Greene County Democrat

Category: history

  • Black women will elect the next President

    By Freddie Allen (NNPA Newswire Managing Editor)

     

    ben-chavis-and-denise-rolark-barnesBen Chavis, CEO of National Newspaper Publishers with Denise Rolark-Barnes, NNPA Board Chair

      Black women will play a key role in electing the next president, according to a recent report by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). The AFL-CIO is a national trade group and the largest federation of unions in the United States.

    Carmen Berkley, the director of civil, human and women’s rights policy at the AFL-CIO said that the labor group wanted to provide context to the power that Black women voters have displayed over the past two presidential election cycles. In the briefing paper, researchers provided a case for why labor unions and non-profit organizations should be paying attention to Black women. “Without Black women, President Obama would not have won the White House in 2012,” said Berkley. “Black women voters delivered in key battleground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida where President Obama picked up 67 additional electoral votes.”

    Berkley continued: “If Black women had not turned out, President Obama would have been five electoral votes shy of winning the presidency.”

    Denise Rolark Barnes, the publisher of The Washington Informer and chairwoman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) said that Black women voters could make a monumental difference in the outcome of the 2016 election, just like they did in 2012.

    But Rolark Barnes also expressed concerns that neither of the presidential candidates have touched on the issues that are important to Black women and single parents, who are also the primary breadwinners in their families; issues like health care, education and the environment are very important to Black women and their families.“I don’t think we’ve heard enough from the candidates about how they plan to address issues that affect Black and Latino families,” Rolark Barnes said.

    Recently, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at a campaign rally in Durham, N.C., flanked by “Mothers of the Movement,” a group of Black women who have lost children to gun violence or during interactions with law enforcement. The group included Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, Lucia McBath, the mother of Jordan Davis and Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of Sandra Bland.

    Clinton also delivered remarks at the Black Women’s Agenda conference in September, where she acknowledged that even though the contributions of Black women are “often missing from the history books — make no mistake — you are the change makers, the path breakers, and the ground shakers. And, you are proof that yes, indeed, Black girl magic is real.”

    Berkley said that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said that he knows the Black community, but he hasn’t proven that he understands the impact that Black people, especially Black women, have on society.

    “Black women drive turnout for the Black community,” said Berkley. “We care a lot about police reform, raising the minimum wage, protecting social security and we are economically liberal when it come to the government.” Berkley also noted that Black women have been very reliable voters in the past two election cycles. In 2012 and 2014 Black women voted at higher rates than other women.

    According to the briefing paper on the importance of Black women voters in 2016, “In 2012, 83 percent of registered Black women turned out, compared to 73 percent for all other women, a ten-point difference. Black women turned out at a higher rate than other women in 2014 as well. Fifty-five percent of registered Black women turned out in 2014, compared to 53 percent for all other women.”

    Berkley said that Black women do more than vote. “We’re very active in our churches, we’re very active in our communities and we’re very active in our unions,” she said.

    According to a survey by Lake Research Partners (LRP), a leading public opinion and political strategy research firm, Black workers are far more likely to view labor unions favorably (77 percent for Blacks vs. 50 for all-respondents) compared to other workers.

    Petee Talley, the secretary-treasurer of Ohio branch of the AFL-CIO, said that evidence shows that Black women union members have stepped up in remarkable ways. “Not only are they organizing inside of their unions, they are organizing the Black community around vote registration efforts,” said Talley.    And when Black women take on leadership roles, they have the power to significantly affect elections inside their unions.

    The briefing paper said: “As labor scholars Kate Bronfenbrenner and Dorian Warren found in their oft-cited study “Race, Gender, and the Rebirth of Trade Unionism,” unions won 89 percent of elections where Black women were the lead organizers compared with 53 percent for female organizers overall and 42 percent for male organizers.”

    The report noted that Black women were more likely than any other group to skip at least on race on the ballot. “By skipping down ballot races, Black women lose the potential to be a political force in local races, which arguably have a more direct impact on the day-to-day lives of Black people,” the report said.  The briefing paper said that as the labor movement grows, it should look to Black communities and Black women organizers as a potential base for power.  “This requires incorporating Black communities into long-term strategic thinking and lifting up the most progressive voice of the Democratic base,” the briefing paper said. “For organized labor and other parts of the political left, Black women are a smart investment, in 2016 and beyond.”

    Rolark Barnes said that Black women hold the power of the vote and also have the influence in their households to make sure their families and friends get out to vote.

    Rolark Barnes continued: “We need to come out strong, like we did before, and make the difference we know we can make in November.”

     

     

  • Unions picket outside Trump’s Washington DC Hotel

    img_4875-1-300x300

    Union members picket at Trump’s Hotel

    Hundreds of workers protested outside Donald Trump’s newly-opened hotel in Washington, D.C. on Thursday to demand he recognize and negotiate with the union at Las Vegas’ Trump International Hotel.

    Workers at the Las Vegas hotel, which is half-owned by the Republican presidential candidate, voted to organize in Dec. 2015 and the union was recognized by the National Labor Relations Board earlier this year.

    However, Trump and the hotel management have refused to recognize the vote of roughly 500 workers, saying it was “anything but free and fair.”

    Workers representing some of the country’s largest labor unions, including the AFL-CIO, CWA, AFSCME, and UNITE Here were holding banners and chanting: “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!”

    Similar pickets have been organized also outside Trump hotels in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Honolulu.

    During his polemical presidential campaign, Trump has shown his disdain for unions, saying that wages are “too high.”

    With just weeks to go until Election Day on Nov. 8, polls show Trump is losing, with a widening gap between he and his Democratic Party rival, Hillary Clinton. His numbers dropped following the revelations of a lewd tape in which he boasted about sexually assaulting women.

     

     

     

  • National Police Group apologizes for past racial injustices, but not current ones

    Julia Craven Reporter, The Huffington Post

    police-in-charlotte

    Police in riot gear walk outside Bank of America Stadium before a football game in Charlotte, North Carolina in September. Protests disrupted the city after an officer fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott, a 43-year-old black man.

    The president of the largest police organization in the country issued an apology on Monday to communities of color for the “historic mistreatment” they have suffered at the hands of law enforcement officers.

    Terrence Cunningham, the police chief of Wellesley, Massachusetts, delivered the apology during a speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention in San Diego. The IACP includes 23,000 police officials from across the United States, The Washington Post reports.

    “We must forge a path that allows us to move beyond our history and identify common solutions to better protect our communities,” Cunningham said. “For our part, the first step in this process is for law enforcement and the IACP to acknowledge and apologize for the actions of the past and the role that our profession has played in society’s historical mistreatment of communities of color.”

    “There have been times when law enforcement officers, because of the laws enacted by federal, state and local governments, have been the face of oppression for far too many of our fellow citizens,” he continued. “In the past, the laws adopted by our society have required police officers to perform many unpalatable tasks, such as ensuring legalized discrimination or even denying the basic rights of citizenship to many of our fellow Americans.” 1.

    Cunningham has a point. The relationship between law enforcement and communities of color has long been strained ― especially for African-Americans. Modern-day police forces grew out of slave patrols (at least in the South). During the height of the Jim Crow era, police officers were tasked with maintaining state-sanctioned racial oppression.

    “While this is no longer the case, this dark side of our shared history has created a multigenerational ― almost inherited ― mistrust between many communities of color and their law enforcement agencies,” Cunningham said.

    But racial discrimination in policing didn’t end with Jim Crow. Police officers are still required to enforce racially discriminatory laws ― such as SB 1070, an immigration law in Arizona that requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they think is in the country illegally. Or New York’s “stop and frisk” policy, which was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge in New York in 2013 for violating the Fourth Amendment rights of Black and Latino New Yorkers.

    As movements like Black Lives Matter note, people of color ― especially African-Americans ― are disproportionately killed, harassed and stopped by the police for mundane reasons. Because of this, trust toward the police is far lower in communities of color.

    Cunningham is certainly aware of this: He pointed to the high-profile police shootings of unarmed black people that have “tragically undermined the trust that the public must and should have in their police departments.”

    “Many officers who do not share this common heritage often struggle to comprehend the reasons behind this historic mistrust,” Cunningham said. “As a result, they are often unable to bridge this gap and connect with some segments of their communities.”

  • Why we need a posthumous Presidential pardon for Marcus Garvey

    “Almost 100 years after a grave miscarriage of justice, he is still considered a criminal in the US.”

     By: Julius W. Garvey, M.D.Board-certified surgeon, leading the effort to secure a posthumous Presidential pardon for his father and civil rights leader, Marcus Garvey

     

    Jamaica Marcus Garvey
    FILE – In this Aug. 1922 file photo, Marcus Garvey is shown in a military uniform as the “Provisional President of Africa” during a parade on the opening day of the annual Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World at Lenox Avenue in Harlem, New York City. A century ago, Garvey helped spark movements from African nationalist independence to American civil rights to self-sufficiency in black commerce. Jamaican students in every grade from kindergarten through high school have began studying the teachings of the 1920-era black nationalist leader in a new mandatory civics program in schools across this predominantly black country of 2.8 million people. (AP Photo/File)

     

    Marcus Garvey was born in 1887 in Jamaica. This was two years after the Berlin Conference that divided the African continent among the major European countries and 50 years after the end of the slave trade. Garvey’s purposeful goal was to redeem African humanity and reconstruct African civilization. He launched the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League in 1914.

    During my father’s lifetime, which ended at age 53 in 1940, Marcus Garvey gathered millions of followers worldwide and was the forerunner of the Civil Rights Movement and an anti-colonial champion in the Caribbean and Africa. Along the way, he influenced ground-breakers who would become historic figures across Africa including Kwame Nkrumah (who led Ghana to independence and served as the first Prime Minister and President), Jomo Kenyatta (who led Kenya to independence and was the first President and Prime Minister), Sam Nujoma (who served three terms as President of Namibia), and Nnamdi Azikiwe (a leader in modern Nigerian nationalism), and Nelson Mandela who is revered and beloved all over the world. Just as importantly, in the U.S., Garvey influenced our historic social justice and civil rights leaders, Malcolm X Shabazz and Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Marcus Garvey is honored across the globe with statues, streets and parks named after him, multiple volumes of books written about his ideas, work and dedication to the liberation of people of African ancestry.  He is the first national hero of Jamaica and is the only Black leader honored by the Organization of American States. He was named by a leading British academic one of the fifty greatest political thinkers of all time. Yet, almost 100 years after a grave miscarriage of justice, he is still considered a criminal in the U.S.

    Here’s what happened and why it’s time to reverse it.

    Marcus Garvey led a movement, which espoused Black pride and Black self-reliance, economic independence and Black unity. These same ideas and actions today would be admired and supported as peaceful, positive and forward-thinking. Not so in the 1920s when the goal of African independence alienated him from many who favored the status quo. This included the very powerful J. Edgar Hoover who targeted Marcus Garvey as his prominence continued to grow as the major leader of the African American community.

    During the entire month of August 1920, Marcus Garvey’s U.N.I.A.-ACL organization held its first international convention in New York City. An estimated 25,000 Black people attended the opening of the convention held at Madison Square Garden. They came from all over the world and delegations from 25 African countries were in attendance. They deliberated for the entire month of August and promulgated the Declaration of the Rights of the Negro People of the World as well as a structure for the international unity for African people.

    Marcus Garvey was an innovative entrepreneur and began the Black Star Line Shipping Company created to facilitate the transportation of goods and people throughout the African global Diaspora. It was for this initiative that J. Edgar Hoover charged Marcus Garvey and three others with conspiracy to defraud. The fact that Marcus Garvey was the only one found guilty, and not the 3 others, is the real proof that this was all about his politics and not the truth. Through a trial replete with perjury, judicial misconduct and the evidence of an empty envelope, Hoover achieved his aim with Marcus Garvey serving 2 ½ years in federal prison in Atlanta, being deported, never permitted to return to the U.S.

    Over the years much has been discovered and written about the nefarious tactics of Hoover, but it’s been almost 100 years and nothing has been done about the grave miscarriage of justice for Marcus Garvey.

    The legacy of my father, Marcus Garvey, is a remarkable one as the foremost Pan Africanist of the first half of the 20th century. Today, his ideas and leadership are embraced, praised and honored, yet a cloud of criminality tarnishes his legacy, which is why a posthumous Presidential pardon is necessary.

    Justice has been delayed but it should not be denied. The time is now.

  • Hillary Clinton speaks about systemic racism at historic Black North Carolina church

    By: Carol Kuruvilla Associate Religion Editor, Huffington Post

     

    Nine-year-old Zianna Oliphant joins U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the pulpit at the Little Rock AME Zion Church in Charlotte
    Nine-year-old Zianna Oliphant joins U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the pulpit at the Little Rock AME Zion Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States October 2, 2016. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

    Nine-year-old Zianna Oliphant joins U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the pulpit at the Little Rock AME Zion Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States October 2, 2016.

     

    Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton paid a visit to a historic black church on Sunday, mixing Bible verses with frank talk about the “implicit bias” and systemic racism that still exists in America.

    Clinton took to the pulpit at Little Rock AME Zion Church, a church in Charlotte, North Carolina, whose members have been involved in protests against the police shooting of Keith Scott, a 43-year-old black man, on Sept. 20.

    The candidate spoke about Scott’s death, and the death of Terence Crutcher, a black father from Tulsa, Oklahoma who was killed by police days earlier.  She also mentioned the stories of two young residents of Charlotte, Taje Gaddy, 10, and Zianna Oliphant, 9, who testified before Charlotte’s City Council last week.

    “I wouldn’t be able to stand it if my grandchildren had to be scared and worried the way too many children across our country feel right now. But because my grandchildren are white, because they are the grandchildren of a former president and secretary of state, let’s be honest here, they won’t face the kind of fear that we heard from the children testifying before the city council,” Clinton said during the speech.

    Clinton invited Oliphant, who was in the audience, to stand next to her on the pulpit ― lamenting about how the little girl who should be “dreaming about all the wonderful things that her future holds for her” is instead “talking about graveyards” and the violence facing her community.

    While saying that the families of fallen police officers “deserve our prayers,” Clinton acknowledged that “implicit bias” against people of color has a substantial impact on black communities. She sees it in the way black men are far more likely to be stopped and searched by police, how they are more sentenced to longer prison terms than white men for the same crime.

    “We need to make sure our police officers are trained in de-escalating tense situations,” she said, receiving a round of applause from the church.

    Quoting Proverbs 29:18, which reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” Clinton called for a common vision of an America where every child has the chance to “live up to their God-given potential.”

    “God loves us all, right? And we are called to care for and cherish each other,” she said. “Protecting all of God’s children is America’s calling.”

    Clinton was scheduled to visit Charlotte one week ago, but postponed the trip after Scott’s death. Polls indicate that the race between Clinton and her Republican opponent Donald Trump is tight in North Carolina, which has traditionally been a red state.

    Clinton hasn’t been doing as well as Barack Obama did in 2008 and 2012 with the state’s younger voters. Still, according to The Associated Press, if Clinton wins North Carolina, there’s little that Trump could do to stop her from winning the presidency.

    During the service, Little Rock AME Zion’s spiritual leader, Rev. Dr. Dwayne Walker, encouraged his congregation to get out and vote. The church had placed voter registration cards at every entrance to the building. “We want to make sure that everyone here is registered and will vote,” Walker said.

  • Obama says new Black History Museum tells story of America

    By: Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Mary Millikee, Reuters News Service

    President Barack Obama, with first lady Michelle Obama and Ruth Odom Bonner, center, ring the bell opening the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
    Obama speaking at opening,    President Barack Obama, with first lady Michelle Obama and Ruth Odom Bonner, center, ring the bell to open the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016.

    President Barack Obama on Saturday expressed hope that a new national museum showcasing the triumphs and tragedies of the African American experience will help to bring people together as the nation reels from recent racial upheaval.

    Speaking at a dedication ceremony for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Obama said that the story of black America is the story of America.

    “This national museum helps to tell a richer and fuller story of who we are,” said Obama. “Hopefully, this museum can help us to talk to each other. And more importantly, listen to each other. And most importantly, see each other. Black and white and Latino and Native American and Asian American – see how our stories are bound together,” he said standing on a stage outside the bronze-colored, latticed museum.

    The museum, located on the National Mall, officially opened its doors on Saturday. It contains 36,000 items that trace the journey of African Americans from slavery in the 1800s to the fight for civil rights in the 20th century and lauds modern icons, such as media mogul Oprah Winfrey and tennis champion Serena Williams.

    With a ring of a bell, Obama and wife Michelle and four generations of an African American family inaugurated the $540 million museum designed by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye, who was inspired by Yoruban art from West Africa.

    ‘PLACE TO UNDERSTAND’

    Obama, who made history as the first black president of the United States, spoke as racial tensions flared once again across the nation in the aftermath of police shootings of two black men in the past two weeks.

    In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a white police officer has been charged with manslaughter for fatally shooting Terence Crutcher, 40, whose car had broken down and blocked a road.

    Violent protests broke out after a separate incident in Charlotte, North Carolina, where police shot Keith Scott, a 43-year-old father of seven.

    The deaths were the latest in a string of fatal encounters between police and African Americans that have sparked unrest and threaten to overshadow Obama’s legacy on race relations.

    Obama said the museum’s exhibits on the fight against racial discrimination and segregation could provide context for current movements against police brutality. “It reminds us that routine discrimination and Jim Crow are not ancient history. We shouldn’t despair that it’s not all solved,” Obama said, noting all the progress that the country has made just in his lifetime.

    “This is the place to understand how protest and love of country don’t merely coexist, but inform each other,” he said.

    The dedication ceremony was attended by a who’s who of American officials, including Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as entertainment luminaries including Winfrey, Stevie Wonder and Will Smith.

    The Obamas were joined on stage by former President George W. Bush, and his wife Laura. Bush signed the law authorizing construction of the museum in 2003. “A great nation does not hide its history, it faces its flaws and it corrects them,” Bush said.

    Demand to visit the museum is high, with free tickets to the museum quickly snatched up online.

    Obama has joined in the excitement for the new attraction. The first family enjoyed a private preview earlier this month. He also hosted a reception at the White House on Friday in honor of the opening and attended a star-studded concert heralding the museum at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Friday night.

  • Mayoral candidate, Hattie Edwards, responds to Democrat’s questionnaire

    Hattie Barnette

    The Co-Publishers of the Greene County Democrat newspaper developed a list of questions and submitted them on September 13, 2016 to both candidates – Hattie Edwards and Raymond Steele for Mayor of Eutaw, in the Run-off Election on October 4, 2016.
    We requested that the responses be sent to us by this Monday, September 19, to be published side-by-side in this week’s paper. We wanted the voters to review and compare their responses to make an informed decision before voting in the run-off.
    We received a response from Hattie Edwards, the incumbent candidate but we have not yet received a response from Raymond Steele. We are printing her responses and will still welcome the responses of Raymond Steele for publication next week.

    Answers to Questions by Hattie Edwards

    1. What are the qualifications and experiences that make you the best candidate for Mayor of Eutaw?

    First, I want to thank the Co-Publishers of the Greene County Democrat for this opportunity to express my views on the issues in this upcoming run-off for Mayor of the City of Eutaw.
    I have been working in the public sector for 34 years, first with the Greene County Highway Department and then as the Mayor. I have a degree in Data Entry and Data Processing. I have been a community worker and public servant working for forty five years. I am aware of the needs of our city for improving the water and sewage operations. I have served on many different boards. I am an Operator I and I have my CDL. In my working and community efforts, I have made many contacts throughout the state of Alabama who are helping me and want to continue to help me to do a great job as Mayor. My commitment to my community is also as a devoted mother of four, an endearing grandmother of three and an active member of Pine Grove Baptist Church.
    2. What are three of the priorities that you will pursue when you are elected to the position of Mayor of Eutaw?

    Among my priorities, when I am re-elected are: 1. Securing new vehicles and equipment for the city; 2. Upgrade our recreation facilities – the parks, playgrounds, a wellness center and swimming pool; 3. Renovate the National Guard Amory; and 4. Fix the roads and streets throughout the city.

    3. What are some other things that you wish to accomplish in your coming term as Mayor?

    Attract new industries, jobs and businesses to Eutaw. Bring more events and programs to the City of Eutaw. Encourage citizens to become more involved and attend meetings of the City Council and other groups to improve the quality of life in our community. Put out a monthly newsletter to keep the public informed.

    4. What did you learn from your previous service, which will help you to do a better job, if you are elected to serve for the next four years?

    I have learned and know how the city operates. I can do a budget for the city. I have learned how important it is to set grounds rules, right out of the gate for employees, including the police force. I know how important it is to keep the public informed of the work and progress in the city and to keep an open door at City Hall to listen to the concerns of residents.

    5. One of the issues that is of great concern to the citizens of Eutaw is the status of the roads and streets in Branch Heights, what is your plan to deal with this problem?

    Branch Heights was annexed into the city in 2004. We were expecting HUD and the Housing Authority, the Greene County Commission and others to help with fixing the roads before this area came into the City of Eutaw. None of these entities has really helped with this problem.
    It has been difficult to get the State of Alabama (ALDOT) to put up funding for the roads in Branch Heights because it is a residential area, no businesses or commercial activities are centered there, and the streets do not directly connect to any state roads. It will be very expensive, in the range of $13-20 million dollars to completely redo the streets, curbs and sidewalks in Branch Heights. The City does not have these funds at this time. I am willing to continue to patch and improve the roads in Branch Heights, as long as the City Council backs me up until we can find the resources needed to do the full job.

    6. How will you improve educational and recreational programs for youth in the City of Eutaw?

    As you know, one of my visions is to turn the National Guard Armory into a multiplex activity building. This improved facility will have a swim area, basketball, banquet hall, and exercise room. I want to bring in movies, plays and other civic and cultural events. I want to involve the public – both children and adults – participate in designing and choosing these events and activities.

    7. Do you feel the City of Eutaw needs to have a formal financial budget; if so, what is your plan and timetable to develop a budget for the city?

    Yes, I will have a budget ready by November 2016. I hope the City Council will approve the budget and hold our finances in line with the budget.
    8. Anything you want to say or add which will help voters to decide that you are the best choice for Mayor of Eutaw?

    I have just served four years as Mayor. I have helped secured $5.2 million dollars for City improvement projects by the grace of GOD. This includes a $3.1 million loan and grant package from USDA to upgrade and expand our water system, including replacing the water tower and 52 new fire hydrants to keep us safer. Half a million dollars from ALDOT to re-pave Prairie Avenue and other improvement projects. I am working hard every day to make a difference for the city.

  • Anger grows in Tulsa as police release video of fatal shooting of unarmed black man

    By: Kristi Eaton and Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times

     

    tulsa-police-photoIn this photo from a Sept. 16 police video, Terence Crutcher, left, is followed by police in Tulsa, Okla., moments before an officer shot and killed him. (Tulsa Police Department)

    terrance-crutcher-with-his-sister-tiffany-crutcherTerrance Crutcher with his sister, Tiffany Crutcher

     

    A fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man by a white officer has reopened fresh wounds in this city with a fraught history among African Americans, white residents and police officers.

    A graphic police video shows Terence Crutcher, 40, being fatally shot by a police officer Friday night as he walks with his hands up toward his SUV, stalled out in the middle of the road.

    The incident quickly became the latest flashpoint in a string of controversial police shootings of Black Americans. Protesters chanted Tuesday evening in downtown Tulsa, the ACLU asked that criminal charges be filed against the officer, and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said news of the shooting was “unbearable.”

    “We have got to tackle systemic racism,” Clinton said on “The Steve Harvey Morning Show.” “This horrible shooting again. How many times do we have to see this in our country?”

    An attorney for Officer Betty Shelby, who shot Crutcher after responding to a dispatch call about an abandoned car, said Crutcher failed to heed police commands and that she and another officer, Tyler Turnbough, felt threatened and fired simultaneously. Turnbough used a stun gun.

    The city’s police chief, who released both helicopter and dash-cam video of the shooting, called the images “disturbing” and vowed to “achieve justice.”

    Protesters quickly demanded that Shelby to be fired, and the Crutcher family called for criminal charges against the officer, who has been put on routine administrative leave. The Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation and local authorities are independently investigating the shooting.

    The last night of life for Crutcher, a father of four who was on his way home from a class at Tulsa Community College, began with a pair of 911 calls reporting an abandoned car with its engine running and doors open in the middle of the road.

    “I got out and was like, ‘Do you need help?’ reported one caller, who said Crutcher “took off running” after asking her to “come here, come here,” and saying the car was going to “blow up.”

    “I think he’s smoking something,” the same caller said.

    Police videos show Crutcher walking toward his SUV with his hands up. Four officers, three male and one female, approach Crutcher he walks to the driver’s side and seems to lower his hands and put them on the car. The dash-cam video is blocked by officers, and Crutcher is partially blocked by his own car in the the helicopter video, making it difficult to see his movements. A man in the helicopter video suggests it’s “time for a Taser” before saying, “That looks like a bad dude, too. Probably on something.”

    Within seconds, Crutcher drops to the ground. “Shots fired!” a woman yells on police radio as officers slowly back away while holding their guns up. Officers wait more than two minutes before approaching Crutcher again.

    He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

    Police say the videos did not capture Shelby arriving on the scene because she did not turn her dash cam on.

    Shelby’s attorney, Scott Wood, says that when she showed up and asked Crutcher whether the car was his, he did not respond. Crutcher put his hands in his pockets as he walked toward her, then removed them and put his hands up before walking toward the back of her patrol car and putting his hands back in his pockets, Wood said.

    He said she planned to arrest Crutcher, who she thought was intoxicated, and called dispatch. Crutcher did not comply when Shelby took out her gun and told him to get on his knees, but instead walked toward his car, the attorney said.

    Wood said Shelby fired her gun at the same time that Turnbough fired a Taser at Crutcher because she had “tunnel vision” and did not realize other officers had arrived on scene.

    “When unarmed people of color break down on the side of the road, we’re not treated as citizens needing help. We’re treated as, I guess, criminals — suspects that they fear,” said Benjamin Crump, one of the attorneys representing the Crutcher family.

     

     

  • Gov. Bentley appoints Judy Spree as Greene County Probate Judge

    judu

     

    By: John Zippert, Co-Publisher

    Governor Robert Bentley appointed Julia ‘Judy’ Burke Spree to be the Probate Judge of Greene County effective Friday, September 16, 2016. Spree will be sworn in on Thursday at 6:00 PM at the William M. Branch Courthouse.
    Spree will serve out the remaining term of Judge Earlean Isaac who retired in August, after serving 47 years in the office of Probate Judge, the last 27 as the Probate Judge. District Judge Lillie Osborne has served as Probate Judge in the interim period.
    Spree, in an interview with the Democrat, said, “My education and life experiences have prepared me to serve as Probate Judge. I am willing and happy to learn from reading materials, looking at webinars, consulting with other probate judges and the current staff in the office to do the best possible job for the people of Greene County.”
    Spree said that she did not intend to run for the position when her term ends. “ I hope to be a fair and good judge for all the people of Greene County.” She also said that she would retain the current office staff because everyone she has spoken with has told her that they are doing a great job.
    The Probate Judge’s office maintains the official records of the county – such as deeds, mortgages, marriage licenses, car titles and other records. The Probate Judge is also involved in deciding probate issues for citizens who die with or without a will. The Probate Judge also grants adoptions; appoints and can remove guardians for minor children and incompetent or incapacitated adults; conducts hearings on committing persons with mental health problems; to hear and decide on petitions for condemnation of privately owned land; and hear and decide name change and legitimization petitions.
    Some Greene County political observers commented that Governor Bentley has appointed a white person to serve in a position held by Black people since 1970, in a county that has a majority Black population.

    In his appointment letter, Bentley states, ”This position comes with great responsibility because you will be making important decisions that affect the citizens of Alabama. Honesty and integrity are two virtues that I prioritize for my Administration to exemplify… I encourage you to be a good steward of taxpayer’s money and work to maintain the trust that I, and the people of Alabama have in you.”
    Spree was born in Roanoke, Alabama but spent her early years in Talladega and then moved to Jackson, Alabama where she graduated from high school. She attended Livingston University (now University of West Alabama) and graduated with a B.S. degree in Physical Education and Recreation.
    She worked briefly with Delta Airlines as a flight attendant and then joined the Peace Corps, where she served for two years in teacher training in Bandar Abbas, Iran. Upon returning from the Peace Corps, she enrolled at Auburn University to get an M.Ed degree in Guidance and Counseling while teaching Special Education in Lagrange, Georgia.
    Judy also worked at the Alabama Department of Human Resources, West Alabama Mental Health, United Cerebral Palsy and other programs, which gave her experience with some of the family issues she will be dealing with in the Probate Judge’s office. Her most recent employment for the past nine years has been as the Greene County agent for ALFA insurance.
    Judy is married to Robert Thetford ‘Thed’ Spree, a leading catfish farmer in Greene County. They have three children – Sage, Mary Kennon and Kee – and five grandchildren.

     

     

  • Boligee Day celebrates community

     

    The 4th Annual Boligee Day drew crowds near and far to sample food, crafts, music, mule-wagon rides and other activities for children. Community fellowship was shared by everyone. This event was organized by the Boligee Township under the leadership of Mayor Louis Harper.