The Greene County Democrat

Category: Newswire

  • Newswire : EEOC sues Tesla for racial harassment and retaliation

    TESLA automobile plant in Freemont, California
    FREMONT, Calif. – Electric car maker Tesla, Inc., violated federal law by tolerating widespread and ongoing racial harassment of its Black employees and by subjecting some of these workers to retaliation for opposing the harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
    According to the EEOC’s suit, since at least 2015 to the present, Black employees at Tesla’s Fremont, California manufacturing facilities have routinely endured racial abuse, pervasive stereotyping, and hostility as well as epithets such as variations of the N-word, “monkey,” “boy,” and “black b*tch.” Slurs were used casually and openly in high-traffic areas and at worker hubs. Black employees regularly encountered graffiti, including variations of the N-word, swastikas, threats, and nooses, on desks and other equipment, in bathroom stalls, within elevators, and even on new vehicles rolling off the production line, the EEOC said.
    The EEOC’s investigation also found that those who raised objections to racial hostility suffered various forms of retaliation, including terminations, changes in job duties, transfers, and other adverse employment actions.
    The EEOC investigated Tesla after EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows filed a commissioner’s charge alleging that Tesla violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by subjecting Black employees to an unlawful hostile work environment and retaliating against employees for opposing harassment. Title VII prohibits racial harassment and requires employers who receive harassment complaints to take prompt and appropriate action to investigate and stop it.
    After first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through conciliation, the EEOC filed its lawsuit (EEOC v Tesla, Inc., Case No. 4:23-cv-04984) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The EEOC’s lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, and back pay for the affected workers, as well as injunctive relief designed to reform Tesla’s employment practices to prevent such discrimination in the future.
    “Combatting systemic harassment in workplaces is a key strategic enforcement priority for the EEOC. Unfortunately, as the lawsuits EEOC has filed this fiscal year show, racial harassment remains a persistent problem in employment. Every employee deserves to have their civil rights respected, and no worker should endure the kind of shameful racial bigotry our investigation revealed,” said Burrows. “Today’s lawsuit makes clear that no company is above the law, and the EEOC will vigorously enforce federal civil rights protections to help ensure American workplaces are free from unlawful harassment and retaliation.”
    EEOC San Francisco District Office Director Nancy Sienko said, “When you let a standard slip, you’ve set a new standard. Determining that prolific racial slurs do not merit serious discipline and failing to correct harassing conduct sends an entirely wrong message to employees. It also violates an employer’s legal responsibility to act swiftly and effectively to stop race-based harassment.”
    EEOC San Francisco District Office Regional Attorney Roberta L. Steele said, “The allegations in this case are disturbing. No worker should have to endure racial harassment and retaliation to earn a living six decades after the enactment of Title VII.”
    For more information on race discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination. For more information on harassment, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/harassment.

  • Newswire : Circle for Original Thinking honors Indigenous Peoples’ Day podcast will re-air discussion featuring Interior Secretary Deb Haaland

    Deb Haaland, Secretary of Interior


    New York, NY – On Monday, October 9, 2023, the Circle for Original Thinking podcast will re-air its fascinating discussion from the December 8, 2020 episode featuring the then Congresswoman Deb Haaland, and author and activist, Sally Roesch Wagner.
    This rebroadcast will correspond with the United States observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. At the time, she represented the First Congressional District of New Mexico, which includes most of Albuquerque and its suburbs, and she was one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress—the other is Sharice Davids of Kansas. Shortly after this episode was aired, Haaland was nominated by the Biden administration to serve as the Secretary of the Interior, now making her the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary.
    
Also on the interview is Sally Roesch Wagner. Dr. Wagner is a feminist pioneer, speaker, activist, and the author of several books, including Sisters in Spirit: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Influence on Early American Feminists, and The Women’s Suffrage Movement. Dr. Wagner was among the first persons ever to receive a PhD for work in Women’s Studies from UC Santa Cruz and was the founder of one of the first college-level women’s studies programs in the country.
    Sally appeared in the Ken Burns PBS documentary Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, for which she wrote the accompanying faculty guide for PBS. She was also a historian in the PBS special One Woman, One Vote, and has been interviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered and Democracy Now.
    
The subject of this discussion was the “Native American Influence on the Founding Mothers.” In other words, how did the Native American cultures inspire the thinking of the ‘founding mothers’, women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Matilda Gage who were outspoken voices for women’s’ rights during the formative years of the United States. These women paid taxes but could not vote, could not run for office, had no right of divorce, and should they separate from their husband, were returned to them by police like runaway slaves. Native women, on the other hand, were fully equal in their society and played an integral role in political affairs and in keeping harmony with nature.
    
The host of the Circle for Original Thinking podcast, Glenn Aparicio Parry, has long pointed out that the most significant forgotten piece of America’s legacy is the profound effect Native America had on the founding values of this nation. His book Original Politics: Making America Sacred Again demonstrates how the best aspects of the founding vision of America were inspired, or directly appropriated, from living, Native American cultures: concepts such as natural rights, liberty, and egalitarian justice. Further, Parry traces the influence of Native America not only on the founding fathers, but on the ‘founding mothers’ of the 19th century women’s movement; as well as the 19th century abolitionist and modern ecological movements.
The re-broadcast will take place on Monday, October 9, 2023 concurrent with the observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the United States. The commemoration has been officially adopted by nineteen states plus the District of Columbia, as well as 130 cities nationwide. In 2021, President Biden was the first president to officially commemorate the day, though it remains unadopted as a federal holiday.
    The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are a large and extremely varied group of cultures spanning a massive territory from the lower tip of South America, near the Antarctic Ocean up into the Arctic Circle with the Northern areas of Canada, Greenland, and Alaska. The societies that emerged from these populations date back over 10,000 years and they represent a wide scope of social organizations from tribal groups to city states to empires. There are over a thousand known languages spoken amongst these peoples, and their cultures had developed varied, and often profound, expertise in such fields as literature, agriculture, large scale architecture, metallurgy, astronomy, medicine, engineering, and mathematics. It is important that we recognize their important contribution to humanity.
    The Circle for Original Thinking podcast is America’s electronic talking circle for visionary thinkers and an open forum for fresh ideas and timeless wisdom applied to today’s political and ecological challenges. It is available for subscription wherever podcast are distributed, including Apple and Spotify. Glenn Aparicio Parry’s book Original Politics: Making America Sacred Again (978-1-59079-503-3; SelectBooks, Inc., 2020) is available wherever books or ebooks are sold.

  • Newswire : Black America divided over Hamas’ attack on Israel, raises questions on solidarity

    People stand outside mosque destroyed by Israeli air strike in Gaza

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    Black Americans have expressed a range of emotions regarding Hamas’ recent and deadly attack on Israel, with many taking to social media to highlight what they perceive as a lack of support from Israel and some members of the Jewish community for the Black Lives Matter Movement. The sentiment was especially pronounced after George Floyd’s assassination in Minnesota in 2020.
    Numerous posts on social media platforms feature hashtags like #BLM and #PLM, underscoring the perceived parallels between the struggles of Palestinians and African Americans in their fight against systemic racism. One widely circulated message emphasized the cross-border nature of these movements, stating, “Palestinians & African Americans have been [creating] a social movement, without borders, to fight systemic racism. As part of international protests, in Palestine/Israel signs read ‘Justice for Eyad. Justice for George.’, ‘Black lives MATTER. Palestinian lives MATTER.’”
    Another post drew attention to what the author viewed as a lack of awareness about the treatment of Black people in Israel, saying, “If African Americans Knew How Israel Treats Black People, Black Lives Don’t Matter in Israel.”
    Former NBA star Amari Stoudemire, who previously announced his conversion to Judaism, took a contrary stance, denouncing African Americans who do not support Israel. Stoudemire openly criticized the Black Lives Matter movement, asserting they were not contributing positively. He stated, “For all y’all Black Lives Matter who ain’t saying nothing or ‘let me figure out exactly what happened before I say anything,’ F. you. Figure out what? It ain’t never been cool to kidnap kids.”
    
In a joint statement released on Saturday, October 7, NNPA Chair Bobby Henry and NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. unequivocally condemned the acts of violence committed against the Jewish people and the nation of Israel by Hamas. The statement emphasized that Hamas’ actions, including firing rockets and infiltrating Israeli territory, significantly escalated the ongoing conflict between the two parties.
    “The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, forthrightly condemns the brutal, fatal terrorist attacks today on the Jewish people and the nation of Israel by Hamas,” read the statement. “Terrorism against innocent civilians in Israel and in any other place in the world can never be justified, tolerated, or sanctioned. We stand firmly in solidarity with Israel.”
    Despite this, a different social media user expressed skepticism, asking, “When has anyone in Israel said to pray for the American Negro? Our Holocaust has been ongoing for 400+ years. Has Israel ever told the USA not to send any money until after it repairs Black Americans? I mean, it’s biblical to take care of your own family first.”
    Experts said the diverse range of opinions within the Black American community underscores the complexities and multifaceted nature of the ongoing debate surrounding the conflict in the Middle East and its implications for various social justice movements. Further, many observed that, as the situation continues to evolve, how these perspectives will shape the discourse within the Black community and on the broader global stage remains to be seen.

  • Greene County Housing Authority receives $2,306,496 grant to deal with hazardous conditions in its public housing units

    Greene County Housing Authority Board Members, L to R: Katie Jones Powell, Spiver Gordon, Pastor Carolyn Branch, and Anita Lewis Executive Director displaying a check of $2,306,496 for Hazardous Grant.

    The Greene County Housing Authority, which administers the housing in Branch Heights and King Village, for low and moderate income residents, received a grant of $2,306,496 from the HUD Housing-Related Hazards Capital Fund Program.
    Ms. Anita Dent Lewis, Director of the GCHA received notice of the grant in a letter from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which administers the program. The GCHA was one of 36 public housing agencies that received part of the national program of $140 million granted in 19 states to protect children and families from lead-based paint hazards and other home health hazards.
    The program will identify and provide solutions for environmental hazards like indoor air quality, mold and moisture, pests, carbon monoxide, lead-based paint, asbestos and radon, as well as general safety hazards like indoor and outdoor structural issues.

    The Greene County Housing Authority will receive these funds over the grant period to identify and remediate hazardous risks in its housing units.

  • Newswire: Kenyan troops sign pact to fight gang violence in Haiti backed by U. S. funding

    Kenyan Troops

    Oct. 2, 2023 (GIN) – After months of fruitless efforts to control spiraling gang violence in Haiti, a framework for defense cooperation has been signed by the United States and Kenya aimed at creating a multinational force to quash the violence that has brutally taken so many lives.
     
    Such a deployment had been stalled for months because no country would agree to lead such a perilous mission.
     
    This week, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Kenya’s Defense Minister Aden Duale signed the accord authored by the U.S. and Ecuador at a meeting in Nairobi that will guide the countries defense relations for the next five years.
     
    They are expected to be working behind the scenes to build support for the plan among the Security Council’s 15 members and in the wider international community.
     
    Washington will supply “robust financial and logistical assistance” in the amount of $100 million to the proposed deployment.
     
    “Signing the framework for defense cooperation between our two countries today reinforces the importance of our strategic partnership with Kenya,” Austin said following the meeting.
     
    On Monday, Duale said his country was ready to deploy to Haiti and cited Kenya’s “very long history of global peacekeeping” in Kosovo, neighboring Somalia and Congo.
     
    For now, Kenya is expected to be the largest contributor with 1,000 police officers and troops. At least a dozen nations have now come forward to help tackle the gang violence engulfing the country.
     
    Besides The Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, at least a dozen nations offering to join the effort to fight gang violence. Others countries stepping up are Italy, Spain, Mongolia, Senegal, Belize, Suriname, Guatemala and Peru.
     
    Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols was surprised at the numerous offers of support coming from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. “People were saying, ‘Hey, we’re in, we’re going to support; we are going to provide troops, we’re going to provide police, we’re going to provide money,’ ” he recalled.
     
    Haitian Americans and Haitians at home, however, are split on whether a Kenya-led intervention is a good idea, said Macollvie Neel, executive editor of Brooklyn-based Haitian Times, speaking with the online publication Semafor.
     
    Many in the diaspora remember the sexual abuse and devastating cholera outbreak that accompanied foreign forces in past decades but they also said ongoing bloodshed in their country leaves them with few other options. 
     
    Also, perhaps worrying, the international force would not be a UN force, so if deployed, Kenyan police would be in charge rather than answer to a UN force commander as they would be required to do in a UN peacekeeping mission.
     
    Still, cellphone repairman Jerthro Antoine, speaking to Al Jazeera news, said Kenya’s police can’t come soon enough. He said he dreams of strolling along one of Haiti’s beaches but the violence has gotten so bad that even walking on the street is a risk.
     
    “I feel trapped in my home. Any foreign force in support of Haitian police is more than welcome,” Antoine said. “The Haitian people need it, we need a break and to have a life again.”
     
    The mission is awaiting the U.N. Security Council’s formal approval to go forward but has already received support from the U.N. and U.S.
     

  • Newswire: Twenty-Seven years later: suspect arrested in murder of Tupac Shakur 

    Tupac Shakur

    By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

    Twenty-seven years after the death of one of the most noted rappers in history of the genre, a man has been arrested for the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.
    As the years have gone by some suspects have come into the news while others have passed away. On September 29, 2023, a man named Duane Keith Davis was arrested in Las Vegas and charged in connection with the murder of Shakur.
    The rapper and actor was killed on September 13, 1996 in Las Vegas, at the age of 25, after being shot four times. He died less than a week later at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. Since then, Shakur’s death has lingered on as a mystery that has never been brought to a conclusion.
    Davis is a member of the California-based gang known as The South Side Compton Crips and was a childhood friend of N.W.A. member Eazy-E. During the early ’90s, Davis built a friendly relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs. Rumors that someone would be charged in Shakur’s death have swirled for years with no arrests made.
    Tupac’s life was short but marked by artistic achievement in music and acting. His family moved to Baltimore and he attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. In the late 1980s, Tupac moved to California, where he joined the hip-hop group Digital Underground as a backup dancer and rapper. He gained recognition for his skills and charisma on stage.
    In addition to his storied music career, Shakur pursued acting and appeared in films such as “Juice” (1992), “Poetic Justice” (1993), “Above the Rim” (1994), and “Gridlock’d” (1997). He received praise for his acting talent.
    Tupac Shakur was born in East Harlem to Afeni Shakur, a former Black Panther, and Billy Garland. He was given the name Lesane Parish Crooks at birth but later changed it to Tupac Amaru Shakur after he was inspired by the 18th-century Peruvian revolutionary Túpac Amaru II.

  • Newswire: Claudine Gay assumes historic role as Harvard University’s first Black President

    Claudine Gay

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    Harvard University now has its first Black president, Claudine Gay, who already has made her mark in the institution’s history. Gay also stands as only the second woman to helm the university since its founding in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
During her inaugural address, Gay articulated her vision for the Ivy League institution, acknowledging the weight and honor of this groundbreaking appointment. “I stand before you today humbled by the prospect of leading Harvard,” remarked Gay amidst a rainy inauguration ceremony last Friday.
    “Emboldened by the trust you have placed in me and energized by your own commitment to this singular institution and to the common cause of higher education.” The new president went on to emphasize Harvard’s historical role as an agent of change, stating, “The courage of this University — our resolve, against all odds — to question the world as it is and imagine and make a better one: It is what Harvard was made to do,” she exclaimed.
    Harvard Corporation, the university’s main governing body, chose Gay after an extensive search process. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, who attended Harvard, praised Gay’s presidency in a speech. She called it a “truly historic” moment and expressed her admiration and support.
    Gay earned her Ph.D. in government from Harvard in 1998 and joined the faculty in 2006. She previously held the distinguished position of Edgerley Family Dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and is recognized as an expert in political behavior. She also serves as the founding chair of the Inequality in America Initiative which was launched in 2017 to examine social and economic inequalities.

    Outgoing president Lawrence Bacow characterized her as “a person of bedrock integrity,” according to CNN. Bacow also expressed confidence in Gay’s “moral compass,” which he said remains essential for guiding the prestigious university. He praised the search committee for choosing Gay and predicted a bright future under her leadership.

  • Newswire : California Governor Gavin Newsom names Laphonza Butler to U. S. Senate

    By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

    Laphonza Butler will fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late Dianne Feinstein. The groundbreaking Senator died on September 29.
    Newsom’s decision was not on the political radar screen of most prognosticators. He placed no requirement on the appointment to preclude Butler from running for the seat at the end of the term.
    With the selection of Butler, the decision of California’s Governor will not include any of the currently announced candidates for U.S. Senate in 2024 in California. Those current candidates include veteran members of Congress Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff.
    “As we mourn the enormous loss of Senator Feinstein, the very freedoms she fought for — reproductive freedom, equal protection, and safety from gun violence — have never been under greater assault. Laphonza will carry the baton left by Senator Feinstein, continue to break glass ceilings, and fight for all Californians in Washington, D.C.,” wrote Gov. Newsom in a statement released on the evening of October 1 announcing Butler’s appointment.
    Butler was sworn-in to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, by Vice President Kamala Harris, who previously served as a Senator from the state of California.
    Butler has been serving as the President of EMILY’s List. The fundraising platform supports and funds women candidates and amplifies issues that disproportionately impact women. EMILY’s List was founded in 1985 by Ellen Malcolm and founding members Barbara Boxer, Ann Richards, Anne Wexler, and Donna Shalala. From 1985 through 2008, EMILY’s List raised over $240 million for political candidates.
    The move by Newsom could assist him if he should run for higher office in 2024 or 2028. Newsom has been rumored to be on a short list of Democratic candidates who could run for President if for some reason Biden or Harris are not options. But Newsom was recently asked about running for President and switched topics to the policies that he believed the party should be focused on.
    Laphonza Butler will be yet another addition to the Congressional Black Caucus which is now on the brink of having 60 members for the first time in history. Though the current membership of the Congressional Black Caucus is 58, one more Black member is all but certain to enter Congress in Rhode Island after the resignation in May of Congressman David Cicilline. Former Biden White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Deputy Director Gabe Amo won the Democratic nomination for Cicilline’s seat. The election is on November 7.
    Butler will be the only Black woman in the Senate. But Delaware Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester is expected to win the Senate seat vacated by Senator Tom Carper. Carper announced he would not run for re-election in 2024 and Rochester announced shortly afterwards that she would run for Carper’s seat.
    “Throughout her career, Laphonza Butler has been a strong voice for working families, LGBTQ rights, and a champion for increasing women’s representation in politics. I’m honored to welcome her to the United States Senate. Governor Newsom’s swift action ensures that Californians maintain full representation in the Senate as we navigate a narrow Democratic majority. I look forward to working together to deliver for the people of California,” wrote California U.S. Senator Alex Padilla in a statement.
    Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the publisher of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

  • Newswire : Alabama gets one step closer to Congressional map changes and two majority-Black voting districts

    By Bilal G. Morris, NewsOne
    Alabama residents are one step closer to finally getting two majority-Black voting Congressional districts, something Republicans have fought against for decades.
    According to AP, this week, a three-judge panel will likely approve new congressional districts in the state after the Supreme Court allowed the drawing of a new congressional map in the state, which would give greater representation to Black voters.
    The court is expected to hear details on three proposed plans for new congressional maps, which were created by Richard Allen, a court-appointed special master, to be used in the 2024 elections.  Each proposal under discussion will create a second district with majority-Black voters.
    The Alabama attorney general’s office has said they reject all three proposals, but last week justices rejected the state’s emergency request to keep Republican-drawn lines, which was also rejected by a lower court over the summer.
    In June, a three-judge panel ruled that the state’s plan with one majority-Black district out of seven violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act.
    Last week, an Alabama court-appointed special master submitted proposals for congressional districts that would create greater representation for Black voters.
    According to AP, court-appointed special master Richard Allen wrote and submitted three proposals that would create a second majority-Black district in Alabama. The proposals follow the court’s direct instruction to give Black voters in the state an ample opportunity to elect a candidate who represents them, something Alabama Republicans, in the Legislature failed to do numerous times over the summer.
    The proposals specifically plan to change the boundaries of Congressional District 2, giving Black voters between 48.5% to 50.1% of the voting-age population. The GOP redistricting plan only raised the Black voting-age population to 39.9%, which did not give Black voters anything close to a majority.
    “The proposals show a serious consideration of the need to remedy the violation found by the court,” said Kareem Crayton, a redistricting expert at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
    “There will be more to review as we get access to the block files supporting these recommended maps, but what’s clear is that the Special Master did what the state had to date simply refused to do: take the directives of the local court seriously. Each proposal appears to create two districts that are either majority Black or close to it.”
    Allen, who is a former chief deputy for several previous Republican Alabama attorney generals, said his proposals were not drawn based on race, but rather give Black voters “an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.”
    “A performance analysis in this case should demonstrate that the Black-preferred candidate often would win an election in the subject district,” Allen wrote.
    In July, Alabama Republicans rejected instructions from the U.S. Supreme Court to redraw congressional districts and create a second majority-Black district in the state.
    Instead, Alabama lawmakers proposed a redistricting map that would barely increase the percentage of Black voters in the 2nd Congressional District, testing the court’s directive of creating an entirely new district.
    The instruction the panel of judges gave Alabama legislators was simple: Create a second Black congressional district “or an additional district in which Black voters otherwise have an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.” Instead, Republicans in Alabama, which has seven congressional districts in all, maintained the Black district it already had and increased the number of Black voters in another district from 30% to 40%.
    In September, federal judges blocked the republican lawmakers’ proposed map, opting to draft its own using a court-appointed special master.
    “We are not aware of any other case in which a state legislature—faced with a federal court order declaring that its electoral plan unlawfully dilutes minority votes and requiring a plan that provides an additional opportunity district—responded with a plan that the state concedes does not provide that district,” the judges wrote. “The law requires the creation of an additional district that affords Black Alabamians, like everyone else, a fair and reasonable opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. The 2023 Plan plainly fails to do so.”

  • Eutaw City Council meeting devoted to disagreement over Class Day after-party

    By: John Zippert, Co-Publisher

    The Eutaw City Council held a Special Meeting at Noon on Thursday, September 21, 2023. Much of the meeting, including a 38-minute executive session, was devoted to a discussion of the actions of Mayor Latasha Johnson and the Eutaw Police Department in closing down an after-party held by the Dangerous Divas Social and Savings Club, after Class Day on Saturday September 16th, at the Robert H. Young Community Center, formerly known as Carver School.

    The meeting was packed with members of the Dangerous Divas and their supporters, many of whom had attended Class Day and the beginnings of the afterparty.

    The Dangerous Divas, a social and savings club with a membership of 13 local young women, had secured a contract for the use of the field behind Carver School for outdoor activities during the day, like bar-be-ques, and the use of the gymnasium for the after-party that night. The contract does not allow for the sale and serving of alcoholic beverages unless a special permit is secured from the state ABC Board.

    Kelvia Hunter, President of the Dangerous Divas, in a telephone interview said, “We were never told about needing a special permit to serve alcohol. If we knew this, we would have gotten the proper permits.” Hunter did say that alcohol was served at the party, that there was a ten-dollar admission fee to the after-party, which entitled the attendee to free drinks. She also indicated that there were off-duty police security at the door, who were instructed to deny admission to anyone under the 21-year drinking age in Alabama.

    Hunter asserted, “The Mayor knew we were serving alcohol, because we have had six prior events at the same place, under the same rules, without an ABC permit. We also put out on social media our admission charge and that drinks were included. The mayor knew what was happening, but she still stopped our after-party without giving us any explanation.”

    Mayor Johnson said, “I ended the party because liquor was being served. I saw children and others under the age of 21 attending the party. They invited the high school graduating classes of 2022 and 2023, who are all below the drinking age. We also had four ambulance runs for people who got sick at the field program and a police report of an altercation between young men, who had guns. This situation was just too dangerous, and our police force was undermanned for the large crowd. We just had to stop the party before it got out of hand and endangered the people there and others in our city.”

    Mayor Johnson said, “The City dropped the ball, we should have more clearly explained the rental contract and rules for the sale and serving of alcohol. We accept some of the responsibility for the problems at this event, but we feel the Dangerous Divas must also take responsibility for their mistakes connected to this event. We must learn from this for future events to be hosted at the city owned community center.”

    At the City Council meeting, when the issue came up, a resolution was adopted to return the $1,150 contract fee to the Dangerous Divas, due to the misunderstandings concerning the event. Ms. Kelvia Hunter said, “ Our organization lost much more than the contract fee and we want to be reimbursed for all of our losses.”

    In other actions, the Eutaw City Council:

    • Approved participation in the 2024 Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday, February 23-25, 2024.
    • Received financial reports from Financial Consultant, Ralph Liverman, concerning USDA water system accounts at Citizens Trust Bank.
    • Tabled action on lending the city’s street sweep to Aliceville for a day to clean the streets prior to an event.
    • Approved travel for staff to attend the APCO Conference at Perdido Beach on November 15-18, 2023.
    • Moved several items dealing with City vehicles, credit cards, rental agreements for use of the Robert H. Young Community Center and other matters to a Council Work Session to be held in October.
    • Approved payment of bills for September.