The Greene County Democrat

Category: Celebrity

  • Superintendent Carter advances new classroom designs School board salutes GCH Girls Basketball Team as Class 3A Area 7 Champions

    Greene County High Lady Tigers displaying their Class 3A banner, Shown Above: Graduating seniors of the GCHS Lady Tigers Basketball Team: Te’Aira Wilson, Kelsey Spencer, Raven Vanable and Sabrina French.

    At the Greene County School Board meeting held Monday, March 27, 2017, Superintendent James Carter and board members gave a special salute to the Greene County High Lady Tigers basketball team as Class 3A Area 7 Champions, 2016-2017. Dr. Carter presented the Lady Tigers, along with their coach, Kendra Payne and Principal Garry Rice, with a banner designating their championship.

    Superintendent James Carter, in his continued efforts to improve school curricula and culture, presented the board with additional innovative considerations. Dr. Carter explained that the design of the classroom is important to the learning process. “Students’ desks, textbooks, and other barriers between teacher and students should be removed.
    Teachers need and should have the flexibility to be more innovative and creative in the classroom. There is a need to reinvent the classroom to fit the 21st century learners,” he stated.
    According to Superintendent Carter, the first thing that should be done is to get parents more involved in their children’s education; next Second identify teachers and principals who care about children and make students feel like they belong in the school. Third thing is that every child should feel a sense of accomplishment. He further noted that the three major institutions that once supported our children and now are failing our children. These institutions, home, church and school, must take the lead in helping educators turn around schools.
    Dr. Carter also raised the question: “How can corporal punishment have a place in schools?” He noted that research shows that Black students and students with disabilities receive physical punishment more than other students. He suggests that the system reviews its policies regarding corporal punishment in schools.
    Carter also noted that the school system is in the process of establishing collaboration with Greene County Hospital to implement a candy striper program as well as a Nursing Assistant Program with students enrolled at Greene County Career Center.
    The superintendent ended his report with the announcement of a sale of surplus equipment at the former Paramount school on April 11 and; at former Carver school on April 12 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
    In other business, the board approved the following personnel items as presented by the superintendent.
    * Employment: Micheal Bolton as Bus Driver for the system.
    * Leave of Absence without pay for LaJoycelyn Davis, Secretary at Robert Brown Middle School.
    Additional Service contract(s) for the following employees at Greene County High School for the 2016 – 2017 academic year. (Separate Contract): Jacob Sullivan – Asst. Baseball Coach. The Board approved the following administrative services items:
    Bid submitted by Dallas Air Conditioning and Heating, Inc. in the amount of $82,950 to rework controls at Robert Brown Middle School (Only Bidder).
    Field Trip Requests: Robert Brown Middle – Math and Science Day at Six Flags Over Ga on May 12, 2017; Robert Brown Middle – Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, GA on May 4, 2017.
    Payment of all bills, claims, and payroll.
    The board approved the following Instructional Items:
    * Revamping of Kindergarten Program to include project learning type of concept with a focus on communication, critical thinking skills, foreign language, and math problem solving activities
    * Organize Summer School for promotion of students who are struggling or identified as at-risk
    * Teachers and Principals to develop a reading list for students to enhance their reading skills over the summer months

  • Billionaire campaign finance maven Betsy DeVos confirmed as Secretary of Education

    The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Betsy DeVos as education secretary, approving the beleaguered nominee “with the help of a historic tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence,” reports The New York Times:
    It was the first time that a vice president has been summoned to the Capitol to break a tie on a cabinet nomination, according to the Senate historian. Taking the gavel as the vote deadlocked at 50-50, Mr. Pence, a former member of the House, declared his vote for Ms. DeVos before announcing that Mr. Trump’s nominee for education secretary had been confirmed.
    Here are some of the best Twitter reactions to the confirmation of DeVos, who as The Times notes, “has devoted much of her life to expanding educational choice through charter schools and vouchers, but has limited experience with the public school system.” NJ Senator Cory Booker pointed out that DeVos “did not attend public schools herself, did not send her children to public schools and has never taught in a public school”.
    At the Congressional hearings on her confirmation, it was also pointed out that neither she nor her children had ever applied for a Pell grant or student loan. As Secretary of Education she will be administering these and many other education programs that she knows little about.
    Critics protested the nomination because daughter-in-law of Amway cofounder Richard DeVos—who Forbes estimates is worth $5.1 billion––has had little-to-no involvement in the nation’s public schools. In the past several election cycles her family gave $200 million in campaign contributions to Republican Senate members, including four Senators who served on the committee that confirmed her.

  • The Women’s March organizers are planning ‘A Day Without A Woman’ strike

    By: Desire Thompson, VIBE
    womens-march-leader
    Womens March leader

    The minds behind the Women’s March on Washington aren’t giving up on the people. Their latest move hints at an economic boycott titled, “A Day Without A Woman.”
    The announcement was made Monday (Feb. 6) through their social channels with little detail. What has been shared is the general statement, “The will of the people will stand.” Last month, over a million women from all over the world came together in solidarity to protest the election of President Donald Trump, climate change, immigration laws and unlawful police practice. The Women’s March on Washington brought 500,000 people to the city, making it the most recent largest demonstration in the area. Crowd specialists reportedly stated the Women’s March brought three times the number of people than Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
    CNN reports after the exposure of several companies lining up with Trump, the organization made up of Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez, Linda Sarsour and Bob Bland, released a statement on those boycotting companies like Uber and Nordstrom. “At a time when our foundational principles of freedom and equality are under threat, The Women’s March is committed to engaging in actions that affirmatively build community, strengthen relationships and support local, women- and minority-owned businesses,” The Women’s March said in a statement.
    General strikes thrived during the Civil Rights Movement and other labor movements. Strike4Democracy is currently planning a general strike on Feb. 17. So far, 16,000 people plan to take part in it. Last year, actor Isiah Washington attempted to launch a boycott where African Americans didn’t spend, work or attend school. Middle-class African Americans have been known to spend a hefty amount in a retail market, even with specks of racial inequality proving that black families have less access to substantial goods and services than white families. Nonetheless, the Women’s March organizers have stressed the importance of inclusion.

  • Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman to be released from Federal prison

    don-siegelman
    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Friends and supporters of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman plan to gather along 20th Street in downtown Birmingham on Wednesday afternoon, between 2nd and 3rd Avenue North, to show their support. Siegelman, who will not be allowed to stop or make any statement, is expected to take that route shortly after 3 p.m. as he returns home.
    Family spokesperson Chip Hill confirmed Siegelman “has been told he will be released Wednesday,” but said they do not yet know exactly what will happen after that. Hill said, “He won’t just walk out of the prison and into the arms of his family like before,” referencing his release on bond while appeals were pending. “He will be transported from the prison by prison officials,” Hill says. It is expected he will be flown to Birmingham.
    A spokesperson for the US Bureau of Prisons would only confirm Siegelman is housed at the Oakdale facility in Louisiana, and citing “privacy reasons” would not provide details of his release.
    Hill said Siegelman, “Will be on very restricted supervised probation for an initial period of time.” He says he expects that will last approximately six months after which he says the former Governor will be on unsupervised probation for an extended but as of yet unspecified period of time.
    Hill said it is unknown if Siegelman will be allowed to return home Wednesday or will be housed temporarily at a halfway house for final processing. He said it is expected he will meet with a federal probation supervisor immediately upon his arrival in Birmingham to learn the exact conditions of his probation, what he will and will not be allowed to do, and the consequences of any perceived violations of those terms. Hill said he fully expects Siegelman will not be allowed any interaction with news media.
    Former US Attorney Doug Jones, a member of Siegelman’s defense team, tells WHNT News 19 he believes Siegelman should be able to go home Wednesday night rather than to a halfway house saying, “That paperwork should be complete.” Jones went onto say Siegelman will technically still be in the custody of the US Bureau of Prisons.
    Siegelman’s closest friends and supporters tell us they have been sworn to secrecy regarding his release and being reunited with his family. All media questions are being referred to Hill for now.
    Siegelman was elected the 51st Governor of Alabama in 1996 after serving as the state’s Secretary of State, Attorney General and Lt. Governor. He is the only person to hold all four top elected positions in the state. It was believed he had won reelection in 2002 until votes in Baldwin County were recounted hours after polls had closed giving the win to Republican Bob Riley. Former Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor, who was recently identified as being on the “short list” of potential US Supreme Court nominees by President Trump, blocked efforts for a formal recount of the Baldwin County votes and certified the election.
    Siegelman was convicted of felony corruption charges in 2006 and sentenced to 7 years in prison for appointing HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to a board position in state government after Scrushy donated $500,000 to a fund Siegelman had established to promote a state lottery to benefit education in the state. Siegelman was the fourth consecutive governor to appoint Scrushy to that non-paying position.
    A CBS News 60 Minutes investigation, in February, 2008, revealed there was no evidence nor any allegation Siegelman personally benefited from the donation. Their report also revealed Siegelman was convicted largely on the testimony of his former aide, Nick Bailey, who the report says testified against Siegelman in exchange for leniency in an upcoming extortion trial not connected to the governor.
    113 current and former states attorneys general, from both political parties, signed a petition asking Congress to investigate whether the prosecution of Siegleman was pursued not because of a crime but because of politics.

  • Elizabeth Warren rebuked for quoting Coretta Scott King while debating Jeff Sessions’ nomination

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Coretta Scott King

    By: Paul KaneThe Washington Post

    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., led a party-line rebuke Tuesday night of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., for her speech opposing attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions, striking down her words for impugning the Alabama senator’s character.
    In an extraordinarily rare move, McConnell interrupted Warren’s speech, in a near-empty chamber as the nomination debate heads toward a Wednesday evening vote, and said that she had breached Senate rules by reading past statements against Sessions from figures such as the late senator Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and the late Coretta Scott King.
    “The senator has impugned the motives and conduct of our colleague from Alabama,” McConnell said, then setting up a series of roll-call votes on Warren’s conduct.
    It was the latest clash in the increasingly hostile debate over confirming President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, during which Democrats have accused Republicans of trying to force through nominees without proper vetting. Democrats, unable to stop the confirmations that require simple majorities, have countered by using extreme delay tactics that have dragged out the process longer than any in history for a new president’s Cabinet.
    The Democratic moves, including a round-the-clock debate Tuesday night before Wednesday’s confirmation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, reached a boiling point during the debate over Sessions.
    McConnell specifically cited portions of a letter that King, the widow of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee in opposition to Sessions’ 1986 nomination to be a federal judge.
    “Mr. Sessions has used the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens,” King wrote, referencing controversial prosecutions at the time that Sessions served as the U.S. attorney for Alabama. Earlier, Warren read from the 1986 statement of Kennedy, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee who led the opposition then against Sessions, including the Massachusetts Democrat’s concluding line: “He is, I believe, a disgrace to the Justice Department and he should withdraw his nomination and resign his position.”
    The Senate voted, 49 to 43, strictly on party lines, to uphold the ruling that Warren violated rules of debate. Warren is now forbidden from speaking during the remainder of the debate on the nomination of Sessions.
    “I am surprised that the words of Coretta Scott King are not suitable for debate in the United States Senate,” Warren said after McConnell’s motion.
    Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., a freshman, issued a warning to Warren at that point, singling out Kennedy’s “disgrace” comment, and 25 minutes later McConnell came to the floor and set in motion the battle, citing the comments in the King letter as crossing the line.
    Other Democrats later came to her defense, but the liberal firebrand’s speech ended with a simple admonition from Daines: “The senator will take her seat.”
    Warren, a liberal firebrand who some activists want to run for president, took to social media to attack McConnell and Republicans for shutting down her speech.

  • Complaints about vicious and stray dogs dominate Eutaw City Council

    dogsBy: John Zippert,
    Co-Publisher

    Much of the discussion at the January 24, 2017 Eutaw City Council was devoted to complaints about vicious and stray dogs in the city.
    Part of the concern was with pit bulls owned by Lonnie and Channel Glenn who live at 122 Harris Avenue. Glenn is a police officer with the Eutaw Police Department. Channel Glenn, his wife, is an outspoken city resident who often attends City Council meeting and raises various grievances.
    This time the shoe was on the other foot, as several audience members questioned the Council about ordinances governing vicious dogs and stray dogs that are roaming the city.
    Blondie Means who was bitten by one of the Glenn’s pit bulls on Thanksgiving Day -2016 was at the Council meeting questioning the Mayor and Council about enforcing the ordinances against “vicious dogs” like the Glenn’s pit bulls. Means said she suffered lacerations on her hands, face and breast from the dog. The dog was shot by a passerby and later euthanized by the police. Means lives two doors down from the Glenn’s on Harris Avenue and says she is afraid to come out of her house because of the dogs.
    Mattie Roscoe, mother of George Roscoe, said her son was attacked by the same dogs on Thanksgiving and had to go to the hospital for treatment. The second dog was placed in quarantine for ten days because of the attack.
    Channel Glenn told this reporter “You at the Democrat have the story all wrong. Someone was trying to steal my dogs and that is why the dogs attacked them. You better get the story right!”

    At the January 10 City Council meeting, Ms. Glenn testified that,
    “I love my dogs like they are my children. They are locked up and never out. Someone was trying to hurt my dogs that is why they were bitten.”
    Residents asked Mayor Steele what he was going to do about enforcing city ordinances on vicious and stray dogs. Steele said he and the city’s attorney, Ken Aycock were studying the laws and would take appropriate action soon. The Mayor seemed in a difficult spot caught between angry citizens and a set of dog owners who are on the police force and who gave him political support in the last election.
    Eutaw Police Chief Derrick Coleman said, “ I was out of town at the last City Council meeting. I have heard about the problem with the dogs. One dog was put down and the other dog was cleared by a veterinarian in Greensboro, after the ten day quarantine and returned to the owners.”
    Coleman said that the Glenn’s may have as many as 7 or 8 pit bulls living in their house but they are very careful in taking care of them and supervise them when they let them out. Coleman said he was waiting on the Mayor to give him additional instructions on the dogs and enforcement of relevant ordinances against vicious dogs.
    Other complaints were raised at the City Council about packs of stray dogs running around in Eutaw and the need for an animal control officer to catch the dogs and take them away.
    Ms. Yvonne Smith of 324 Kirksey Avenue and her daughter Sabrina Smith came by the Democrat to complain of a pack of stray dogs in their neighborhood. They brought a photograph of the dogs camping out on their porch. Yvonne Smith said, “ I have to use a walker and I cannot chase the dogs away. They smell and leave behind bad odors. What is the city doing about these problems?”
    In the public comment period other citizens raised questions about flooding on Ann Street, due to clogged drains; lighting problems on Springfield Avenue; a sinkhole that needs to be corrected on Prairie Avenue; and a school bus driver raised concerns about a roadway at Hook Avenue off Mesopotamia.
    Faye Tyree complained that she was appointed to the Eutaw Housing Authority on October 25, 2016, based on a letter from former Mayor Hattie Edwards. Mayor Steele sent her a letter to vacate her board position because there was no record in the minutes of her appointment. Tyree said two other persons were appointed at the same time and they have not received letters from the Mayor.
    The Council approved a request by the National Wild Turkey Federation to use the National Guard Armory for a dinner and approved the city attorney to develop a resolution on clearing an abandoned house on Tuscaloosa Street adjacent to the Eutaw Elderly Village.
    Many citizens left the meeting shaking their heads about the need for action on the problem of the pit bulls and stray dogs. These citizens will be waiting to see what Mayor Steele and the City Council do to deal with these problems at future meetings.

     

     

  • Mule wagon leads MLK Birthday March in Eutaw

    A traditional mule and wagon led 100 marchers from the Eutaw Activity Center to the William M. Branch County Courthouse, on Monday, to commemorate the national holiday to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday. The march and Courthouse program capped a weekend of activities to honor the civil rights legend.

  • Commission names John Robert Isley II as Assistant County Engineer

    john-ensley

    The Greene County Commission held a work session on Wednesday, January 4 and its regular meeting on Monday, January 9, 2017.
    The Commission appointed John Robert Isley II to the position of Assistant County Engineer to assist Willie Branch, County Engineer. Isley is a native of Springfield, Ohio who attended Alabama A&M University in Normal, Alabama and graduated in 2007 with a B. S. degree in Civil Engineering from A&M.
    Isley has eight years experience with private engineering firms including Civil Solutions LLC of Huntsville (now Goodwin, Mills and Caywood), Geo Solutions, LLC and Babbs Engineering Consultants, LLC.
    “Greene County is the first public organization that I have worked with but I bring a skill set with similar projects in the private sector,” said Isley. He is not married and plans to live in Greene County.
    “ I went to Alabama A & M because I wanted to go to an HBCU which had all the engineering classes that I needed. It was a good choice for me and I urge young people who are interested in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) to study hard and you can achieve any goal you set for yourself. Be patient and ask questions, people will help you learn, develop and grow on the job, “said Isley.”
    Paula Bird, Chief Financial Officer gave the Commission a financial updated report for the first quarter of the 2016-17 fiscal year from October 1 to December 31, 2016. The Commission had $4.3 million in all bank accounts, plus $681,728 in bond sinking funds and an additional $390,094 and $86,031 in other bond servicing funds. The expenditures are within the 25% range, which is on target with the quarterly budget requirements.
    In the General Fund, which covers salaries and expenses for most basic county services, $803,338 (26%) of the $3,143, 228 budget has been expended to December 31, 2016. The Commission approved $445,897 to pay all bills and claims for last month.

    The Commission has received bids on the lighting project for the inside and outside of the Eutaw Activity Center. The bids are being evaluated for several factors and no action was taken at this meeting on this project, which is funded by grants.
    Willie Branch, County Engineer reported that the solid waste exemption period has ended for persons on fixed incomes to apply for garbage stickers. Garbage will not be picked up unless the garbage can has the appropriate sticker, which has a number that has been assigned by the Solid Waste Department. Stickers are not available from the garbage truck operators but are issued only at the Greene County Engineers office.
    Phillis Belcher, Executive Director of the Greene County Industrial Development Authority reported on an anticipated expansion of the WestRock box manufacturing plant in the Eutaw Industrial Park, which is expected to begin in the next six months. She will return to report on more of the details when they are available for action by the Commission.
    The Commission requested and heard a report on the work of the Community Services Program of West Alabama which offers services to low income people in the Greene County community including help with utility bills, weatherization of homes, food pantry, Headstart and other programs. The Commission urged CSP of West Alabama to do more outreach and contact new people about its services instead of cycling the same people through each time. Latonji Hamilton who made the presentation for CSP promised to do a better job in the future.
    The Commission approved travel for the County Engineer and Assistant County Engineer to attend training and regional meetings.
    Probate Judge Judy Spree presented a resolution at the work session from the Alpha Epsilon Iota chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at Shelton State Community College concerning an honors project for Greene County officials to symbolically reaffirm their oath of office and maintain ethical standards of operation. The Commission at the regular meeting tabled the resolution.

  • Rockettes balk at dancing at Trump’s inauguration

     

    By: Mary Sanchez, KCStar

    rockettes-dancingRockettes in tradition dancing pose

                Guessing how many Radio City Rockettes will show for the Trump inauguration will be something of a parlor game in the coming weeks.

    A sad new day is dawning when such a classic slice of Americana is dragged into the political fray. Members of the famous high-stepping troupe are no longer under orders to perform for the president-elect. The choice to dance or not will be voluntary. Or so goes the about-face from the Rockettes’ union, the American Guild of Variety Artists.

    Just before Christmas, members of the Rockettes joined the growing list of professional entertainers who have declined a role in the inaugural festivities for President-elect Donald Trump. Reportedly, a majority of the nearly 100-woman ensemble were repulsed upon learning that management had booked them for the Jan. 20 event.

    One Rockette spoke at length with MarieClaire.com, detailing the concerns as a moral question on which the dancers wanted to express solidarity with their many support staff who were demoralized by the Trump campaign rhetoric and misogyny. “This is not a Republican or Democrat issue — this is a women’s rights issue,” the woman, who was quoted anonymously, said. “This is an issue of racism and sexism, something that’s much bigger than politics.”

    For those valid concerns, the ladies are being painted as petulant, hyper-liberal whiners who can’t get over the election results. Nope. This is a workplace issue. The 13 full-time dancers in the Rockettes, in particular, know their jobs may be on the line if they refuse to perform.

    For the rest of us, this saga is a taste of the next four years. When and how will it be appropriate or pragmatic to react to the latest Trump offense or to recall the heinous rhetoric of his campaign?

    A tenor of the Trump administration is already on full display. His crazy becomes the norm that everyone else accepts. There appears to be little other choice. If you work in government, or in a business that deals with government, you will ultimately have to answer to Trump. And the only realistic checks on his power, Congress and the courts, are dominated by Republicans who have zero or unknown inclination (respectively) to exercise it.

    Thus, many Americans are behaving like families do around a member who is a volatile alcoholic or addict. They walk on eggshells, lest they ignite unwanted fury. Better just learn to live amid the dysfunction, they decide. The problem is it tends to make people complicit, co-dependent.

    We see a parade of business, military and political leaders march into Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago to genuflect before the gilded one. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Amazon, and Apple have been represented, along with past political rivals. Other industry giants, like Bill Gates, have apparently spoken with Trump by phone.

    You can’t fault them for trying to take a measure of the man, or for trying to fill the empty vessel that he is with some of the understanding he will need to lead the nation. At times he seems to be listening, giving hints that he’s open to persuasion on issues of high importance such as climate change, the environment and torture as a tool of war.

    But what one suspects their audiences with Trump are all about is flattering him, getting a good word in, kissing his ring, because the man will do as he pleases.

    The Rockettes drama may seem trivial compared with the other items of the news cycle. Yet this may turn out to be an object lesson about preserving our core democratic values in the face of power. The office of the presidency is due respect, but we must also demand respect for everyone the incoming president maligned to get elected: women, minorities, the disabled, immigrants. Maybe it takes a chorus line to remind us.

    Trump’s disgusting behavior and attitudes toward women are beyond disputable — his own words indict him. Need a reminder? Here are three: his demeaning talk of grabbing women’s private parts, his gross verbal assaults on female newscasters and entertainers who challenged him and his bragging about walking in on undressed teenaged beauty contestants.

    His behavior is the very pattern and practice of sexism. No sane human resources director would countenance compelling a female employee to work for such a man. And yet the Rockettes are expected to dance. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable standing near a man like that in our costumes,” one dancer wrote in an email to her colleagues, according to MarieClaire.com.

    Thank you, ladies. Without even stepping on stage, you offered a well-timed reminder of one of the major challenges we face in the coming four years: ensuring dignity for all. The applause is deservedly yours.

    In a related matter, a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, resigned from the group rather than participate in the Trump inaugural.

     

  • Community celebrates annual Kwanzaa Holiday

    kwanzaaThe annual Community Kwanzaa Celebration was held Thursday, December 29, 2016 at the Eutaw Activity Center. The program was sponsored by the Harambe Chapter of 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement and the Greene County Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. The program participants included the local youth engaged in projects of the sponsoring organizations including Harambe members, 2017 Debutantes and members of Delta Academy.
    Kwanzaa is a harvest celebration honoring the culture and heritage of African Americans. The seven day observance begins December 26 through January 1. Kwanzaa was founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga at the time of the Watts Riots in California in the 1960’s. Dr. Karenga was seeking a positive approach for rebuilding communities and celebrating African American history and culture. He took the name for the holiday from the Swahili word Kwanzaa meaning first fruits of the harvest. The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa also lift the values to strive for in our lives and communities: Umoja – Unity; Kujichagulia – Self Determination; Ujima – Collective Work and Responsibility; Ujamaa – Cooperatives; Nia – Purpose; Kuumba – Creativity; and Imani – Faith.
    The sponsors distributed magnet gifts which displayed the Kwanzaa Principles in Swahili and English as well as the Community Pledge recited by all the participants at the Kwanzaa Celebration.