Washington Afro-American Newspaper June 22 2013

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Volume 121 No. 46

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JUNE 22, 2013 - JUNE 28, 2013

SCOTUS to Arizona: Voters Need Not Show Proof of Citizenship By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO

States cannot preempt federal voting standards such as those set by the National Voter Registration Act, the

Supreme Court decided June 17 in one of several highprofile cases the nation’s highest court is expected to rule on this term. The justices voted 7-2 in the case of Arizona v. Inter

Supreme Court of the U.S. building, 1st St., SE

INSIDE A3

Remembering Legendary Historian Hayward Farrar

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Heavyweight Boxing Prospect Seth Mitchell

Tribal Council of Arizona, deciding that Arizona and other states could not require proof of citizenship or impose other restrictions on persons registering to vote in federal elections using the standard form created under the NVRA, unless given special federal authority.

Federal law “precludes Arizona from requiring a federal form applicant to submit information beyond that required by the form itself,” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the court’s majority opinion. Voting rights groups praised the court’s decision as a victory for voters and a reaffirmation of the NVRA or “motor voter” law, which was passed in 1993 to streamline the voter registration process to encourage more Americans to vote. “State restrictions lost. Voters won, today,” said Elisabeth MacNamara, president of the League of Women Voters of the United States, in a call with reporters. The LWV filed an amicus brief in the case. “The court’s ITCA decision safeguards the voter registration process from political manipulation and will help block attempts in the states to restrict the right to vote,” MacNamara added. The Lawyers’ Committee Continued on A3

Louis vs. Schmeling II: Looking Back 75 Years Later

Mississippi Students Take Prizes at National History Competition in D.C. By Titus Ledbetter III Special to the AFRO

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High school students and teachers from McComb Mississippi with members of SNCC (standing in front row): Thomas E. Redmond, Dr. Frank Smith, Rev. Reginald M. Green, Mr. Tim Jenkins and Mr. Reggie Robinson Photo by Rob Roberts

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Douglass Statue Unveiled

Activists Urge End to War on Drugs By Freddie Allen NNPA Washington Correspondent

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At 17, Zaccheus McEwan already believes that a very limited narrative of Mississippi’s Civil Rights Movement is found in textbooks, so he worked with his classmates to produce an award-winning documentary on the voting rights struggle in his hometown. McEwan of McComb, Miss., is one of 16 students and five staff members who arrived in Washington D.C. on June 8 to participate in the National History Day Continued on A4

Story on A6

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WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Black activists marked the 42nd anniversary of the War on Drugs with a protest in front of the White House aimed at ending a targeted action that has led to the disproportionate arresting, conviction and incarceration of Blacks for decades. The Institute of the Black World 21st Century, an organization dedicated to the empowerment of the Black community, mobilized a network of community groups last Monday for the “day of direct action.” Workers on their lunch breaks and a few tourists

Freddie Allen/NNPA

Ron Daniels addresses the crowd gathered for the march protesting the War on Drugs at Lafayette Park . paused to snap cell phone photos of the group of activists as they marched, led by a police escort, from the Metropolitan A.M.E.

Church in Washington, D.C. down 16th Street NW and into Lafayette Park for the rally. Event organizers and marchers touted the symbolism of protesting against the president’s War on Drugs within shouting distance of the White House. “The War on Drugs was started by a president and it needs to end with the president,” said Courtney Stewart, chairman of The Reentry Network for Returning Citizens a group that helps ex-offenders find jobs, housing and access to social services. “Everything starts with leadership. President Obama is the leader of this great nation. He needs to end the War on Drugs.” Ron Daniels, president

of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century, said that the ‘War on Drugs’ is a war on us. Daniels, a veteran social and political activist, said that the statistics are clear and reveal racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. The Sentencing Project, a non-profit organization focused on criminal justice advocacy and research, reported that Blacks make up 12 percent of the total population of drug users, “but 34% of those arrested for drug offenses, and 45% of those in state prison for a drug offense.” Whites accounted for less than 29 percent of state prisoners incarcerated for drug offenses. Continued on A4

Copyright © 2013 by the Afro-American Company

A 7-foot bronze statue of 19th-century orator and writer Frederick Douglass was officially unveiled at the U.S. Capitol on June 19. The unveiling ceremony was led by House speaker John Boehner. The Douglass statue, which was created by sculptor Steven Weitzman and commissioned seven years ago, will be only the fourth statue or bust in the Capitol that honors an African American.


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