The leader of the NAACP North Carolina State Conference, Reverend Dr. William Barber II, was handcuffed and taken to prison last week along with six other leaders for attempting to speak in the North Carolina house against attempts by right wing, Tea Party-backed legislators to push through draconian cuts that would dramatically affect the poor and middle class.
The cuts are the latest in a coordinated move in the state to advance a radical agenda including resegregating schools, eroding voting rights, and cutting back on education funding.
"Our state can do better than the direction we are headed," remarked Barber, who was released the day after the arrest. "The State of North Carolina has come too far to go back to the dark ages of segregation and economic despair. Our coalition of civil rights, faith, labor and civic organizations will continue to organize, educate and empower communities across the state to keep North Carolina moving forward."
The efforts by Tea Party legislators in North Carolina mirror attempts throughout the country to restrict voting rights, deplete education funding and eliminate civil rights in the workplace. These extreme actions disproportionately impact African Americans who are more likely to lack qualifying photo IDs, attend the poorest schools, and suffer discrimination in the workplace.
In Florida, newly enacted laws disenfranchise minorities, the working poor, and young Americans in the voting process by cutting the number of days for early voting by more than half, imposing overburdening regulations on voter registration organizations and denying newly released felons immediate restoration of their voting rights. In South Carolina, a new voter ID law adds another unnecessary obstacle to vote for older citizens who may have never acquired a driver's license in their life.
In Pennsylvania, the target appears to be education funding. Newly elected Governor Tom Corbett proposed cutting over $1.2 billion from the state's education budget while simultaneously raising prison spending by nearly 11% and requesting construction of three new prisons.
In the Midwest, it is the rights of workers that are under attack. Last month, Missouri legislators tried to raise the threshold for an employee to file a discrimination lawsuit against an employer. And in Wisconsin, Tea Party-backed officials tried to eliminate the right of public employees to organize.
"From Florida to Wisconsin, Missouri to Arizona, we are seeing a coordinated attempt to turn the clock back on our nation's progress," said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. The NAACP will not sit idly by with so much at stake."
And it hasn't. As in North Carolina, civil rights, labor and faith organizations have taken a stand. From lawsuits in Florida, to rallies in Pennsylvania, to a letter writing campaign in Missouri that led to a governor veto of the bill that would promote workplace discrimination, the NAACP and its allies have fought to prevent the radical agenda from taking hold.
"We must fight against these cruel measures that only serve to hurt the middle class and the poor and will not make our nation better," stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. "The courage of Reverend Dr. Barber and other leaders across the country show the unyielding resolve that we must all exhibit to protect America's promise for hard-working families."
(2) comments
"Civil rights laws were not passed to protect the rights of white men and do not apply to them." -- Mary Frances Berry, Chairwoman, US Commission on Civil Rights
It`s not difficult to see why more and more people are saying that anti-racism is just a codeword for anti-white.
A North Carolina lawmaker named Stephen LaRoque called the NAACP and the head of the state chapter “racist,” and he also said, "the NAACP derives its funding and influence from race-baiting. "
To be accurate, the NAACP and all "anti-racist" organizations, derive their funding from race baiting White People. The ONLY "privilege", "anti-racist" organizations like the NAACP combat, is that of White people in White nations.
They say they are anti-racist, but what they really are is Anti-White. Anti-Racist is a codeword for Anti-White.
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