HK on J is coming Feb. 13 — it’s not a march, it’s a movement worth joining
The Rev. William J. Barber II called a press conference today with three dozen of his friends and allies. The state president of the NAACP was bursting with news:
* The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights division has initiated its own investigation into the NAACP’s complaint about school resegregation in Wayne County, joining (”coordinating with” the U.S. Department of Education’s investigation.
* Barber continues to press the Wake County school board for a public airing of the NAACP’s case against ending diversity and adopting resegregation in its stead under the veil of “neighborhood schools.” He’s asked School Board Chair Ron Margiotta, in a letter, to explain how the board decided not to grant his request for 45 minutes at a regular meeting. Was that decided in some secret, and possibly illegal, meeting of the board majority?
* Barber is calling on Gov. Bev Perdue, in another letter, to hold a Jobs Summit with the NAACP and other grassroots organizations that represent the working class and the growing ranks of unemployed and under-employed workers. Then Perdue should call a special session of the General Assembly, the NAACP says, to enact whatever emerges from the Summit. “The General Assembly can’t wait until May,” when its annual session is scheduled to begin,” Barber said. “Too many people are hurting.”
Those were the headlines, and needless to say, you’re not supposed to step on your big news with more big news, let alone more and more big news. Not if you want a good grade in Public Relations 101. But forget all that, because the really big news is Barber himself: He is absolutely on a roll, inspiring to hear, and uplifting at a time when we can all use a little uplift. Continue reading »
