Greene County Democrat

Category: Community

  • Greene Co. BOE agrees to second interview with top two candidates for Superintendent’s position on January 5, 2026

    Ms. Taurus Brown Smith and Mr. Timothy Thurman 

    The Greene County Board of Education met on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, to consider the four candidates interviewed for Superintendent in a month to meeting on December 15th.
    All five School Board members were present and expressed their views on the four candidates. Mr. Leo Branch, Chair of the School Board suggested that the Board reach a consensus on who to employ.
    The Board agreed that the top two candidates, Mr. Timothy Thurman and Ms. Taurus Brown-Smith be invited back for a second interview on Monday, January 5, 2026, at 3:00 PM. One will be interviewed from 3:00 to 3:50 PM and the other from 4:00 to 4:50 PM. After which the Board hopes to select one to be the next Superintendent of Greene County Schools.
    The second interview will be open to the public, however only the board members will be able to ask questions. Mr. Branch was instructed to thank for their time and inform the other two candidates – Dr. Jessica Constant and Mr. Demond Mullins – that they were no longer in contention for the position.
    Dr. Timothy Thurman currently Superintendent Linden City Schools. His experiences include Assistant Superintendent Linden City Schools; Principal Linden High School; Teacher and Coach Perry County Schools; Director Perry County Alternative School.  Education: Doctorate Educational Leadership; Master’s Education Administration; Bachelor’s Elementary Education.

    Ms. Taurus Brown Smith currently Education Administrator Alabama Department of Education. Her experiences include Principal Payne Elementary, Selma City Schools, Teacher, Selma City Schools. Education – National Board Certification, Early Childhood Generalist; Master’s Elementary Education; Master’s Education Administration; Bachelor’s Elementary Education.

    The Board also extended the contract of Darryl Aikerson as Interim Superintendent for an additional month until January 31, 2026. Aikerson has been serving as a volunteer at no pay in this position.
    


  • Qualifying date for 2026 Primary Election start January 5 to 23, 2026


    The Greene County Democratic Executive Committee qualifying dates for the 2026 Primary Election will begin January 5, 2026 and end January 23, 2026.
    Candidates seeking a county spot on the Democratic Primary ballot must qualify with County Chairman Lorenzo French. At the Greene County Courthouse 9 a.m- 4 p.m. The County ballot positions include Sheriff, Coroner, Revenue Commissioner, County Commissioner and School Board member for District Three, Four and Five.
    Candidates seeking a county spot on the Democratic Executive Committee also qualify locally.
    To qualify…. “ a person’s domicile is that place in which his habitation is fixed, without any present intention of removing, and it embraces (1) the fact of residence and (2) the intention to remain. As a general proposition, a person can have but one domicile, [which] once acquired is presumed to continue until a new one is gained…”

  • Newswire : Zohran Mamdani to be sworn in as New York City mayor by Sen. Bernie Sanders and AG Letitia James

    Zohran Mamdani with Senator Bernie Sanders

    By Ben Kamisar, HBCU News

    Incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will be sworn into office in January by state Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., his fellow democratic socialist.
    Sanders will oversee the mayor-elect’s ceremonial swearing-in at a New Year’s Day block party, while James will formally swear in Mamdani at midnight when his term officially begins.
    In a news release announcing the events, the transition noted that Sanders’ “unapologetic progressive values inspired Zohran to run for office in the first place.”
    “It is an honor to be sworn in by two leaders I have admired for years: Attorney General Tish James and Senator Bernie Sanders. Attorney General James has taken on powerful interests in her defense of New Yorkers and embodied the principle of equal justice before the law,” Mamdani said in a statement.
    “Senator Bernie Sanders laid the foundations for our movement with his steadfast commitment to the dignity of working people and his belief in a government that serves the many, not just the few. I can think of no better leaders to help usher in a new era for New York City,” Mamdani said.
    Mamdani, who beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in last month’s election, is set to become mayor of the country’s largest city on Jan. 1 (and its first Muslim mayor). Mamdani campaigned with Sanders, as he electrified the same progressive electorate locally that the senator from Vermont activated in his two presidential bids.
    James was one of Mamdani’s most prominent endorsements from a state where many major Democrats tried to keep their distance from the progressive candidate. As the Democratic primary was conducted by ranked choice, which allowed voters to rank up to five candidates (in order of preference), James announced she was ranking Mamdani third on her ballot. In October, James spoke at a rally with Mamdani shortly after she was indicted on fraud charges tied to a mortgage loan (a federal judge later tossed that indictment).
    “He is a leader fighting for a better future for this city, and he, like me, knows what it’s like to be attacked, to be called names, to be threatened, to be harassed,” James said at the time.

  • Newswire Andrea Lucas, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) head wants White men to report DEI discrimination 

    Andrea Lucus

    Since becoming chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Andrea Lucas has shifted the agency’s focus to ending workplace DEI initiatives.
    By Joe Jurado, NewsOne

    According to AP, on Wednesday evening, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas wrote on X, “Are you a white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex? You may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws,” on a video of herself. She referred people to a “DEI-related discrimination” fact sheet posted by the agency and urged affected workers to contact the agency “as soon as possible
    Black women are disproportionately affected by rising unemployment rates, but this is what the EEOC chooses to focus on.
    Only a few hours before Lucas posted, Vice President JD Vance posted an article he said “describes the evil of DEI and its consequences.” Lucas cosigned the post, writing, “Absolutely right @JDVance. And precisely because this widespread, systemic, unlawful discrimination primarily harmed white men, elites didn’t just turn a blind eye; they celebrated it. Absolutely unacceptable; unlawful; immoral.”
    White supremacy is such weak-ass behavior. How are you the superior race, but constantly being victimized by the races you deem lesser? Make it make sense, y’all. 
    Lucas was named as the EEOC chair in November. Trump appointed her to the EEOCin 2020 during his forst term and elevated her to chair in 2025. Under her direction, the agency has shifted focus to “rooting out unlawful DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination.” David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at the NYU School of Law, told AP that Lucas’ post reveals a “fundamental misunderstanding of what DEI is.”
    “It’s really much more about creating a culture in which you get the most out of everyone who you’re bringing on board, where everyone experiences fairness and equal opportunity, including white men and members of other groups,” Glasgow added. The Meltzer Center tracks lawsuits that could affect DEI initiatives, and it’s found that while it has been used to discriminate in several isolated incident, there hasn’t been “any kind of systematic evidence that white men are being discriminated against.”
    Glasgow pointed out that CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are overwhelmingly white men, with white men still making up the majority of corporate leadership, state and federal legislators, and other notable fields. “If DEI has been this engine of discrimination against white men, I have to say it hasn’t really been doing a very good job at achieving that,” Glasgow said.
    Jenny Yang, a former EEOC chair, told AP that it was “unusual” and “problematic” that the agency is now prioritizing the civil rights of one group. “It suggests some sort of priority treatment,” Yang said. “That’s not something that sounds to me like equal opportunity for all.”
    She noted how, under Lucas, the agency has completely deprioritized workplace discrimination cases filed by transgender workers. “It worries me that a message is being sent that the EEOC only cares about some workers and not others,” Yang told AP. 
    It’s genuinely disheartening how much progress the Trump administration has managed to roll back in only a year. America has become far worse for Black, brown, and LGBTQ citizens, and the white folks who voted for this are still broke. So much winning.

  • Newswire : Parents now pay more for childcare than housing across the U.S.

    By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

    Childcare is draining American families with a force that has begun to rival housing costs, and new national analysis shows that in cities across the country, parents are paying more to care for their children than to keep a roof over their heads. Researchers at LendingTree found that infant care exceeds average rent in 11 of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, while childcare for two children exceeds rent in 85 cities across the country.

    The spike in expenses lands at a moment when the federal shutdown has blocked funding for 140 Head Start programs that serve 65,000 preschoolers. At least 20 programs have partially or fully closed, directly affecting nearly 10,000 children whose families now face soaring out-of-pocket Childcare costs with no federal support.
    Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst for LendingTree, called the price crush unavoidable for many families. “Spending almost $1,300 a month on Childcare is a massive burden for parents, but most families don’t have another choice,” Schulz stated. “They can’t stay home. They don’t have family or friends they can rely on for Childcare. They have no other option but to put up a ton of money each month for Childcare.”
    According to LendingTree, full-time infant care across the 100 largest metro areas averages $1,282 per month, compared with $1,716 for a two-bedroom rental. But in cities like Springfield, Massachusetts, parents now spend $1,996 on infant care compared with $1,734 for a two-bedroom apartment. That fifteen percent gap is the highest in the country. Milwaukee follows at nearly fifteen percent. Wichita, Omaha, Baltimore, Buffalo, Syracuse, Spokane, Minneapolis, Toledo, and Worcester also report infant care costs that outpace rent by significant margins.
    The financial blow becomes more punishing for households with two children. Families in Omaha are paying $2,891 a month for Childcare for an infant and a four-year-old, more than twice the city’s average monthly rent of $1,368. Milwaukee and Buffalo are close behind, with Childcare there also costing more than double the rent. Households in Springfield, Syracuse, Toledo, Spokane, Minneapolis, Wichita, and Rochester all face gaps of seventy percent or more between Childcare costs and rent.
    LendingTree notes that while the situation is severe in many regions, the pressure is also felt in cities where rent is extremely high. In Miami, San Jose, and San Francisco, rent still exceeds Childcare costs, but Childcare remains a heavy expense that continues to climb. Nationally, the price of Childcare increased more than thirty percent between 2020 and 2024, driven in part by shortages of early childhood educators and widespread Childcare deserts in rural and low-income regions.
    For many households, the federal shutdown has turned an already strained system into a breaking point. Without funding, Head Start programs in more than a dozen states have already halted classes or reduced hours. Advocates warn that families who lose subsidized early childhood education face few alternatives, especially in communities that already lack available Childcare slots.
    Schulz said families should brace for continued financial pressure. “High rent and Childcare costs create massive challenges for most young families,” he said. “However, to the degree possible, it is important to not fully ignore long-term goals like retirement and emergency savings.”

  • Newswire : U.S. Capitol unveils statue of teen civil rights icon Barbara Rose Johns, taking Robert E. Lee’s spot

    A statue of Virginia civil rights activist Barbara Rose Johns, whose statue will replace one of Robert E. Lee as one of Virginia’s two statues on display at the Capitol, is unveiled Tuesday in Washington, D.C.Mark Schiefelbein / AP

    By The Associated Press
    The U.S. Capitol on Tuesday began displaying a statue of a teenaged Barbara Rose Johns as she protested poor conditions at her segregated Virginia high school, a pointed replacement for a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that was removed several years ago.
    An unveiling ceremony of the statue representing Virginia in the Capitol took place in Emancipation Hall, featuring Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Virginia’s congressional delegation and Democratic Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger.
    Johnson said more than 200 members of Johns’ family were on hand, listening on as the ceremony included renditions of “How Great Thou Art,” “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round” and “Total Praise” performed by the Eastern Senior High School choir from Washington.
    “We are here to honor one of America’s true trailblazers, a woman who embodied the essence of the American spirit in her fight for liberty and justice and equal treatment under the law, the indomitable Barbara Rose Johns,” Johnson said.
    Johns was 16 years old in 1951 when she led a student strike for equal education at R.R. Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia. The students’ cause gained the support of NAACP lawyers, who filed a lawsuit that would become one of the five cases that the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed in Brown v. Board of Education. The high court’s landmark 1954 decision declared “separate but equal” public schools unconstitutional.
    Johns later married the Rev. William Powell and became Barbara Rose Johns Powell, raised five children and was a librarian in the Philadelphia Public Schools. She died at 56 in 1991.
    “She put God first in her life. She was brave, bold, determined, strong, wise, unselfish, warm and loving,” said Terry Harrison, one of her daughters.
    The statue shows the young Johns standing to the side of a lectern, holding a tattered book over her head. Its pedestal is engraved with the words, “Are we going to just accept these conditions, or are we going to do something about it?” It also features a quote from the Book of Isaiah: “And a little child shall lead them.”
    The statue replaces one of Lee that was removed in December 2020 from the Capitol, where it had represented Virginia for 111 years. The removal occurred during a time of renewed national attention over Confederate monuments after the death of George Floyd and was relocated to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
    “The Commonwealth of Virginia will now be properly represented by an actual patriot who embodied the principle of liberty and justice for all, and not a traitor who took up arms against the United States to preserve the brutal institution of chattel slavery,” Jeffries said at the ceremony
    Johns’ sister, Joan Johns Cobbs, read from a journal entry by Johns: “And then there were times I just prayed, ‘God, please grant us a new school, please let us have a warm place to stay where we won’t have to keep our coats on all day to stay warm. God, please help us. We are your children too.’”
    The Johns piece is part of the National Statuary Hall Collection at the Capitol, in which each state can contribute two statues. The other statue representing Virginia is of George Washington.
    National Statuary Hall displays 35 of the statues. Others are in the Crypt, the Hall of Columns and the Capitol Visitor Center. Johnson said the Johns statue will be placed in the Crypt.
    Former Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam had requested the removal of the Lee statue. In December 2020, a state commission recommended replacing Lee’s statue with a statue of Johns.
    The Johns statue, sculpted by Steven Weitzman of Maryland, received final approval from the Architect of the Capitol and the Joint Committee on the Library in July.
    Johns is also featured in a sculpture at the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial outside the state Capitol in Richmond. The former high school is now a National Historic Landmark and museum.
    “It’s an incredibly profound moment, a moment to stand in a tar shack classroom with a hot potbelly stove as a heater, tar paper walls, shabby desks, right where 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns courageously organized her schoolmates and stood up to the lie — the lie was separate but equal,” Youngkin said of the museum.

  • Newswire : November Jobs Report shows rising unemployment and worsening outlook for Black workers

    Black worker leaving job with personal materials

    By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

    The U.S. labor market showed further signs of strain in November, with new federal data revealing rising unemployment, steep losses in government jobs, and worsening conditions for Black workers, particularly Black men, according to an analysis of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report and a review by the National Women’s Law Center.

    Employers added 64,000 jobs nationwide in November, a modest gain following months of data disruptions caused by the federal government shutdown. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent, up from 4.4 percent in September, the last month for which a full labor force survey was completed. The increase places unemployment at its highest level in four years.
    Behind the headline figures, federal employment continued to fall sharply. Since January, when Donald Trump returned to office, federal payrolls have declined by 271,000 positions. The November report reveals continued reductions tied to deferred resignation programs and layoffs that accelerated earlier in the fall, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    The rise in unemployment has been uneven, with Black workers experiencing some of the most severe impacts. Black men ages 20 and older saw their unemployment rate jump from 6.6 percent in September to 7.5 percent in November. Black women ages 20 and older recorded an unemployment rate of 7.1 percent in November, slightly lower than September’s 7.5 percent but still higher than any other racial or ethnic group.
    Long-term unemployment has also become more pronounced for Black workers. Black women who are unemployed are typically out of work for 14.5 weeks, while Black men face average unemployment spells of 12.1 weeks. By comparison, white women experience unemployment lasting about 8.6 weeks, and white men about 9.6 weeks, according to the National Women’s Law Center’s review of federal labor data.
    The November report shows that overall job growth remains concentrated in a narrow set of sectors. Healthcare added more than 46,000 jobs, while construction employment rose by 28,000. Manufacturing lost 5,000 jobs, and transportation and warehousing shed nearly 18,000 positions. Leisure and hospitality also declined, reflecting broader weakness outside a handful of growth industries.
    Federal officials cautioned that November’s data carries higher-than-usual margins of error due to the shutdown-related survey delays. Even so, economists reviewing the report noted that revisions to late summer and early fall payrolls showed fewer jobs than initially reported, reinforcing signs of a cooling labor market.
    The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of people unemployed for more than six months rose to 1.9 million in November, up from 1.7 million a year earlier. Wage growth slowed to 3.5 percent over the past year, the weakest pace since before the pandemic, adding pressure on households facing elevated prices and limited job mobility.
    The National Women’s Law Center said it will continue monitoring labor market data by race, gender, and industry to assess how job losses and prolonged unemployment affect women and families as federal employment contracts and hiring remain subdued.

  • LEGENDS Bingo sponsor breakfast with Sheriff Santa

    December 13- LEGENDS BINGO,  Coordinator Shelia Smith and Sheriff Santa hosted Breakfast with Santa at Boligee Community Center. Breakfast, gift cards for the kids and a picture with Greene County Sheriff I mean Santa Sheriff Joe Benison was available. Commissioner Garria Spencer and Commissioner Summerville were on hand to assist.

  • Greene County Alumnae Chapter Members host annual Adopt-A-Family in Greene and Hale

    Members of the Greene County, Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta sorority Inc. present gifts to families for the chapters annual adoptive family event 2025 in Greene County, Alabama.

    Picture left to right Johnni Strode Morning, Leisa, Gaines Means, Phillis Belcher, DHR Representative Rebecca Pendergrass, Jacqueline Allen, AAF Committee Chair and Marva Smith. Not pictured Tameshia Porter and DHR Representative Kim Tyree

    Members of the Greene County Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated present gifts to families for the chapter’s annual Adopt-A-Family event 2025 in Hale County, AL

    Picture left to right Cynthia Hogue, Schiquetta Burrell, Hale County DHR Director Natasha King, Hale county DHR Representative Sandra Brown Marva Smith, Phillis Belcher, Jacqueline Allen, AAF Committee Chair. Not pictured Erika Long and Samoria Beck with Hale County.

  • Greene County Commission assists ambulance service to meet expenses and keep operating

    At a special called meeting on Thursday, December 18, 2025, the Greene County Commission responded to an urgent request from the Greene County Emergency Medical Services (GEMS) for funds to pay bills, including payroll, to allow the county’s ambulance services to keep operating.
    Commission Chair Garria Spencer said, “We are responding to the Greene County Ambulance Service with an advance of $88,000 to meet back expenses. We expect GEMS to contact others, including, the county municipalities, the Sheriff, the Industrial Board, the volunteer fire departments and others for immediate support. Any money collected from other agencies should be paid to the County Commission, to reimburse for this advance. The advance will allow the ambulance service to continue operating while we seek a more permanent solution to its problems.”
    Vickie Colson, was recently chosen as Chair of the GEMS, when other members resigned. She informed the County Commission of the crisis financial problems and asked for assistance in continuing the vital work of the ambulance service in Greene County.
    Colson also informed the Commission that Chris Jones, GEMS current Executive Director, had submitted his resignation and that the board would be responsible for directing and supervising operations until a new director is found and can be placed in that position.
    Other surrounding rural counties including Sumter, Pickens and Hale have also had problems in maintaining ambulance services in a situation with isolated and aging rural populations, low reimbursement rates from Medicare and Medicaid, and the general uncertainties of the future financial stability of rural health care, under the Trump budget cuts.
    In talking with Ms. Colson, it seems that the Greene County EMS is in need of more guaranteed revenue sources to subsidize operations and capital expenses, like maintaining and expanding the ambulance fleet. Beyond the County Commission, the municipalities, gaming, the fire departments and others will need to make annual guaranteed allocations for the ambulance services. Another possibility is to raise the advalorem milage property tax rate to support the ambulance service.
    The County Commission stepped up to the plate to assure the continuance of ambulance services in Greene County but all of us, residents of the county, businesses and industries, fire departments and others will need to stand firm in figuring a way forward for this vital and needed service.