Cash Michaels NNPA
Jan 3 2013

Beverly Perdue acts to remove racist ‘stain’

RALEIGH, N.C.—In what civil rights leaders across the nation are calling a significant moment in the Civil Rights Movement, North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue has granted individual pardons of actual innocence to all members of the Wilmington Ten.

“I have decided to grant these pardons because the more facts I have learned about the Wilmington Ten, the more appalled I have become about the manner in which their convictions were obtained,” Perdue, a Democrat who leaves office on Jan. 5, said in her Dec. 31 statement.

Dec 13 2012

How a prosecutor conspired to imprison them.

WILMINGTON, N.C.—His name was Allen Hall.

In 1972, Hall was the star witness for the prosecution in the conspiracy trials against the Wilmington Ten—10 civil rights activists, led by the Rev. Benjamin F. Chavis, falsely accused of firebombing a White-owned grocery store during the height of racial violence in Wilmington in 1971.

According to New Hanover County prosecutor Jay Stroud, Hall, a convicted felon, had the goods on Chavis and the others, and could confirm details of the arson conspiracy.

Nov 22 2012

North Carolina governor to make Wilmington Ten pardons decision

WILMINGTON, N.C.—Now that the 2012 presidential elections are history, supporters for the Wilmington Ten pardons are increasing their efforts to build more overwhelming public support for the cause before Gov. Beverly Perdue leaves office on Dec. 31.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”