The Greene County Board of Education held its monthly meeting, Tuesday, June 11, 2024. All board members were present, as well as Superintendent Dr. Corey Jones, Attorney Hank Sanders and CSFO Marquita Lennon.
Superintendent Jones’ report began with a statement that there were no positive COVID cases in the schools for the period May 20 to June 11, 2024.
He continued with positive news for the various schools pointing out Greene County students engaging in continuing education programs this summer.
GCHS has11 students enrolled at Wallace Community College Selma this summer. One student is enrolled at the University of Alabama for Early College. Diamond White, a rising senior, was selected to participate in the Rural Health Scholars Program at the University of Alabama this summer. Debate Team members, Brianna Jackson, Jasmine Simpson, Arriuna Taylor and instructor Larry Barnette will attend a conference in Washington, D.C the week of June 10, 2024. Jeremiah Bullock is attending the Building Construction Camp at Auburn University the week of June 10. Kaden Roberts is participating in a two-week NASA MUREP Summer Institute at Tuskegee University, which aims to increase the number of minorities in STEM.
GC Career Center: ACT Bootcamp was held June 3; Career Preparedness via ACCESS continues through July 18, with three students enrolled.
RBMS will have a certified Math teacher for the 7th and 8th grades. Summer Learning is participating in the OMI Math is Art Unit.
Eutaw Primary is hosting summer school from June 3 – 27, 2024.
Following an executive session, the board acted on the following personnel items, recommended by Superintendent Jones:
Resignation(s) – Sherita Carpenter, Interventionist, Eutaw Primary School; Victoria Moore, Chemistry/Physics teacher, Greene Co. High School, effective May 29, 2024;
Voluntary Transfer of Ms. Sylvia Williams from English teacher at Greene County High School to English teacher at Robert Brown Middle School, effective the 2024 – 2025 school year.
Transfer(s) 2024 – 2025 school year: Dexter Hinton from Modern Manufacturing teacher at Greene County Career Center to CTE teacher at Robert Brown Middle School.
Reassignments 2024 – 2025 school year: Garry Rice from Math Specialist at Robert Brown Middle School to Assistant Principal at Robert Brown Middle School; Dr. Rosalyn Griffin from Assistant Principal at Robert Brown Middle School to Counselor at Robert Brown Middle School; Pamela Pasteur from Interventionist at Eutaw Primary School to Elementary teacher at Eutaw Primary School; Tameshia Porter from Interventionist at Greene County High School to English teacher at Greene County High School.
Employment: Laquita Hunter, Long-term substitute, Greene County Learning Academy; (Board Member Veronica Richardson abstained on the recommendation regarding Ms. Hunter); Kianga Austin, 6th grade Science teacher, RBMS; Ashley Binion Lily – Middle School English, RMBS; Akia Williams – Elementary teacher, RBMS; Krystal Flantroy, Chemistry/Physics teacher, GCHS; Dr. Nashondra Ruffin, 7th & 8th grade Science TEAMS teacher, RBMS.
Additional duties for Mental Health Coordinator to serve as Truancy Officer.
Additional Service Contracts 2024 – 2025 for the following employees at Greene County High School (Separate Contract): Corey Cockrell – Head Varsity Football; Torethia Mitchell – Head Volleyball; Kiren Greene – Band Director; Paula Calligan-Leftwich – Dance Coach; Torethia Mitchell – Head Varsity Girls Basketball; Howard Crawford – Head Varsity Boys Basketball; Rodney Wesley – Head Jr. Varsity Boys Basketball; Janice Jeames-Askew – Athletic Director.
Stipend in the amount of $1,000 for Pamela McGee, teacher at Eutaw Primary School for serving as the RTI Chairperson for the 2023-2024 school year.
Stipend for the following teachers to participate in professional development to promote student achievement at Robert Brown Middle. The professional development will reflect the schoolwide ACIP Plan and will take place for 2 – 5 days during the months of June and July 2024: Rosalyn Griffin; Felecia Smith; Raven Bryant; Vanessa Bryant; Annie Howard; Demetris Lyles; Pinkie Travis.
The board approved the following administrative items recommended by Dr. Jones.
* Contract between the Greene County Board of Education and Marriott Birmingham to host 2024 Administrative Retreat.
* Quote from Allianz Solutions for ACT Boot Camp Tutoring on June 3 – 6, 2024.
* Quote from C & J Resources for ACT Boot Camp Tutoring on July 8 – 11, 2024.
* Permission for Black Scholars committee to use two buses to transport students from Greene County to Stillman June 24 – July 19, 2024.
* The revision of contract between Greene County Board of Education and Chante Myles-Rice (C&J Resources) for ACT Prep tutoring service (Previously approved November 2023)
* Out of state field trip request for seniors to travel to Sevierville, TN for Senior Trip 2025 on May 5 – 9, 2025.
* FY 2024 Budget Amendments.
* Payment of all bills, claims, and payroll.
* Bank reconciliations as submitted by Mrs. Marquita Lennon, CSFO.
Ms. Marquita Lennon, Chief School Finance Officer, presented the Financial Snapshot as of May 31, 2024. Points of Interest: Operating Reserve – 5.44 months combined general fund reserve; 3.87 months cash reserve. All bank accounts have been reconciled. General Fund bank balance totaled $4,768.852.58. Accounts Payable Check Register totaled $373,896.01. Payroll Register totaled $927,638.22. Combined Ending Balance totaled $6,697.366.11. Local Revenue Sources: Property Taxes – $39,424.42; Sales Taxes – $112,204.60; Other Taxes – $152,001.52.
CSFO Lennon also presented budget amendments for FY 2024, including carry-over funds and amended expenditures for Title 1 – Part A; Title I – Part A C/O; Title II (includes CSR), Title IV; Rural Education; ESSER III Reserve and ESSER III.
Category: General News
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Superintendent Jones highlights students in summer continuing education programs
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Ribbon cutting held for mural in Eutaw
R TO L: Councilman Jonathan Woodruff, Mayor Latasha Johnson, artist Banks Compton and Carrie Logan, President of the Chamber of Commerce pose in front of mural.
On June 12, 2024, the City of Eutaw held a ribbon cutting to inaugurate a new mural on the side of the building adjacent to city hall. The mural portrays a typical rural scene in Greene County, with a deer and a wild turkey in a forest.Mural painter, Banks Compton, originally from Demopolis, who has painted 40 murals in Alabama, many in nearby towns like Linden, Livingston, and Boligee. Compton received formal training in art at the Rhode Island School of Design. Compton says he is ready to paint more murals in Eutaw, if we can identify suitable wall spaces and a funding source to cover expenses.
The Greene County Chamber of Commerce sponsored the “Welcome to Eutaw, Alabama” mural with a $5,000 grant from RC&D.
Compton in his remarks said he specializes in painting murals, using special materials to cover cracks in the wall and special paints that do not fade easily. He predicted the mural would last 30 years without repainting and warned of using protective coatings that might lead to premature yellowing of the mural.
Eutaw Mayor Latasha Johnson in her remarks welcomed the mural as a sign that, “Our administration, with God’s help, has kept the faith and is moving forward.”
She cited a series of accomplishments in her three years as mayor, including:
• $2.6 million grant from ADEM to repair and improve the Eutaw-Boligee Water System, with no matching funds required.
• $3 million from ADEM to repair the Wastewater system, also with no matching fund requirement.
• $ 1 million from ALDOT for the Streetscape project, to redo the sidewalks on the outside perimeter of the Thomas E. Gilmore Courthouse Square. Matching provided by the City of Eutaw, Greene County Commission and Greene County IDA.
• $ 350,000 from Governor Ivey’s Rebuild Alabama Program to repave 1.34 miles of the Lower Gainesville Road from Highway 11 to the city limit, passing in from of three apartment complexes. This grant must be matched 10% plus engineering fees. The city has requested assistance from Sheriff
Benison to provide the matching funds from fees he controls from electronic bingo.
• $115,000 for 12 new sets of breathing equipment for the Eutaw Fire Department.
• a RISE grant, in conjunction with Auburn University to provide sidewalks for pedestrians to walk downtown and to shopping areas on Highway 43.• An annual budget to measure all income and expenditures to the city has been developed and followed by the Mayor and Council.
• Two ‘clean audits’ for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 have been provided by the CPA firm and will be used in the grant fundraising process.
• The City of Eutaw in conjunction with the Greene County Commission is developing a ‘waterpark for children’ in the city.
The program ended with a symbolic cutting of a red ribbon in front of the mural. Refreshments in the form of muffins, coffee and juice were served in the City Hall.
You can purchase a small print copy of the Eutaw mural or other murals by Banks Compton by contacting his website at http://www.bankscompton.com.
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Newswire: Oklahoma Supreme Court dismisses Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors’ lawsuit
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
The Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a case filed by the last two remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre on Wednesday, June 12, casting doubt on racial equality campaigners’ aspirations for justice and reparations for one of the most heinous acts of racial violence in American history.
The nine-member court upheld a previous ruling by a district court judge in Tulsa, stating that the plaintiffs’ grievances, although legitimate, did not fall within the purview of the state’s public nuisance statute. “We further hold that the plaintiff’s allegations do not sufficiently support a claim for unjust enrichment,” the court declared in its decision.
Attempts by the Black Press to contact both parties were unsuccessful.
Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Fletcher, two survivors who are both over 100 years old, filed the lawsuit in 2020 to compel the City of Tulsa and other parties to make amends for the destruction a white mob caused to the thriving Black neighborhood known as Greenwood. On May 31 and June 1, 1921, the mob, which included individuals hastily deputized by local authorities, looted and set fire to the district, famously dubbed “Black Wall Street.”
The massacre resulted in the deaths of up to 300 Black Tulsans and forced thousands of survivors into internment camps managed by the National Guard. Today, only remnants like burned bricks and part of a church basement remain of the once-thriving 30-block area.
Benningfield Randle and Fletcher, along with the now-deceased Hughes Van Ellis, sued to secure what their attorney termed “justice in their lifetime.” Van Ellis, affectionately known as “Uncle Redd,” was a WWII veteran and a symbol of resilience who died last year at age 102. The lawsuit was grounded in Oklahoma’s public nuisance law, arguing that the massacre’s legacy of racial division and economic disparity persists in Tulsa to this day.
The plaintiffs contended that the city’s history of racial tensions and the economic fallout from the massacre still reverberate, citing the lack of compensation for victims by the city and insurance companies. The lawsuit sought an exhaustive accounting of the property and wealth lost or stolen during the massacre, the construction of a hospital in north Tulsa, and the establishment of a victims’ compensation fund, among other reparations.
In reflecting on Van Ellis’s legacy, advocates emphasized his lifelong commitment to seeking justice for massacre survivors. “He bravely served America, even as he spent a lifetime awaiting atonement related to the Tulsa Race Massacre,” Oklahoma Democratic Rep. Regina Goodwin stated after Van Ellis’s death. “Mr. Ellis urged us to keep fighting for justice. In the midst of his death, there remains an undying sense of right and wrong.”
Rocky Dawuni, a three-time Grammy-nominated artist, also paid tribute to Van Ellis, remarking on his indomitable and uplifting spirit. “Uncle Redd had a larger-than-life presence. His life and story have become part of our collective struggle as a people,” Dawuni said. “His experiences give us a unique glimpse into what Black people had to endure and still have to endure to this day.”
Despite the legal setback, advocates vow to continue their fight for justice, drawing inspiration from the survivors’ unwavering resolve.
“If this truly is a nation of laws and a state based on the law, then my clients, the last-known survivors of the massacre, should get the opportunity that no one else who suffered the devastation had the privilege of,” Damario Solomon-Simmons, a National Civil Rights Attorney and founder of Justice for Greenwood, recently asserted.
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Newswire: Rev. James Lawson Jr., original Freedom Rider and Apostle of Nonviolence, dies at 95
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
Rev. James Lawson Jr., a foundational figure in the Civil Rights Movement and an original Freedom Rider, passed away at 95, his family announced on Monday. Lawson, who dedicated his life to advocating nonviolent protest, died on Sunday in Los Angeles following a short illness.
Lawson’s commitment to nonviolence and civil rights profoundly impacted the movement. He was a close adviser to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who hailed him as “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” During a three-year stay in India, Lawson’s studies of Mohandas K. Gandhi’s independence movement significantly influenced his understanding of nonviolent resistance.
Born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, on September 22, 1928, and raised in Massillon, Ohio, Lawson’s early experiences with racism and the contrasting influences of his parents—his father, an itinerant African Methodist Episcopal minister, and his Jamaican-born mother, who believed in resolving conflicts peacefully—shaped his lifelong commitment to nonviolent resistance. At age 10, an incident where he slapped a white child who had insulted him was a pivotal moment. His mother’s admonishment that love and intelligence were stronger than hate left an indelible mark on him.
Lawson’s activism began in earnest as an Ohio Oberlin College student. After spending 13 months in prison for refusing to register for the draft during the Korean War, he met King in 1957. The two young pastors quickly bonded over their admiration for Gandhi’s ideas. King urged Lawson to use these ideas in the American South due to his firsthand experiences.
In 1960, Lawson orchestrated sit-ins that led to the desegregation of public accommodations in Nashville, one of the first major Southern cities to do so. His workshops trained activists, including future leaders like John Lewis, Marion S. Barry, Diane Nash, James Bevel, and Bernard Lafayette, to withstand violent reactions from white authorities.
Lawson’s activism placed him at the heart of several key events in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1961, he was one of the first Freedom Riders arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for attempting to integrate interstate bus and train travel. During the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma, Alabama, he was among the protesters beaten by authorities at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. In 1968, while pastoring in Memphis, he persuaded King to support the city’s striking sanitation workers. King’s assassination followed shortly after, and years later, Lawson visited James Earl Ray, King’s convicted assassin, in prison. Lawson ministered to Ray and publicly supported theories suggesting Ray had been framed.
Throughout his career, Lawson remained steadfast in his commitment to nonviolence, even as segments of the Black community shifted towards militancy and separatism. His activism extended beyond civil rights to include opposition to the Vietnam War, support for labor unions, gay rights, expanded abortion access, and liberalized immigration policies.
In 1974, Lawson became the senior pastor of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, where he served until his retirement in 1999. His teachings continued through his role as a visiting professor at Vanderbilt University, which had expelled him 46 years earlier for his activism. Vanderbilt invited him back in 2006 and requested his papers for their archives.Rev. Lawson is survived by his wife, Dorothy Wood, his son, John C. Lawson II, a brother, and three grandchildren. His son, C. Seth Lawson, died in 2019. His life and work are a testament to the nonviolent resistance’s power and the ongoing struggle for social justice.
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Newswire: Maryland Gov.Wes Moore set to pardon 175,000 people convicted of marijuana charges
By Bilal G. Morris, NewsOne
According to AP, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore plans to issue 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions. Moore is scheduled to sign the executive order on Monday that will free low-level marijuana possession offenders for more than 100,000 people.
“I’m ecstatic that we have a real opportunity with what I’m signing to right a lot of historical wrongs,” Moore told AP. “If you want to be able to create inclusive economic growth, it means you have to start removing these barriers that continue to disproportionately sit on communities of color.”
Recreational cannabis has been legal in Maryland since 2023. Neighboring states such as Delaware, Virginia and New Jersey have all legalized recreational marijuana. There are 24 other states as well as the District of Columbia that have legalized recreational marijuana.
Moore says criminal records have commonly been used to deny housing, employment and education and hopes the pardons will help change that.
“If you want to be able to create inclusive economic growth, it means you have to start removing these barriers that continue to disproportionately sit on communities of color,” Moore told the Washington Post “certainly long overdue as a nation” and “a racial equity issue.”
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, also told the Post that the pardons were “certainly long overdue as a nation” and “a racial equity issue.”
“While the pardons will extend to anyone and everyone with a misdemeanor conviction for the possession of marijuana or paraphernalia, this unequivocally, without any doubt or reservation, disproportionately impacts — in a good way — Black and Brown Marylanders,” Brown said.
The pardons will happen around the same time the nation celebrates the Juneteenth holiday, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
Marijuana convictions coupled with the American prison system have perpetuated modern-day slavery in the form of a jail cell. According to studies, Black Americans are arrested for violating marijuana possession laws at nearly four times the rates of white Americans, yet both consume marijuana at roughly the same rates.
In 2022, President Biden issued a mass pardon of federal marijuana convictions, pardoning more than 6,500 people. He also urged Governors to follow in his footsteps. As more states legalize marijuana, hopefully, more pardons will follow. -
60th anniversary of ‘Bloody Tuesday’ commemorated in Tuscaloosa at First African Baptist Church
Praise dancers in front of First African Baptist Church
Special to the Democrat by John Zippert, Co-Publisher
On Sunday, June 9, 2024, the sanctuary of First African Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama was packed with people to celebrate the 60th anniversary of ‘Bloody Tuesday’.
On June 9, 1964, over 500 people gathered at the same church, in a mass meeting to prepare a non-violent march to the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse, four blocks away, to integrate the facility’s rest rooms, drinking fountains and offices which were segregated by race. The march and the Tuscaloosa movement were led by Rev. T. Y. Rogers, a close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King and part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Rogers was a native of Sumter County in the Alabama Black Belt.
As the marchers were leaving the church, they were met by Tuscaloosa Police, Sheriff’s deputies, Alabama State Troopers, and Klu Klux Klansmen who beat them violently with clubs, batons and baseball bats. The marchers retreated into the church. The police turned on fire hoses, smashing the churches-stained glass windows and then fired tear gas into the church. As the marchers fled the church they were again beaten, and some were jailed.
In all, some forty people were injured and hospitalized, 95 were jailed and others were physically and psychologically bruised in the largest and most violent attack on a church during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. This occurred 8 months before the “Bloody Sunday’ march in Selma and laid the basis for that voting rights campaign.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress a month after “Bloody Tuesday’ opening public accommodations to Black people in the South. Rev. T. Y. Rogers continued the marches until facilities in Tuscaloosa were desegregated and open to all. The news coverage of the events of June 9, 1964, have been limited. Most followed the Tuscaloosa News’ lead, which labeled the confrontation at the church as a “Black riot”. Soon other developments like the Mississippi Freedom Summer, overshadowed the June 1964 events at the First African Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa.
About 20 years ago, the veteran foot soldiers created the Bloody Tuesday Committee to remember and commemorate the events of ‘Bloody Tuesday’. Sunday’s program honored the 60th anniversary of the violent attack on the church and the movement in Tuscaloosa. It honored twenty surviving foot soldiers, who stood at the church to be recognized as part of the program. Many were teenagers and young people sixty years ago on ‘Bloody Sunday ‘. The leaders of the movement including Rev. T. Y. Rogers, Rev. Linton and others have already passed on.
The program at the church featured singing of church and freedom songs, led by the church choir and joined by the full congregation. There was a liturgical dance by the Friendship Baptist Church Praise Team. Young ladies with Black t-shirts and white skirts performed the dance. Their shirts each had a single word, related to the freedom struggle: Stand Up, Oppression, Equality, Overcome, Injustice, Freedom, Resilience and Peace. The dancers received a standing ovation at the end of their presentation.
Tiedre Owens, Tuscaloosa staff member for Congresswoman Terri Sewell, made remarks supporting the foot soldiers and the work of the Tuscaloosa Bloody Tuesday Committee. She showed a video of Congresswoman Sewell making remarks on the floor of the U. S. House of Representatives on last Friday, about the events of ‘Bloody Tuesday’ to insure they were inscribed in the Congressional Record.
Walt Maddox, Mayor of Tuscaloosa, made remarks, saying ‘Bloody Tuesday’ helped change the city for the better and contributed to making the nation a ‘more perfect union’. He said, “We cannot wash away the sins of the past. We must remember the past and have a stronger resolve to change the conditions of injustice that remain.”
Irene Byrd presented a tribute to the foot soldiers of ‘Bloody Tuesday’, who were asked to stand. “We have no tangible gifts for you today only our thanks and gratitude for what you did for us that day,” said Byrd.
Rev. Ramsey O’Daniel, Pastor of Christ Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa was the guest speaker. He spoke on the theme for the occasion, ‘where do we go from here’. First, we need to vote in all elections and use our vote to elect people who will make policy changes to support our interests. Second, we must develop a direct-action economic development plan in the Black community, as part of a local and national effort. We must execute this plan. Third, we must run back to Jesus, instead of running away from Jesus, because Jesus is our friend.
The program ended with about half the people gathered there, re-enacting the four block march to the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse, on Greensboro Avenue. This time, the march was escorted by Tuscaloosa Police and Sheriff’s deputies to accent the difference that sixty years of change and progress makes.
At the Courthouse rally, leaders of the Bloody Tuesday Committee made remarks. Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ron Abernathy gave words of reconciliation, saying, “I was one year old on Bloody Tuesday. I have a hard time relating to the laws and policies of the past. We must learn from the past so we can do better in the present and the future.” Some members of the Committee, were looking for a formal apology from the Sheriff and other political officials, but Abernathy’s statement was the closest they heard to an official apology.
The crowd marched back to the church for a reception and book signing by University of Alabama history professor, Dr. John M. Giggie, of his newly published book entitled “Bloody Tuesday- The untold story of the struggle for civil rights in Tuscaloosa”. This book is the result of research and interviewing survivors of Bloody Tuesday, including many foot soldiers, police and Klansmen over the past ten years.
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Newswire: ‘Glimmer of Hope’ as UN Security Council approves Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution
By Brett Williams, Common Dreams
The ambassadors of the United Kingdom, United States, and Algeria raise their hands to vote in favor of a United Nations Security Council resolution for a cease-fire in Gaza in New York on June 10, 2024.
In a move that boosts the three-phase plan announced by President Joe Biden late last month, the United Nations Security Council on Monday voted 14-0—with permanent member Russia abstaining—in favor of a U.S.-sponsored resolution for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Russia chose not to exercise its power to veto the resolution, which urges Israel and Hamas to “fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”
Responding to the vote, Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement that “although the Biden administration should have allowed the U.N. Security Council to pass a permanent cease-fire resolution many months and many slaughtered Palestinians ago, we welcome today’s development as a positive and long overdue step toward ending the genocide.”
“The Biden administration must now use American leverage to force [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to agree to a permanent cease-fire so that the massacres of Palestinian civilians can end, all hostages and political prisoners can safely go free, international tribunals can begin holding those responsible for war crimes accountable, and the world can finally begin pursuing a credible end to the illegal occupation of Palestine that has fomented decades of injustice and oppression.”
As U.N. News explained:
Phase one includes an “immediate, full, and complete cease-fire with the release of hostages including women, the elderly and the wounded, the return of the remains of some hostages who have been killed, and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners.” It calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from “populated areas” of Gaza, the return of Palestinians to their homes and neighborhoods throughout the enclave, including in the north, as well as the safe and effective distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale. Phase two would see a permanent end to hostilities “in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.” In phase three, “a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza” would begin and the remains of any deceased hostages still in the strip would be returned to Israel.” The council also underlined the proposal’s provision that if negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the cease-fire will continue as long as negotiations continue.
“The only way to end this cycle of violence and build a durable peace is through a political settlement,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield—who vetoed several previous Security Council cease-fire resolutions— said following Monday’s vote.
The Biden administration has provided Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, arms and ammunition sales, and diplomatic cover.
In a statement, Hamas—which led the October 7 attack on Israel that left more than 1,100 people dead and over 240 others taken hostage—welcomed the resolution’s passage and affirmed its willingness “to enter into indirect negotiations on the implementation of these principles.”
However, Reut Shapir Ben-Naftaly, Israel’s representative at the U.N., said her country’s objectives in the war have not changed and vowed to keep fighting “until all of the hostages are returned and Hamas’ military capabilities are dismantled.”
“Israel will not engage in meaningless and endless negotiations which can be exploited by Hamas as a means to stall for time,” she added.
According to Palestinian and international agencies, at least 37,124 Palestinians—mostly women and children—have been killed by Israeli forces during the 248-day Gaza onslaught, which is the subject of an International Criminal Court genocide case brought by South Africa and supported by more than 30 nations and regional blocs. Nearly 85,000 Palestinians have also been injured. At least 11,000 other Palestinians are missing and believed buried beneath the rubble of hundreds of thousands of bombed-out buildings.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for alleged crimes including extermination.
Algerian Ambassador Amar Bendjama said after Monday’s vote that “as a free and dignified people, the Palestinians will never accept living under occupation. They will never abdicate their fight for liberation.”
“This text is not perfect, but it offers a glimmer of hope to the Palestinians as the alternative is continued killing and suffering,” he added. “We voted for this text to give diplomacy a chance. It is time to halt the killing.”
The Security Council resolution’s passage follows last month’s vote by the U.N. General Assembly to recognize Palestinian statehood—a move supported by 143 members of the World Body but vehemently opposed by Israel and the U.S. Only nine nations voted against recognizing Palestine as an independent state. -
Newswire : Black troops fought on D-Day
Edward Carter was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in January 1997 for his heroic actions while serving in World War II. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He is one of seven Black men awarded the Medal of Honor long after WWII ended due to racial discrimination
Seven Black men were awarded the Medal of Honor
in WWII long after the conflict was overBy BlackmansStreetToday
The Allies recently celebrated the 80th anniversary of D-Day, which was the beginning of the invasion of France to overthrow the Nazi government in Germany.
The movies recount the terrorizing experiences of men cut down by gunfire while running to the beach, while also depicting the jubilation of those who survived and were not harmed physically. The big-budget films include
“The Longest Day,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and “Big Red One.”But those films are short on the truth and long on lies.The movies ignored the role Black soldiers played in the overthrow Nazi Germany.
Roughly 2,000 African American troops are believed to have hit the shores of Normandy in various capacities on June 6, 1944.
Serving in a U.S. military still segregated by race, they encountered discrimination both in the service and when they came home.
The troops included the 320th Balloon Battalion, the 582nd Engineer Dump Truck Company, the 385th Quartermaster Truck Company, and the 490th Port Battalion with its 226th, 227th, 228th, and 229th Port Companies.”
Seven Blacks won the Medal of Honor racial prejudice prevented them from receiving their medals long after WWII had ended.
By 1945, 432 American service members had received the Medal of Honor for their gallantry in the face of enemy fire during World War II.
Not a single Black man among them was recognized.
It took almost 50 years for the Army to recognize some of the incredible heroics of Black American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who served during the war.
More than a million Black men wore the uniforms of the United States in World War II, and many of them saw combat.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton initiated the Army’s review of its World War II records to determine why no Black men received the Medal of Honor.
It discovered that a culture of discrimination in the awarding of medals prevented the Army from awarding the medal to a handful of deserving Black heroes. Only one of these vets was alive when the Medals of Honor were officially presented in 1997.
