THE NC JUSTICE CENTER ANNOUNCES THE 2014
DEFENDERS OF JUSTICE HONOREES
Recipients will be honored at the Defenders of
Justice Awards in Chapel Hill on April 22
RALEIGH, NC – Each year, the North Carolina
Justice Center presents its Defender of Justice
Awards to honor individuals or organizations
that have made significant contributions in the
fight against poverty in four areas that reflect the
scope of the Justice Center’s work – legislation,
policy research and advocacy, litigation, and
community empowerment.
The 2014 honorees are:
LEGISLATIVE & ADMINISTRATIVE
ADVOCACY
Congressman G. K. Butterfield, for voicing
strong support for
unemployment benefits
for laid off workers and
expansion of Medicaid
to cover more uninsured
families, as well as
holding numerous town
halls for citizens to learn
about the Affordable Care
Act.
organizing demonstrations, grassroots efforts,
and presentations on issues ranging from how
education cuts will harm our children to what
rights mothers have in the workplace.
NC Raise Up is leading the effort for a fair
living wage for fast food wwrkers across North
Carolina by organizing workers who demand
a $15/hour wage and the right to form a union
without fear of retaliation and losing their job.
By leading strikes at stores in North Carolina
and across the southeast region, the group has
brought much-needed attention to fast food
workers and the struggles they face to make
ends meet.
The event will be held on Tuesday, April
22, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the William and
Ida Friday Center at 100 Friday Center Drive in
Chapel Hill.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Jeff Shaw,
Director of Communications, [email protected],
503.551.3615 (cell).
Briefly...
WENDELL
M. DAVIS
NAMED
DURHAM
COUNTY
MANAGER
DURHAM, NC – The
Durham Board of
County Commissioners
has named Wendell
M. Davis as the new
Durham County Manager. He replaces Mike Ruffin who
retired on January 31st. Davis is currently Vice Chancellor
for administration and finance at North Carolina Central
University (NCCU). Prior to joining NCCU, he served as
Durham’s Deputy County Manager from October 1999 May 2011.
Davis holds bachelor’s degrees in sociology and geography
from NCCU, a master’s degree in urban and regional
planning from the University of Illinois and an MBA
from Southeastern University. He also graduated from
the executive leadership program at the UNC-Chapel Hill
School of Government. Davis, with a salary of $198,000 a
year, is set to begin his new duties on April 14th.
DR. BALOUBI AND TARA
GIBBS RECEIVE LAWRENCE
M. CLARK AWARDS
Before joining Durham County, he spent four years as
Deputy County Manager of Bertie County, NC. In addition,
he held various positions in Prince William County
Virginia Government, working as a Senior Management and
Budget Analyst to the County Executive, and as Capital
POLICY RESEARCH & ADVOCACY
Planned Parenthood in North Carolina,
who mobilized and led a coalition of groups
and individuals fighting for reproductive justice
for women bringing constant attention to the
reproductive rights debate in our state.
League of Women Voters – Piedmont
Triad organized its members and the public
in fights for voting rights, campaign finance
reform, and immigration reform among many
other issues, and they championed a campaign
for health care access through the Affordable
Care Act.
League of Women Voters – CharlotteMecklenburg, much like their counterparts in
the Triad, also focused tremendous attention
and advocacy around the changes in the state’s
tax structure and state budget, fighting for
progressive tax reform and investments in the
state’s future.
RALEIGH, NC – Dr. Désiré Baloubi, chair of the Shaw
University Department of Humanities and professor of
English and Linguistics, and Tara Gibbs, a graduate student
in Shaw’s Divinity School, were selected to receive the
Lawrence M. Clark Award. Presented by North Carolina
State University’s African American Cultural Center, the
award recognizes outstanding contributions made by
current higher education faculty and students. Baloubi
and Gibbs received their awards at the 2014 Lawrence M.
Clark University Community Dinner on March 25th at the
NC State McKimmon Center.
Baloubi is the recipient of the Lawrence M. Clark Faculty
Excellence Award, which honors the achievements of
faculty who have demonstrated excellence in the following
arenas: research; engaged scholarship; engagement in
developing, improving and building culturally competent
communities locally and nationally and/or; international
engagement on the African continent or within the
disciplines encompassed by Africana Studies.
LITIGATION
Mona Lisa Wallace, partner in the
Salisbury law firm of Wallace & Graham,
who has long represented North Carolinians
who have been victim to unsafe workplace
conditions, consumer rights violations, and
predatory lenders who trap low and middle
class families in unscrupulous loans.
Gibbs is the recipient of the Lawrence M. Clark Student
Achievement Award, which celebrates student achievement
in academics, in the dedication of time, talent and
resources in order to transform the campus and/or local
community and in demonstrating leadership in social
justice initiatives.
Dr. Lawrence M. Clark joined NC State’s administration
in 1974, serving in dual roles as a professor in the
Department of Education and as the Associate Provost.
Along with Dr. Augustus Witherspoon, he created a number
of initiatives that made NC State more diverse and that
continue to transform the campus and our community.
GRASSROOTS EMPOWERMENT
NC MomsRising, the first state chapter
of the national network MomsRising, taps
into the power of moth \