Greene County Democrat

Category: Crime

  • Newswire : HIV rates remain high in the Black community

    By Frederick H. Lowe

    aids graphic
     AID’s rates among the population
    National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was Wednesday, February 7th, but if you missed the parade that acknowledged the day, you’re not alone because there wasn’t one. There were some panel discussions. But discussions concerning HIV have largely gone silent because many of us erroneously believe the disease has been defeated.
    Although HIV infections and HIV deaths have declined in recent years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 1.1 million people are currently living with HIV in the U.S. and 470,000 are African American. This number includes 74,100 individuals who don’t know they are infected and are at higher risk of transmitting the virus.
    The disease has continued to cut a deadly swath through the Black community since 1981 when it was first discovered. By U.S. region, the South has the highest rate of recent HIV infections, accounting for the majority of blacks newly diagnosed with the disease, which was 63% in 2016.

    HIV/AIDS was the sixth-leading cause of death among black men 20 to 44 years old and the fourth leading cause of death among Black women 35 to 44 in 2015. There are many reasons why this plague continues to spread almost unabated and almost unnoticed throughout the black community, but a significant reason is that the disease is not talked about as much as it was years ago. This relative lack of ongoing public discourse about HIV/ AIDS may have given rise to a false sense of safety in the black community.
    The other leading causes of death among Black men are heart disease, cancer, accidents and homicide.
    Major reasons for the high rate of HIV infection include poverty, lack of access to health care, higher rates of some other sexually transmitted infections, lack of awareness of HIV status and stigma, stated the Kaiser Family Foundation in its report “Black Americans and HIV/AIDS: The Basics,” published this month.
    “Black Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS since the epidemic’s beginning,” reported Kaiser Family Foundation. “Although blacks represent only 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 43 percent of HIV diagnoses; 43 percent of people living with HIV and 44 percent of people who have died from HIV, which is a rate greater than that of any other racial or ethnic group (see chart below).
    The Black community’s lack knowledge about medicines that control the virus and their reluctance or refusal to take advantage of available treatment options has also contributed to HIV’s spread.
    Kaiser published its report years after the introduction of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis, commercially called Truvada), which helps prevent individuals who are HIV-negative from contracting HIV. Although PrEP was introduced five years ago, it is not well known among blacks.
    Gilead Sciences, Inc., which manufactures the only Food Drug Administration-approved form of PrEP, reported the drug’s uptake was low among African Americans. Between 2012 and 2015, only 10% of all new PrEP prescriptions were written for blacks.
    Blacks also did not take the threat of HIV/AIDS seriously, probably because of a lack of information.
    The late comedian Robin Harris told a joke about black people wanting AIDS because they believed it was money being given to white gay men who at the time were the largest group suffering from HIV infections. “Iwant some of that aid,” said Harris,” mimicking a black man in his comedy routine.
    I worked in Philadelphia as a reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News. The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists sponsored a luncheon on HIV/AIDS. We went to black gay bars to tell people about the event.
    A startling number said they would not attend because they did not care if they contracted HIV/AIDS.

    A reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer said she wasn’t going to attend because she did not to be in the same room with gay men and women. Needless to say, the luncheon was lightly attended.
    But one woman who served food at the luncheon said she had heard about HIV/AIDS, but this was the first time it had been explained to her. She thanked the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists for hosting the event.
    There are other reasons why HIV has spread unchecked in the black community.
    Kaiser reports that the course from HIV diagnosis to viral suppression reveals missed opportunities in reaching blacks.
    “While 84% of blacks are diagnosed, 46% remain in regular care and 43% are virally suppressed. Blacks also may be less likely to sustain viral suppression.” (This occurs when antiretroviral therapy, ART, reduces a person’s viral load, or HIV RNA, reduces the viral load to an undetectable level. Viral suppression does not mean a person is cured; HIV remains in the body, but it is checked).
    Meanwhile, HIV is very much here. It’s an ever-present danger and one that’s getting worse though we’re being assured that it is getting better.
    In 2015, African Americans had the highest age-adjusted HIV-death rate —- 7.9 per 100,000, compared with 1.1 per 100,000 for whites.
    Newly diagnosed black gay and bisexual men are younger than their white counterparts, with those aged 13 to 24 accounting for 36% of new HIV diagnoses among black gay and bisexual men in 2016 compared to 15 percent among whites.
    Charts by Frederick H. Lowe

  • Newswire : Teen survivors of Florida shooting to march on Washington for gun law reform

    By Hayley Miller, Huffpost

     

    Florida High School students
    Florida high school students speak out against guns

    A group of students who survived the Wednesday mass shooting at a Florida high school is organizing a nationwide march to demand lawmakers make ending gun violence a priority.
    The “March For Our Lives” is planned for March 24 in Washington, D.C., with sister marches expected to break out in other major cities across the country, five students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School announced on Sunday during several TV appearances.
    “People are saying that it’s not time to talk about gun control, and we can respect that,” Cameron Kasky, a junior at the high school, said on ABC’s “This Week.”
    “Here’s the time: March 24,” Kasky continued. “In every single city, we are going to be marching together as students begging for our lives. This isn’t about the GOP. This isn’t about the Democrats. This is about the adults. We feel neglected. At this point, you’re either with us or you’re against us.”

    A 19-year-old former student has confessed to using an assault-style rifle to open fire Wednesday at the high school in Parkland, killing 17 people and injuring over a dozen others. Many students at the school, located roughly 40 miles north of Miami, have spoken out since the massacre, pleading with politicians to take action on gun violence.
    “We are losing our lives while the adults are playing around,” Kasky said Sunday on CNN. “We have our lives on the line here. At the end day, that is what is going to be bringing us to victory and to making some sort of right out of this tragedy. This is about us begging for our lives.”

    “The future of our country are those children that are currently dying because politicians refuse to take action,” said David Hogg, senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

    Four other classmates joined Kasky on Sunday: David Hogg, Alex Wind, Jaclyn Corin, and Emma Gonzalez, who delivered a powerful speech Saturday at a rally for gun control in Fort Lauderdale.
    Gonzalez begged Congress to “please stop allowing us to be gunned down in our hallways” during an appearance with her fellow students on “Fox News Sunday.”
    “We want students to be at that march and to be with us,” Gonzalez said. “We want to be with those students who we didn’t understand their pain before and it’s all too tragic that we all have to understand the same pain now.”

  • County Commission extends date for solid waste fee exemption

    At its regular meeting held Monday, February 12, 2018, the Greene County Commission extended the date for residents to apply for exemption of payment for solid waste pick-up services. The application period is extended for one month through March 12 for eligible county residents. According to County Engineer, Willie Branch, to be considered for exemption, social security must be the only income in the household. Branch noted that the applicant must also have a zero balance regarding county solid waste services.
    The commission approved the revised resource officers contract which assigns four officers to various schools in the county. The contract only allows for the officers to be retained when schools are in session with students. The resource officers are secured through the sheriff’s office but their compensation is provided by the Greene County Board of Education.
    In other business, the commission approved the following:
    * Levy of taxes for 2018.
    * Levy of ABC license fees for 2018.
    * E911’s request to name a new road off Plum Lane as Rattle Snake Bend.

    * Allowing EMA to accept equipment for the state agency.
    * Agreement between DHR and EMA to provide Mass Care Operation during times of natural disaster.
    * Ratified travel of jail administrator and assistant regarding Trade Show in Biloxi, MS, Feb. 6-7.
    Travel request for various conferences, workshops and training.
    In the financial report, CFO Paula Bird stated the following bank balances as of January 18: Citizen Trust $3,173,791.41; Merchant & Farmers $2,068,452.09; Bank of New York $619,178.37; total CD investments $801,989.79.
    Regarding budget amendments, Bird noted that Sheriff Benison has provided additional funds to the county for his department’s overtime.
    The commission tabled two agenda items: consideration of a resolution renaming U.S. Highway 43 in honor of Thomas Gilmore; appointment to the Water Authority.

     

  • The Greene County Democratic Executive Committee announces candidates

    The Greene County Democratic Executive Committee announced the list of candidates that have qualified to run in the June 5, 2018 primary for county and state positions. The qualifying period ended on Friday, February 9, 2018 at 5:00 PM.
    The following persons qualified for county offices, which will be on the ballot for the 2018 June Primary and November General Elections:

    Probate Judge:  John Kennard, Grace Belton-Stanford, Rashon Smith, Jeremy Rancher, Rolanda M. Wedgeworth and James Carter
    Greene County Sheriff: Jonathan “Joe” Benison, Jimmie Benison, Lorenzo French and Beverly Spencer.
    Coroner: Ronald “Kent” Smith and Finest Gandy, Jr. .
    Circuit Clerk: Veronica Morton-Jones and Debra Blackmon

    Greene County Commission, all seats to be involved:

    District 1: Lester “Bop” Brown and James Gaines, Jr.

    District 2: Tennyson Smith, no opposition.

    District 3: Corey Cockrell and Elzora C. Fluker.

    District 4: Allen Turner, Jr. and John Vester.

    District 5: Michael Williams, Marvin Childs, Grace Atkins Lavender, Roshanda  Summerville and Marvin K. Walton.

    Democratic Executive Committee:
    Barbara Ann Collin -District 1, Lester Cotton -District 3, Teresa M. Atkins  -District 3, Spiver W. Gordon- District 3, Mary Morrow Carter -District 3, Frank “Pinto ‘ Smith -District 3, Hattie Barnett Edwards- District 3, Amy Billups Wiggins -District 2 and Linda R. Spencer -District 1

    State Democratic Executive Committee: Bettye Maye – SDEC 71, Nick Underwood SDEC 71
    Johnnie Mae Scott – SDEC 72, Arthur Crawford, Sr. – SDEC 72, John Zippert – SDEC 72
    All candidates may announce their candidacy, with a photo, at no cost in the Greene County Democrat. Please bring your announcement to the newspaper office. Special rates are also available for political advertisements after the free announcement.

  • Eutaw police seize unlawfully possessed guns

    GUNS.jpg

    Shown above Eutaw Police officer Sergeant Rodriquez Jones and Assistant Chief Walter Beck displaying half of the guns seized over a period of 3 months.

    The Eutaw Police Department reported a rise in the number of guns seized through various instances. Officer Beck explained that most weapons are seized at traffic stops, domestic violence calls and pat downs. He noted that more and more guns are being found on youth. Oftentimes these are weapons that have been reported stolen.“It is important that you know the serial numbers of your weapons. We may have recovered your lost or stolen weapon but without the serial numbers to identify your weapons, returns are impossible,” Officer Beck stated.
    Deputy Rodriquez Jones cautioned the community to be aware of what your children are posting on facebook. He has seen youth riding around with hand guns loading and unloading clips.

    “It important to be aware of your surroundings. Be cautious if you see someone walking around late at night. Also remember to kept your cars and doors lock at all time,” he stated.

  • John Kennard seeks Probate Judge office

    John Kennard

     

    I am today announcing my candidacy for the Office of Probate Judge of Greene County. I think the first duty of any elected official is to do the job that the people elected him to do. With God’s help, I will do just that.
    I believe that there is a second component to holding an elected office, that is, don’t do as so many in the past have done. Don’t forget the very people that put you where you are.
    I am a lifelong resident of Greene County and I have held public office before.
    This is our county, and it is our duty to make it the best that it can be. Our children and our grandchildren deserve the same opportunities in this county as the children in Tuscaloosa and Marengo Counties.

    I am married to the former Ms. Pamela Freeman; we have four sons, Cedric, Benjamin, Dr. Dewayne Stallworth and Marine Sergeant Alfred Lamar. I am looking forward to serving the people of Greene county. Thanks in advance for your vote, your support and your prayer. Let’s work together and make Greene County a place we all can be proud of.

  • Alabama Poor People’s Campaign holds rally at State Capitol steps in Montgomery in preparation for National Call for Moral Revival

    Special to the Democrat by: Miriam Wright

    Demonstartor on steps of Capitol.jpg

     

    Demonstrators from the Poor People’s on steps of the Alabama State Capitol at
    Monday’s rally. Photo courtesy of Brian Lyman, Montgomery Advertiser.

    A cold morning brought rays of sunshine this past Monday, February 6, 2018, to Alabama – along with more than 30 states plus Washington D.C. – helping roll out the National Poor People’s Campaign. Initiated by Rev. William Barber of North Carolina, leader of the ‘Moral Monday Movement’, this grassroots movement already has feet beginning to march across the nation in an effort to uplift human dignity.
    On the steps in front of the state capitol in Montgomery, a non-denominational, non-partisan group of some 50 people gathered.

    A podium was erected and a PA system sprung to life with the introduction of speakers including: Rev.Tonny Algood, United Methodist Inner City Mission, Mobile, Rev.Carolyn Foster, Greater Birmingham Ministries, Birmingham., Rev.James Rutledge, AME Zion Church, Birmingham., Imam Abdur Rahim Sabree, Muslim Center of Montgomery, Natividad Gonzalez, Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ) Organizer, Birmingham – War Economy, Wanda, Bryant, Community Activist, Birmingham.- Poverty, Jelanie Coleman, Night of 1, Selma. Common threads were the reality of the level of poverty existing in our country today and the ills that have been perpetuated and increased as the result of being ignored for decades. The talks were to the point, addressing the issues of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy and ecological devastation, all hot topics for the Campaign.
    Like all other Poor Peoples Campaigns around the nation in their own capitols, Alabama’s delegation delivered letters to both branches of the Legislature, House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, and Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston.
    Campaign organizers Tonny Algood and Cara McClure delivered the letters to the legislators.
    The letter read in part, “We demand a change in course… Our faith traditions and federal constitution all testify to the immorality of an economy that leaves out the poor, yet our political discourses consistently ignore the 140 million poor and low-income people in America.”
    The letters also made clear that unless direct actions are taken immediately to address these chronic problems, there would be visible consequences in the way of a massive wave of Nonviolent Civil Disobedience, that the Poor People’s Campaign will initiate on Mother’s Day, May 12, 2018 and continuing for forty days.
    This Poor People’s Campaign and National Call for Moral Revival will sweep the nation this spring, including Alabama if the conditions of poor people are not radically changed. In the words of Carolyn Foster, chair of the state PPC committee, “We have come to say clearly that a politics that ignores the poor has gone on far too long, and we will not be silent anymore.”
    For more information and how to get involved go to:
    Locally: http://www.facebook.com/AlabamaPPC/Nationally: http://www.poorpeoplescampaign;
    and of course you will find each chapter on Facebook as well as Twitter.

  • Newswire : ADL Report: White Supremacists murdered 18 people in 2017

    Beatrice Dupuy
    Posted with permission from Newsweek
    kkk-668x501.jpg
    Klu Klux Klan members
    White supremacists not only shed their masks in 2017 but unleashed one of the deadliest years for extremist violence in almost half a century. Over the past 12 months, white supremacists committed the largest number of domestic-extremist related killings, helping to make 2017 the fifth-deadliest year for extremist violence since 1970, according to a newly released report from the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.
    The center counted a total of 34 people killed by domestic extremists, of which 18 were killed by white supremacists, more than double the number of the previous year. In the last decade, right-wing extremism made up 71 percent of extremist-related murders compared to 26 percent of murders by Islamic extremists.
    The overall number of deaths attributed to domestic extremists has declined—from 71 people in 2016 and 69 in 2015. The report attributes the fall to a drop in extremist-related mass-shooting sprees like the one Omar Mateen carried out when he killed 49 people at the Orlando Pulse nightclub in 2016.
    Even with the decline, the resurgence in white supremacy has politicians raising questions. Democratic Senator Kamala Harris tweeted out Tuesday that she was deeply troubled that the Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen “failed to mention” domestic acts of terror during a Tuesday Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on threats to the U.S.
    Nielsen was testifying on a new report by the Department of Homeland Security that studied the number of immigrants taken into custody for terrorism-related activities. The report was part of President Donald Trump’s executive order to protect the nation from “foreign terrorist entry” to the U.S.
    “It is deeply troubling that when talking about threats to our nation, Secretary Nielsen failed to mention a report that talks about some of the most rampant terror attacks that face our nation—domestic acts of terror, including white supremacist extremists,” Harris said in a tweet.
    Experts say that the emphasis placed by the government on foreign-born extremists as opposed to domestic-related extremists is part of a larger problem. Anti-Defamation League’s Director of the Center on Extremism, Oren Segal, said the report was a skewed version of terrorism threats in the U.S. by leaving out domestic-terror incidents.
    “In a time when the public discussion still tends to focus on foreign terrorist organizations, it is important to remember that white supremacists in particular still very much pose a threat in this country,” he said
    The Anti-Defamation League report cites several incidents of white supremacist killings in 2017 including a school shooting in Aztec, New Mexico. William Edward Atchison, 21, entered his old high school by pretending to be a student and then killed two students before turning the gun on himself in December. Atchinson posted online in pro-Trump and alt-right forums, with usernames including Future Mass Shooter, and ranted about his racist ideology, according to The Daily Beast.
    The report found that murders carried out by white supremacists in 2017 had ties to the alt-right, a movement that spread online and sprung into rallies and protests where supporters share views seen by many as anti-semitic and racist. The movement entered the mainstream in part thanks to the emergence of Donald Trump. The president’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon once called the publication he until recently ran, Breitbart News, ” the platform for the alt-right.”
    Segal said white supremacists are now emboldened and their recent activity, including holding rallies and using social media to radicalize people, must be taken seriously to “mitigate and protect” Americans from next the next attack.
    “We just don’t have the luxury to ignore any extremist threat in this country,” he said.

  • Newswire : Congressional Black Caucus plans protest of Trump at State of the Union

    By Lauren Victoria Burke (NNPA Newswire Contributor)
    During a lengthy, members-only meeting on Capitol Hill on January 19, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) discussed various options to protest the current President of the United States. Their protest plans centered around the annual State of the Union address.
    President Donald Trump’s second State of the Union address is scheduled for January 30.
    The meeting the CBC held to talk over State of the Union protest plans occurred only hours after 66 members of the House voted to act on impeaching the President. That effort was led once again by Black Caucus member Rep. Al Green (D-Texas). Rep. Green’s second impeachment try failed 355-66. Three Democrats voted “present.”
    Weeks after Donald Trump reportedly called Haiti, El Salvador and the continent of Africa “shithole countries” during a meeting on immigration with members of Congress in the Oval Office, many members have had it.
    CBC members who attended the discussion confirmed that several options of protesting President Trump were discussed including walking out, wearing African themed garb and even not showing up to the State of the Union at all. The more vocal members included Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.).
    During an interview with Buzzfeed on January 17, days before the meeting, Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) mentioned the CBC might hold its own State of the Union.
    “We will…discuss how we want to respond to the president’s State of the Union. We could go, we could go and walk out, we could go and hold up fists…or we could not go, or we could hold our own ‘State of the Union,’” Richmond said.
    A few Black Caucus members have already stated that they will not attend the president’s State of the Union address. They include Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.).
    Some CBC members are concerned about Congress’ largest caucus not being unified in protest, whatever form the protest may take. Other members wanted to make sure serious issues are highlighted and expressed concerns about the protest taking attention away from serious policy discussion. But in the age of former reality TV star turned President Donald Trump, others say that the best response is to fight fire with fire.
    With protests in the air and in the streets around the first anniversary of the start of the Trump presidency, the timing of any protest the CBC may undertake on the night of the State of the Union is likely to receive serious media attention.

    Regarding Rep. Green’s impeachment attempts, which House leadership is in opposition of, Green pointed out that Trump, “has by his statements brought the high office of president of the United States in contempt, ridicule, disgrace and disrepute; has sown discord among the people of the United States; has demonstrated that he is unfit to be president; and has betrayed his trust as president of the United States to the manifest injury of the people of the United States and has committed a high misdemeanor in office.”
    Rep. Green’s form of protest was a legislative one. On the night of the State of the Union, we are likely to see a more theatrical display.
    Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist, political analyst and contributor to the NNPA Newswire and BlackPressUSA.com. She can be reached by email at LBurke007@gmail.com and on Twitter at @LVBurke.

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  • Newswire : NAACP and Africa-America Institute announce Alliance

    Partnership includes Pre-K to College Curriculum on the African Diaspora

    By: Malik Russell/ mrussell@naacpnet.org

     

    derrickjohnson_01_naacp_web120.jpg

                                                   Derrick Johnson, NAACP President

    PASEDENA, CA (January 15, 2018)—On Monday, January 15, 2018, the holiday marking the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the NAACP and the Africa-America Institute announced a groundbreaking partnership during the 49th NAACP Image Awards.
    The NAACP will work with the AAI on the development and distribution of a curriculum designed to highlight the accomplishments, achievements and history of Africa and its Diaspora.
    “It’s appropriate that on a day that we honor Dr. King as well as promote positive images of people of color, we announce to the world a partnership that includes a curriculum, learning exchange and a network for advocacy and activism on behalf of those of African descent in the United States and abroad, “said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP.
    “AAI has a long history of academic exchange and educational meetings between Africa and America. Now is an extraordinary time and opportunity to partner with the NAACP and together connect the more than 42 million Afro-descendants with the brilliance of the African history and its contribution to modern civilization,” added Kofi Appenteng, President of the Africa-America Institute.
    The curriculum from the NAACP/AAI Alliance will include content such as Africa’s Great Civilizations, the critically acclaimed series by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Partners and NAACP chapters will benefit from organized screenings and lessons with an early education focus on positive identity formation and a more advanced curriculum that includes studies in social sciences.

    A campaign kick-off will take place in February of 2018 as a part of Black History Month.
    ABOUT THE AFRICA-AMERICA INSTITUTE (AAI)
    The Africa-America Institute is the premier U.S.-based international organization that works to increase the capacity of African individuals and institutions through higher education initiatives, leadership development, professional workforce training, convening activities, program implementation and management.

    ABOUT THE NAACP
    Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas here.