Walking While Black Count So All Families and Indi- Copalians United Against Viduals Living in the State on Racism Met at a Luncheon at April 1, 2020, Participate
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WWW.TRIANGLE TRIBUNE.COM ROGERS ROAD >> The Triangle Rogers-Eubanks neighborhood fight for RIBUNE environmental justice TTHE TRIANGLE’S CHOICE FOR THE BLACK VOICE By Aislinn Antrim UNC MEDIA HUB VOLUME 20 NO. 42 WEEK OF APRIL 7, 2019 $1.00 CHAPEL HILL — The Rogers-Eubanks neighborhood is an unobtrusive one, perched on the northern edge of Chapel Hill. The streets are orderly, lined with Habitat for Humanity homes painted in muted greens and yellows. Children gather at the community center’s basketball court while parents Cary Parks and mingle in driveways. Recreation awarded It seems peaceful, but problems lurk underground, seeping in unseen from the landfill just a stone’s throw away. youth basketball For nearly 50 years, Rogers Road residents have seen their wells contam- inated, their air polluted and their roads overtaken by trash trucks. Senior sportsmanship awards. citizens have been particularly hard hit with illnesses that they attribute to the water. When some test wells were analyzed in 2010, studies found that only two of the 11 wells met EPA water standards. “To actually turn on somebody’s faucet and see red water coming out, you know it’s got to stop,” the Rev. Robert Campbell said. “This has got to change.” Please see ROGERS/2A Faith Census leaders backers tackle push for Durham accuracy By Gary D. Robertson violence THE ASSOCIATED PRESS By Evelyn Howell RALEIGH — With encourag- CORRESPONDENT ing prospects for additional congressional representation DURHAM – Local faith-based and federal dollars, North groups and organizations are Carolina needs to do all it can joining efforts to address the to ensure the most accurate root causes of the city’s vio- and complete census count lence issue. They say they are next April, state officials said committed to finding ways to Monday. help keep their neighbor- Gov. Roy Cooper, a Cabinet hoods safer by talking to one member and other govern- another and holding work- ment and nonprofit leaders shops. held a news conference to Two broad-based topics – mark the one-year countdown gun violence, and racism and SMART GROWTH AMERICA to the decennial national cen- poverty – were at the fore- Black people are 72% more likely to be hit and killed by a driver. sus required by the U.S. Con- front of the discussion when stitution. Cooper created a speakers from the Durham state Complete Count Com- County Gun Safety Team and mission several months ago the Religious Coalition for a designed to promote the Nonviolent Durham and Epis- Walking While Black count so all families and indi- copalians United Against viduals living in the state on Racism met at a luncheon at April 1, 2020, participate. Shepherds House United African American pedestrians more likely to be killed by motorists “Good decisions are based Methodist Church fellowship By Freda Freeman Titled “Dangerous by Design,” the report found on good numbers, and the de- hall recently. CORRESPONDENT that 49,340 pedestrians were killed across the coun- cisions that will be made best A diverse crowd partici- try from 2008-17. That’s more than 13 people a day. from this census will impact pated in the discussion. DURHAM – For some people, crossing the street The report states: “It’s the equivalent of a jumbo jet the long-term future of our The Durham County Gun could be a matter of life and death. Especially if they full of people crashing — with no survivors — every state,” said Machelle Sanders, Safety Team provides free live in a low-income or minority community. single month.” state Administration Depart- gunlocks as well as education A recently released report of pedestrian fatalities Older pedestrians are at even greater risk of being ment secretary and the com- encouraging adults to ask from 2008-2017 found that black people were 72% struck and killed by cars. According to the report, mission’s chairwoman. “So about the presence of more likely to have been hit and killed by a driver the danger is the third highest for adults 50 and the bottom line is that num- firearms in places where their than people of other races. According to the report, older, and the risk doubles for those 75 and older. bers matter.” child plays and visits. Their which was authored by Smart Growth America and The report ranks all 50 states and 100 cities that are The state and local popula- mission is to reduce death, the National Complete Streets Coalition, more dan- deadliest for pedestrians. North Carolina ranks tions are used in part to dis- and injuries related to gerous streets and roads are in black communities, 13th. tribute $600 billion in federal firearms through broad-based and implicit bias may play a role in the increased Brown said the report is important because it is, funds, Cooper said, as well as and preventative strategies to danger. if not the only, one of few that takes a comprehen- to reapportion the 435 voting promote a safe environment “In a way, we have weaponized transportation as sive nationwide look at the dangers pedestrians face seats in the U.S. House. for children. a tool of oppression in this country, and it has his- in major cities and regions. However, Brown, who North Carolina now has 13 “Anybody who wants a free torically, and even in contemporary times, had the is considered an expert on racial disparities in House seats. Cooper says gunlock can get it: shotgun, most impact on low-income and minority commu- pedestrian fatalities, said it doesn’t tell us anything there’s a good chance the pistols, revolvers and rifles” nities,” said Charles Brown, a consultant with Smart we don’t already know. state’s population has grown said Joanie Ross, coordinator, Growth America. Brown, a research specialist and “The findings, while important, are not new in that enough since 2010 — when it Durham’s Gun Safety Team adjunct professor at Rutgers University in New Jer- they have shown consistently over the years that was 9.6 million — to gain a and Durham County Health sey, has more than 12 years of experience in urban Please see WALKING/2A 14th seat for the next decade Department. “By law, firearms and regional planning, policy and research. during the 2021 redistricting have to be locked when there cycle. North Carolina’s state are children in the home. My budget office estimated the prayer is that gun locks have population at 10.3 million in kept a family safe.” July 2017. Ross held up a safety lock The recent increases are and noted that many times equal to the state growing an- gun deaths and injuries can ‘We look free, but we are not’ nually by the population of be prevented. the city of High Point, accord- Participant Marcia Owen ing to Cooper, who said he’s agreed. “Every gun injury and Former Black Panther Party leader calls on blacks to organize been told North Carolina is death is preventable,” she By Freda Freeman likely to get an additional said. “Every family can pro- House seat. CORRESPONDENT tect every other family by se- The governor said he under- curing their firearms so no DURHAM – Two hundred women stands why every person unauthorized person can attended last weekend’s Women of counted is important. While even have access to them.” Color Empowerment Brunch be- attorney general in the early The RCND is a nonprofit or- cause they want RAGE: Race and 2000s, Cooper represented ganization comprised of indi- Gender Equity. the state in court during viduals who, as an expression Action N.C. sponsored the brunch Utah’s challenge to the Cen- of their faith and goodwill, ac- to announce its RAGE campaign to sus Bureau’s counting and tively seek an end to the vio- bring to the forefront the racial, cul- sampling methods. Those lence that is plaguing Durham tural, economic and systemic dis- methods ultimately left Utah neighborhoods. And they say parities black women face every less than 900 people short of their members are ready and day. earning a fourth seat. Instead, equipped to do the work. “We want RAGE in North Carolina North Carolina got No. 13. “We don’t need to supply because our bodies have been gov- “The population count was the values, those are already erned recklessly and with malice. so very close,” Cooper said in- there in your heart and soul,” We want RAGE in North Carolina be- side the House chamber at the director Ben Haas said. “We cause our daughters’ futures can no old Capitol building. “That’s provide the practice to live longer be determined by the impli- FREDA FREEMAN why it’s so important that we out their values in the places cations of specious, categories and get the word out, and we get where our community hurts fear. We want RAGE in North Car- Gloria De Los Santos, left, Omisade Burney-Scott and Elaine Brown. everyone in North Carolina to the most. olina,” Naomi Randolph, of Action stand up to be counted.” “There are not enough N.C., said, welcoming the attendees. breakfast, clinics and schools. black men in prison, while there’s a The Complete Count Com- spaces in Durham where we Keynote speaker Elaine Brown, a Brown said the Party challenged the decrease in homeownership and ed- mission and its nongovern- tell the truth about what is re- former leader of the Black Panther very foundation of the United States ucation, she said. Quoting a line mental partners say they’re ally hurting in the community Party, shared the podium with N.C. and organized for revolution.