anniversary Celebration

Celebrating the 50th Sit-In Anniversary

Today on February 1^st, State NAACP President, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II became the recipient of the Human Rights Medal Award presented in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the 1960 Greensboro lunch counter sit-in and the grand opening of the International Civil Rights Museum.

On receiving this honor, Rev. Barber remarked, “I humbly accept this award on behalf of those who fought before us in the cause of justice and human rights and those who today continue to fight for a more just society for all people.”

February One is an annual tribute to the four North Carolina A&T freshmen, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), and the late David Richmond. Their non-violent sit-in to desegregate Woolworth’s sparked direct action by students across the south that affected the entire nation, and changed the course of the civil rights movement.

The Sit-in Program & Human Rights Medal Award took place at 6:30am at the Empire Ballroom across from the original site of the 1960 protest. The former Woolworth’s store is now the International Civil Rights Museum located at February One Place in downtown Greensboro. United States Senator Kay Hagan, Governor Bev Perdue and other state and local dignitaries participated in the grand opening on this historic occasion.

# # #

See related:

Greensboro Civil Rights Museum

NAACP Public Meeting Jan. 10 at 5pm To Discuss Wake County Public Schools

Friends,

We would like to invite you to attend this Public Meeting that is being sponsored by the State NAACP Office and the three Wake County Chapters. We are committed to seeing that the school board provides a sound basic education for every child in Wake County and in North Carolina . Please come to learn more about the challenges faces the students of Wake County as a result of the school board intention to dismantle our nationally recognized system. We know it wasn’t perfect before, but we are committed to preventing efforts to go backward. We will never go back.

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President & Amina Turner ,  Executive Director of the North Carolina Conference of NAACP Branches

Rev. Portia Rochelle,  Raleigh/Apex NAACP Branch President

Mr. Ronald White, South Central NAACP Branch President

Mr. Charles Upchurch, Wendell/Wake NAACP Branch President

A Case Against Noneconomic Liberalism (NAACP) By James Clingman

Blackonomics

By: James Clingman

A case against Noneconomic Liberalism 12/30/09

A term made popular by the venerable Harold Cruse, noneconomic liberalism is a social strategy which focuses upon political empowerment without adequate attention to economic empowerment. The nascent NAACP, according to Dr. Khalid Tariq Al-Mansour, in his book, Betrayal by Any Other Name, wrote into its constitution a prohibition against owning land. Mansour goes on to describe a call by William English Walling, a white Southern journalist with liberal views on race, for the achievement of “absolute political and social equality” for Negroes. Sound familiar?

Of course, we know the founding meeting of the NAACP was called by white citizens concerned about the so-called “Negro question,” after the lynching of two Black men in Springfield, Illinois. No doubt some of them were sincere about wanting to help Black folks, just like some liberal whites today; but the lingering question then and now is, “How could (can) Black people be empowered politically and socially without being empowered economically?”

The notion that Black people would achieve “equality” simply by participating in the political arena and through new social programming was, and still is, an absurdity that should have collapsed under its own weight decades ago. As Harold Cruse and others have pointed out many times, there is no power without economic power.

Thus, for 100 years the NAACP has been self-constrained by an archaic, antiquated, outdated and, most of all, anti-empowering rule that keeps the largest Black organization landless. It’s time to change our predicament. Among the many local NAACP branches, there is a need for ownership of real estate and rental properties. Imagine the economic impact of local branches owning instead of renting, most of that rent being paid to other ethnic groups; that alone would result in significant economic change.

I am sure there is some rationale for what I consider to be a ridiculous and self-defeating prohibition, other than the original rule made in 1909. But the NAACP is a Black organization, isn’t it? Black folks are at the bottom of the economic ladder in this country, aren’t we? Land is the basis of wealth in this country, isn’t it? We can change the rules, can’t we? Can’t we? Or, should I ask, “can we? Or perhaps the proper question is, “may we?”

Are we in charge of our own economic destiny, or are we still dependent on the largesse of whites who believe in noneconomic liberalism, not for themselves, of course, but for Black people? Established and initially funded by white people, many of whom were Jewish, the NAACP was purported to be the vehicle through which the “Negro” would achieve equality. However, while I daresay that all Jewish civil rights, educational, and social organization are well funded and indeed have an economic infrastructure, it is interesting that an economic infrastructure was not built into the NAACP by those who founded it. Noneconomic liberalism?

Elizabeth Wright wrote an article in her newsletter, Issues and Views, titled, Black Men: They Could be Heroes. She stated, “…black men were not only economically emasculated, they were taught that playing an economically aggressive role was antithetical to black progress—since the goal of integration with whites was paramount.” Wright went on to say, “It is this non-economic approach to black problems…which ultimately led to the loss of black men’s authority within their own communities–for there is a vital link between economic dominance and credible authority. The 1960s should have been the beginnings of our most economically creative period in America. Instead, blacks were encouraged to leave such tasks to others and to settle for the fruits to be gained in the long, unpredictable march to ‘equality.’"

That strategy is so reminiscent of 1909 during the establishment of the NAACP; and it has worked until this day. Give political access to Black people without the benefit of economic strength and leverage, and the result will sustain itself: A permanent underclass of people, laborers rather than owners, consumers rather than producers.

I am not trying to pick a fight with the NAACP, rather I am simply suggesting it take a look at our situation and make appropriate changes that will economically empower our people. How can we expect young leadership to emerge or even engage on a local level, if there is no economic benefit for them and their constituents?

Young National NAACP President, Benjamin Jealous, makes a pretty decent salary. Why not create salaries for local Presidents who work just as hard for the NAACP? If we want new leadership, young, enthusiastic, energetic leadership, we need to throw out noneconomic liberalism. One should not have to take a vow of poverty to work for nonprofits that help Black people. Nonprofit does not mean “broke.” Just ask the Catholics and the Jewish people.

Tyler Perry gave the National NAACP $1 million. I would encourage others do the same for our local branches, and I also encourage our local branches to be creative in the way they raise and spend funds. Stop renting offices and being totally dependent on traditional avenues for financial support; find ways to become self-sufficient; if you are prevented from buying a building, at least rent your office space from a Black landlord, if possible.

We must change our 100 year-old acceptance of noneconomic liberalism. It has not worked and it never will work. It will only keep us “in our place” and prevent Black people from achieving true economic empowerment.

See related:

James Clingman Blackonomics

NAACP Letter To Wake School Board

The letter sent to the Wake County School Board from the NAACP, requesting time with the board in January. (Read more @ NBC17)

See related:

NAACP

2009 Annual Lamplighter Awards

EXCITING NEWS

2009 Annual Lamplighter Awards

Congratulations!!!!!!!

Our State Conference President, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, is a finalist for the 2009 Lamplighter Awards. The recipients will be announced on Dec. 12, 2009. The Lamplighter Awards program is a semi-formal event and will be held on:

Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009

6:30 PM

Progress Energy Center Meymandi Concert Hall

Raleigh, North Carolina

Tickets are still available and can be purchased on line or at any Ticket Master Location.

For more information please go to:

www.lamplighterawards.com or

Call Greenleaf Christian Church at (919) 735-9059

In the wake of all the drama in the Wake County Public Schools, see what Professor Gerald Grant says about Wake’s success

With all the drama going on with the most recent Wake County Public Schools election see what Professor Gerald Grant has to say in the Indy Weekly. Is this not what Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II President of the NC NAACP State Conference of Branches stated when he spoke out during and after the recent election?

NC NAACP State Conference of Branches To File Federal Title VI Complaint Against Wayne County Public Schools

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE

NORTH CAROLINA STATE CONFERENCE

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

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

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

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II  President     Amina J. Turner Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

30 NOVEMBER 2009

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

                 Mrs. Amina J. Turner, Exec. Dir., 919-682-4700

MEDIA ADVISORY

NAACP TO FILE FEDERAL TITLE VI COMPLAINT

AGAINST WAYNE COUNTY (NC) PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM

WHO:          STATE NAACP PRESIDENT, REV. DR. WILLIAM J. BARBER, II, ATTY. AL MCSURELY, ATTY. IRV JOYNER, LEGAL REDRESS CHAIR, MS. SYLVIA BARNES, GOLDSBORO-WAYNE NAACP BRANCH IN CONJUNCTION WITH NATIONAL NAACP LEGAL DEPARTMENT

WHAT:        PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING TITLE VI COMPLAINT

WHEN:        TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2009 AT 9:00 AM

WHERE:     SIDEWALK, NC DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

301 NORTH WILMINGTON STREET, RALEIGH, NC  27601

NAACP will file a federal Title VI Complaint on behalf of all children assigned to the Wayne County Public School System (Goldsboro, NC) who are deprived of a constitutional education by the policies and practices that adversely impact particularly African American and other students of color.  Specifically, the practices complained of within the complaint have and, if not reversed, will continue to result in:

• Lower graduation rates for African Americans and other students of color;
• Higher drop out rates for African Americans and other students of color;
• Higher suspension rates for African Americans and other students of color;
• More and meaner discipline for African Americans and other students of color;
• Lower grade point averages for African Americans and other students of color;
• Lower college entrance rates for African Americans and other students of color;
• Lower college ambition rates for African Americans and other students of color;
• Lower gifted and talented participation by African Americans and other students of color;
• Higher placement of students of color in “special” self-contained classrooms; and
• And other well-recognized indices of structural and individual racially discriminatory school practices.

According to State President, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, “We are filing this complaint because in 2009—55 years after Brown v Board of  Education—the Wayne County Public School System has not only had a high school (Goldsboro High School) cited as failing to meet the standards of our [state] constitution,  but is operating an attendance district that is virtually 100% resegregated, failing to provide adequate education to the students therein and we believe is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s Title VI.”

NAACP is filing the complaint simultaneously with the Office of Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education, and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice on the 54^TH Anniversary of Rosa Park’s challenge to Jim Crow when she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama that led to the modern day civil rights movement.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination by government agencies that receive federal funding.  If any agency is found in violation, it can lose its federal funding.

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.  ###

Mass Meeting To Inform The Community Of The Importance Of Voting In The Raleigh District 2 Race

From: Jrwite
To: Jrwite
Subj: Important Announcement

The Capital Area Branches NAACP (South Central Wake –Raleigh/Apex–Wendell Wake Co) branches are calling a Mass Meeting at the Juniper Level Baptist Church 9100 Sauls Road Raleigh on Sunday at 6:00 PM. This mass meeting is to inform the community of the importance of voting in the District 2 race.

We will attempt to show how this race will form the future of the Wake County Schools, and educate the community on the future of our children. Please pass the word around to all of your friends and family.

Have a voice in our children’s future! Please announce in all Churches and other places that can carry the word out for us.

Yours in the struggle,

J Ronald White, President
South Central Wake County NAACP

Rev Portia Rochelle, President

Raleigh/ Apex NAACP

Charles High, President

Wendell Wake NAACP

NAACP Mass Meeting: Save Our Diversity, Save Our Schools, Save Our Students

Forwarded per J. Ronald White, President South Central Wake County Branch.

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

---

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

NAACP NC – SOUTH CENTRAL WAKE COUNTY BRANCH OF NAACP ANNOUNCES 11th ANNUAL BANQUET

SOUTH CENTRAL WAKE COUNTY BRANCH NAACP 7749 KINGSBERRY COURT
RALEIGH, NC 27615-5041

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Release: IMMEDIATE Contact: Kristi Bellamy

Date: 9/13/2009 Phone: (919) 518-2792

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SOUTH CENTRAL WAKE COUNTY BRANCH OF NAACP ANNOUNCES 11^th ANNUAL BANQUET

SATURDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 24, 2009
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
BAPTIST GROVE CHURCH

7109 LEESVILLE ROAD

RALEIGH, NC 27613

The public is invited to attend the 11^th Annual Banquet hosted by the South Central Wake County Branch of the NAACP. This year, we will be celebrating in accord with the national theme of “Bold Dreams, Bold Victories.” Our keynote speaker will be Carolyn Coleman, who serves on the NAACP National Board of Directors and is the First Vice President for the North Carolina State Conference of NAACP.

Admission to the event is $35.00 for adults, $20.00 for ages 6-18 year olds and seniors 65 or older, and free for youths 5 years of age or younger accompanied by a paying adult. Please make checks payable to “South Central Wake NAACP.” Dinner and entertainment will be provided.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP and secure a ticket with Kristi Bellamy by Monday, October 12, 2009, at kristibellamy@hotmail.com or (919) 518-2792. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to your participation!

Sincerely,

Ronald White
Branch President
& Gala Committee Chair Kristi Bellamy