The Greene County Democrat

Category: Newswire

  • Newswire: Trump indicted by grand jury in special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation

    By: CBS News

    Washington — Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from his efforts to remain in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election, adding to the former president’s ongoing legal troubles as he mounts a third bid for the White House.
    According to the indictment handed up Tuesday by a federal grand jury, Trump faces four charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.
    Special counsel Jack Smith, in announcing the charges Tuesday, called what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, an “unprecedented assault” on democracy. “It was fueled by lies: Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government — the nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.”
    The indictment says of Trump that despite having lost, he “was determined to remain in power.” So, for over two months after the election, Trump “spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won,” the indictment states, and adds, “These claims were false, and the defendant knew they were false,” but “repeated and widely disseminated them anyway.”
    Six unnamed co-conspirators are alleged by the indictment to have been “enlisted” to assist Trump in “his criminal efforts to overturn” the election “and retain power.”
    Trump and his co-conspirators allegedly “pushed officials to ignore the popular vote” and “organized fraudulent slates of electors” in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to the indictment. The indictment accuses Trump and his co-conspirators of using “knowingly false claims of election fraud” in organizing the fraudulent slates of electors. 
    Prosecutors allege Trump and his co-conspirators also attempted to use the power of the Justice Department to conduct “sham election crime investigations,” and attempted to enlist then-Vice President Mike Pence to use his ceremonial role in affirming the electoral vote count on Jan. 6 to “fraudulently alter the election results.” The indictment also alleges Trump repeatedly pressured Pence to fraudulently reject or return Mr. Biden’s electoral votes. 
    Trump will be arraigned on Thursday at 4:00 in Federal District Court in Washington, D. C.

  • Newswire: Historically Black Collegiate Fraternity, relocates convention due to Florida’s “Harmful, racist, and insensitive” policies

    By Stacy M. Brown
 NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    The oldest historically Black collegiate fraternity in the United States, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, has announced that it will move its planned 2025 convention from Florida to an alternate location.
The decision comes as a response to what the fraternity describes as “harmful, racist, and insensitive” policies implemented by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration towards African Americans.
The convention, which typically draws between 4,000 and 6,000 attendees and reportedly has an economic impact of $4.6 million, has been a significant event for the fraternity.
However, the recent travel advisory for Florida issued by the NAACP and other civil rights organizations has raised concerns about the state’s stance towards African Americans, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community.
In a statement, Willis Lonzer, the fraternity’s general president, said that part of their motivation for relocating the convention is Florida’s new education standards.
The new standards mandate that middle school teachers instruct students on the idea that enslaved people developed skills for their benefit.
The fraternity strongly disagrees, viewing it as an attempt to downplay the horrors of slavery and its enduring impact on African Americans.
“Although we are moving our convention from Florida, Alpha Phi Alpha will continue to support the strong advocacy of Alpha Brothers and other advocates fighting against the continued assault on our communities in Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis,” Lonzer explained.
DeSantis, vying for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has faced criticism from various quarters, including a fellow Republican, U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the sole Black Republican in the Senate.
In response, DeSantis defended Florida, stating that he was countering “false accusations and lies” and pledging to uphold the truth.
In May, the NAACP, along with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Equality Florida, issued travel advisories for Florida, pointing to the state’s recent laws and policies that they deemed hostile to marginalized communities.
Among these laws were restrictions on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in state colleges, bans on critical race theory, and implementing the Stop WOKE Act, which limited specific race-based conversations and analysis in schools and businesses.
Concerns were also raised over laws impacting immigrants in Florida and restricting discussions on LGBTQ topics in schools.
At least nine other organizations or associations have canceled their conventions in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, two of Florida’s major convention cities, citing concerns over the state’s political climate.
Florida remains a popular tourist destination, and tourism is a vital industry for the state, providing 1.6 million full-time and part-time jobs.
Despite facing challenges during the pandemic, Florida’s tourism sector bounced back, with over 137.5 million visitors in the last year, contributing $98.8 billion to the state’s economy in 201

  • Newswire: Congressional Black Caucus confronts ongoing assault on Black rights

    By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) firmly stated that Black Americans are being attacked in various ways nationwide, with Republicans leading these efforts.“We refuse to be victims, and we will not be silenced,” declared CBC Chairman and Representative Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) during a State of Black America press event held at the Capitol.“Our fundamental rights are under siege, and our history is being denied. But we will not passively witness these actions. Too many people count on us to fight for them.”Recent events in several GOP-led state legislatures have intensified concerns within the CBC. Despite a Supreme Court order, Alabama and Louisiana legislatures refused to create an additional district with a majority of Black residents.
    The Florida State Board of Education has approved new education guidelines that downplay the harsh history of slavery. Instead, they emphasize the perceived benefits gained from the skills of enslaved people.
    Rep. Maxwell Frost from Florida, the youngest member of the House, expressed frustration with his state’s guidelines. He said these guidelines aim to erase and indoctrinate this generation with white supremacy. However, Frost warned that Florida officials should not underestimate Black America’s determination to organize and resist.
    Members of the CBC said that statements made by their GOP counterparts at the Capitol have deeply disturbed them, adding to the mounting discontent. Rep. Eli Crane from Arizona made an offensive comment during a House floor debate by referring to Black people as “colored people.”
    Meanwhile, Sen. Tommy Tuberville from Alabama defended a controversial statement by denying the racism of white nationalists.
    Horsford acknowledged that expectations from Republican leaders are minimal at this point, but Representative Troy Carter (D-La.) demanded that the party’s leaders take a stand against such bigotry.
    “The silence from Republicans and others in the face of such egregious statements is deafening,” Carter said. “We will not condone the erasing of history. We must stand together to put an end to this.”
    The CBC has issued a list of demands, calling on the Department of Justice and the Department of Education to launch investigations into education policies. The caucus recently met with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to discuss policies about Black history.They also sent formal letters to Cardona and Attorney General Merrick Garland, urging for a “strong legal strategy.” “Black people did not benefit from slavery; we built this country,” emphasized Horsford.“Our toil, sweat, and tears went into constructing the very foundation of this nation. Elevating Black America is an elevation for all. We will not tolerate this assault on our rights.”

  • Newswire: Atty. Ainka Jackson of the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation announced as new Obama Foundation United States Leader!

    By: Atty: Ainka Jackson

    Selma, AL – Today, Atty. Ainka Jackson of the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation announced that she is among the first cohort of 100 emerging changemakers selected to participate in the Obama Foundation’s Leaders USA program.

    The Obama Leaders program is a six-month virtual program that supports and connects emerging leaders in the United States, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe through a values-based leadership framework inspired by the ideals and legacy of President and Mrs. Obama. Chosen from a highly competitive pool of applications, Atty. Jackson was selected to join the program for her leadership in reducing violence through innovative programs like the Violence Intervention Program and her dedication to building a safe, supportive Beloved Community, especially for people of color in Selma and Dallas County, AL.  This opportunity will allow her to continue to expand her organization’s impact across public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

    The inaugural cohort of United States “Obama Leaders” is composed of values-driven changemakers   from every corner of the country. Hailing from 37 states; Washington, D.C.; American Samoa; Guam; and five tribal nations, these Obama Leaders are united by their passion for building a stronger, more sustainable, and more inclusive world.

    Atty. Ainka Jackson received the first annual In Peace & Freedom Award in 2016 and is a level 3 certified Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation trainer. Jackson was instrumental in Selma being chosen as 1 of 14 sites for the Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation initiative .

    She currently leads Selma’s programmatic work for that initiative. She is the co-creator of the Beyond Divide and Conquer: Unite and Build Racial Equity Training, which explores how the social construct of race was created to divide and conquer (especially poor whites and people of color). Using first-person historical narratives, the training questions what’s the cost of racism for people of color and white people and how we can resist divide and conquer and unite and build. Jackson is a Special Advisor for the ABA Commission for Homelessness and Poverty, Special Counsel to the ABA Civil Rights and Social Justice Section. 

    “We are excited to welcome these 100 changemakers from across the United States into the Obama Foundation family,” said Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation. “Our newest Obama Leaders are already making a difference in their communities and are ready to take their work to the next level. They embody the values of President and Mrs. Obama, and their impactful work will create positive change in communities across the country.”

    The Leaders USA program offers participants a unique and comprehensive experience, including a values-driven leadership curriculum, action labs focused on strengthening democratic institutions and culture in the U.S., community groups for fostering constructive dialogue in a polarized environment, and one-on-one support to help tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time.

    As part of the six-month program, Atty. Jackson will convene virtually each week with the United States Obama Leaders cohort for interactive sessions designed to help them drive change by honing their leadership skills, building deep relationships with their peers, and engaging with thought leaders and members of the Obama Foundation community. Atty Jackson will also have an opportunity to engage with President Obama, participate in various virtual experiences and special events, including one-on-one conversations with experienced mentors in the Foundation’s global network. 

    To learn more about Atty. Jackson and The Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation, visit http://www.selmacntr.org.

    To learn more about the program and the individuals who make up the inaugural cohort, visitobama.org/programs/leaders/usa/.

  • Newswire: Abortion Fund sues Alabama Attorney General after he threatens criminal prosecution for helping abortion seekers leave the state

    By: Kendra Majors@alvalues.org

    07.31.23 – Today the Yellowhammer Fund asked a federal court to prevent the Alabama Attorney General from making good on his threats to criminalize people that help pregnant Alabamians leave the state to access legal abortion. 
    The Attorney General’s threats specifically target helpers like the Yellowhammer Fund, an organization that provides funding and practical support to pregnant Alabamians who are forced to leave their home state and often travel hundreds of miles to access legal abortion care.  Even though Alabama has no power to criminalize lawful activity that takes place in other states, the consequences of the Attorney General’s threats are significant and have forced Yellowhammer Fund to stop operating its abortion fund due to fear of prosecution.
    People and organizations that provide aid in helping people exercise rights are often the unsung heroes of protecting civil rights.  Those who participated in the Freedom Rides in Alabama were helpers as were the publishers of The Green Book.  Organizations like the Yellowhammer Fund are helpers in the battle for reproductive justice.
    
“Today, we filed this lawsuit in the courthouse next to the Freedom Rides Museum in Montgomery, Alabama challenging the State’s efforts to restrict travel for abortion care.  The symbolism is not lost on us,” said Jenice Fountain, Executive Director at the Yellowhammer Fund.
    
 “Abortion funds do more than simply provide aid. They send a message of solidarity to those who are persecuted by the State of Alabama for seeking to control their reproductive health. That message is both that our humanity and dignity are interconnected and that the State’s efforts to isolate and oppress pregnant people cannot break that bond. The attorney general objects to that message and has targeted us and those who wish to help pregnant people leave the state for lawful abortion care.”
    The need for abortion funding and support has only increased since the fall of Roe, particularly in Alabama.  Abortion is banned in Alabama, the state has the third highest maternal mortality rate in the country, and Alabama is the sixth poorest state in the country.  In 2021, before abortion was even banned in the state, nearly two thousand people traveled out of state to obtain needed abortion care.  These burdens fall most heavily on Black people and communities of color, people who also face a heightened risk of criminalization.    
    The Attorney General’s threats violate Yellowhammer Fund’s constitutional rights to free expression, association, travel, and due process and intrude on the sovereignty of states where abortion is legal.  This is the second civil rights lawsuit filed this month challenging a state’s efforts to infringe upon the right to travel for abortion care; the first challenges an Idaho law that criminalizes assistance to young people seeking abortion care  without parental knowledge.
    Yellowhammer Fund is represented by the Lawyering Project and the Southern Poverty Law Center.  
    A similar case was filed in the Middle District of Alabama today by the ACLU on behalf of West Alabama Women’s Center, Dr. Yashica Robinson, and Alabama Women’s Center.

  • Newswire: Ghana parliament votes to abolish death penalty

    Ghana’s parliament has voted to abolish the death penalty, joining a long list of African countries that have done so in recent years.

    The country currently has 170 men and six women on death row, whose sentences will now be replaced by life imprisonment. The last execution took place in 1993.

    Execution has been the mandatory sentence for murder in Ghana. Opinion surveys suggest that most Ghanaians approve abolition.

    Last year seven people were sentenced to death in Ghana – but none were executed. Treason has also been punishable by death in Ghana.
    The bill to amend the Criminal Offences Act was put forward by MP Francis-Xavier Sosu and had the backing of the parliament’s Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.

    A London-based campaign organization, the Death Penalty Project (DPP), had worked with Mr Sosu to get the law changed. 

    A statement from DPP says Ghana is the 29th African country to abolish the death penalty, and the 124th globally.

    In recent years many African states have abolished the death penalty, including Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone and Zambia.

    Mr Sosu said that “on death row, prisoners woke up thinking this could be their last day on earth. They were like the living dead: psychologically, they had ceased to be humans.  “Abolishing the death penalty shows that we are determined as a society not to be inhumane, uncivil, closed, retrogressive and dark.”

    He added this would pave the way to a free and progressive society reflecting “our common belief that the sanctity of life is inviolable”. 

  • Newswire: Tony Bennett’s life wasn’t just singing; he marched along with King, Belafonte for Civil Rights

    Photo: Dr. ML King Jr. Nipsie Russell, Tony Bennett and Harry Belafonte at Selma-to-Montgomery March; Tony Bennett

    By Stacy M. Brown
  NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Tony Bennett,the legendary singer whose smooth vocals and timeless classics captured the hearts of millions, died at 96 in his hometown of New York.
Although renowned for his musical achievements, his tireless work in civil rights advocacy has left an indelible mark on history.
    Bennett’s journey into activism began early in his life. Drafted into the Army as a teen in 1944 during World War II, he served on the front lines in Europe, witnessing the horrors of war and its devastating impact on human lives.
    “The first time I saw a dead German, that’s when I became a pacifist,” Bennett revealed in an earlier interview with Howard Stern. “Every war is insane, no matter where it is or what it’s about. Fighting is the lowest form of human behavior. No human being should have to go to war, especially an eighteen-year-old boy.”
    His time in the military exposed him to the grim reality of racial segregation within the U.S. Armed Forces. After being caught consorting with a Black soldier, Bennett was spat upon by a higher-ranking Army official, who assigned him the unenviable task of digging up the corpses of dead military members. He said the encounter motivated him to speak out for civil rights.
    In 1965, Bennett took part in the historic 50-mile Selma to Montgomery marches, standing alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to demand equality and justice for all.
“The mood was anger,” singer and activist Harry Belafonte said in an interview he and Bennett did in 2013.
    
“The mood was rebellious on the part of the movement, on the part of the civil rights crowd, and the question is: What do we do in the face of this kind of rage and this kind of mayhem? And there was just… the bottom line was that we will go back as often as necessary.”


    To rally the crowd during the march, Bennett performed “Just In Time” on a makeshift stage constructed from dozens of empty coffins, a powerful symbol of the lives lost in the struggle for civil rights. “I didn’t want to do it, but then Harry Belafonte told me what went down,” Bennett recalled.
    “How some blacks were burned, had gasoline thrown on them. When I heard that, I said, ‘I’ll go with you,’” he said. Bennett remained dedicated to championing humanitarian causes and advocating for equality throughout his life.
    He was an outspoken ally of various social issues, using his platform to bring attention to pressing global challenges, including the plight of refugees. Bennett also refused to perform in South Africa during the Apartheid era, and later received the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees Humanitarian Award for his unwavering commitment to humanitarian work.
    Additionally, his contributions to civil rights earned him a place of honor as an inductee into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.
    
Beyond his activism, Bennett was a prolific musician with an impressive discography that spanned over 70 albums, earning him 19 performance Grammy awards.
    His rendition of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” became a timeless classic, earning him a legion of devoted fans, including fellow artists like Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga.
    A Kennedy Center Honoree and a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, Bennett is survived by his wife Susan, daughters Johanna and Antonia, sons Danny and Dae. He also had nine grandchildren.

  • Harvard’s legacy admissions under federal investigation amid civil rights concerns

    Students walking across Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Mass.

    By:  Michael Mitsanas, NBC News

     

    The Education Department is investigating Harvard University’s use of legacy admissions following a complaint from advocacy groups alleging that the practice violates federal civil rights law.
    In a letter Monday, the department notified an attorney for Lawyers for Civil Rights, which filed the complaint against Harvard this month, that it had opened a probe into the school’s admissions process.
    An Education Department spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that its Office for Civil Rights is investigating Harvard for possible violations of Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act but declined to provide additional comment.
    “We do not comment on open investigations,” the spokesperson said.
    A 31-page complaint, filed July 3 by the Greater Boston Latino Network and other advocacy groups, argued legacy admissions at Harvard systematically disadvantage applicants of color and contradict the university’s stated commitment to campus diversity.
    The complaint argues that the need to end so-called legacy admissions — the practice of giving preferential treatment to the children or other relatives of alumni in college or university admissions — is particularly acute at Harvard after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action programs at two universities, ending the systematic consideration of race in the admissions process.
    In the court filing, the advocacy groups asked the Education Department to declare that Harvard must end the practice if it is to continue to receive federal funds and argued that legacy admissions “are not justified by any educational necessity.”
    “Harvard cannot show that the use of these preferences is necessary to achieve any important educational goal,” the filing said. “To the contrary, the preferential treatment is conferred without regard to the applicant’s credentials or merits — the benefit is derived simply from being born into a particular family.”
    Asked to respond to the legal groups’ allegations and comment on the federal investigation, Nicole Rua, a spokesperson for the university, said Harvard is conducting a wide-ranging review of “aspects of our admissions policies” in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
    “Harvard remains dedicated to opening doors to opportunity and to redoubling our efforts to encourage students from many different backgrounds to apply for admission,” Rua said in a statement.
    Legacy admissions at Harvard, along with other universities, have come under increased scrutiny since the court’s ruling — President Joe Biden said last month that legacy admissions “expand privilege instead of opportunity.” The NAACP called on universities to end the practice this month, arguing that it unfairly advantages white applicants.
    The July 3 complaint cites Harvard data, released after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, indicating that 70% of the university’s donor-related and legacy applicants are white and that they are six times more likely to be admitted.
    “A spot given to a legacy or donor-related applicant is a spot that becomes unavailable to an applicant who meets the admissions criteria based purely on his or her own merit,” the complaint said. If legacy and donor preferences were removed, it adds, “more students of color would be admitted to Harvard.”

  • Newswire : Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants to whitewash Black History as though it never existed

    The Florida Board of Education approved a new set of standards for how Black history should be taught in the state’s public schools, but the head of the NAACP denounced the move, saying that it should not eliminate slavery, Jim Crow laws, police brutality, and the problems many Blacks face every day, including, for example, instances like the White woman who recently received probation for spitting in a Black’s woman face.

    “Our children deserve nothing less than truth, justice, and the equity our ancestors shed blood, sweat, and tears for,” Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement.

    “Today’s actions by the Florida state government are an attempt to bring our country back to a 19th century America where Black life was not valued, nor our rights protected. It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery, and Jim Crow laws were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history. We refuse to go back,” Johnson said.

    The new standards come after the state passed new legislation Thursday under Gov. Ron DeSantis that bars instruction in schools that suggests anyone is privileged or oppressed based on their race or skin color.

    The standards require instruction for middle school students to include “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” a document listing the standards and posted on the Florida Department of Education website said.

    Some things are being left out including a number of massacres, including the Atlanta race massacre, the Tulsa race massacre in which whites murdered 400 Blacks, and the Rosewood race massacre and bloody summers in Chicago.

    When high school students learn about events such as the 1920 Ocoee massacre the new rules require that instruction include “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.”

    The massacre is considered the deadliest Election Day violence in US history and, according to several histories of the incident, it started when Moses Norman, a prominent Black landowner in the Ocoee, Florida, community, attempted to cast his ballot and was turned away by White poll worker.

    More than 250 White people, among them members of the Ku Klux Klan, torched rows of houses where African Americans lived and set fire to other community buildings.

    The Rosewood massacre was a racially motivated massacre of Black people and the destruction of a Black town that took place during the first week of January 1923 in rural Levy County, Florida.

    At least six Black and two White people were killed, but eyewitness accounts suggested a higher death toll of 27 to 150.

    The Chicago race riot of 1919 was a violent racial conflict between White Americans and Black Americans that began on the South Side of Chicago on July 27 when Blacks drifted into parts of Lake Michigan reserved for Whites.

    It begin on July 27 and ended on August 3, 1919. During the riot, 38 people died (23 Blacks and 15 Whites). Over the week, injuries attributed to the episodic confrontations stood at 537, two-thirds Black and one-third white; and between 1,000 and 2,000 residents, most of them Black, lost their homes.

  • Newswire : President Biden signs proclamation establishing National Monument Honoring Emmett Till

    Emmett and his mother Mamie Till

    By Stacy M. Brown
 NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    President Joe Biden signed a proclamation on Tuesday, July 25, establishing a national monument honoring Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black teenager whose tragic lynching in 1955 ignited a nationwide outcry against racial injustice and discrimination.
Named the “Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument,” the historic memorial will span three sites in Illinois and Mississippi, symbolizing locations that played a central role in Till’s heartbreaking story.
“The new monument will protect places that tell the story of Emmett Till’s too-short life and racially motivated murder, the unjust acquittal of his murderers, and the activism of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, who courageously brought the world’s attention to the brutal injustices and racism of the time, catalyzing the civil rights movement,” White House officials explained.
The three sites that will be part of the monument are the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, where Till’s mother held an open-casket funeral to display her son’s brutalized body; Graball Landing in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, believed to be the location where Till’s body was retrieved from the Tallahatchie River; and the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where Till’s murderers were acquitted.
Till’s tragic story unfolded in August 1955 while visiting relatives in Mississippi.
Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, two white men, allegedly kidnapped, brutally beat, and lynched him for allegedly whistling at a white woman.
The men’s trial, which occurred before an all-white jury, ended in their acquittal, sparking outrage and disbelief nationwide.
However, in a later interview with Look Magazine, Bryant and Milam admitted their responsibility for Till’s heinous murder, revealing the justice system’s deeply flawed and biased nature during that era.
As Till’s story continued to gain national attention, the brave actions of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, became a driving force behind the Civil Rights Movement.
She insisted that her son’s casket remain open during the funeral, allowing the world to witness the brutality of racial violence and the stark realities of America’s rampant racism.
Photographs of Till’s battered and mutilated body were published in Jet Magazine, impacting the collective consciousness, and mobilizing people across the nation to fight against racial injustice.
Earlier this year, Carolyn Bryant Donham, the white woman whose false accusation against Till triggered the events leading to his lynching, died at the age of 88.
Donham passed away in Westlake, Louisiana, while receiving hospice care, according to a death record from the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office.
President Biden’s decision to establish the national monument is seen as crucial to acknowledging and preserving the painful history of racial violence in the United States.
By commemorating Emmett Till’s life and the legacy of his courageous mother, the monument will serve as a reminder of the immense sacrifices made by those who fought for civil rights, and it will stand as a beacon of hope and a call to action against ongoing injustices.
Administration officials said the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument will symbolize resilience, progress, and the enduring fight for a more equitable society.