| The Barber/McSurely show again; this time in Wake county | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 6 2010, 07:20 PM (316 Views) | |
| Quasimodo | Mar 6 2010, 07:20 PM Post #1 |
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http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/naacp-hurls-insults-at-school-board-majority NAACP hurls insults at school board majority Submitted by KeungHui on 03/06/2010 - 06:00 The state NAACP said some pretty nasty things on Friday about members of the Wake County school board majority as they announced they had filed a complaint with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. (snip) "[Margiotta] doesn't even have a college degree," said NAACP Attorney Al McSurely. "They've got clowns running this school board." Margiotta, 71, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard after graduating from Weehawken High School in the 1950s. Afterward, he started his own business to support his family. He took some labor relations courses at St. Peter's College. The Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, called on Margiotta to step down as chairman. He said his comparing the school board to the Mafia didn't compare to Margiotta's "here come the animals out of the cages" remark. “My comment is not even comparative to what Margiotta said,” Barber said. “I believe he’s unfit. He shouldn’t be chair, not with this kind of attitude.” “As African Americans, we know this language of comparing people to animals,” Barber said. “In this country, black people couldn’t even be baptized because they were considered animals." [I don't know of any instance when this was true.] But Margiotta has questioned how his remark can be considered racial when he was expressing how upset he was that a mostly white crowd was booing Bill Randall, a black speaker. Other members of the NAACP stood by Barber's Mafia allusion even though the Italian-American community has historically considered statements like that to be an ethnic slur. “[Those words] speak the truth, and that’s as simple as that,” the Rev. Nancy Petty of Raleigh’s Pullen Memorial Baptist Church told reporters at the press conference. Petty had wrote [sic] an op-piece in January in which she warned that the new board is leading Wake toward a path of "segregation and intolerance" which "diminishes the value of every single human being living in Wake County." Margiotta wasn't returning calls Friday but other members of the school board majority were indignant about the complaint. "I don't know how any of this helps the kids in Wake County," said board vice chairwoman Debra Goldman. "I don't find anything positive in this." Board member John Tedesco said it was "deplorable" for Barber to accuse the majority of being racists. |
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| Quasimodo | Mar 6 2010, 07:30 PM Post #2 |
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http://www.wral.com/news/education/story/7176688/ Diversity debate turns into war of words (snip) The back-and-forth between proponents of the Board of Education’s move to end busing for socio-economic diversity and those in favor of the current student assignment policy heated up Friday when the state NAACP called for Chairman Ron Margiotta to step down. Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, said a comment by Margiotta Tuesday during a heated public meeting was evidence of "racist attitudes" on the board. Margiotta could be heard saying, “Here come the animals out of their cages.” He could not be reached Friday but has said that the comment was out of line but had nothing to do with race. He insists he was responding to how rude people in the crowd were following statements by Bill Randall, a black Republican congressional candidate. "I was referring to the crowd – very rude, I thought some people were. This is something we need respect for – anyone, regardless of what their positions are," Margiotta said Wednesday. "I don't try to discriminate against anyone regardless of what their position is. Certainly, I want to hear from everyone." Randall said Friday that he disagrees with the NAACP's stance. "I really think it's even beyond a stretch to say that it was a racial statement," he said. "You can try and stretch and pull out history and do all the verbal gymnastics you want but to find some historicity and to try to claim this is racially charged. It doesn't pass the smell test for me." He wondered who would hold the NAACP responsible for comments attorney Al McSurely made Friday, in which he called board members pushing for change "clowns" and questioned Margiotta' educational background as someone from Italian descent. "Was there any consequence for that? Was there anyone behind the lawyer, saying, 'Oh no, you shouldn't call them clowns.' Was that inflammatory?" Randall said. "If you're going to apply a stringent standard, be consistent." (snip) |
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| Quasimodo | Mar 6 2010, 07:35 PM Post #3 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/06/372934/naacp-lodges-a-complaint.html NAACP lodges a complaint DURHAM The state NAACP filed a complaintFriday accusing the Wake County school board majority of racism, while also defending the NAACP leader's characterization of the school board as a communist dictatorship or the Mafia. In the complaint, the NAACP alleges that the newly elected majority on the board has used secret meetings and support from private-school boosters to push for a "racist" change in eliminating a busing system that has provided diversity in Wake County for decades. The complaint also accuses the five-member majority of racism, citing board chairman Ron Margiotta's calling people "animals" at the board meeting Tuesday. The NAACP also contends that the majority's call for "neighborhood" schools is a euphemism for segregated schools. "If the chair ... feels comfortable in openly deriding people of color ... without fear of ostracism from his caucus, we can infer the entire caucus must feel free to express similar derogatory and racist attitudes toward people of color in their secret meetings," the complaint says. Margiotta said "here come the animals out of the cages" on Tuesday after the crowd booed Bill Randall, a black conservative who spoke in support of ending the diversity policy. On Thursday, Margiotta said he was "out of line" to make the statement. But he also questioned how racism could be alleged when he made the comment in responding to how a mostly white audience was treating a black speaker. (snip) The Rev. William Barber, head of the state NAACP, faced questions Friday over telling a reporter that Margiotta conducted Tuesday's board meeting like a dictatorship or the Mafia. Barber dismissed any parallel between his Mafia comment and Margiotta's labeling of angry citizens as animals. (snip) Members of the NAACP stood behind Barber's Mafia comment. "[Those words] speak the truth, and that's as simple as that," the Rev. Nancy Petty of Raleigh's Pullen Memorial Baptist Church told reporters at state NAACP headquarters in Durham. NAACP attorney Al McSurely said white people, especially elected officials, have to take extreme care not to offend, even by accident. "It's a devil's dance that we have to do every day, because this area is sensitive still," McSurely said. "[Margiotta] doesn't even have a college degree. They've got clowns running this school board. That's from the heart." After graduating from high school in the 1950s, Margiotta enlisted in the Coast Guard. He later took college courses at St. Peter's College but did not complete his degree. He started his own window-treatment installation business in New Jersey. John Tedesco, a member of the board majority, said it's "deplorable" for Barber to accuse the board members of racism. "Every element of my life is integrated," he said. "This is the biggest disappointment and heartache in my life to be considered in that manner." (snip) The NAACP has asked the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which provides accreditation for Wake's middle and high schools, to investigate the complaint. "They can say, 'You better straighten this up, or we're going to yank the accreditation,'" McSurely said. (snip) Edited by Quasimodo, Mar 6 2010, 07:36 PM.
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| Kerri P. | Mar 6 2010, 07:56 PM Post #4 |
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These two racists are our local version of Rev. Al & Rev. Jesse Jackson.
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| jmoo | Mar 6 2010, 09:05 PM Post #5 |
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hmmmm..... was Houston Baker's "bunch of farm animals" comment racist? |
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| Jack_Webb | Mar 7 2010, 02:25 AM Post #6 |
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Well, McSurely doesn't even have a college law degree. He got his from Central. Edited by Jack_Webb, Mar 7 2010, 02:27 AM.
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