NORTH CAROLINA NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN FALL 2018

The keynote speaker for

North Carolina NOW’s 2018 state conference will be Anita Earls, veteran civil rights

attorney and now a candi-date for a seat on the North

Carolina Supreme Court. Her keynote address will be “Women and the Right to

Vote in North Carolina: Use It or Lose It.” Today our voting

rights are being threatened by gerrymandering and vari-ous measures to suppress the

vote. Anita Earls has long been a leader actively de-

fending voting rights for all North Carolina citizens. Her distinguished legal ca-

reer includes serving as a Deputy Assistant Attorney

General in the Civil Rights Di-vision of the US Department of Justice and directing the

Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. In 2003 she

joined Julius Chambers at the UNC Center for Civil Rights as

Director of Advocacy. For the first ten years of her career, she was in private

practice in Charlotte, litigat-ing voting rights, police mis-

conduct, school desegrega-tion, and employment dis-crimination cases.

Anita Earls was the foun-der and Executive Director of

the Southern Coalition for So-

cial Justice, a non-profit legal

advocacy organization where she litigated voting

rights and other civil rights cases. She left that position

in January 2018 to run for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Her teaching experience includes serving as an ad-

junct professor at the law schools of the University of Maryland and the University

of North Carolina and in the Af r ican and Af r ican-

American Studies Depart-ment at Duke University. Cur-rently she is teaching attor-

neys in the Shriver Center’s Racial Justice Training Insti-

tute.

NOW NEWSNOW NEWSNOW NEWSNOW NEWS

Anita Earls to keynote NC NOW Conference She has been honored to receive

the national NAACP Civil Rights Champion Award in 2011. In 2017

she received a “Defenders of Jus-tice” award from the NC Justice Center and was a “We Are Emily”

honoree by Emily’s List. For 30 years Anita Earls has

worked passionately protecting civil rights, fighting for families, and advocating for voting rights and

fair political process. She is known for her leadership in litigating suc-cessful challenges to North Caro-

lina’s “monster voter suppression law” and unfair redistricting plans.

To its shame, North Carolina has been in the national forefront in voter suppression and gerryman-

dering, and these are areas where Anita Earls has had extensive ex-

perience. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear Anita Earls speak at this year’s

North Carolina NOW state confer-ence. Register for the conference

using the form on page 3 inside this newsletter.

Anita Earls

NC Women are Running and Winning in Record Numbers

Women candidates openly embracing

issues of concern to women and their fami-

lies are running in record numbers across the

nation, and male candidates are making intensified efforts to address our issues. North

Carolina is reflecting the national trend.

At the congressional level, the two

women incumbents, one Democratic and

one Republican, will be on the November

ballot. And an eye-popping five new

women candidates (four Democrats, 1 Lib-

ertarian) won their primary elections for con-

gressional seats and face incumbents in the

fall.

A record number of women ran for the

NC state legislature in the 2018 primaries. In

2014, the last election year without a presi-

dential election, 24 women ran for the state

legislature. This year 119 women ran for the

state House and Senate; only 43 were in-

cumbents. In November, 65 Democratic

women will be on the ballot. The Republi-

can party does not track women candi-

dates.

Due to the unprecedented focus on

women’s issues and women candidates,

the North Carolina NOW Political Action

Committee (PAC) has been inundated with

requests for endorsements, and we have

been interviewing candidates (women and

men) at a frantic pace.

Although North Carolina NOW is a non-partisan organization, NOW at the state and

national levels can endorse candidates

through our political action committees

(PACs). Federal candidates are endorsed

by the national NOW PAC, which acts on recommendations from North Carolina

NOW. Candidates for state offices are en-

dorsed by the North Carolina NOW PAC. NOW members will receive a mailing list-

ing candidates endorsed by a NOW PAC,

and the information will also be available

online. Many candidates also list their en-

dorsement in their campaign literature and

on their webpages and on social media.

Unfortunately, voters may be confused

because many of our districts had to be re-

drawn to correct unconstitutional gerryman-dering. The website for the State Board of

Elections can help you locate your precinct

number, voting site, sample ballot and more

- https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/. This website

will also help you verify that you are properly

registered to vote (better check). Your vote

has never mattered more!

Still No Funds to Test Backlog

of 15,160 Rape Kits According to available data, there were 15,160 untested rape kits sitting on evidence

shelves in North Carolina in 2017 - among the

most in the country. Until recently, many

people believed that all rape kits were being

tested as evidence. Progress on testing the backlog is inex-

cusably slow. Legislation passed in 2017 ap-

propriated funds to do a statewide inventory

of untested kits. The inventory bill was initi-

ated out of Fayetteville.

A new law passed this session requires the

state crime lab to develop a tracking system

that would include all new rape kits and

those in the massive backlog. All medical

providers, law enforcement agencies and

forensic labs will be required to participate

and it must allow victims to access informa-

tion about the status of their kits. Beginning in

October 2019, the state lab must report to

the legislature data on the number of track-

ing-enabled kits and how many are con-

nected to a reported sexual assault.

But funding for actual testing has been

delayed until the tracking system is in place.

Attorney General Josh Stein’s budget request

for 2 million dollars to begin testing was re-fused. The new system should prevent the

destruction of untested kits. But without new

funding, the backlog will continue to grow.

NC NOW 2018 State Conference and Elections Women Rising up NOW

Saturday, October 20, 2018

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

NC Advocates for Justice

1312 Annapolis Drive Raleigh NC

2018 NC NOW Conference Preregistration Form Make checks payable to NC NOW and mail to:

NC NOW State Conference, c/o Roberta Waddle, 3941 Gainey Rd., Fayetteville, NC 28306 Mail by October 11, 2018

Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________________________________

City: ______________________________________________________State: ________ ZIP: _____________________

Phone: ______________________________________Email: _______________________________________________

� Check here if you are a member of North Carolina NOW

� North Carolina NOW Conference Registration fee $40 (sliding scale from $10 to $40 for NC NOW members

only). � Special student registration $10

� Conference registration for non-NOW members $40

� I can’t attend, but here’s my contribution to help with costs.

� Check Enclosed. $________________________

� Or Charge your Visa or Master Card (Please circle one)

Card Number: ________________________________________Expiration Date: ______________ Security Code: _________

Amount Charged: __________________________ Signature: _____________________________________________________

Registration—8:30-9:00 a.m.

The conference registration fee includes lunch. Registration for non-NOW and NOW members is

$40. You can join/rejoin NOW at the conference. • Student registration is $10 (student ID required).

• Registration for NOW members is a sliding scale from $10-$40 ($10 covers the meal).

Please preregister using the form below or register on-line in Eventbrite through

northcarolinanow.wordpress.com/conferences/

Hotel, information, ad forms, and tabling forms are on the website.

You may also register on-site the day of the confer-

ence, but lunch is guaranteed only for those who preregister or call requesting a lunch.

If you miss the mailing deadline, call Roberta Wad-dle at 910-624-5616.

Keynote

Civil rights attorney Anita Earls will speak on “Women and the Right to Vote in North Carolina: Use It or Lose It.” Speakers/Workshops

The conference will include discussions of new threats to women and workshops on skills to em-

power us to communicate effectively to legislators, and in the media. Meal

A lunch (including a vegetarian option) will be served. If you have special dietary needs,

contact Lori Bunton at 919-302-8148. Special Needs/Directions

If you need directions or have any special needs, or questions about the conference, we are happy to work with you. Call Lori Bunton at 919-302-8148. Hotel

Comfort Inn & Suites Crabtree Valley, 6209 Glen-

wood Ave., Raleigh. Specify ‘NC NOW’ block and reserve by Sep. 28 to get special rate: $72 for king, $82 for double. For reservations, call: 919-782-1112.

Call to

Confe

rence—

Oct. 20

, 2018

“Wome

n Risin

g Up N

OW”

NC NOW North Carolina National Organization for Women

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Raleigh, NC 27611

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