“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.
FSC/LAF holds 3rd Annual Women in Agriculture Conference
Shown above are Eddie Ayers’ family members honored on his behalf, Mr. Ayers’ daughter, Una Johnson, Gallion, AL; grandchildren Michael and Yanna, children of Mr. Ayers’ daughter Janella Jones of Jonesboro, GA.
The Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Land Assistance Fund (FSC/LAF) held its 3rd Annual Women in Agriculture Conference, Friday, April 4, 2025 at the New Generation Church Fellowship Hall in Eutaw, AL. The program was organized under the leadership of Ms. Audrey Haskins, FSC/LAF Research and Training Center staff. Ms. Brenda Goree served as facilitator. Under the Conference’s theme: The Lady, The Land, The Legacy, the program featured several presentations including Female Empowerment Message by Portia Shepard of Black Women Rising; New and Beginning Farmers by Decetti Taylor, State FSA NIFA Coordinator; National Women in Ag by Cheryl Bell, of Alabama Women in Ag Chapter. The Women’s Health Panel included presentations on Women’s Physical Health by Catherine Shelton of UAB; Women’s Mental Health by Lashaunda Lark Darien of Lock & Key Wellness and Therapeutic Health by Briana Hubbard-Bell. Dr. Carol P. Zippert, a founder of FSC, was the keynote speaker focusing on a current project of the Federation’s Memorial Legacy Committee (MLC). She explained that the goal of the MLC project is to honor and memorialize the individual and groups that created, built and sustained the Federation since its birth in 1967. Several edifices will be constructed on the grounds of the FSC/LAF Research and Training Center in Epes (Sumter County), AL. The edifices, including a memorial wall, orchards, gardens, trails, cabins, gazebos, benches, etc. will be dedicated to individuals and groups that helped form the FSC/LAF. Special presentations by Ms. Audrey Haskins and Ms. Ethel Giles, FSC/LAF staff were made to the family of Mr. Eddie Ayers, who contributed significant work to the Federation. He served on the Board of Directors representing Alabama cooperatives. He is also famous for founding and growing the Demopolis Federal Credit Union in 1966.
By Stacy M. Brown BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent
President Donald Trump has announced sweeping new tariffs on dozens of nations, including a record-setting 50% reciprocal tariff on the tiny southern African mountain kingdom of Lesotho — the highest levy imposed on any sovereign country by the United States. Trump’s move targets at least 60 countries with duties starting at 10%, with Lesotho and other African nations bearing some of the heaviest hits. The White House said the tariffs are aimed at addressing what it described as long-standing trade imbalances that hurt American manufacturers. In the case of Lesotho, the administration cited a 99% tariff on U.S. goods and a $264 million trade surplus in the kingdom’s favor as justification for the steep penalty. Lesotho, which exports diamonds and apparel to the U.S., imported only $8 million in American goods in 2022, according to the Tralac Trade Law Centre in South Africa. The U.S. government’s action also appears to signal the impending death of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a landmark trade deal from the Clinton administration that allowed duty-free access to the U.S. market for many African exports. The pact will expire in September, but trade experts say the tariffs effectively end AGOA months ahead of schedule. “The reciprocal trade announcement policy will pull the AGOA rug from under our feet,” said Adrian Saville, an economist and professor at South Africa’s Gordon Institute of Business Science. “That will be gone. It will replace AGOA; you don’t have to wait for September.” Other African nations are also reeling. Madagascar faces a 47% tariff, Mauritius 40%, Botswana 37%, and South Africa — the continent’s largest exporter to the U.S. — 30%. For several of these countries, the tariffs could not come at a worse time as they struggle with severe poverty, natural disasters, or public health crises. Lesotho, for example, has one of the world’s highest HIV/AIDS infection rates and relies on South Africa for 85% of its imports. “African countries are being penalized for having trade surpluses, some of them achieved by pursuing export-driven development policies, as advised by the U.S.,” Bloomberg Africa economist Yvonne Mhango wrote. “Lesotho exports apparel to the U.S., a product that until recently enjoyed duty-free access and helped create jobs for the youth that migrates in large numbers to neighboring South Africa. One of Trump’s arguments for these tariffs is to bring back manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Slapping high tariffs on Africa is not going to help this narrative.” Lesotho now joins Saint Pierre and Miquelon — a French archipelago off the coast of Canada — as the only other territory to face a 50% reciprocal tariff from the Trump administration. While acknowledging the setback, the South African presidency said the tariffs make it even more important to reach a new agreement with the U.S. “The tariffs affirm the urgency to negotiate a new bilateral and mutually beneficial trade agreement with the U.S., as an essential step to secure long-term trade certainty,” the South African government said in a statement.
Front Row: L to R: Farmer, Ben Burkett, Farmer, Calvin King, Cornelius Blanding, Shirley Sherrod, Dr. Dewayne Goldman (USDA), Cornelius Keys, Zack Duchenaux(USDA).
ATLANTA, Ga., Oct. 31, 2024 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and partners announced the launch of the Southern Farmers Financial Association (SFFA), a new cooperatively-owned institution created to increase access to capital for its member-owners to begin farming or strengthen existing small farming operations and agriculture-based businesses in high poverty areas in the Southeast.
The organization is supported with $20 million in initial funding from President Biden and Vice President Harris’s Inflation Reduction Act, which will be used to leverage private sector capital, recruit full-time staff, and begin outreach and lending efforts. The proposed service area of the SFFA is 12 states I the Southeast.
The impetus for the creation of this new small farm financial institution grew out of a discussion on the use of the ‘ ci pres’ funds, remaining unused funds in the Pigford II Black Farmers Discrimination lawsuit. There is still $8 million left in these funds, which are subject to the decision of Judge Friedman, Federal District Judge who presided over this case.
A committee of Black and small farmer advocates continued pushing to use these and other funds to create a financial institution responsive to small and Black farmers. This committee was headed by Cornelius Blanding, current Executive Director of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund. Calvin King, President of the Arkansas Land and Farm Development Corporation and Shirley Sherrod, leader of New Communities and the Southwest Georgia Project, worked with Cornelius to develop this new financial institution for small and Back farmers.
The Southern Farmers Financial Association will be managed by Cornelius Blanding, acting chief executive officer; Shirley Sherrod, acting secretary; and Calvin King, acting treasurer, until a board is formed, and initial hires are made. Each of these individuals brings lifelong expertise and personal experience with farming, farm finance, and helping rural, smallholder farmers maintain farm operations in the face of challenging financial situations.
“The launch of the Southern Farmers Financial Association furthers the Biden-Harris USDA’s vision to keep farmers farming, support rural economies by making it viable for small farms to stay in operation, and make USDA’s programs more accessible and inclusive for everyone who wants to participate in agriculture,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This new organization will provide a vital bridge to those who may benefit from a different model of outreach, support, and farm lending.”
Farming is a capital-intensive business. It can be difficult to begin or stay in farming without the financial foundation that comes with generational farm operations, and smaller farms are especially vulnerable to the financial blows that come with natural disasters, lost markets, or other sudden impacts. Under a cooperative agreement with USDA, the SFFA will improve land access by creating access to capital and technical assistance for farmers and other producers who have historically faced challenges getting the financing they need so their farms can grow and thrive.
On Thursday in Atlanta, at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, USDA representatives and SFFA interim leadership gathered with stakeholders and farmers who would potentially receive funding from their new financial institution.
Zach Ducheneaux, Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency, who has spearheaded many changes at USDA to improve the farm lending process, applauded the organization’s launch. “As a child of the 1980’s farm crisis, I have seen firsthand the challenges farmers can have accessing capital, and the very difficult impacts that creates for individuals, families, and communities that stand to benefit from strong farming operations. I am excited to see these partners come together and reach farmers in a way that USDA recognizes we may not be able to.”
“Every farmer needs affordable financing. Farmers must have reliable and consistent access to capital to be successful,” said USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dr. Basil Gooden. “For too long, access to capital has been out of reach for small farmers in the southeast region.”
Support from the USDA will help bring other partners to the table so that SFFA can obtain strategic certifications and raise additional sources of capital. Examples include working with organizations like the Farm Credit system and Co-Bank to obtain Other Financial Institution (OFI) status, or working with the US Department of Treasury, Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund to become a CDFI, and continued engagement with USDA so that the institution can become a guaranteed lender with the Farm Services Agency.
“Supporting southern farmers is essential to supporting rural economies in communities across the south,” added Shirley Sherrod, acting secretary of the SFFA. “The SFFA and USDA are building up the toolset southern farmers can use to support their family farms and pass them on to the next generations,” said Cornelius Blanding, acting Chief Executive Officer.
“This agreement will open up new opportunities for historically underserved southern farmers to sustain and grow their businesses,” said Calvin King, SFFA acting treasurer.
The SFFA will build on several steps USDA has taken under the Biden-Harris Administration to expand access to capital, keep farmers farming, and make its programs more accessible and equitable… This includes the work of the USDA Equity Commission, an Heirs Property Relending Program, to help families with heirs property issues, programs to help 1890 Land Grant Colleges and their students, and other measures.
For more information about these efforts and more, visit USDA.gov/equity. USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
The Greene County Democrat will continue to follow progress toward the creation, operation and implementation of the programs of the SFFA financial institution going forward.
The UN Security Council holds a meeting on the Middle East Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 at United Nations headquarters. Canada is still vying for a seat on the United Nations Security Council, but it’s already warming up the chair with a plan to hire trainers for Canadian officials. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mary Altaffer
By: AfricaNews and AP After decades of seeking a bigger voice in the United Nations ‘ most powerful body, Africa “cannot wait any longer,” Sierra Leone’s president told the Security Council on Monday. Chairing a meeting that his country convened, President Julius Maada Bio pressed a longstanding bid for African countries to get more council seats, including two permanent and potentially veto-wielding spots. “The time for half-measures and incremental progress is over. Africa must be heard, and its demands for justice and equity must be met,” Bio said, calling his continent the “unquestionable victim” of an imbalanced, outdated and unrepresentative Security Council structure. It wasn’t the first time the council has heard calls for expanding and reshaping its membership — and African countries aren’t the only ones that want more representation. While there’s a general sense that the council needs to change, discussions have bogged down over differences on how much to expand the group, what countries to include and what powers it should have. But Bio’s presence put an exclamation point on the issue ahead of a U.N. “Summit of the Future” and the annual General Assembly gathering of presidents, prime ministers and monarchs. Both gatherings are scheduled next month. Some countries are hoping for momentum from the summit, which is meant to generate a wide-ranging new vision of what international cooperation should look like in this century. The latest draft of the summit’s potential “Pact for the Future” terms Security Council reform a priority and pledges an “ambitious” result, with specific language still to come. “We are sure it is a matter of time. Because the gatekeepers will find it difficult to let us in,” Bio said at a news briefing Monday, but “we have a genuine and compelling case.” Set up in 1945 to try to maintain peace in the wake of World War II, the Security Council can levy sanctions, deploy peacekeeping missions and otherwise pass resolutions that are legally binding, if sometimes ignored. Its composition reflects the postwar power structure, and a time when most of Africa was under European control. The United States, Russia, China, Britain and France are permanent, veto-wielding members. Ten other seats — originally six, until a 1965 expansion — go to countries that get two-year council terms, without veto power. The broader General Assembly elects them by region, with three seats for Africa. African countries, and many others, have argued that the arrangement shorts the continent with the world’s fastest-growing population, now at 1.3 billion. The continent’s 54 countries make up 28% of the U.N.‘s member states. Five of the U.N.’s 11 current peacekeeping operations are in Africa, as are four of the top 10 countries in terms of sending troops. The African Union, a regional group, has called for two additional elected seats — yielding a total of five — and two permanent ones for countries on the continent. The permanent seats, in particular, must “be urgently addressed,” Namibia’s foreign minister, Peya Mushelenga, told the council Monday. Any changes to the council’s composition would be up to the General Assembly, which has held negotiations for years. Assembly President Dennis Francis said Monday that Africa is “manifestly underrepresented” on the council and that the status quo is “simply wrong.” But the U.N.’s member countries have floated many different ideas for changing the council, and any move to accommodate Africa would likely stir pressure to consider other proposals. The United States, for instance, backs adding permanent seats for countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, among others. “Let’s stop admiring the problem here. We need to move to solutions,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, whose prior postings include multiple African countries, told the council. Bio, whose nation currently holds the council’s rotating presidency, urged the group to get behind giving his continent priority in any structural changes. “Africa cannot wait any longer,” he said.
The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund will award its ‘Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement Award’ to Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina. The award will be presented at an August 15, Thursday evening fundraising dinner ,at the Sheraton Civic Center Hotel in downtown Birmingham, Alabama.
The annual banquet will mark the start of the Federation’s 57th Annual Meeting. On August 16 and 17th, the meeting continues at the Federation’s Rural Training and Research Center, between Epes and Gainesville, in Sumter County, Alabama. There will be panels, workshops and demonstrations on agricultural and rural development issues.
Congressman James Clyburn has been a champion for Black farmers and other rural people for his entire career in Congress representing South Carolina’s Sixth District. He has served as Majority Whip and Assistant to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and leader of the National Democratic Party.
Persons interested in registering to attend all or any part of the Federation/LAF Annual Meeting should go to the organization’s website at: http://www.federation.coop for more information
SELMA, AL – March 25, 2024: The Black Belt Community Foundation (BBCF) is offering community and arts grant opportunities open to community-based organizations operating within its 12-county service area comprising Bullock, Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, and Wilcox Counties of Alabama.
The 2024 BBCF Arts and Community Grants Cycle will open on March 28th with the online grant application going live followed by a series of in-person and online Learn Grants-BBCF Style Workshops. There will be an in-person workshop in each of the 12 counties which will serve as an opportunity for the community to meet the new BBCF Arts Director, Aaron Head, and to answer any questions you may have about the grant process.
For a more in-depth learning experience, covering all aspects of the BBCF grant process and including tips for writing a successful application, please plan to attend one of the two Online Grant Summit workshops. Please note that any organization that has never submitted a grant application to BBCF MUST attend one in-person workshop session prior to applying. April 19th is the deadline for all applications, with final decisions being tendered by the end of May 2024.
Dates for the in-person and online workshops are forthcoming – be sure to follow BBCF on social media and check out our website, blackbeltfound.org, for up-to-date information about these sessions.
BBCF President Felecia Lucky states, “We are enthusiastic and assured of the work and guidance offered by the BBCF Community Associates and Local Grant Review Committees in facilitating the grant application process and in fostering connections with organizations dedicated to catalyzing positive change within their communities. This year marks the 19th anniversary of the Community Grant Cycle and the 18th anniversary of Arts granting, coinciding with the celebration of BBCF’s 20th anniversary.”
BBCF’s Community Grant Cycle will invest in organizations engaging Black Belt citizens by addressing the most pressing community needs through grants ranging in size from $500 to $7500. This type of work includes but is not limited to education, economic development, health, criminal justice reform and intervention, civic engagement/participation, recreational programs, etc.
BBCF’s Arts Grant Cycle will target in-school, after-school and community-based arts and arts education programs as well as professional development and capacity building. These grants have a range of $500 to $5000.
For both Community and Arts grants, applicants will be able to find specific examples of previous projects funded and other helpful details via the grant application web resource page at: https://blackbeltfound.org/2024grants/ .
At its regular meeting on March 12, 2024, the Eutaw City Council agreed to a budget adjustment to increase the pay of police officers based on their years of experience working with the city.
This action was in response to a concern raised by Police Chief Tommy Johnson that four officers had left the staff since the beginning of the calendar year because they received offers of higher pay from neighboring police departments.
“Our starting salary of $15.00 an hour was too low to attract or keep trained officers,” said Chief Johnson. The mayor also indicated that the police department was currently paying overtime pay rates to officers to cover all required shifts.
Council members, Jonathan Woodruff and Tracey Hunter, who are members of the Council Finance Committee, proposed an adjustment to the budget, which would raise the base pay, for police officers who completed training to $17.00 an hour ($35,360 annually), with one to five years’ experience. The salary for officers with 6 to 10 years’ experience would be increased to $18.00 an hour ($37,440 annually). For officers with more than 10 years, the pay rate was increased to $19.00 an hour ($39,520 annually)
The Chief of Police will continue to receive $65,000 annually The Assistant Chief was raised to $22.00 an hour or $45,760 annually. There may be some other adjustments based on years of service. There were no cadets budgeted for this fiscal year, which created the budgetary savings to allow the increased salaries, within the current budget for this fiscal year.
Chief Johnson said he would be able to recruit new replacement officers at the new pay rate but still urged further increases to allow for retention of capable and experienced personnel.
The Council tabled action on setting rates for rental of the R. H. Young Community Center (formerly Carver School) since City Attorney, Zane Willingham, who helped draft the rates, was away attending a conference for municipal attorneys.
At its prior meeting on February 27, 2024, the Council voted to change the check signers on all city accounts in Merchants and Farmers Bank. There will be two signatories, on each check, of three signers: Council members: Tracey Hunter and Jonathan Woodruff and Chief Clerk, SheKelvia Spencer. This action removed Mayor Latasha Johnson, as a check signer.
The Mayor indicated some displeasure and disagreement with being removed from check signing but said she would abide by the Council’s decision, if they made sure to sign checks on a timely basis as needed.
The Mayor said, “No money is missing, nothing is hidden, no money has been mis-spent. We have an audit that shows that we are financially stable and following our budget. In the past, we did not have our finances in good condition, but now under my leadership we do. There is no reason to remove me as a check signer.”
In other actions, the Eutaw City Council:
• Approved a resolution to allow the mayor to seek bids to renovate the restrooms at City Hall.
• Approved a retail liquor license for Madi Food Mart, which plans to re-open a closed convenience store on Greensboro Avenue in Eutaw.
• Approved travel for several city officials to attend upcoming conferences and training.
• Received financial reports from Ralph Liverman, Fiscal Adviser, on bank accounts and loan balances. This included a report that 29 monthly payments had been made on the City’s four-year, equipment loan of $500,370, with 19 payments totaling $206,198 remaining to be paid. This monthly expenditure is included in the budget.
• Received a report from the Chamber of Commerce that they received a $5,000 grant for a mural to be painted on the wall of a building in downtown Eutaw.
• Approved payment of bills.
The meeting ended with a discussion of the need to keep the streets of Eutaw clean and that some people were dumping trash and other waste materials at the side of the road and in ditches in the city. The mayor stated that she would work with residents and businesses to keep the areas around their homes and workspaces clean. Lorenzo French suggested involving young people in the clean-up efforts, so they would help maintain the clean streets and areas of the city.
New York, NY – On Monday, October 9, 2023, the Circle for Original Thinking podcast will re-air its fascinating discussion from the December 8, 2020 episode featuring the then Congresswoman Deb Haaland, and author and activist, Sally Roesch Wagner. This rebroadcast will correspond with the United States observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. At the time, she represented the First Congressional District of New Mexico, which includes most of Albuquerque and its suburbs, and she was one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress—the other is Sharice Davids of Kansas. Shortly after this episode was aired, Haaland was nominated by the Biden administration to serve as the Secretary of the Interior, now making her the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary. Also on the interview is Sally Roesch Wagner. Dr. Wagner is a feminist pioneer, speaker, activist, and the author of several books, including Sisters in Spirit: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Influence on Early American Feminists, and The Women’s Suffrage Movement. Dr. Wagner was among the first persons ever to receive a PhD for work in Women’s Studies from UC Santa Cruz and was the founder of one of the first college-level women’s studies programs in the country. Sally appeared in the Ken Burns PBS documentary Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, for which she wrote the accompanying faculty guide for PBS. She was also a historian in the PBS special One Woman, One Vote, and has been interviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered and Democracy Now. The subject of this discussion was the “Native American Influence on the Founding Mothers.” In other words, how did the Native American cultures inspire the thinking of the ‘founding mothers’, women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Matilda Gage who were outspoken voices for women’s’ rights during the formative years of the United States. These women paid taxes but could not vote, could not run for office, had no right of divorce, and should they separate from their husband, were returned to them by police like runaway slaves. Native women, on the other hand, were fully equal in their society and played an integral role in political affairs and in keeping harmony with nature. The host of the Circle for Original Thinking podcast, Glenn Aparicio Parry, has long pointed out that the most significant forgotten piece of America’s legacy is the profound effect Native America had on the founding values of this nation. His book Original Politics: Making America Sacred Again demonstrates how the best aspects of the founding vision of America were inspired, or directly appropriated, from living, Native American cultures: concepts such as natural rights, liberty, and egalitarian justice. Further, Parry traces the influence of Native America not only on the founding fathers, but on the ‘founding mothers’ of the 19th century women’s movement; as well as the 19th century abolitionist and modern ecological movements. The re-broadcast will take place on Monday, October 9, 2023 concurrent with the observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the United States. The commemoration has been officially adopted by nineteen states plus the District of Columbia, as well as 130 cities nationwide. In 2021, President Biden was the first president to officially commemorate the day, though it remains unadopted as a federal holiday. The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are a large and extremely varied group of cultures spanning a massive territory from the lower tip of South America, near the Antarctic Ocean up into the Arctic Circle with the Northern areas of Canada, Greenland, and Alaska. The societies that emerged from these populations date back over 10,000 years and they represent a wide scope of social organizations from tribal groups to city states to empires. There are over a thousand known languages spoken amongst these peoples, and their cultures had developed varied, and often profound, expertise in such fields as literature, agriculture, large scale architecture, metallurgy, astronomy, medicine, engineering, and mathematics. It is important that we recognize their important contribution to humanity. The Circle for Original Thinking podcast is America’s electronic talking circle for visionary thinkers and an open forum for fresh ideas and timeless wisdom applied to today’s political and ecological challenges. It is available for subscription wherever podcast are distributed, including Apple and Spotify. Glenn Aparicio Parry’s book Original Politics: Making America Sacred Again (978-1-59079-503-3; SelectBooks, Inc., 2020) is available wherever books or ebooks are sold.
A special feature of the annual Black Belt Folk Roots Festival is the Kid’s Tent which provides hands-on-art activities for young people at the festival site on Saturday, August 26, 2023. The Kid’s Tent will welcome young people on the festival grounds (the Thomas Gilmore Courthouse Square – old courthouse square in Eutaw) to participate in the various hands-on-arts activities beginning at 1:00 pm on Saturday, August 26, 2023. The Kid’s Tent will be located on the Northern area of the town square. Greene County artist, Mynecia Steele, will lead the youth activities engaging them in creative exercises including drawing, painting, face painting and more. The participating youth will take home their creations as well as additional art supplies. Ms. Steele is a published author and graphic artists who will also have a selection of her works for display and sale at the festival. Her various children’s books, themed posters and myriad creations have become treasured items locally as well as throughout the worldwide web, under her brand This is Myne Design. A new feature of the Kid’s Tent will include pottery making, led by artist Kaitlin Whittle, an artist currently living in Eutaw, Alabama working primarily in graphite, oil paint, and clay. Ms. Whittle will engage the youth in the basic process of working with clay, guiding them to create their own products. Hopefully, at the close of the day, the participating young people will have small clay pots to take home. Ms. Whittle has taught formally in the K-12 school systems of Georgia and Alabama and in smaller, less formal art programs. A culminating event for the youth and others at the annual festival will be the presentation of an African Drum Line led by cultural artist LaVondia Bryant Smith of Birmingham, Founder/Artistic Director of Nathifa Dance Company & Outreach Inc. She is a professional dancer and choreographer in West African dance and Modern dance. Her closing presentation will instruct and engage the young people in the role and significance of the drums, specifically in African Cultures.
