NASCAR Cup Series driver BUBBA WALLACE and Hornets owner MICHAEL JORDAN join forces for historic pairing THE VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY SINCE 1906 TheThe CharlotteCharlotte PostPost WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 VOLUME 47, NUMBER 3 WWW.THECHARLOTTEPOST.COM $1.50 Lawsuit aims to overturn referenda By Herbert L. White [email protected] The North Carolina NAACP is ap- pealing its case to invalidate two constitutional amendments to the state’s highest court. The civil rights organization will appeal last week’s Court of Ap- peals ruling to overturn a 2019 Su- perior Court decision to block referendums on a voter ID require- ment and lowering the state in- come tax up were illegal because law- makers were elected from illegal racially gerrymandered dis- LAUREL STREET tricts. The NAACP is appealing to the N.C. An artist's rendering of the proposed apartment community at Seventh and Alexander streets. The neighborhood is a collaboration between Little Supreme Court. Wake Rock Community Development Corp. and Charlotte developer Laurel Street. County Superior Spearman Court Judge Bryan Collins declared in February 2019 the amendments were invalid be- Church launches affordable cause they were placed on the 2018 ballot by lawmakers elected in 2016 from racially gerryman- dered districts, which, the NAACP argues, don’t legally represent urban housing community North Carolina voters. Lawmakers elected from the 2016 district maps were ordered by a federal Little Rock AME project to break ground in 2021, open to residents in 2022 court to redraw those boundaries By Herbert L. White Charlotte is also donating vacant land – tle Rock AME Zion’s senior pastor and for the 2018 elections, which Court a former brownfield site – for the project board chair and founder of its CDC. of Appeals Judge Chris Dillon [email protected] through the North Carolina Brownfields “This new community is the culmination wrote, affirms their legislative le- A historic church is developing mixed- Program, which will rehabilitate the of a long-term dream to combine the re- gitimacy. income affordable housing in Charlotte’s property. sources of the Little Rock AME Zion “We are thrilled to bring this his- urban core. In addition to its proximity to Center Church with land owned by the city of toric case to the Supreme Court of Little Rock Community Development City's retail hub, the Lynx Blue Line Sev- Charlotte to further the mission of both North Carolina to ensure that the Corporation and Charlotte-based devel- enth Street Station, Gold Line streetcar the CDC and the church to serve the people’s voice is heard and that the oper Laurel Street are developing the and the Transportation Center are within families and individuals of First Ward foundational principles of our de- five-story, 105-unit apartments on Sev- a half-mile of the community. and the surrounding neighborhoods.” mocracy and our Constitution is enth and Alexander streets adjacent to “As Little Rock AME Zion Church cele- The community will be built for vary- preserved and protected,” NAACP Little Rock Cultural Center. brates its 137th anniversary of serving ing income, age and family size levels President Rev. T. Anthony Spear- Little Rock AME Zion Church donated the residents of First Ward, Little Rock with 67 single-bedroom apartments, 24 man said. “Let it be crystal clear: land to Little Rock CDC for the devel- CDC is excited to be partnering with Lau- two-bedroom units and 14 three-bed- the Court of Appeals decision … opment and is participating in a shared rel Street to bring an inclusive com- room apartments. The units will be Na- changes nothing about the coming parking arrangement to reduce street munity for people of all ages and tional Green Building Standards certified election. No photo voter ID will be congestion by encouraging mass transit incomes to the First Ward neighbor- and 50 apartments will be income-re- required in 2020. The requirement use and pedestrian traffic. The city of hood,” said the Rev. Dwayne Walker, Lit- Please see LITTLE ROCK | 2A of Photo Voter ID in North Carolina is prohibited in 2020 and until Please see NORTH CAROLINA | 2A Isolated and alone: Back to Quarantine on the school, UNC campus By Taylor Heeden starting MEDIA HUB CHAPEL HILL — Lexi Freas was excited for her first semester of college. She packed her bags, ready to with K-5 experience her first fall in Chapel Hill. She set up her dorm room in Granville Towers and By Herbert L. White settled in for what she hoped would be a fun-filled [email protected] college experience, despite the pandemic. North Carolina public schools STOCK PHOTO One week later, she was tested for COVID-19 and can go to in-person learning start- sent to quarantine. The presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as the NAACP, ing next month. “I had already unpacked my real dorm, and walk- launched initiatives last week to reach out to Black voters as part of National Black Last week's announcement by ing into an empty dorm was so exciting the first Voter Day. Gov. Roy Cooper put the state's time,” she said. “But walking into a second empty public schools in po- dorm was so disheartening.” sition to implement Disheartening. Isolated. Emotionally drained. Ter- Plan A for grades K-5 rified. Political rivals and activists starting on Oct. 5, That is how students who underwent UNC-Chapel with safety measures Hill’s university sponsored quarantine describe their like face coverings for experiences. launch initiatives to energize all students, teachers UNC was adamant on returning to in-person learn- and staff, social dis- ing for the fall semester after moving online the pre- tancing, and symp- vious spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This Black voters before election tom screening. The Cooper urge to return to a somewhat normal semester re- By Herbert L. White to highlight what’s at stake for new rule doesn’t require schools to sulted in the creation of “the Roadmap,” which de- reduce the number of students in [email protected] Black voters. tailed a new set of community standards students the classroom. National Black Voter Day drew The tour launched Friday with a had to follow. “We are able to open this option sharp focus from presidential cam- virtual voter registration and early Last month, as students were preparing to start because most North Carolinians paigns and civil rights advocates vote rally in North Carolina with their fall semester, the first alerts of COVID-19 have doubled down on our safety looking to gin up support. Senator Kamala Harris and Black clusters were confirmed. and prevention measures and sta- Democratic contender Joe North Carolinians, including Myja Through the first week of class, the quarantine res- bilized our numbers,” Cooper said. Biden’s campaign launched the Gary, a graduate of North Carolina idence hall started to fill up, and rumors circulated “North Carolinians are doing the “Turn Up and Turn out the Vote A&T State University, who intro- that it was reaching capacity. Students who got hard work to improve our numbers Virtual Bus Tour” Friday with the duced Harris. U.S. Reps. Alma tested started to go to off-campus hotels to quaran- and trends. Many people are wea- Congressional Black Caucus PAC. Adams and G.K. Butterfield, as well tine. ring masks, keeping social distance The tour will travel to battleground as Grammy Award-winning R&B One of the “pre-test cases” sent to the off-campus and being careful to protect others states including North Carolina singer and Charlotte native An- Please see QUARANTINE | 2A Please see BACK | 2A through Oct. 1 with CBC members Please see POLITICAL |2A INSIDE Please Digital edition: STAY IN TOUCH Sports 5A Snapchat: thecharpost www.thecharlottepostnewspaper.com Recycle Life 1B Twitter: @thecharpost A&E 5B To subscribe: (704) 376-0496 or online Facebook: The Charlotte Post Classified 4B http://tcppc.com/Subscribe Instagram: @thecharlottepost #PaperThursday 2A NEWS | The Charlotte Post Thursday, September 24, 2020 North Carolina NAACP Little Rock launches Continued from page 1A there is a stopgap against illegal usurpa- there is a full trial, based on a finding of tion of power in North Carolina’s consti- this same court and by a federal court tution.” that the North Carolina General Assembly House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate affordable housing enacted its voter ID law with illegal ra- leader Phil Berger, both of whom are de- Continued from page 1A initiative to bring much-needed sus- cially discriminatory intent. The road to fendants in the lawsuit, approved of the stricted. The remainder will be rented tainable and inclusive housing to justice is not a straight line, but we will court’s ruling. at market rate. Charlotte,” said Dionne Nelson, Laurel not rest until it is won.” “It’s a great day for democracy that our Features include courtyard space Street’s president and CEO. “Usually The plaintiffs allege the 2016 gerry- citizens can have confidence their vote and outdoor amenities such as a game the cost basis for buying land in a lo- manders tainted the three-fifths legis- on critical issues for our economy and lawn, dining area, fire pit cation like this would be cost-prohib- lative majorities required for our elections systems will count and not and grills. Indoor fea- itive, so we are thankful to Little Rock constitutional amendment proposals to be overridden by activist courts,” Moore On The Net tures will include a AME Zion Church and the city of Char- be submitted to voters. That decision was said in a statement.