Greene County Democrat

Month: July 2025

  • Newswire : Florida lawmaker blasts Alligator Alcatraz as ‘Concentration Camp’  

    Inhumae cages inside the prison for immigration deportees

    By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

     

    Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon has condemned the state’s $450 million immigration detention facility in the Everglades—dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz”—as an inhumane, politically motivated stunt that is detaining people accused of minor infractions like driving without a license or running a stop sign.
    Speaking on the Black Press of America’s “Let It Be Known” program, Nixon described what she called a “hyper-curated, super-sanitized tour” of the sprawling compound. “What I saw was a waste of taxpayer dollars,” she said. “Countless SUVs, law enforcement officers, military personnel—many of whom claimed to be volunteers—are all being paid to carry out a political stunt.” During her tour, Nixon said she observed more than 30 people crammed into cages with just three restrooms. “There was no privacy,” she said. “Folks were getting water from the toilet.” Detainees she saw in shackles included asylum seekers awaiting court dates. “These are construction workers, people who care for our elderly and our children. They are not hardened criminals.”
    Nixon, who filed legislation to improve prison conditions in Florida, said the facility is consistent with a state correctional system that historically fails to provide adequate care and basic needs. She recounted that state officials rushed her group off-site, citing a supposed security lockdown as rain began, preventing lawmakers from seeing whether flooding, previously documented on video, was recurring. “They kept saying a storm was coming,” Nixon said. “When we insisted on staying, suddenly there was a lockdown, and we were escorted out.
    We don’t believe it was a real security issue.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has defended the project as necessary to detain what he has called the “worst of the worst.” But Nixon said the facility’s population tells a different story. “My daughter is 18 and she just got a ticket for running a red light. Under this logic, she could end up there too,” she said.
    The facility comes as public support for harsh enforcement has waned. According to Gallup polling, only 38% of Americans now favor mass deportations, down from 47% last year. Approval of Donald Trump’s handling of immigration stands at just 35% nationally, and among Hispanic Americans, only 21% approve. While the Trump administration has promoted expanded detention and deportation policies, Gallup found that 78% of Americans support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Nixon said Florida’s approach is out of step with public sentiment and legal norms. “They couldn’t even tell us who was mixed together—people who committed no crime at all and people waiting for due process,” she said. “And since when does the state of Florida have the jurisdiction to deport people?”
    The lawmaker and four colleagues have sued DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, claiming the state violated their statutory rights to conduct unannounced inspections. DeSantis has called the lawsuit “frivolous” and suggested countersuing the lawmakers. Nixon argued that resources wasted on detention should be directed to Floridians’ needs. “They are closing schools in Duval County, our property insurance rates are the highest in the country, we have people with disabilities waiting years for help, and instead, they are spending hundreds of millions on this,” she said.
    As reports circulate that Florida could soon expand detention camps, Nixon urged Americans to pressure state and federal leaders. “If we don’t stop this here, it’s coming to your backyard next,” she said. “They just revoked TPS for Haitians. What happens when they say, ‘I thought you were undocumented’ and pick up Black Americans without due process?”
    Nixon warned that the growing disregard for civil rights should alarm all Americans. “Everything Trump has said he would do, he has done. We can’t take this lightly.” She encouraged citizens to call lawmakers, sign petitions, and demand accountability. “We should all be outraged,” she said. “If they can do this to them, they can do it to us.”

  • Newswire : Black Lives Matter marks 12 years with global expansion and renewed calls for accountability

    Black Lives Matter has reached its 12th anniversary, and the organization’s co-founder and prominent scholar-activist, Dr. Melina Abdullah, says the movement is not only growing internationally but also confronting what she described as an unprecedented wave of “fascism and unmasked racism.”

    By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

    During an appearance on Black Press USA’s Let It Be Known News, Dr. Abdullah detailed the recent summit in Los Angeles, where organizers from 51 chapters—including the newly established Black Lives Matter Stockholm—gathered for workshops, tours, an action, and a celebration at the Center for Black Power on Crenshaw Boulevard. “This is the largest that Black Lives Matter has ever been,” Abdullah said. “We are now 51 chapters in 2025 and thousands of boots-on-the-ground organizers.”
    The summit, which lasted several days, included discussions on the group’s principles and strategy. Abdullah noted that the movement’s work has taken on new urgency as attacks on Black communities intensify. “I think the world hasn’t seen this level of fascism and unmasked racism,” she said. “I haven’t witnessed a world where African American men from Texas, born and raised, the child descendants of enslaved people, can be deported.” Abdullah also described personal moments of fear, including seeing an unknown truck parked in front of her home after delivering groceries to elders in the community. “I was going, should I get out my car? Because I don’t know who these two men sitting in this truck are,” she recalled. “And will somebody see me if they snatch me up?”
    The BLM Grassroots leader announced the release of the organization’s annual action report, detailing initiatives ranging from mutual aid to political advocacy. Among the work highlighted was the successful campaign to free Brittany Martin, who was sentenced to prison for remarks made to police during a 2020 protest in South Carolina. “This pregnant mother of six, now of seven, was arrested for simply speaking words,” Abdullah said. “She wound up being ripped away from her family, forced to have her seventh child inside the prison. But we kept fighting, and at the end of 2024, we were able to free Brittany Martin.” In addition to campaigns for policy reforms like Wakiesha’s Law—requiring 24-hour family notification when a loved one dies in custody—the report describes BLM Grassroots’ youth scholarship programs, food distributions, and international solidarity work.
    Dr. Abdullah also addressed internal conflict over financial stewardship within the broader BLM network. She said that while BLM Los Angeles purchased a community building used for mutual aid and youth programs, the Global Network Foundation bought what she called a “$6 million mansion” in Studio City. “Families of those who have been killed by police and white supremacy have been blocked from being able to ever use or set foot inside that house,” she said, adding that BLM Grassroots leaders recently visited the property to demand accountability and the return of resources. “We stood outside with at least six or seven family members and said, return the money, return the resources to the movement so that we can use it for the good of Black liberation.”
    Abdullah said that repeated attempts to speak directly with foundation leaders—including letters, calls, and legal filings—have been met with silence or legal counteractions. “They’ve never spoken with us,” she said. “We would love to speak with them and ask them why they feel entitled to travel in private jets with makeup teams and stand on red carpets wearing couture.” She described BLM Grassroots’ philosophy of abolition and the need to dismantle systems that profit from Black suffering. “We have to transform a state that allows for and enables and really sometimes benefits and profits from the murders of Black people,” Abdullah said.
    The full action report is available at blmgrassroots.org.

  • Newswire : Obama’s blunt message for Democrats: ‘Toughen up’

    Former President Barack Obama addresses the Obama Foundation’s Democracy Forum on December 5, 2024, in Chicago. – Scott Olson/Getty Images

    By Arlette Sanz, CNN


    Former President Barack Obama issued a call to action for Democrats at a private fundraiser in New Jersey on Friday evening, urging those frustrated by the state of the country under President Donald Trump to “stand up for the things that you think are right.”
    “I think it’s going to require a little bit less navel-gazing and a little less whining and being in fetal positions. And it’s going to require Democrats to just toughen up,” Obama said at the fundraiser, according to excerpts of his remarks exclusively obtained by CNN.
    “You know, don’t tell me you’re a Democrat, but you’re kind of disappointed right now, so you’re not doing anything. No, now is exactly the time that you get in there and do something,” he said. “Don’t say that you care deeply about free speech and then you’re quiet. No, you stand up for free speech when it’s hard. When somebody says something that you don’t like, but you still say, ‘You know what, that person has the right to speak.’ … What’s needed now is courage.”
    Obama’s comments come as the Democratic Party searches for its path forward in the second Trump term and beyond. Many in the party’s base have called for a more forceful response from Democratic leaders at a time when the party is locked out of power.
    As Democrats debate who should lead the party, Obama encouraged them to channel their energy into the governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia, saying the off-year elections could be “a big jumpstart for where we need to go.”
    “Stop looking for the quick fix. Stop looking for the messiah. You have great candidates running races right now. Support those candidates,” Obama said, calling out the New Jersey and Virginia elections, according to the excerpts of his remarks.
    “Make sure that the DNC has what it needs to compete in what will be a more data-driven, more social media-driven cycle, which will cost some money and expertise and time,” he continued.
    Obama spoke at a private fundraiser hosted by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and his wife, Tammy Murphy, at their home in Red Bank, New Jersey. The intimate dinner drew in $2.5 million through in-person and online donations for the Democratic National Committee, a source familiar with the event said.
    A portion of the haul will be allocated to Democratic efforts in the governor’s race in New Jersey. The Democratic nominee, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, and and DNC Chair Ken Martin were on hand for the event.
    Obama described Sherrill and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor in Virginia, as “powerful spokespersons for a pragmatic, commonsense desire to help people and who both have remarkable track records of service.”
    “The most important thing you can do right now is to help the team, our candidate to win,” he said. “And we’ve got to start building up our coffers in the DNC.”
    Obama also argued that Democrats need to focus on how to “deliver for people,” acknowledging the different views within the party about how best to do that.
    “There’s been, I gather, some argument between the left of the party and people who are promoting the quote-unquote abundance agenda. Listen, those things are not contradictory. You want to deliver for people and make their lives better? You got to figure out how to do it,” he said.
    “I don’t care how much you love working people. They can’t afford a house because all the rules in your state make it prohibitive to build. And zoning prevents multifamily structures because of NIMBY,” he said, referring to “not in my backyard” views. “I don’t want to know your ideology, because you can’t build anything. It does not matter.”
    Obama has spoken selectively since Trump’s return to power in January. He has criticized the president’s tariff policy and warned the White House was infringing on Americans’ rights. Last month, Obama warned the country was “dangerously close” to a more autocratic government.
    At the closed-press fundraiser on Friday, the former president said he has not been “surprised by what Trump’s done” or that “there are no more guardrails within the Republican Party.” He repeated his calls for institutions, including law firms and universities, to push back on intimidation efforts by the Trump administration.
    “What’s being asked of us is make some effort to stand up for the things that you think are right. And be willing to be a little bit uncomfortable in defense of your values. And in defense of the country. And in defense of the world that you want to leave to your children and your grandchildren,” he said. “And if we all do that, if we do our jobs over the next year and a half, then I think we will rebuild momentum and we will position ourselves to get this country moving in the direction it should.”

  • Newswire : Reverend William Barber says Medicaid Cuts are “Retrogression”

    Rev. William Barber

    By April Ryan, NNPA White House Correspondent


    “Put a face on the deadliness of this big, bad, deadly, ugly bill.” That is what Reverend William Barber says as he conducts Moral Mondays in 11 Southern states today. He is laser-focused on 11 local U.S. Senate offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Tennessee. In these states, Barbers says 1.5 million people are expected to lose their healthcare due to federal funding cuts to Medicaid.
    Barber lamented that only one U.S. Senator, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, voted against the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” On July 1st, Tillis broke ranks with most Senate Republicans on the healthcare cuts. Tillis understands that federal cuts to Medicaid funding would hurt his constituents. Three days later, on July 4th, President Donald Trump signed the bill into law, which cuts 17 million people from Medicaid health insurance in this country, over the coming decade.
    Barber, leading the protest in Memphis, Tennessee, says, “The highest number of people who will lose Medicaid are in the South.” He emphasizes these massive cuts to Medicaid do not discriminate; however, “the highest percentage of Black people being kicked off of Medicaid is in the South.”
    Barber, who is also looking at the economics of these cuts, says, “40% of the South are poor now and low wage,” and that will further exacerbate the poverty numbers in this nation. These 11 marches will consist of a contingent of clergy and impacted people expected to march with caskets housing the number of people in that state who were negatively affected by the newly passed “One Big Beautiful” law.
    The list of Medicaid losses according to Rev. Barber, are North Carolina 307,000, Texas 300,000, Louisiana 291,000 , Arkansas 123,000, and Alabama 42,000.

    Moral Mondays will resume in the nation’s capital in August, according to Reverend Barber, who also says there will be a continued focus on these healthcare cuts and cuts to SNAP in the South.

  • Charles Naylon is a candidate for Eutaw Council District 2

    My name is Charles Naylon, Jr., a proud lifelong native of Greene County, Alabama, and I’m asking for your support to serve as your next Eutaw City Councilman for District 2.

    For over 28 years, I’ve worked in trucking, traveling to cities and towns across America. I’ve seen small communities rise, grow, and thrive—while ours has remained stuck. That’s not the future I want for Eutaw. I believe our city can grow too, and with the right leadership, it will.

    I’m a member of Zion Brush Creek Church here in Eutaw, and I deeply believe in service, unity, and progress. I’m not running to choose sides, I’m running to choose what’s right for the people of Eutaw. I will work with anyone, no matter who they are, if it means moving our city forward.

    As your councilman, I will fight to:

    •Create job opportunities that keep our people here and bring others in;

    •Support real growth in our neighborhoods and infrastructure;

    •Build a positive impact between citizens and city leaders for better communication and stronger decisions.

    District 2 deserves a voice that cares, a leader who listens, and someone with the experience and heart to make a lasting difference. I am ready to be that leader. Let’s move Eutaw forward—together.

    On Election Day, vote Charles Naylon, Jr. for City Council, District 2.

    Not for a side, for what’s right.

  • Carrie Logan seeks Eutaw Council Seat District 5

    Hello! My name is Carrie Logan and I would be honored to serve as your City Council Representative. My husband, Tony, and I have been married for 30 years and we have raised our two sons in Eutaw.. I am an active member of my community, church and the city of Eutaw.. I serve on the vestry at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. I regularly volunteer for church functions, community clean-up days and support community events. I have served as President of the Chamber of Commerce for 4 years, member of the Greene County Historical Society, member of the Eutaw Garden Club and organizer of the City of Eutaw’s Annual Christmas Parade..

    I believe all citizens are important to the growth, success and future of our city. I will strive to serve with integrity, as your voice and advocate for the needs and concerns of District 5 citizens. With your help, it is my goal to work with our mayor and council to continue to move our city forward. Let your voice be heard. Elect Carrie Logan for District 5 City Council. Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and VOTE.

  • Alabama schools to lose $68 million in federal grants under Trump freeze

    Dr. Corey Jones, Greene County Superintendent of Education, told the Democrat, that Greene County was informed by the state that our school system would loose $130,000 funding for programs of professional development, teacher recruitment and class size reduction in Title II. Greene County was not receiving funding under the other program titles affected.

    By Anna Barrett, Alabama Reflector

    President Donald Trump’s attempt to freeze nearly $7 billion in congressional-approved grants for personnel and afterschool programs means Alabama schools will lose $68 million. 
    “These are programs already approved and funded by Congress,” Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey said in a statement. “They include programs integral to successful and supportive schools across Alabama, and districts have planned for the 2025-26 school year with an expectation that these formula-based funds would be flowing as normal. Since Congress had appropriated the money in the recent continuing resolution, we had no reason to believe otherwise.”
    The U.S. Department of Education informed states on Monday that it would withhold the $6.8 billion in grants, one day before they were due to be sent out. The notice did not provide any timeline or reason for the move, saying “decisions have not yet been made concerning submissions and awards for this upcoming academic year.”
    Richard Franklin, president of the Birmingham chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, said in an interview Thursday that the withholding of congressionally-approved funds should have never happened in the first place.
    “They’re using our kids as political pawns to prove a point politically, when we should all be providing our kids with an education,” he said. “That’s the one thing we should be doing, the one thing we’ve always done in this country.”
    Michael Sibley, the director of communications at ALSDE, did not have an available list of programs affected or a copy of the email sent to superintendents. The affected programs, according to the Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee, include:
    Title I-C, on migrant education
    Title II-A, on improving the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders
    Title III-A, on English language acquisition
    Title IV-A, on STEM education, college and career counseling and other activities
    Title IV-B, on before- and after-school programs and summer school programs
    Grants geared toward adult education and literacy programs
    Franklin said with school starting in just over a month, it was one of the worst times to change funding. Because of the short notice, if local school districts cannot afford to pay the impacted teachers’ salaries, they would likely be let go.
    “It’s just so dangerous what they’re doing, and we’re so close to school,” Franklin said. “They don’t have a lot of guidelines to what they’re doing, just to say ‘we’re investigating.’”
    He said that rural and inner-city school systems would be the most impacted by the lack of funds, like Montgomery Public Schools and Gadsden City Schools. A message seeking comment with both systems’ superintendents was left Thursday.
    “We are hopeful that the review period will be expedited, and funds will be released quickly,”  Mackey wrote. “However, we look forward to working expeditiously with our colleagues in Washington as we are only weeks away from the beginning of a new school year and wish to avoid any disruption in services for our students and their families.”

  • Newswire : Leaders of five African countries head to Washington to meet Trump

    Map of African countries

    By Africanews

     

    Five West African leaders are travelling to Washington this week for a somewhat surprise meeting: US president Donald Trump announced in late June that he would host the heads of state of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau for a three-day meeting.
    Washington has cited “commercial opportunities” as the reason for the mini-summit, lasting from 9 to 11 July.
    It’s seen as the first major diplomatic outreach to Africa from Washington since Donald Trump returned to office, following a tense one-on-one meeting between South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and Trump in the White House in May.
    The five countries invited to Washington have valuable natural resources, including oil, gas, gold and rare earth minerals. But all of them also face considerable challenges such as corruption, authoritarianism and political instability. 
    What agreements and results will come from their meeting with the American president remain to be seen.

  • Newswire : Pell Grants facing $9 Billion program cut

    By Charlene Crowell


     (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Each year approximately 7 million college students benefit from Pell Grants, a 50-year old needs-based program that can be used to cover costs for tuition, fees, living costs and room and board. Additionally, these funds have been available at both 4-year and two-year institutions.
     
    For students of color and others who are the first in their family to attend college, Pell Grants have been an important part of financial aid packages for an estimated 80 million low-income  families with little or no wealth.
     
    But the federal Education budget for FY 2026, recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, would cut Pell Grant funding by $9 billion to $22.5 billion, compared to 2024’s $31.5 billion.  If approved, this significant cut will mean that next year a vital program will serve fewer students with smaller grants, changed student eligibility, and fewer institutions that would be allowed to administer the program.
     
    Currently,  the maximum Pell Grant award for the 2025–26 academic year is $7,395 and can be used by both full and part-time students.
     
    If the Senate agrees to the House-passed budget, a maximum Pell award would drop to $5,710 for the 2026-27 academic year and be limited to only students completing 30 academic credit hours, or 12 to 15 credits per semester. Students completing at least 12 academic hours but fewer than full-time, would receive smaller, pro-rated grants.
     
    Students enrolled in fewer than 12 credit hours would no longer be eligible for Pell Grants.  Both community colleges and the adult students they serve would be affected by this specific change. Adult students are often employed and have dependent children with responsibilities that do not allow for heavy class loads. Even so, these students choose to return to academic studies to enhance their skills, credentials, and earnings.  
     
    At a recent hearing by the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee a prominent HBCU president called against enacting these steep cuts.
     
    “Today, PELL Grants provide up to $7,395 annually to more than seven million low- and moderate- income students,” testified Tuskegee University President Mark A. Brown. “For context, a single parent with two children earning up to $51,818 adjusted gross income (225 percent of the federal poverty guideline) can qualify for the maximum award.”
     
    “However, this maximum amount covers only 31 percent of tuition, fees, room and meals at the average public four-year college, compared to 79 percent in 1975,” he continued. “Cuts to the program would put college out of reach for many more low-income students, while increased would represent a true federal investment in education, reduce dependence on loans, and help address workforce skill deficits.”
     
    Nor is Tuskegee alone in attacking proposed cuts. Other education stakeholders have also weighed in. 
     
    “To reduce the maximum Pell Grant when we should be doubling it, reduce the number of students eligible for Pell Grants, increase the number of credit hours necessary for Pell without consideration for students who work their way through college, and to impose risk sharing on colleges who cannot force students to make student loan payments in an increasingly uneasy economy just seems as if those who wrote this bill are out of touch with reality,” said Lodriguez V. Murray, the United Negro College Fund’s senior vice president for public policy and government affairs.
     
    For Katherine Meyer, a fellow in the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings, the proposed Pell cuts are a part of a broader retreat from a federal role in higher education.
     
    “Between the ongoing budget reconciliation process and President Trump’s FY 2026 budget request, federal financial aid is at risk,” wrote Meyer in a recent post. “Provisions in the reconciliation bill would eliminate Pell grant eligibility for millions of students, and the budget proposes eliminating or dramatically reducing Pell and other federal grant aid. Without robust federal funding for financial aid, states and students will scramble to fill in the gaps, with the end result being fewer opportunities to pursue higher education for the lowest income students.”  
     
    On May 21, Education Secretary Linda McMahon testified before the subcommittee of House Appropriations to defend the agency’s FY 2026 budget request.
     
    “President Trump’s vision is to make American education freer, fairer, and more competitive globally by eliminating Federal bureaucracy and empowering states, parents, and educators,” testified McMahon. “Our FY 2026 budget request delivers on this promise by reducing spending for ineffective programs and prioritizing effective ones, while fully enforcing Federal law and giving power back to states, parents, and educators.”
     
    The nation’s broad disagreement on these and other changes to the Education Department were perhaps best summarized in another testimony at the HELP committee hearing.   According to Mark Pierce, Executive Director of the Student Borrower Protection Center:
     
    “Americans deserve more than a higher education system that acts as a finishing school for the children of millionaires and billionaires while systematically denying economic and educational opportunities to the rest of us. Our government should be relentlessly focused on making markers of middle-class American life—including education—cheaper for working families, not more expensive.”
     
    Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org”>Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.
     

  • Newswire : Attorney Ben Crump demands video of Homewood, Alabama police shooting: ‘You won’t sweep Jabari Peoples under the rug’

    By Carol Robinson, AL.com

     Attorney Benjamin Crump addresses press conference in Homewood, Alabama church.
     Jabari Peoples, 18, was shot to death June 23, 2025, by a Homewood police officer in a city soccer park.(Facebook)

    National civil rights attorney Ben Crump has joined to fight for any footage to be released in the killing of a beloved Alabama teen who was shot to death by police in a Homewood city soccer park.
    Crump, known for his work on cases such as the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, was joined by Birmingham attorneys Leroy Maxwell and Rodney Barganier, Black Lives Matter and other community activists at a Tuesday press conference. 
    Crump said he is getting involved because 18-year-old Jabari Peoples was doing everything right in life when he was shot to death June 23. 
    Peoples was a 2024 graduate of Aliceville High School where he was standout track athlete and football player. 
    Peoples had just finished his freshman year at Alabama A & M where he was studying computer information and criminal justice with hopes of becoming a law enforcement officer, specifically a detective.
    He had no prior arrests, Crump said. “There’s nothing in his history that would suggest that he’s going to try to shoot a police officer,” Crump said. 
    “This is a tragedy of unimaginable circumstances,” Crump said. “His mother and father should be given a gold medal for the child that they were raising.”
    )Maxwell said he’s thankful Crump is joining the legal team.“In all this tragedy, today is actually a good day,” Maxwell said. “I’m glad we brought in a big gun. We needed it here.One of the things he brings is that coalition,” Maxwell said. 
    “(The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency) typically acts in a certain way and oftentimes they won’t release these videos under pressure, but they haven’t felt pressure like this in what attorney Crump brings to the table.”
    Homewood police say a veteran officer, who has not been publicly identified, approached the vehicle to investigate because of a recent increase in criminal activity in and around the city’s athletic complexes.
    The officer, police say, smelled marijuana and ordered Peoples and his female friend out of the vehicle.
    Police say the encounter ended with Peoples resisting, breaking away from the officer as he tried to handcuff him, and grabbing a gun from the driver’s side door pocket.
    The officer shot Peoples, who was pronounced dead a short time later at UAB Hospital.
    Peoples’ family and attorney Maxwell disagreed with that narrative, saying that Peoples wasn’t armed and didn’t resist.
    The Homewood Police Department turned the investigation over to ALEA, which is standard policy for many officer-involved shootings.
    ALEA denied the family’s request to see the footage, saying release of the video footage would jeopardize the ongoing investigation.
    There have been several protests following the fatal shooting, including at the Homewood Police Department, ALEA’s office in west Homewood, Homewood City Hall and during the World Police and Fire Games last week in the Birmingham area.
    Though Alabama state provides a way for families to view body camera and dash cam videos, the same law also allows law enforcement to withhold the footage for investigative purposes.
    Crump said he is grateful for all lawyers who take up the mantle to fight against injustice, to fight against the system for people who others think can be swept under the rug.
    “You won’t sweep Jabari Peoples under the rug,” Crump said. 
    “His family is just asking for answers. Is that so much to ask for?” he said. 
    “Your 18-year-old son who’s never convicted of any crime, he’s never even been arrested, was doing everything right that you would want for a child and he’s killed by the police, the people who are supposed to protect and serve him. Wouldn’t you want answers?”
    The attorneys said trust and transparency are on the line. 
    “This is very straightforward,” Maxwell said. 
    “If we’re about trust and transparency, honoring Jabari and his family, honoring the community and honoring the relationship that we want so deeply with law enforcement, it is necessary to release the footage.
    “This is not a hard investigation,” Crump said. “I mean, you got a video, you got an autopsy and you got an eyewitness. It shouldn’t take you a year to finish this investigation.”
    “Show the video. You can shut all of us up, shut me up, shut Black Lives Matter up, shut up attorney Maxwell, shut up (community activist) Frank Matthews, shut up everybody,” Crump said. “Show us the officer did nothing wrong. Show us that it was justified.”

    “If the officer did nothing wrong, we’ll be quiet,” Crump said. “We won’t say a word. But if he did something inappropriate, then we want justice for Jabari.”
    Crump said the family is seeking to have a private autopsy done before Peoples’ funeral which is set for Saturday at Aliceville City Hall. 
    “Because we don’t have the autopsy from the medical examiner, the family has to go through extraordinary lengths to have an independent autopsy performed before the funeral and that’s exactly what they are going to do because we need to know,” he said. 
    “We know the cause of death was a gunshot, we want to know the trajectory, the point of entry, the point of exit.” 
    Maxwell has said previously that an investigator who conducted a detailed charting of Peoples’ body found he was shot once in the back. Peoples’ parents, siblings and other family members joined Crump at the press conference at Friendship Baptist Church in Homewood and spoke of their slain son.
    “He had a lot of dreams, and he was willing to work for those dreams,” his mother, Vivian Sterling, said. 
    “Sometimes I thought he wanted to do too many things. He’d pass the airport and say, ‘Mama, I’m going to get my pilot’s license, but I don’t know if I’m going to do it before or after I go into the military.’”
    “He wanted three different degrees, computer engineering, electrical engineering, criminal justice,” Sterling said. “He wanted to do all sorts of things, and he knew he could do it.”
    “Jabari was one of the brightest kids, one of the loveliest kids,” his father William Peoples said. “We don’t know how we’re going to go on without Jabari but we’re going to fight for Jabari until our last breath.”
     Crump said the fight is far from over. 
    “We refuse to be well-behaved victims,” he said. “Jabari is going to continue to be a priority for us.”