Since his tenure as Superintendent of Greene County Schools, Dr. James H. Carter, Sr. has focused on creating a culture of caring and commitment which results in academic and career achievement and readiness for all students. Although the Alabama State Department of Education has recently listed two of Greene County’s schools on the failing schools list, this was not the driving force for Dr. Carter’s plan of initiating different and more intense approaches for reaching student achievement goals.
According to Superintendent Carter, “ Noting the need to advance academically and remove Robert Brown Middle School and Greene County High from the failing schools list, each school has created an instructional plan of action that provides solutions necessary to enhance progress on the summative assessments provided by the Alabama State Department of Education.
“The implementation of these plans of action will be monitored and assessed periodically for the purpose of improving student achievement. Now, the expectation is that teachers will formulate professional learning communities and incorporate strategies that engage all students.
Further, students should receive more open-ended questions that encourage critical thinking, exposure to various types of reading passages, more math problem-solving questions, experiments in STEM and science, and hands-on learning experiences in all subject areas,” he stated.
Superintendent explained that new initiatives often take time to grow the commitment and buy-in of all the components, “ Every school has its own narrative. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as stakeholders, students and teachers’ engagement, academic data, the trends and issues impacting the school and the kinds of programs and services that each school implements to support student learning. These variables indicated embody the school’s culture, but also exemplify how well the professional learning community works together,” he said.
Dr. Carter explained that his role is to assist with enhancing the school system’s overall academic culture. “I am aware that this mission cannot be an individual stance. I am continuously promoting professional development and collaboration among parents, students, leaders and educators. Even now, I am organizing safe parameters to merge communities and organizations, collect data, formulate action steps, enhance trust, and stimulate conversations,” he said.
Month: January 2017
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Superintendent Carter gives overview of school improvement plan
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Questions remain on Jeff Sessions’ role in prosecuting Michael Donald’s Klan lynching in Mobile in the 1980’s
L to R: Michael Donald and Jeff Sessions
News Analysis by: Zack Carter and John Zippert
President Donald Trump has nominated his early supporter, Alabama U. S. Senator, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, for the position of Attorney General of the United States.
Questions remain about Jeff Sessions position on civil rights, voting rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights, hate crimes, criminal justice and many other issues that will face Sessions if he his confirmed as the nation’s chief prosecutor and law enforcement official.
The Democrat previously published in our December 28, 2016 issue an extensive statement by the Alabama New South Coalition and the SOS Movement for Justice and Democracy in opposition to Sessions nomination (see http://www.greenecodemocrat). This statement concentrates on Sessions role in the selective and unsuccessful prosecution of the “Marion Three” in 1985/86 as the beginning of a national Republican effort of voter suppression that continues to this day.
We have recently seen paid TV ads advocating the confirmation of Sessions as U. S. Attorney General in which he proclaims himself, “a champion of civil rights and an advocate of criminal justice”.
In this story, we look back at Sessions’ role as U. S. Attorney for the Southern District, based in Mobile, in the notorious case of the Klan lynching of Michael Donald in Mobile from 1981 to 1989.The lynching of Michael Donald – March 20, 1981
On March 20, 1981, Michael Donald, a 19 yr. old African American trade school student was found hanging from a small ornamental “popcorn” tree on an old residential street, across the street from where several Klansmen lived. Michael’s body was crumpled from beatings and his neck slashed. The brutally slayed young man was hanging hideously about a mile from Mobile’s City Hall and the Courthouse – where a KKK cross had been burned on the lawn the same night. The same courthouse where the recent trial of an African American, Josephus Anderson, ended in a hung jury – he was on trial for killing a white policeman, and claimed it was in self-defense.
Over time, it was established that four Klan members participated in the killing of Michael Donald. They were Bennie Jack Hayes, a local Klan leader, his son Henry Hays (age 22 at the time of the lynching), James Knowles (age 17) and Frank L. Cox (age 25) Hayes son-in-law, who supplied the gun and the rope for the crime.
From the Court records, Knowles confessed to the crime and according to the record:“… Henry Hays and Knowles got a rope, which they tied into a hangman’s noose, and a gun from fellow Klansmen. [Knowles testified it was Frank Cox]. The two then set out to look for a black man. They randomly found Michael Donald, pulled alongside him in their car, and asked for directions. They forced him into the car at gunpoint. Knowles made Donald empty his pockets; Knowles’s trial testimony indicates he wanted to be sure the victim was unarmed.”
Hays found a desolate area and parked; all three men got out of the car. Facing Hays and Knowles (who was holding the gun), Donald jumped Knowles in an attempt to escape. After a struggle, Hays and Knowles forced Donald to the ground. Hays retrieved the noose, and the two of them put it around Donald’s neck. Hays dragged Donald while Knowles beat him with a tree limb; and when Hays’s hands began to hurt, they switched. When Donald collapsed, the two men dragged him, face first, across the ground. Autopsy reports showed Donald probably died from asphyxiation during this time. Nevertheless, Henry Hays slashed Donald’s throat. Donald’s body was found later that morning, hanging from a tree on Herndon Avenue.” (http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1304129.html)”According to testimony by Assistant U. S. Attorney, Thomas Figures, an African-American attorney, who was working in Sessions office, made to the Senate Judiciary Committee in its 1986 hearing on Sessions nomination to become a Federal District Judge, Figures says that Sessions was reluctant to take up the Michael Donald lynching case.
Based on pressure from Michael Donald’s family, their attorney, State Senator Michael Figures (Thomas Figure’s brother), work by FBI investigators and local law enforcement, Sessions changed his mind. Sessions says he then pushed for Henry Hayes and James Knowles to be tried in state courts, where they could receive the death penalty, because at that time there were no provisions for the death penalty in Federal cases.
The testimony of Thomas Figures and four other Assistant U. S. Attorneys was instrumental in causing the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1986 to refuse to confirm Sessions for a Federal judgeship.
Figures testified to examples of his former boss’s alleged racial insensitivity before the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying Sessions had called him a “boy” on several occasions and had once told him that “he believed the NAACP, the SCLC, Operation PUSH, and the National Council of Churches were all un-American organizations teaching anti-American values.” On one occasion, when Figures upbraided Sessions’ secretary over what he felt was an inappropriate personal comment she made to him, he said Sessions had summoned him to his office and admonished him to “be careful what you say to white folks.”
In their investigation of the Michael Donald case, local law enforcement found that the three men Knowles, Hays and Cox were regular users of marijuana. This prompted Sessions classic and often repeated statement, “ I used to respect the Klan, until I found out that many of them smoked pot.” An FBI agent confirmed hearing Session’s remark as well, albeit the FBI agent felt it was ‘just parlor humor’. But we all know that jokes, especially at the expense of others, usually reveal what is in a person’s heart!
In 1983, James Knowles was sentenced by a local Mobile Court to 99 years in state prison; Henry Hays was sentenced to death for murdering Michael Donald. After routine appeals, Henry Hays was the first white person executed in Alabama for murdering a Black person.What happened to Bennie J. Hays and Frank Cox?
There were four people involved in the Michael Donald lynching. We have accounted for two, what happened to the other two – Cox and Bennie Hays. And what was Jeff Sessions role in their prosecution?
Sessions, who was reluctant to handle the case, turned the prosecutions over to Mobile D. A. Chris Galanos for local action. In 1985, Galanos indicted the two – Bennie Hays and Frank Cox for “conspiracy to commit murder”. When the case went to trial Mobile Circuit Judge Zoghby had to dismiss the case because conspiracy has a three-year statute of limitations and the case was filed after three years had passed. Bennie Hays died during the trial and Cox walked free.
Sessions has never been asked why he didn’t pay closer attention and supervision to the case and allowed the local D. A. Galanos to seek an indictment for conspiracy after the time had expired. Was this action deliberate on Sessions part? Did he allow the indictment on a lesser charge when he knew the statute of limitations had run? Does this call into question his sensitivity and skills as a prosecutor? What will this mean on other critical cases if he is confirmed as Attorney General?
Meanwhile Attorney Michael Figures assisted by the Southern Poverty Law Center brought a civil lawsuit against the Klan on behalf of Michael Donald’s mother. In 1987, they won a million dollar judgment against the United Klans of America and forced them to sell their office in Tuscaloosa with the proceeds going to the Donald family. The civil case also brought out more evidence against the perpetrators.
In 1989, Frank Cox was found guilty of murdering Michael Donald and sentenced to 99 years in state prison. Cox was released after only 11 years in 2000. Knowles was released in 2010 after 25 years in prison. What role did Jeff Sessions play in the early release of Frank Cox, who supplied the gun and the rope for Michael Donald’s lynching, has he ever been asked?
In addition to Jeff Sessions insensitivity on the murder of Michael Donald, we have many other instances where he showed little concern for the conditions of Black and poor people.
Jeff Sessions was the only Gulf Coast Senator to vote against Senator Richard Shelby’s bill for supplementary assistance to victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Paul Nelson, a 4th generation fisher from Alabama’s Gulf Coast and commended by a Mobile County’s administrator for for his key role in getting 301 homes rebuilt with Katrina CDBG funds said: “Senator Jeff Sessions did nothing for the people he represents who were devastated by Katrina! So how can he be trusted to represent justice for all in our courtrooms.”Zack Carter is a community organizer who helped bring national attention to unjust Katrina and BP recovery policies.
He was trade union activist in Mobile during the 1980’s and advocated for Labor to speak out against the Klan lynching of Michael Donald.. John Zippert is Co-Publisher of the Greene County Democrat. -
Same police officers that she fired, that were rehired, involved in case Hattie Edwards, former Eutaw Mayor, arrested for groundless charges
Former Eutaw Mayor Hattie Barnette Edwards was arrested, charged and arraigned by the city on Monday, January 23, 2017. Mayor Edwards is charged with Obstruction of Government Operations and Disorderly Conduct. The charges stemmed allegedly from separates incidents which occurred the day of the Eutaw Mayoral run-off election, October 4, 2017 and May 13, 2016.
Reportedly, on Oct. 4, the local police were questioning an individual (s) in the Branch Heights community when Mayor Edwards arrived on the scene. The police asked her to remove herself from the scene and Edwards asserted that as Mayor she had the authority to inquire into the situation.
On May 13 of 2016, Officer Clayton attempted to arrest a citizen in Eutaw on a warrant which had already been executed. Mayor Edwards brought this to the attention of the Chief of Police and the arrest was thwarted. Reportedly, this also relates to Edwards ‘Obstruction of Government Operations.’
Approximately, one week following the Oct. 4 incident, Mayor Edwards dismissed three Eutaw police officers, Robert Clayton, Lonnie Glynn and Rodriquez Jones for insubordination and lack of respect for the Office of the Mayor. All three were subsequently rehired by Mayor Raymond Steele when he took office in November.
Mayor Edwards reported that Clayton approached her after his dismissal in October and made what she considered to be threatening statements. She subsequently file charges against Clayton. No reports have been issued indicating his arrest.
On December 19, 2016, Eutaw police officer Robert Clayton filed a complaint against Edwards and secured a warrant from the City Magistrate for her arrest.
Edwards stated that she was out of town when the warrant was issued and upon her return, she went to city hall to ‘turn herself in’. According to Edwards she was immediately taken into custody, transported to the county jail, processed, placed in an orange prison jumpsuit and jailed. “I was not allowed to sign my own bond, nor was my aunt and other acquaintances allowed to post a property bond. My aunt had to secure cash to pay my bond of $185,” she stated. Edwards explained, that is not the usual procedures followed by the city. A person arrested by Eutaw police, with similar charges, is usually processed at city hall and allowed to sign his/her own bond.
Edwards was also directed to appear in Municipal Court at 5:00 p.m. on the same day as her arrest. Shortly before the Court was to begin, a group of community persons were denied entrance to City Hall. Eutaw police officers who blocked the entrance stated that only persons on the docket could enter the building, but they allowed other media personnel to enter. It was apparent they were trying to keep out supporters of Hattie Edwards. On the insistence of local persons that this was a public facility and the public should not be kept out, the officers finally relented and allowed the community to enter Eutaw City Hall.
Eutaw City Judge William Nick Underwood then continued Edwards’ case until Monday, March, 27, 2017. According to Edwards no apparent reason was given for this delay.
Edwards also claims that she was never allowed to have a copy of the detailed complaints against her.
Prior to press time, several attempts were made by the Democrat staff to contact Eutaw Mayor Raymond Steele who could hopefully provide clarity regarding these seemingly groundless charges brought against Hattie Edwards. -
Dr. Dorothy Height to be honored on U.S. postage stamp
Stamp honoring Dorothy Height
(TriceEdneyWire.com) – On Feb. 1, the U. S. Postal Service will kick off 2017 Black History Month with the issuance of the Dorothy Height Forever stamp to honor the civil rights legend.
The Dorothy Height Forever stamp will be the 40th stamp in the Black Heritage series. The late Dr. Height is considered to be civil rights royalty. Having led the National Council of Negro Women for four decades, Height was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President Bill Clinton in 1994 and the Congressional Gold Medal, awarded by President George W. Bush in 2004 for her pioneering work for the civil rights of African-Americans and women. President Barack Obama gave her eulogy upon her death on April 12, 2010.
Participants in the Feb. 1 event will be Ronald A. Stroman, deputy postmaster general and chief government relations officer, United States Postal Service; Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.); Alexis Herman, president, Dorothy I. Height Education Foundation; Ingrid Saunders Jones, chair, National Council of Negro Women; Naima Randolph, Dorothy Height’s great niece; Derry Noyes, art director; and Bishop Vashti McKenzie, bishop of the African American Episcopal Church.
Doors will open at 10 a.m. for the 11 a.m. event to be held at the Howard University Cramton Auditorium, 2455 Sixth Street Washington, DC. The ceremony is free and open to the public. Space is limited and admission is not guaranteed. To obtain a free ticket, visit the Cramton Auditorium Box Office.
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John Gore, lawyer who defended racial gerrymandering picked to head DOJ Civil Rights Division
By: Lee Fang, The Intercept
John Gore who has worked to defend laws that critics say are designed to weaken the voting rights of African-Americans and other minorities, was selected by President Donald Trump to serve as a senior civil rights official at the Department of Justice.
Gore’s new role as Trump’s choice for deputy assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is notable because he will lead the division that oversees civil rights laws, including voter suppression issues. Trump and his nominee to lead the Justice Department, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, are strong supporters of voting restrictions such as voter identification.
The appointment of Gore represents a dramatic break from the the civil rights legacy of the outgoing Obama Justice Department, which has filed suits against voter restrictions in Wisconsin, Texas, North Carolina, and other states. Under Obama, the civil rights division was restructured to take on more cases, with former Attorney General Eric Holder describing the team as the agency’s “crown jewel.”
In stark contrast, Gore has worked to defend Republican redistricting laws in Virginia, South Carolina, New York, and Florida — including maps that opponents say were drawn to maximize Republican seats in Congress and frequently employed a strategy of packing African-American voters into a single district to dilute their voting power in neighboring districts.
In Florida and Virginia, Gore also intervened on behalf of Republicans to defend new voter ID laws, rules civil rights group have assailed for reducing participation rates among African-Americans.
In Virginia, for example, Gore was one of the main attorneys working to defend a 2011 Republican map that moved black voters from four different districts into Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District, a majority African-American district held by a Democrat that encompasses the areas around Richmond, Hampton Roads, and Newport News. The strategy appeared designed to weaken Democratic chances in the four neighboring districts, all held by Republicans, by lowering the number of African-Americans, who tend to vote for Democratic candidates.
A brief filed by the local NAACP argued that the map’s “high concentration of African-American voters” represented a “racial gerrymander” that violated voters’ due process rights. The GOP legislature argued that politics, not race, was the motivating factor in drawing the boundaries.
Federal courts overturned the GOP map, creating new borders that added African-American voters to the 4th Congressional district, which was previously represented by a white Republican. In 2016 the district for the first time elected an African-American Democrat.
In 2015, a resident of Virginia challenged the state’s newly passed law requiring a photo identification to vote, arguing that because minority groups were less likely to have a photo ID, the law “disproportionately suppresses the vote of African-Americans and Latinos in Virginia.”
A legal team from the law firm Jones Day, including Gore, filed an amicus brief in support of the voter ID law. The brief claimed that although the voter ID law might lead to a “relative shortfall in minority participation,” the true difference was attributable to “different levels of electoral interest or underlying socio-economic disparities,” and therefore the state’s actions were legal.
In December 2016, a federal appeals court upheld the photo ID law, ruling that “there was no evidence to suggest racially discriminatory intent in the law’s enactment.”
As Buzzfeed reported, just hours after Jones Day announced that Gore would be leaving for the administration position, the Justice Department moved to delay a hearing sought by the Obama administration to challenge the Texas voter ID law, one of the strictest in the country. The Justice Department noted that it sought a delay “because of the federal government’s change in administration, which took place on January 20, 2017.”
On Monday, during his evening meeting with congressional leaders, President Trump reiterated the false claim that millions of undocumented people voted in the last election, costing him the popular vote.
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Peaceful exchange of power takes place as Trump prepares to take oath of office by shaking Obama’s hand.
President Obama shakes hands with President Trump on stage at inauguration. Roy Lewis/Trice Edney News Wire(TriceEdneyWire.com) – President Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States Jan. 20, during a peaceful exchange of powers with America’s first Black President Barack Obama. Trump assured a unified America despite never apologizing for leading one of the most hate-filled campaigns in recent history. “We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people. Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come,” Trump told the crowd. The Bible tells us, ‘How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.’ We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.”
The speech was met with applause and chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!” by the vastly White audience – a reversal from the two inaugurations of eight and four years ago, when throngs of Black people packed in to witness the historic inaugurations of President Obama. The Trump inauguration, though well attended with crowds stretching from the steps of the U. S. Capitol back to the Washington Monument, did not draw as many people as the Obama inauguration, based on close observations of the crowd by this reporter and Black press photographers who attended all three ceremonies.
More than 60 Democratic members of Congress decided to skip the inauguration; including Black Caucus members U. S. Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). Lewis contends he does not see Trump as a legitimate president given the involvement of Russian email hacking in order to help him get elected, according to confirmation by intelligence agencies. Lee and others refused to attend because of protest for Trump’s vitriolic conduct during the election.
Still President Obama had promised a “peaceful exchange of powers”, a tenet of American democracy. Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, were also in attendance with their wives. Former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who battled Trump vigorously to win the presidency, smiled a lot and appeared stately during the procession and ceremony.
“Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent,” Trump said. He repeated promised to “make America first” in his proposed national and international policies, legislations and executive orders. He also promised to uplift “inner cities”, a well-known euphemism for the Black community.
“Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are the just and reasonable demands of a righteous public,” Trump said. “But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system, flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. We are one nation – and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny.”
Trump’s words are lofty, but his actions have not matched what he has said. So far, he has nominated an all-White cabinet; except Dr. Ben Carson who will head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has also appointed former White supremacist advocate Steve Bannon as a top advisor and nominated former Klan sympathizer Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general. He has appointed Omarosa Manigault to assist him with public liaison, but it remains to be seen what will come from a meeting she and other aids had with Black organizational representatives.
Meanwhile on Saturday, the day after the inauguration, more than a million women packed the streets of Washington and other major cities around the U. S. making demands on a string of key issues important to women, Blacks and other minorities. Civil rights leaders have taken a wait and see posture while putting pressure on the Trump administration through protest.
Led by Rev. Al Sharpton, they started that pressure during a march one week before the inauguration. On Inauguration Day, National Urban League President/CEO Marc Morial emailed a statement essentially promising to continue marching to correct social ills that were prevalent 50 years ago.
“My own predecessor as head of the National Urban League, the legendary Whitney M. Young, was one of the organizers of that march and delivered his own stirring speech that day. He spoke of the need for Black Americans to do “some more marching:” …from dangerous ghettos to safe, unrestricted neighborhoods…from poverty wages to skilled, family-sustaining jobs…from the cemeteries of early graves to health centers from overcrowded, inadequate classrooms to fully-equipped, professionally staffed and integrated schools,” wrote Morial. “And there we were, marching for those same things a half-century later, marching under the motto, “We shall not be moved.” -
Women’s March inspires millions to demand justice in the Trump Era
By Brittany Webb
Throngs of women lined D.C. streets for the Jan. 20 women’s march. Estimated at close to a million, This photo shows activists wrapped around the new National Museum for African American History and Culture. PHOTO: James Zimmerman/Trice Edney News Wire(TriceEdneyWire.com) – A sea of pink hats, signs proclaiming “Black Lives Matter”, gay-rights flags and posters with all sorts of demands of justice filled the crowd at the Women’s March on Washington Jan. 20.
Millions of women of all races and nationalities were joined by men in the nation’s capital and around the world to defend the human and civil rights, honor and dignity of people – and some to protest the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, which many view as a threat to human rights progress.
“We march to declare we are ready for the fight. We are here to declare that we are America. We will stay awoke and we will not be moved,” said Black Women’s Roundtable Convener Melanie Campbell in her speech to the DC crowd, which was so packed that they could not march to the White House as planned. “We march for Black women who voted 94 percent for Hillary Clinton, who by the way won three million votes over her opponent…We march, even for the 53 percent of White women who voted for that other guy, to reflect and join us, all of us, moving forward to break that glass ceiling to elect the first woman president of America and to select a Black Woman to the Supreme Court in our lifetime.”
Celebrities like Madonna, Alicia Keys, Maxwell, Janelle Monae and Jidenna joined political figures, commentators and activists like Campbell, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, CNN’s Van Jones; NAACP Chair Roslyn Brock and activist Angela Davis to support and energize women who are determined to fight for equality.
The DC crowd was vastly White. But a strong contingency of Black women participated and spoke during the rally. “We stand in solidarity,” said Brock of the NAACP. “To declare that women’s rights are human rights. We send a message to our new government that we will not stop until women enjoy equal status. Throughout the history of this nation, women have worked to enjoy full civil rights. In 2008, 2012 and 2016 Black women exercised the right to vote larger than any other group in this nation,” she said as the crowd cheered.
Because the marches, which also took place in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston and other cities in the U. S. around the world the day after the Trump inauguration, activist Angela Davis declared the demonstration to be a part of American history.
“At this very challenging moment in our history, let us remind ourselves that we, the hundreds of thousands, the millions of women, trans people, men and youth who are here at the women’s march, we represent the powerful forces of change that are determined to prevent the dying cultures of racism, heteropatriarchy from rising again,” Davis said.
Despite the march being geared towards the rights of woman, Davis left the mark of Black people on the hearts of the crowd when she addressed the roots of the nation. “The freedom struggles of Black people that have shaped the very nature of this country’s history cannot be deleted with a sweep of a hand,” Davis said. “We cannot be made to forget that Black lives do matter.”
Amongst the sisters were men who were present in the name of their sisters, mothers, wives, girlfriends and women alike. One of those men was CNN commentator Van Jones. “With every breakdown, a breakthrough is possible, and today, because of you, something beautiful is being reborn in America,” Jones said. “Something beautiful is being reborn right here, and right now.”
For some women, it was refreshing to see men standing in solidarity with the people who society deems to be less than compared to them. “To see men fighting the good fight alongside us is humbling,” Alyssa B. of Philadelphia said. “It gives us hope and a sense of us not having to do it alone. It’s the definition of humanity.”
Though the D.C. women could not march to the White House as planned, President Trump still got the message. He tweated the next day, “Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn’t these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly.”
Actually, there were few celebrities spotted in the crowd of marchers, except entertainers on the stage. As protesters gathered from cities across the nation, one D.C. native took to the stage to demand one thing from government on behalf of women.
R&B singer Maxwell serenaded the crowd with his hit single “This Woman’s Work,” dedicating it to the late Sandra Bland, who was found hanging in July 2015 in a Waller County, Texas jail cell three days after a contentious arrest that started with a stop for an alleged traffic signal violation. Authorities ruled her death a suicide, but the family disputed that claim. Her family was awarded a settlement of $1.9 million in the case.
Black women who joined in the march said the need for solidarity between women activities at the point in history is clear. “Black women benefit when a women’s rights agenda – equal pay, affordable child care and health care, and access to education, among other things – is embraced,” said columnist and economist Dr. Julianne Malveaux, former president of Bennett College for Women. “It was refreshing to see so many White people carrying Black Lives Matter signs.”
While the Woman’s March on Washington is over, the fight for women’s rights, human rights and religious rights continues. And while fear keeps some from standing on the front lines, singer Janelle Monae urges protestors to keep choosing to fight for freedom. “Continue to embrace the things that make you unique even if it makes others uncomfortable,” Monae said. “You are enough, and whenever you feel in doubt, whenever you want to give up, you must always remember to choose freedom over fear.”
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‘Realizing the Dream’ program honors Wendell Paris, Isabel Rubio and Fan Yang
Shown above Isabel Rubio and Wendell Paris
The 28th year of the Realizing the Dream program to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. was held this weekend in Tuscaloosa.
The program, a joint effort of Stillman College, University of Alabama, Shelton State Community College and the Tuscaloosa SCLC, includes a legacy awards banquet, a concert and community breakfast and march on the third Monday – National Holiday for DR. King.
At the awards banquet Friday evening at the Sellers Auditorium in the Bryant Conference Center on the UA campus, Wendell Paris, long-time civil rights leader from Sumter County was honored with the Mountaintop Award. Paris, a native of Sumter County, moved with his family to Tuskegee and attended Tuskegee University where he joined SNCC. Paris also worked for many years with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives at their Rural Training and Research Center in Epes, Alabama. Paris is now an Assistant Pastor at the New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi.
Isabel Rubio of Birmingham received the Call to Conscience Award for her work with the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, on behalf of full equality for Latino people. Fan Yang, a PhD student at the University of Alabama, was given the Horizon Award for her work with Heart Touch, an outreach organization with Asian-American students and community members.
John Quinones of ABC-TV news and the developer of the What Would You Do? television show, which poses ethical and moral questions with viewers of scenarios with ordinary people, was the keynote speaker for the banquet.
Quinones who was born in the barrios of San Antonio, Texas gave the story of his life and success in television attributing many of his opportunities in broadcasting to the work of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement.
His theme was that there are many stories in our communities that will not get told unless we work to tell them.
Kirk Franklin, renowned gospel artist gave the concert -
Mule wagon leads MLK Birthday March in Eutaw
A traditional mule and wagon led 100 marchers from the Eutaw Activity Center to the William M. Branch County Courthouse, on Monday, to commemorate the national holiday to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday. The march and Courthouse program capped a weekend of activities to honor the civil rights legend.
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Local board honored for School Board Appreciation Month – Superintendent questions state’s designation of failing schools in Greene County
During his report at the regular meeting of the Greene County Board of Education, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, Superintendent James Carter stated that Robert Brown Middle School and Greene County High School have been designated by the State Department of Education as failing schools based on tests scores from 2015-2016. “It has been determined that Greene County School System has two schools that fall within the bottom 6% of schools in Alabama. Any schools within this range are placed on the failing schools list as referenced in the Alabama Accountability Act of 2013, revised in 2015,” Dr, Carter said.
Dr. Carter further explained that the state tests, the ACT Aspire in Reading and Math, were administered in the Spring of 2016 to grades 3-8 and grade 10. “We are not making excuses when we say that this was the first time these particular tests were administered to the schools.” He also noted that the tests results attributed to Robert Brown Middle School were from the former Carver Middle School and do not include students test results from the former Paramount School. Robert Brown Middle School began operations as a consolidated school from Carver and Paramount in August of 2016.
“I am concerned that Robert Brown Middle School is called a failing school when Robert Brown Middle School did not exist when these tests were given,” Carter said. He also noted that Greene County High School was not on the failing list in the previous year. “ This is somewhat perplexing for them to be placed back on the failing list after being off the list last year,” he added.“The Alabama Accountability Act is just another scheme for tax credits and vouchers to be given to students’ parents who choose for their children to have a private school education,” Carter stated.
According to state reports, the Alabama Accountability Act helps students move from public to private schools with scholarships funded by tax credits. Approximately 70% of the nearly 6,000 scholarships went to children who would not otherwise attend a failing school.
Superintendent Carter also announced that the Robert Brown family has made a generous donation of $5,100 to the recently dedicated Robert Brown Middle School. Carter extended a deep appreciation to the family on behalf of the entire school system.
In recognition of School Board Appreciation Month, the board received special recognition and salutes from the schools and Central Office Personnel. Eutaw Primary students presented a creative dance as well as other treats. Robert Brown Middle School students serenaded the board and presented other treats. The Child Nutrition Program personnel gave the board members fruit baskets. Parent Involvement Coordinator presented a special Certificate of Appreciation to each board member. Greene County High School announced that it will make special presentations to the board at its Honors Program scheduled for January 31.
The board approved the following personnel items recommended by the superintendent.
Employment of Mrs. Sondra Terry as part-time Science Teacher at Greene County Career Center; employment of Tren’D’Mis Davis as Bus Driver and adding Ms. Tanesha Lyons to the current CNP Substitute list for 2017-2018 year.
The Administrative Services approved by the board included the following:
* Expand wireless opportunities for schools following additional review.
* Accept proposals for sale/lease of properties at former Paramount Jr. High and Carver Middle School.
* Approve lease agreement with Norfolk Southern Corporation for use of Paramount parking lot for a limited period of time, pending legal review and approval by board’s attorney.
* Payment of all bills, claims, and payroll.
Bank reconciliations as submitted by CSFO.
The following items were also presented at the meeting by Superintendent Carter:
* Advertisement for sale or lease of properties at Paramount Jr. High and Carver Middle School.
* Sale dates for surplus equipment at Carver and Paramount.
* Restrooms at Robert Brown Middle School have been refurbished and the hallways painted.
* Review of curriculum/instruction of Greene County schools.
* Develop program to recognize outstanding students and employees.
* Review each school’s master schedule to determine if maximum learning opportunities are provided to each student.
* Develop system for scheduling maintenance /work orders in timely fashion.
* Tutorial lab for primary grades and grades four and five.
* Seek foreign language instructors for primary and middle school grades.