Politics

N.C. NAACP Will Seek to Get Voter Restrictions Lifted

Published

9 years ago

July 7, 2015

Oakland Post

Rev. William Barber II is fighting “extreme agenda” in North Carolina.

By Freddie Allen
Senior Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – In less than a week, a voting rights trial is expected to begin that will challenge North Carolina’s restrictive voting law. Whatever the verdict, experts expect the ruling to have a ripple effect in states that have passed similar laws in the wake of a recent Supreme Court decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act.
Shortly after the Supreme Court invalidated Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act in the Shelby v. Holder decision two years ago, a number of states rushed to pass voting laws that civil rights groups say discriminate against people of color and poor people.
In its decision, the Supreme Court voted to annihilate the Voting Rights Act that required jurisdictions with a demonstrated history of racial discrimination to pre-clear any election law change with the U.S. Attorney General or a district federal judge in Washington, D.C.
Rev. William Barber II, the head of the North Carolina branch of the NAACP and co-founder of the Moral Mondays Movement, said that the deliberate, race-based voter suppression law passed by the North Carolina state legislature and signed by North Carolina’s Gov. Pat McCrory is a sin.
“[House Bill 589] violates our deepest constitutional values and our deepest moral and religious values, which demand equal protection under the law and the establishment of justice,” said Barber.
The Advancement Project, a multi-racial civil rights group, called H.B. 589 a “monster” bill that shortens the early voting period by a full week, eliminates same-day registration and requires strict forms of voter ID, changes that disproportionately affect minority and low-income voters.
The bill also blocks out-of-precinct voting, expands the role of voter challengers at the polls, and ends a pre-registration program for 16- and 17-year olds, according to the advocacy group.
“The number of voters silenced because of the new law likely exceeds 30,000 and could reach 50,000 or more,” according to analysis by Democracy North Carolina, a watchdog group that monitors elections.
The report said that the repeal of same-day registration, out-of-precinct voting, and straight party voting “which created backlogs inside the voting enclosure and longer lines outside as voters took longer to mark each contest on their ballot,” created the most problems for voters during the 2014 general election in North Carolina.
As the nation mourns the mass murder of the nine members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston S.C., Barber said that Americans are in “the middle of a serious season about race” and that it’s not just about symbols like the Confederate flag it’s also about the substance of public policy and the racially disparate impact of that the public policy.
“The fact that the extreme agenda around voter suppression has been so racialized and framed by the suppressors as somehow saving the country and saving the democracy is the reason that, not only must flags come down, but the opposition to voting rights and these suppressive laws must come down,” said Barber. “Racialized rhetoric and policy rooted in untruth creates a climate in which we can say, ‘the perpetrator of race-based terror has been arrested, but the killer, racism and race-driven policies and rhetoric, is still at large.’”
Donita Judge, a senior attorney for Advancement Project, said that group will also show that the North Carolina general assembly knew that the law would discriminate against African American voters, making it harder for them to participate in the electoral process, but passed it anyway.
Judge said that the lawyers representing the North Carolina branch of NAACP in the lawsuit against Gov. McCrory plan to use Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits voting laws that result in the denial or abridgement of voting on the basis of race to challenge H.B. 589.
“The outcome of this trial will have national implications for voting rights,” said Judge, adding that dozens of states have passed similar legislation after Shelby v. Holder decision. “The solvency of the Voting Rights Act to stop these discriminatory voting practices hangs in the balance and that battle will be waged in Winston-Salem starting July 13.”
In June, less than a month before the trial, North Carolina legislators eased restrictions on the photo ID requirements in the state’s contentious voting law. The changes, if approved by Gov. McCrory, would allow voters to sign an affidavit acknowledging hardships that they encountered in obtaining a photo ID. Voters could then present other forms of identification.
Barber noted that the last ditch effort by state lawmakers to soften the blow of the photo ID statute, only addressed one part of the 2013 law, leaving the cuts to early voting days, same day registration and pre-registration for some teenagers intact.
The same day that the trial is set to begin, the Moral Mondays movement will also host a march and rally for voting rights in Winston-Salem, N.C., Barber said, to show the world that North Carolina residents plan to fight for their right to vote.
“This is our Selma, and we implore all who care about voting rights to join us,” said Barber.

“Selma is not just something that happened 50 years ago. Selma is not just a movie that you can go see to be nostalgic about the fight that was. Our Selma is the fight that is. The fight against voter suppression right now, right here, today.”

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MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

5 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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6 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.