The Greene County Democrat

Author: greenecodemocratcom

  • Newswire : ‘Bloody Sunday’ 60th anniversary marked in Selma with remembrances and concerns about the future

    State troopers swing billy clubs to break up a civil rights voting march in Selma, Ala., on Bloody Sunday.AP files

    By The Associated Press

    SELMA, Ala. — Charles Mauldin was near the front of a line of voting rights marchers walking in pairs across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965.
    The marchers were protesting white officials’ refusal to allow Black Alabamians to register to vote, as well as the killing days earlier of Jimmie Lee Jackson, a minister and voting rights organizer who was shot by a state trooper in nearby Marion.
    At the apex of the span over the Alabama River, they saw what awaited them: a line of state troopers, deputies and men on horseback. After they approached, law enforcement gave a warning to disperse and then unleashed violence.
    “Within about a minute or a half, they took their billy clubs, holding it on both ends, began to push us back, back us up, and then they began to beat men, women and children, and tear gas men, women and children, and cattle prod men, women and children viciously,” said Mauldin, who was 17 at the time.
    Mauldin is the founder of the Saturday morning ‘Footsoldiers Breakfast’ at the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, at which persons who participated in the march tell their stories
    Selma on Sunday marked the 60th anniversary of the clash that became known as Bloody Sunday. The attack shocked the nation and galvanized support for the U.S. Voting Rights Act of 1965. The annual commemoration paid homage to those who fought to secure voting rights for Black Americans and brought calls to recommit to the fight for equality.
    For foot soldiers of the movement, the celebration comes amid concerns about new voting restrictions and the Trump administration’s effort to remake federal agencies they said helped make America a democracy for all.
    “This country was not a democracy for Black folks until that happened,” Mauldin said of voting rights. “And we’re still constantly fighting to make that a more concrete reality for ourselves.”
    Speaking at the pulpit of the city’s historic Tabernacle Baptist Church, the site of the first mass meeting of the voting rights movement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said what happened in Selma changed the nation. But he said the 60th anniversary comes at a time when there is “trouble all around” and some “want to whitewash our history.” But he said like the marchers of Bloody Sunday, they must keep going.
    “At this moment, faced with trouble on every side, we’ve got to press on,” Jeffries said to the crowd that included the Rev. Jesse Jackson, multiple members of Congress and others gathered for the commemoration.
    U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., said they are gathering in Selma for the 60th anniversary “at a time when the vote is in peril.”

    Sewell noted the number of voting restrictions introduced since the U.S. Supreme Court, in Shelby County vs. Holder, effectively abolished a key part of the Voting Rights Act that required jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination to pre-clear new voting laws with the Justice Department
    Sewell this week reintroduced legislation to restore the requirement. The proposal has repeatedly stalled in Congress. The legislation is named for John Lewis, the late Georgia congressman who was at the lead of the Bloody Sunday march.
    The annual celebration will conclude with a ceremony and march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. At the time, the Bloody Sunday marchers walked in pairs across the Selma bridge. Mauldin was in the third pair of the line led by Lewis and Hosea Williams.
    “We had steeled our nerves to a point where we were so determined that we were willing to confront. It was past being courageous. We were determined, and we were indignant,” Mauldin recalled in an interview with The Associated Press. Mauldin, who took a blow to the head, said he believes law enforcement officers were trying to incite a riot as they attacked marchers.
    Kirk Carrington was just 13 on Bloody Sunday. As the violence erupted, a white man on a horse wielding a stick a chased him all the way back to the public housing projects in Selma where his family lived.
    Carrington said he started marching after witnessing his father get belittled by his white employers when his father returned from service in World War II. Standing in Tabernacle Baptist Church where he was trained in non-violent protest tactics 60 years earlier, he was brought to tears thinking about what the people of his city achieved.
    “When we started marching, we did not know the impact we would have in America. We knew after we got older and got grown that the impact it not only had in Selma, but the impact it had in the entire world,” Carrington said.
    Dr. Verdell Lett Dawson, who grew up in Selma, remembers a time when she was expected to lower her gaze if she passed a white person on the street to avoid making eye contact.
    Dawson and Mauldin said they are concerned about the potential dismantling of the Department of Education and other changes to federal agencies. Trump has pushed to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government.
    Support from the federal government “is how Black Americans have been able to get justice, to get some semblance of equality, because left to states’ rights, it is going to be the white majority that’s going to rule,” Dawson said.“That that’s a tragedy of 60 years later: what we are looking at now is a return to the 1950s,” Dawson said.

  • City of Eutaw holds contentious meeting; approves non-exclusive broadband franchise for Alabama Fiber Network

    By John Zippert, Co-Publisher

    The Eutaw City Council held its bi-monthly meeting on February 25, 2025. All five council members and the mayor were present. The past few meetings, since the first of the year, have involved tensions between the council members and Mayor Latasha Johnson. This meeting was no exception, and in my notes, I wrote ‘this is a very contentious meeting’.
    In the Fall of 2024, the Council removed Mayor Johnson, as a signatory on all city accounts, in recent meetings, the Mayor and the Council disagreed over an ordinance raising council members stipend from $300 to $800 a month, beginning the next fiscal year. They also disagreed over travel reimbursements for staff, the repair schedule for streets in the city, raises for city employees, the use of city vehicles, staff work hours and other matters.
    Mayor Johnson has asserted that her decisions, were within her purview as “day to day operations of the city” while the Council members assert that they have fiscal control over the budget and expenditures and can correct the Mayor’s actions dealing with city funds.
    These arguments began at the February 25 meeting over approval of the agenda before any other actions were taken. Councilman Jonathan Woodruff moved to remove two items from the agenda, because he said they had already been decided or should be considered in a working session. He moved to eliminate a discussion of employee evaluations and raises that was later decided to be shifted to a discussion in the next working session. The Mayor wanted some discussion and decisions on these matters, since the council members had voted themselves a raise without considering the employees.
    Woodruff also wanted to cut an agenda item dealing with partial reimbursement of Assistant Police Chief William Smith for travel expenses to attend an FBI training workshop in Rushton, Louisiana on January 12-17, 2025. Woodruff said the Council disapproved the reimbursement in the prior three meetings because it was not a mandatory trip and because it was made in a city vehicle before it was authorized and under the policies this is not permitted.
    Mayor Johnson said that she authorized the trip because it was beneficial to the city and put it on the agenda as soon as she could which was after the trip was underway. The Council agreed to reimburse Assistant Chief for $523.49, which was a third of his original request and a compromise realizing the trip had not been properly authorized but that the Mayor and not the Assistant Chief was the responsible party. Woodruff said the Mayor should have polled the Council by phone before authorizing the trip. He also said this was the last unauthorized trip that he would vote to reimburse, since the proper policies were not followed. The Mayor said she felt she did the best she could and felt the city would benefit from the police training that Smith received.
    Another issue of contention was raised by Councilwoman Tracey Hunter who wanted to remove Police Chief Tommie Johnson, as a signatory, from the DARE Program checking account. The Mayor argued that the Police Chief is the supervisor of this special account and that he should not be removed from the account since he was not present at the meeting. It was unclear if the Chief had spent funds incorrectly from the DARE Account. The matter was tabled until a meeting where the Chief could be present.
    The Council also passed Ordinance 2025-3, granting a non-exclusive franchise agreement to Alabama Fiber Network, to provide middle-mile broadband services in Eutaw. A copy of the full ordinance is printed in this week’s Democrat, as a Legal Notice on Page 7. In the ordinance, when fully operational, Alabama Fiber Network will pay a three per cent of revenues franchise fee to the city.
    In other business, the Eutaw City Council:
    • Tabled consideration of Zoning Board, Cemetery Committee and Airport Authority Board appointments.
    • Referred Ms. Verna Nickson’s request for replacing her mobile home in a district zoned for residential dwellings, because her mobile home was in place before the zoning went into effect, to the Zoning Board for a variance.
    • Received financial reports from Ralph Liverman, Financial Adviser.
    • Approved services agreement with AVEN Insights and Analytics for collection of sales taxes and business licenses.
    • Approved travel, per diem, registration and parking for Mayor, Clerks and Council members to attend the Alabama League of Municipalities Annual Convention in Huntsville on May 13-16, 2025.
    • Tabled request from Victoria Harris to rezone area, near Lock Seven, for a Bar and Grill, pending consultation with neighboring residents.
    •Approved payment of bills.

  • Dedication ceremony for naming of the U. S. Post Office in Marion, Alabama for civil rights leader Albert Turner Sr. held last Friday

    Congresswoman Terri Sewell unveils plaque naming the Marion, Alabama U. S. Post Office for Albert Turner Sr.and Dedication Ceremony held at Perry County Courthouse lawn across the street form the Post Office.

    Special to the Democrat by John Zippert, Co-Publisher

    It is not often that a public building in the Alabama Black Belt is named for a legendary civil rights leader, but it happened last Friday, February 28, 2025, in Marion, Alabama, the county seat of Perry County. This happened because Congresswoman Terri Sewell passed legislation through both houses of Congress and had Public Law 118-245 signed by President Biden in January 2025, before he left office.
    Friday was a bright sunny day and all 250 chairs on the lawn of the Perry County Courthouse were filled with family members, post office and political officials, and residents of Perry County and other Alabama counties who remembered the work and service of Albert Turner Sr. There were additional people standing at the fringes of the crowd. The ceremony was held across the street from the Marion Post Office which will bare Turner’s name.
    Albert Turner Sr. was born in 1936, educated in Perry County Schools, including Lincoln Normal High School. He graduated from Alabama A&M University with a degree in history and mechanical arts. Turner founded the Perry County Civic League in 1963, a local organization advocating for civil and human rights. In 1965, Turner joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and became Alabama State Director for Dr. Martin Luther King’s organization.
    Albert Turner was involved in the Perry County protests in February 1965 which resulted in the shooting death of Jimmie Lee Jackson by a State Trooper. Turner was among Black leaders who wanted to carry Jackson’s body to the steps of the State Capitol in Montgomery, which was Governor George Wallace’s office, to dramatize the need for civil and voting rights in Alabama. Turner was a leader of the Selma to Montgomery March on Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, when the marchers were stopped and beaten by State Troopers and local sheriff’s deputies. Turner was a leader of the march that was approved by Federal courts, later in March, which led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
    Albert Turner worked as the Manager of the Southwest Alabama Farmers Cooperative (SWAFCA) in Selma, in the later 1960’s and 1970’s which helped provide markets for cucumbers, okra, greens and other products grown by Black farmers in the western Alabama Black Belt. He also pioneered the production of ‘gasohol”, an alternative fuel made from agricultural wastes. He drove his pickup truck to Washington, D. C. fueled by gasohol to dramatize the impact of renewable fuel sources.
    Albert Turner kept registering, educating and mobilizing Black voters in Perry County, through the Perry County Civic League and was elected a County Commissioner in the 1980’s. In 1985, Turner, his wife, Evelyn, and Spencer Hogue were indicted on more than 200 Federal charges for absentee voting by Jeff Sessions, then a U. S. Attorney in the Southern District of Alabama.  With support from the community and pro bono lawyers, the “Perry County Three” were acquitted on all charges. This was the beginning of “right-wing” efforts to discourage Black voters in Alabama and across the nation from using the 1965 VRA to advance their rights.
    Naming a U. S. Post Office for a “freedom fighter” like Albert Turner Sr., in the heart of the Alabama Black Belt, sends a message and keeps a spirit of freedom and justice alive in oppressed people.
    April M. Williams, Manager of Community Affairs for the regional U. S. Post Office was Mistress of Ceremony. She and the other post officials in attendance, Black and white, said they were delighted and honored to participate in this dedication program.
    Rev. Robert Turner Jr., a nephew of Albert, Pastor of the Hickory Grove Baptist Church and District Attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit gave the invocation. The Marion Military Institute Color Guard and Band presented the colors and played the National Anthem. Gail Crews, Postmaster of the Marion Post Office, gave an opening welcome and said that Albert Turner, “lived his life well and served the people of Perry County.”
    Greetings were offered by Barbara Howze, Perry County Commissioner District 4, Senator Bobby Singleton, Minority Leader of the Alabama Senate who said, “ Albert Turner was an awesome leader of the greatest movement for change in our history. He helped and nurtured young Black leaders like myself.” Senator Robert Stewart of District 23 praised Turner for being ”an architect of the Civil Rights Movement and opening a corridor for justice and freedom from Perry County to Selma to Montgomery. He was a drum major and advocate for Black people that has stretched through generations.”
    Joanna Turner Drury, one of Turner’s younger sisters spoke in a more personal way about Albert’s role in the family and his guidance to her in the right direction in high school and later in college.
    Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL7), who introduced and shepparded the naming legislation through Congress was the keynote speaker. She praised Albert Turner Sr. work as a grassroots community leader in the civil and voting rights movement. “ I stand on the shoulders of Albert Turner and many other foot soldiers to celebrate Black history, as a p-art of American history,” she said. Sewell also praised the sacrifices of Turner’s family, who allowed him to serve the community and people of the state of Alabama.
    The Congresswoman, with help from Turner’s family unveiled the plaque that will be placed at the doors of the Marion Post Office, which reads “ This building is named in honor of Albert Turner Sr. by an Act of Congress, Public Law 118-245, January 4, 2025.”
    Congresswoman Sewell ended her remarks by saying, “We have all lived through the past five weeks of chaos, under the Trump Administration. It has been a time of whiplash. But we must continue, with God’s will, to strive and thrive through the chaos. Every one of us has a part of Albert Turner in us. We all have a voice and vote. We must continue to work and fight for the future and the coming generations of our people. This is a collective struggle based on the contributions of all of us and we cannot forget or fail to live out that legacy.”
    Representatives of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, who were dressed in complimentary blue suits presented a proclamation to honor Turner, who was a member of the fraternity.
    Albert Turner Jr., Perry County Commissioner and Evelyn Turner, wife of Albert Turner Sr. rounded out the program with thank-yous and gratitude to all participants. Mrs. Turner introduced her first great-grand child, Bari Jade Turner, the daughter of Barrette Turner II, grandson of Albert Turner Sr. ”She must continue the legacy,” said Mrs. Turner.

  • Newswire : Haitians sue to stop Trump administration from revoking temporary protection

    Haitians protesting Trump’s revocation of TPS immigration status

    By Curtis Bunn, NBC Black News

    Three organizations filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block the Trump administration’s attempt to put an early end to Temporary Protected Status for people from Haiti and Venezuela living in the U.S.
    Last month, President Donald Trump’s administration rescinded the TPS extension until February 2026 that was granted under President Joe Biden, requiring Haitians to return to their country by Aug. 3 and Venezuelans by April 2. 
    Lawyers for Civil Rights, which is representing the groups and four people who are in the country under TPS, said the suit was the first filed on behalf of Haitians in the U.S. under TPS. Two lawsuits were quickly filed to challenge the administration’s decision on behalf of Venezuelans last month. 
    “TPS is a critical lifeline for immigrants who have fled extreme violence, political upheaval, and natural disasters in their home countries,” LCR senior attorney Mirian Albert said in a statement.
    The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit. 
    The Boston area is home to almost 50,000 Haitian people, according to The Immigrant Learning Center, making it one of the largest Haitian communities in the U.S. 
    Paul Simon, a Haitian American in Boston, said he voted for Trump three times but did not believe Trump had the power to deport those under TPS before its allotted time.
    “I think he’s going to fail at this,” Simon, 52, said. “I’m a pro-Trump guy. But I disagree with that. If someone’s TPS is not going to expire till 2026, he shouldn’t be able to boot them out until 2026.” 
    He added, “He can’t pre-emptively end something that has been granted to them.”
    Three immigrant advocacy organizations — Haitian Americans United Inc., Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts and UndocuBlack Network — and four affected individuals are challenging Trump’s directive through the lawsuit. 
    “The decision to undermine TPS for Haiti and Venezuela is driven by racial bias and has no basis in the realities these communities face,” Albert said in the statement. 
    The complaint refers to an incident during Trump’s first term in which he was reported to have called Haiti and African nations “s—hole countries” during a meeting with senators. Trump denied making such remarks but did say his talk about those countries was “tough.” 
    Last year on the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly pushed the unfounded idea that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were “eating the pets of the people that live there.”
    The lawsuit contends that the administration  does not have the authority to “revoke an extension that has already been granted.”  Two plaintiffs, who are going by the pseudonyms Sydney and Marlene Doe, made Massachusetts their home in 2018. Sydney Doe is a real estate broker and business owner and Marlene Doe is a nurse, according to LCR.
    Dieufort J. Fleurissaint, executive director of Haitian Americans United Inc., said in a statement that “the community is anxious about the sudden loss of legal status, the possibility of facing deportation to unstable conditions in Haiti, and potential difficulties in finding alternative legal pathways in the U.S.”

     

     

  • Newswire : Hakeem Jeffries slams GOP claims of ‘paid protesters’ at town halls

    By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

     

    Republican lawmakers are facing mounting pressure from angry voters at town hall meetings across the country. Constituents confront them over sweeping federal cuts, the dismantling of government agencies, and attacks on social safety net programs.
    In response, many Republicans are moving their town halls online, where they can pre-screen questions and avoid direct engagement with the public. Rather than acknowledging the widespread discontent, Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson have resorted to false claims, accusing Democrats of organizing and paying protesters to disrupt GOP events.
    “Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, insisting without evidence that the outrage was staged. Johnson echoed the claim in an interview with CNN, dismissing the anger at these events as “Democrats who went to the events early and filled up the seats.” When pressed, he admitted, “I don’t know.”
    House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries swiftly pushed back on the allegations. “Just got back to the Capitol. Another day, another lie from these people who are out of control,” Jeffries said in a video statement. “I’m told that Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, and the extreme right Republicans are claiming that Democrats are sending paid protesters into their town hall meetings. “What’s wrong with y’all? We don’t need to send paid protesters into your town hall meetings,”
    Jeffries continued. “The American people are with us all across the country. People are rising to push back against the assault on the economy, the assault on hardworking families, the assault on our democracy, and the assault on Medicaid. “We don’t need paid protesters, bro. The American people are with us.”

  • Newswire : Trump kicks the Ukrainian President out of the White House

    Zelenskyy and Trump in Oval Office at White House

    By April Ryan, NNPA Special WH Correspondent

    “You are playing cards” and “you’re gambling with World War III” scolded President Trump to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before he kicked Zelenskyy out of the White House today. The Oval Office visit was meant to ease tensions in the Russian war against Ukraine. However, it ended in a shouting match.
    The verbal sparring pit President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D, Vance, in a tag team of sorts, against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Both Trump and Vance kept telling Zelenskyy he should be working towards a peace agreement and be grateful for the United States equipment to fight against Russia in this war that Trump believes Ukraine would have lost within two years without the United States’ help. A former Senior U.S. National Security official who wished to remain anonymous said, “Zelenskyy has acknowledged his gratitude.”
    That same former NSC official also said, “This means the United States is aligning itself with Russia that we set him [Volodymyr Zelenskyy] up and this was a play to appeal to Trump’s base and Putin and to blame Zelenskyy which is to throw Ukraine and NATO under the bus.”
    Ranking Democratic member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Gregory Meeks, who is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, says he is “incensed and ashamed over the actions of the president of the United States.” During the televised contentious public negotiations, President Trump told Zelenskyy, “Your people need to make a deal. If you don’t make a deal you will have to fight it out.”. Meanwhile, the February 2020 Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. Monday was the third anniversary of the war. Meeks says, “Trump has not asked anything of Russia and said nothing about it on the anniversary” as Ukraine saw one of the worst drone attacks that day.
    After that public disagreement, Zelenskyy was told to leave the White House. He rushed into his waiting van outside of the West Wing where President Trump greeted him with a handshake when he arrived at the door. His departure was minus the presidential escort to the door.
    Zelenskyy and Trump were also expected today to sign a rare earth mineral deal and conduct a joint press conference. Those two events did not happen after that Oval Office conflict. Meeks adds that our European partners “want us to support Ukraine.” President Trump immediately went on social media with his thoughts.
    In his tweet, Trump said, “We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want an advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”

  •  Newswire : Rep. Sewell, House Democrats to introduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act ahead of the 60th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday

    Rep. Terri Sewell

    Washington D.C. — On Wednesday, March 5th at 10:30 a.m. EST (9:30 a.m. CST), ahead of the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the historic Selma to Montgomery March, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) will host a press conference with House Democratic leaders to announce introduction of H.R. 14, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, in the 119th Congress.

    Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (AL-07) will be joined at the press conference by: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-05), House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Congressman Jim Clyburn (SC-06) , Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Joseph Morelle (NY-25), Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairwoman Grace Meng (NY-06).

    Later in the day, she will hold another press conference with civil rights leaders, labor union leaders, legal defense leaders and other supporters of voting rights to rally support for passage of the legislation.

    On March 7, 1965, in Selma, Alabama, John Lewis and hundreds of Foot Soldiers were viciously attacked by police while peacefully demonstrating in support of the equal right of all Americans to vote. The brutality of Bloody Sunday galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and led to the passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA).

    For decades, the VRA prevented states with a history of voter discrimination from restricting voting access, until it was gutted by the Supreme Court in the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision. Without the guardrails of the VRA, state officials have enacted at least 94 restrictive voting laws, many in states with a history of racial voting discrimination.

    The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore and modernize the protections of the VRA and prevent states from erecting new barriers to the ballot box.

    Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (AL-07) is in her eighth term representing Alabama’s 7thCongressional District, which includes the historic civil rights cities of Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and her hometown of Selma, Alabama. She is one of the first women elected to Congress from Alabama in her own right and the first Black woman to ever serve in Alabama’s congressional delegation.

    Congresswoman Sewell serves as the Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Elections, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Voting Rights Task Force, and Co-Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus. She is the proud author and lead sponsor of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in the House of Representatives.

     

  • Newswire : House Republican budget plan targets vital services, hits Black and marginalized communities hardest

    Food store with accepting SNAP – food stamps

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    The House Republican budget passed Tuesday proposes sweeping cuts to health care, food assistance, and education programs, aiming to fund $4.5 trillion in tax breaks over the next decade. The cuts include $880 billion from Medicaid, $230 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and $330 billion from student loan programs through 2034. These reductions come amid a push to extend the 2017 Trump-era tax cuts and other tax relief measures benefiting wealthy households and corporations.
    According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the cost of extending tax breaks for the top 1% of earners—amounting to $1.1 trillion through 2034—mirrors the proposed Medicaid and SNAP cuts. Wealthy households making $743,000 or more annually would receive an average tax cut of $62,000, exceeding the median income of most of the 72 million people covered by Medicaid.
    House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized the proposal, stating, “The House Republican budget resolution will set in motion the largest Medicaid cut in American history.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called the plan “a blueprint for American decline” that prioritizes billionaires over working families.
    The proposed cuts would disproportionately affect Black, Latino, Indigenous, and rural communities, which have higher rates of poverty and reliance on programs like Medicaid and SNAP. The Kaiser Family Foundation states that over 80 million Americans are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. Cuts to these programs could force states to shoulder more costs, leaving millions uninsured.
    The budget would also end enhancements to the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits, raising health care premiums for more than 20 million people. Student loan borrowers face higher repayment costs, further burdening low-income families.
    While the House plan calls for increased border security and military spending, its projected tax cuts—renewing the Trump tax cuts and implementing no taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security—would swell the federal deficit. Despite these cuts, the budget projects the national debt limit will be reached by November 2026.
    Only Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) voted against the budget, citing concerns over worsening deficits. “If the Republican budget passes, the deficit gets worse, not better,” Massie posted on social media.

  • School Board reviews Greene County School System’s AASB 2023 snapshot data

    The Greene County Board of Education met in regular session, Monday February 24, 2025 with all board members present. Although there were no personnel items on the agenda, the board did retire to executive session, certified by Attorney Hank Sanders, for discussion of personnel matters and legal matters that may require strategies.
    The board did approve the following administrative items recommended by Superintendent Dr. Corey Jones.
    Quote from Kelley Wassermann to provide onsite assistance prep for USDA Administrative Review of Child Nutrition Program.
    Payment of all bills, claims, and payroll.
    Bank reconciliations as submitted by Mrs. Marquita Lennon, CSFO.
    In his report to the board, Superintendent Dr. Jones gave updates on the positive news from each school, including scholars achievements, faculty and staff preparations and professional development and the growing PTA movement in the school system.
    Jones also shared Greene County School System’s Snapshot Report prepared by the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB). He noted that this AASB report includes fiscal year 2023 data.
    * Schools -5; Students ADM – 859; Full-Time Employees – 173.
    * Number of Route Buses – 18; students bused – 578; buses 10yrs old or less – 89%. (The school system acquired several new buses in 2024).
    * School System Revenue – state funds (41%) $8,588,607; federal funds (33%) $6,966,364; local funds (26%) $5,564,329; local 10-mill match $4,069,089.
    * School System Spending – state spending totaled $9,138,590; local spending totaled $2,664,586.
    * Per-Pupil Expenditures total $19,821; Alabama average – $13,071.
    * Cost of one month’s operation/general fund -$1,006,770; number of months reserve balance -5.82. These expenditures do not include debt service and capital outlay. The AASB report for 2023 contained more details and can be accessed at the Board’s Central Office.
    CSFO Marquita Lennon presented the monthly financials as of January 31, 2025. Points of Interest included operating reserve: 8.25 months combined general fund reserve; 7.94 months cash reserve. All bank accounts have been reconciled.
    Financial Snapshot included general fund bank balance – $8,207,418.90 (reconciles to the Summary Cash Report; accounts payable check register -$264,370.59; payroll register – $924,589.52; combined ending fund balance – $8,518,789.67.
    Local revenue included property taxes – $1,968,837.11; sales taxes -$112,147.88;
    Other taxes – $2,820.98; total local revenue – $2,083,805.97. There was no distribution relative to Amendment 743, since reportedly charity bingo in Greene County is closed.
    Robert Brown Middle School Principal, Ms. Tammy Anderson and Assistant Principal Mr. Gary Rice presented to certificates and gifts to each board member in recognition of School Board Appreciation Month, recognized in January. The board members expressed appreciation of their support.

  • The Bridge Crossing Jubilee in Selma is one week away

    Many Dignitaries and Leaders coming from
    across the country and around the World

    SELMA, AL – The 33rd Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee and 60th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday Commemoration and Celebration begins next week in Selma, Alabama. This year the Bridge Crossing Jubilee will be held during the first full weekend in March, March 6-9, 2025. The Jubilee starts on Thursday, March 6,  with dozens of events for people of all ages, including a mass Meeting at Tabernacle Baptist Church.

    The Foot Soldiers Breakfast and the Annual Freedom Flame Awards Gala on Saturday, March 8, and the Annual Martin & Coretta King Unity Breakfast and march re-enactment on Sunday March 9. There are many educational workshops, held on Friday and Saturday, which are open and free to the public.
    There will also be a street fair with musical entertainment and vendors, on Water Street, at the Selma side of the bridge.

    The Bloody Sunday March events and the official March re-enactment at the Edmund Pettus Bridge is on Sunday, March 9 starting at 1:00 from the foot on the bridge in Selma and across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, with a rally on the east side (Montgomery) of the bridge.

    Leaders from across the country will be in Selma for the Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee, including the 60th Anniversary events. Some of these leaders include U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries; a delegation of approximately 30 members of Congress including U.S. Reps. Jim Clyburn, Jasmine Crockett, Maxine Waters and Alabama U.S. Reps.; Martin Luther King, III; leaders of National Civil Rights Organizations; National Labor Leaders; other national and international leaders.

    According to Hank Sanders and Faya Rose Toure (Sanders), founders and co-chairs of the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, have confirmed additional speakers who are listed below, at a press conference held this week. These are:

    The Honorable Andy Beshear, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
    Maya Wiley, President & CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
    Janai Nelson, President & Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
    Derrick Johnson, President & CEO of the NAACP
    Fred Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO
    Marc Morial, President of The Urban League
    Barbara Arnwine, President & Founder of the Transformative Justice Coalition
    Sherilynn Ifill, Founder of the 14th Amendment Center for Law & Democracy
    Damon T. Hewitt, President & Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
    Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters
    Kristen Clarke, Former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice
    LaTosha Brown, Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter
    Cliff Albright, Co-Founder of Black Voter Matters
    Deborah N. Archer, President of the American Civil Liberties Union
    Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder & President of the National Action Network and host of Politics Nation
    Alabama U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures and 30 other members of Congress
    And more to be announced

    The Bridge Crossing Jubilee organizers also have invited Governors Wes Moore (Maryland), Gavin Newsom (California), JB Pritzker (Illinois), and Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan) and will provide updates as to their confirmations in the coming days. In addition to the landmark events highlighted in previous press conferences, the Jubilee includes dozens of workshops led by many of the national leaders listed above, who will also be speaking at the Marin & Coretta King Unity Breakfast, as well as many more events to be highlighted in the coming days.

    Because the Jubilee has been the largest civil rights gathering in the nation for the past 25 years, many esteemed organizations hold meetings and events during the Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee, but they never hold them out as being Jubilee events. However, we now have some for-profit organizations holding events to raise money and holding them out to be Jubilee events, when they are not. The Jubilee and the Selma to Montgomery March Foundation are and have always been non-profit organizations supported mostly by volunteers and donations.  
     
    “Each year the Bridge Crossing Jubilee is the largest annual Civil Rights gathering in the nation. But the Jubilee commemorations and celebrations every ten years are always massive,” said Hank Sanders. He continued, “For the 50th Anniversary there were more than 115 thousand people in attendance on the Sunday alone. The 60th is also expected to be massive. At the Annual Jubilee, there is something for everyone – from the very young to the very senior. It is a pilgrimage that many make every year from across the country and around the world. See you in Selma for the 60th Anniversary and the Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee! “

    For more information and schedule updates, go to this website: http://www.selmajubilee.com