The Greene County Democrat

Category: World News

  • Sketches #1932: by Hank Sanders – A Relay for Freedom

    A relay for freedom. We love relay races. We love the 4×100-meter race where each of four runners carry the baton for 100 meters for a total of 400 meters. Each runner plays his/her part. Each of the first three runners hand off the baton to the next runner. If the hand off is not performed correctly, it delays the next runner and results in defeat. The final runner is called the anchor. He/she carries the baton across the finish line but the victory belongs not just to her but to the team. There are similar races in the 4×200 and 4×400. Each carrier must be fast and strong. Each hands off the baton to the next runner until the anchor crosses the finish line. It is a team victory. No one feels that they must carry the baton all the way to obtain victory. A relay for freedom.
    I wonder if we should have a political relay. A political relay is even more important when freedom is at stake. We need a relay for freedom because liberty is at stake. The freedom of a diverse citizenry is at stake. The constitution is at stake. Ultimately democracy in this country and maybe the world over is at stake. So much of freedom as we know it is at stake. A relay for freedom.
    I wonder about a relay for the current and the next presidency of the United States. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have carried the weights of the baton of democracy under vicious attack for nearly four years. The weight is getting heavier and heavier. I wonder if there’s an opportunity for the runners to shift position. I wonder if there’s an opportunity for new runners to take turns in carrying the baton of the presidency. A relay for freedom.
    I greatly appreciate the tremendous leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris. They had to take on an incumbent President of these United States of America who was determined to hang on to the power of the presidency at all costs. That president initiated and fueled an insurrection to maintain the presidency by force. More than sixty judges ruled that the election was not stolen. In spite of all the court ruling against him he has continued the “stop the steal” lie to this day, insisting that he was wrongly deprived of the presidency. A relay for freedom.
    When President Biden and Vice President Harris commenced serving on January 20, 20221, they were met with a worldwide COVID Pandemic that killed more than one million persons just in the United States of America. More lives loss in this country than in any other country in the world, including China and India, each of which has four times the population of the U.S. The economy of the U.S. was busted because businesses were closed. Schools were closed. Governmental offices were closed. It was a terrible time made so much more terrible by the destructive leadership of then President Trump. A relay for freedom.
    President Biden and Vice President Harris are gallantly carrying the baton of economic recovery. They have provided 15 million jobs. They beat back inflation. They caused schools and other governmental entities to open again. They vaccinated tens of millions. They passed legislation that is rebuilding the country’s infrastructure. They reduced the stifling student loan debt. They reduced undocumented persons entering into this country. They fought off a rising tide of isms – sexism, racism. They tackled a threatening global weather change. They fought to protect voting rights and reduce gun violence. And there is so much more. A relay for freedom.
    The anti-democracy forces have been so determined that they commenced attacking President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris immediately after the election even before they were sworn into office. They attacked President Biden through his vice president because she is female and of color. They have been relentless for nearly four years. Lies told over and over in the media, on social media and otherwise take deep roots and are resistant to even waves of truth and reasons. A relay for freedom.
    A relay allows each of us to carry the baton for freedom as fast and far as we can. Then we pass it to the next runner in the race. President Biden and Vice President Harris are carrying the baton of freedom far and fast, and I salute them. I am not at all suggesting that Biden and Harris be pushed out of the highest leadership positions. I could not and would not ever push either out. They have contributed and are contributing too much. Besides, I still believe President Biden and Vice President Harris can win. I am just lifting the opportunities that exist in a relay for freedom. A relay for freedom.
    I wonder whether a unique application of the relay for freedom will help save this country. I wonder what happens if President Biden and Vice President Harris pass the baton in the reelection campaign for the presidency. I wonder about President Biden passing the presidency and allowing Vice President Harris to complete the final six months of the term. He helped her to become the very first very first female vice president in more than 200 years. He can help bring about the very first female President in more than 200 years. I wonder if she would voluntarily not pursue the presidency or vice presidency in 2024. I wonder if history would say President Biden not only saved the country but advanced civilization throughout the world. Both would go down in history. A relay for freedom.
    I wonder about a new two-person team of political warriors to carry the baton in the next relay for freedom. They would be fresh and fast. I wonder if President Biden and Vice President Harris could contribute greatly to the selection of these two warriors to avoid confusion and to unify the forces of freedom. Of course, they would need to agree. Such a move would increase the opportunities to win the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate by margins sufficient to govern effectively. I wonder if the new House and Senate would be in position to stem the destructive tide of the current Supreme Court. A relay for freedom.
    The likely Republican nominee for President still refuses to accept the 2020 election results and all court findings; promoted an insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol; has been impeached twice; has been convicted in a criminal court of law on 34 counts, has been found liable for sexual assault, rape and fraud; and promotes falsehoods and lies again and again. This nation cannot afford another term with former President Trump.
    The old folks have a saying: “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Sometimes we are given something that we do not see as a gift. We may in fact see it as a curse. So, we examine and examine and examine it. We look the gift horse in the mouth. This moment that we are in may well be a gift if we are just willing to unwrap it. A relay for freedom.

    EPILOGUE – Every crisis contains seeds of opportunity. This may or may not be a crisis, but the seeds of opportunity are embedded. Can we look beyond the moment and see the opportunities? Relay for freedom.

  • Newswire : Simone Biles will lead the women’s gymnastics team at the Olympics

    By BlackmansStreet Today


    Simone Biles, the reigning world gymnastic champion, will lead American women gymnasts to compete in the Olympic Games after placing first in the all around competition at the 2024 US Olympic Gymnastics Trials on Sunday in Minneapolis.
    The opening ceremony for the XXXIII Olympiad is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. ET on July 26 though soccer and rugby events kick off on July 24.
    Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist finished in Minneapolis with an overall score of 117.225. Suni Lee came in second with a score of 111.675, and Jordan Chiles finished third with a score of 111.425.
    Lee, Chiles, Jade Carey, and 16 year old Hezly Rivera will join Biles on the US women’s gymnastics team in Paris next month. Joscelyn Roberson and Leanne Wong were named the traveling replacement athletes.
    The 27 year-old Biles, who became the most decorated gymnast ever at last year’s world championships, clinched an automatic spot on the team after placing first.

  • Newswire : Honoring Tamir Rice on his 22nd Birthday

    Demonstrator holding sign for Tamir Rice

    By Anoa Changa, NewsOne

    On Nov. 22, 2014, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was snatched away from his family after a Cleveland Police officer killed him. But instead of focusing on the violent acts of unaccountable police officers, NewsOne joins his family and loved ones in honoring Tamir on his birthday during the tenth year of his life in remembrance.

    Tamir would have been 22 years old on Tuesday. And while he will unfortunately never grow into adulthood, his family has honored the legacy and possibility of what his future should have been.

    That includes activism and awareness from his mother, Samaria Rice, who has consistently and faithfully kept her son’s name alive. As such, Samaria Rice invited members of her Cleveland community to join her on Tuesday to celebrate her son’s life. Samaria Rice also encouraged people to support the Tamir Rice Foundation.

    Rice’s family has continued to support advocacy efforts addressing police reform and violence.

    The Department of Justice declined to pursue charges in Tamir’s killing. Samaria challenged the decision. Her efforts were also supported by a letter from dozens of legal scholars firmly suggesting the agency reevaluate its statutory interpretation in regards to charging police for violating people’s civil rights under the color of law.

    In 2022, the Rice family dedicated a butterfly garden at Cudell Park on the site where Tamir was killed near a gazebo. “This butterfly garden was created by Tamir’s community, who helped to turn it into something beautiful for better memories going forward, for the park, the Rice Family and the community,” reads a marker at the site.

    During the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the butterfly garden, Samaria spoke of the pain she endured losing her young son. “As his mother, the pain is so real. I will be in pain for the rest of my life. With my pain, I was able to turn it into power by being Tamir’s voice and seeing the vision for our community by being in service to the people, especially our youth, me and my family struggled daily, but through the grace of God, we’re taking one day at a time and living the best that we can.

    This butterfly memorial is very important to me and my family. This is the last memory I have of my son playing in the park, as children should be able to play in parks in America.”

    Last year, Samaria Rice announced that she was moving the Tamir Rice Foundation away from Cleveland. “I’m not getting any support out of Cleveland from anywhere,” Samaria Rice told Spectrum News at the time. “So, I just think the best thing is to maybe take it to Chicago, where the gazebo is.”

     

     

  • Newswire : Supreme Court overturns Chevron: major blow to consumer protections and regulatory power

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA


    In a ruling that should make all Americans stop saying what the Supreme Court, those in power, or individuals seeking office and the presidency can’t do, the high court issued what could be a devastating ruling on the so-called Chevron decision.

    The decision could lead to skyrocketing phone bills, soaring healthcare costs, and dismantling regulations on safe food and consumer protections that have been in place for decades. The Supreme Court has consigned to history the 1984 ruling known as Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, potentially jeopardizing the safety and rights of consumers and the environment.

    In a 6-3 decision, the conservative majority of the court dealt another blow to the power of federal agencies. In writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts declared, “Chevron is overruled. Courts must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority.” Liberal Justice Elena Kagan, in her dissent, warned that a “longstanding precedent at the crux of administrative governance thus falls victim to a bald assertion of judicial authority.”

    At the time of its decision, Chevron was a victory for the Reagan administration’s deregulatory agenda, granting judges the ability to defer to federal agencies in interpreting ambiguous statutes. The flexibility allowed Democratic and Republican presidents to implement new regulations across various issues. However, many Republicans have increasingly criticized Chevron, arguing it gives too much power to agency bureaucrats.
    Environmental activists and other groups on the left have defended Chevron for its ability to address issues like climate change.

    The case that led to this ruling involved a challenge to a federal regulation requiring fishing vessel operators to fund data collection for fishery conservation and management. The National Marine Fisheries Service, which oversees ocean resources, issued a rule in 2020 mandating vessel operators pay up to $710 a day for independent observers to monitor operations. Small owner-operators argued this cost was burdensome, challenging the service’s authority under the 1976 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The lower courts had ruled in favor of the federal government.

    The Trump administration has supported a campaign by the conservative justices to limit the power of federal agencies, and this decision is the most recent in that series. The court’s conservative majority, including three Trump appointees—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—has repeatedly struck down agency actions lacking explicit congressional authorization, following the “major questions doctrine.”

    Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal sounded the alarm in a NBC News interview, stating, “The Supreme Court has done an extraordinary thing, an extraordinarily dangerous thing. Most government regulation in this country is not done by Congress. It’s done by administrative agencies… What the Supreme Court did today by a 6–3 vote is overturned Chevron. That is going to make it much more difficult to regulate businesses, to protect consumers, to protect the environment, and to protect our healthcare.”

    Katyal emphasized the sweeping impact of the ruling, noting that regulations by agencies like the EPA, FDA, and FCC, which influence everything from environmental standards to food safety and phone bill costs, will now face greater challenges. He warned, “This decision… is going to change government as we know it.”

    The political dynamic behind the ruling reflects the decreasing productivity of Congress due to partisan divides, leading to a greater reliance on agency rules to achieve regulatory goals, particularly by Democratic presidents. The 1984 Chevron precedent, which called for judicial deference to federal agency interpretations of ambiguous laws, has been a target of conservatives and business interests for years.

    With the ruling, the Supreme Court has dramatically shifted the landscape of American governance, with opponents arguing that it potentially jeopardizes decades of consumer and environmental protections and ushered in a new era of regulatory challenges.
     

     

  • Newswire : U.S. Supreme Court gives immunity to Trump’s alleged criminal acts

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    On Monday, July 1, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump has immunity for some of his conduct during his presidency in his federal election interference case. However, other actions may not be protected. This decision adds another layer of complexity to the potential trial proceedings.

    In a closely watched case exploring the boundaries of presidential power, the justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines to reject Trump’s sweeping immunity claim. The ruling means that charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results will not be dismissed outright. However, the court indicated that actions closely tied to his presidential duties are off-limits to prosecutors.

    Trump has already been convicted on 34 felony charges related to a hush-money scheme to conceal an extramarital affair with an adult film star while Melania Trump was pregnant.

    Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, emphasized the need for lower courts to examine further which actions Trump can be prosecuted for. Specifically, the court determined that Trump’s interactions with Justice Department officials and Vice President Mike Pence in the lead-up to the January 6 Capitol attack by his supporters are considered core presidential powers and thus immune from prosecution.

    “The president is not above the law,” Roberts wrote. “But Congress may not criminalize the president’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the executive branch under the Constitution.”
    The ruling leaves the future of the case uncertain, requiring further proceedings before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. Judge Chutkan will now review other alleged conduct by Trump, including his communications with state election officials, private parties, and members of the public, to determine if they qualify as official acts.

    The court’s liberal justices dissented, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor arguing that the ruling undermines a fundamental constitutional principle that no individual is above the law. “Trump will now be insulated from criminal prosecution. In every use of official power, the President is now a king, above the law,” said Sotomayor.

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in a strongly worded dissent, accused the conservative majority of creating a dangerous precedent by establishing a new model of presidential accountability that grants undue immunity to the highest office.

    “With that understanding of how our system of accountability for criminal acts ordinarily functions, it becomes much easier to see that the majority’s ruling in this case breaks new and dangerous ground,” Jackson wrote.

    “Departing from the traditional model of individual accountability, the majority has concocted something entirely different: A Presidential accountability model that creates immunity — an exemption from criminal law — applicable only to the most powerful official in our Government,” she added.

    Justice Jackson further warned of the broader implications of the ruling, suggesting that even a hypothetical president who commits grave crimes, such as ordering assassinations of political rivals or instigating a coup, could potentially claim immunity under the new model.

    Trump, who faces about 50 other charges related to the 2020 election, has openly discussed executing his rivals.

  • NAACP holds ‘Voter Restoration Summit’ in Shelby County on 11th anniversary of Supreme Court decision gutting voting rights

    Members of the Youth Panel at NAACP Voter Restoration Summit and Panelists at Plenary Session: L to R : Rev. Dukes, Benard Simelton, Dorry Miles, Marcia Johnson, JaTaudne Gilchrist, Dr. Gary Bledsoe

    Special to the Democrat by John Zippert, Co-Publisher

    This past weekend, the NAACP Alabama State Conference of Branches held a Voter Restoration Summit in Shelby County on the 11th anniversary of the Shelby vs. Holder Supreme Court decision which invalidated Section 4B of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA). This decision ended the pre-clearance provisions of Section 5, which was a major benefit of the act. Since this decision, many states adopted voter suppression laws to limit voting by Black, Brown and other people of color in our nation.

    The Summit began with a rally at the Shelby County Courthouse in Columbiana, Alabama, to support the John Lewis Voter Advancement Act, which would reverse the decision of the Supreme Court by updating the conditions to find a state or locality in violation of voting rights, based on complaints during the past decade. Several speakers urged the crowd to join in the effort to restore the VRA, expand voting rights and actively participate in the upcoming November election.

    The rally was followed by a meeting for people to get to know each other and listen to some more speakers. Many representatives of the “Devine 9” Black fraternities and sororities spoke about their efforts in voter registration, education and engagement. They stressed the importance of Black voter turnout in the 2nd. and 7th Congressional Districts, where there is a new opportunity to elect two Black representatives to Congress for the next session beginning in January 2025.

    Attorney Faya Rose Toure of the Save Ourselves Movement for Justice and Democracy (SOS) announced that SOS and other organizations were sponsoring a rally at the bridge in Selma on August 6, 2024, the anniversary of the signing of the 1965 VRA and working toward a statewide effort to increase Black turnout in the up=coming election.

    The next day, Saturday, June 22, the Summit shifted to the Arts Building on the campus of the University of Montevallo, still in Shelby County. The program began with a plenary session, followed by a youth panel and workshops in the afternoon.

    At the opening session, Rev. Dukes, President of the Shelby County NAACP Branch said, “the purpose of the Summit was to learn about the Voting Rights Act and answer the question of why it is important to vote in 2024.”
    Benard Simelton, State President of the NAACP, spoke about the negative impacts of the Shelby vs. Holder decision on voting rights in Alabama and other states. He mentioned that in the past legislative session, the Alabama Legislature passed SB1 which tries to ‘criminalize’ the process of absentee voting and seeks to discourage people in Alabama from helping others to cast absentee ballots. Shelby vs. Holder makes it possible for states like Alabama to keep passing more restrictive voter suppression laws to depress the Black vote. He concluded by saying, “our voice is our vote! If we don’t use it, we will surely lose it.”

    Marcia Johnson with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights spoke on Alabama being the birthplace of democracy because of the Selma to Montgomery March which led to the passage of the 1965 VRA. In 2006, the VRA was extended, on a bi-partisan basis, for twenty-five years with 98 votes in the U. S. Senate and 393 in the U. S. House of Representatives. Since then, there has been a backlash and retrenchment against voting rights, including the Shelby decision in 2013. She called the November 5th election, “The most important in our lifetime African Americans must rise up; we must fight to keep our democracy, it is only fair that we do so; we will triumph!”
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    Ms. JaTaudne Gilchrist of the Alabama ACLU, who has been active in fighting voter suppression, said, “Although I am fatigued personally, we must still work to insure the future of democracy. Three things keep me moving forward, 1. The value of rigor in our work; the importance of vision and the hope for justice. WE must be prepared for the long haul of this work. We need a ten-year plan and a 100-year plan for our work. We are the ‘benders’ of the arc of justice that Dr. King was talking about.”

    Dr. Gary Bledsoe, President of the Texas State NAACP, said the Shelby vs. Holder decision was the new Fort Sumpter of our age. Saying this decision was the start of a second civil war to prevent us from voting. He concluded by saying, “I people are working so hard to prevent you from voting – there must be something very powerful and important for you to vote.”

    The plenary was followed by a panel of young voters ages 18-39, who spoke on why they are voting and some of the things their friends have said about why they are not voting. This panel was instructive on the distance and difficulties of more experienced voting organizers being able to reach young voters and young leaders.

    There were several panels in the afternoon on issues like maternal healthcare and women’s reproductive rights, attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, and others. This was followed by a closing session in which Benard Simelton and Shalela Dowdy, a community activist and law student from Mobile, reviewed the provisions of the John Lewis Voter Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act, which are pending in Congress and the importance of voting in the upcoming November election, especially in Congressional District 2 and District 7 in Alabama.

     

     

  • Newswire : Nearly 200 Baseball Hall of Famers have played at Rickwood Field in Birmingham

    Willie Mays in Birmingham Barons uniform, 1948

    By Solomon Crenshaw Jr. | The Birmingham Times

    Generations of minor league baseball players have lived with the dream that they’ll get called up to the big leagues, playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game.
    Even announcers like Curt Bloom, the radio voice of the Birmingham Barons, had that dream, which was fulfilled two seasons ago when he was part of the broadcast crew for the Chicago White Sox, the parent club of the Barons.
    But Bloom admits that he couldn’t imagine that Birmingham’s Rickwood Field, the longtime home of the Birmingham Barons and the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues, would get the call to host an MLB game.
    “I never thought that Rickwood would get the call to the big leagues,” Bloom said. “It was our city jewel, our city gem. If you want to come see a game where Willie Mays played, you come to Birmingham. Now, come June 20, if you want to see where Willie Mays played, turn on your TV.”
    Mays is one of 182 Baseball Hall of Famers who have played at Rickwood. Those legends include Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Satchel Paige, Oscar Charleston, Mule Suttles, Josh Gibson, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Roberto Clemente, Rollie Fingers and Reggie Jackson.
    Willie Mays, died last week at 93, two days before the game to honor him and other Negro League players who got their start at Rickwood. Mays was revered for his hitting, fielding and base runni9ng abilities. He finished his career with 3286 hits, 660 home runs, 12 golden gloves, and a batting average of .302. Mays’ career spanned from 1951 to 1972 with the Giants, where he won a World Series in 1954, was a 24-time All-Star, and was a two-time National League MVP. 
    And while he’s not in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Bo Jackson played at Rickwood as a prep star for McAdory High School, a collegiate slugger for the Auburn Tigers and as a pro with the Memphis Chicks. Jackson was the 1989 MLB All Star Game MVP with a leadoff homerun.
    Another football player, Auburn University’s and the New Orleans Saints’ Frank Warren, played a football game at Rickwood. His Phillips High School Red Raiders fell 7-3 to the West End Lions on Sept. 17, 1976.
    While those legends all got a chance at the big league America’s oldest baseball park is indeed getting its chance as it hosts the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants on June 20 in the MLB Tribute to the Negro Leagues.
    This is no preseason and it’s no exhibition. This is a real MLB game that has come to Birmingham. The game is part of a three-day baseball extravaganza where the real stars of the show are the ballpark that sits a block south of Third Avenue West and north of Lomb Avenue in the Fairview Neighborhood and the Negro League teams and players who applied their craft there.
    Where Hall of Famers Played
    Gerald Watkins is chairman of the Friends of Rickwood, the organization that has worked to maintain the baseball gem that is Rickwood.
    Rickwood Field opened August 18, 1910, to a wildly enthusiastic crowd that saw their beloved Birmingham Barons beat the Montgomery Climbers, and unknowingly made history. Rickwood was the newest ballpark in the land that day, and 114 years later, stands as the oldest baseball park in America.
    Industrialist A.H. “Rick” Woodward, for whom the ballpark was named, was not only the owner of the Barons. He never lost his passion for playing the game of his youth, inserting himself into the starting lineup on Rickwood’s opening day.
    Woodward threw the first pitch ever in his new ballpark. It was not a ceremonial pitch, but it was a ball.
    Since opening, Rickwood Field has been home to the Minor League Birmingham Barons, the Negro League Birmingham Black Barons and the Birmingham A’s, which was in the farm system of the Oakland A’s. When UAB Baseball began under coach Harry “The Hat” Walker, the Blazers played at Rickwood.
    “Rickwood Field was a true Field of Dreams,” Watkins said, “where someone like Willie Mays dreamed of playing in the big leagues.”
    The Birmingham Barons, a Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, played their final season at Rickwood in 1987 before heading to the Hoover Met. The Barons moved to their current home – Birmingham’s Regions Field – in 2013, when the team won a league-best seventh Southern League championship.
    “It’s a special place for baseball fans and history fans,” Watkins said. “Even folks who are on a Civil Rights trail will come here after they go to the (16th Street Baptist) Church and they go to the Civil Rights (Institute and) the Negro Southern League Museum.
    “We’re a tourist spot. A lot of folks don’t see that but we really are,” he said. “Over the years, we’ve had as many as 38 states represented and eight foreign countries. If you look at our guest book today, you won’t see anybody from local places. You’re gonna see people from out of town or out of the country.”
    These days, the message on Watkins’ cellphone refers callers to Major League Baseball in their pursuit of tickets to the Giants-Cardinals game. Alabama residents entered a lottery to have a chance at buying tickets to that game. That allotment of tickets sold out in 45 minutes.
    “The teams (Cardinals and Giants) have an amount and Major League Baseball has an amount,” Watkins said. “Those numbers are not known but they come out of the total somewhere, some way. In the overall ticket numbers, those come out before the (public) tickets go on sale.”
    Television Experience
    Capacity at Rickwood Field will be approximately 8,100, down from about 9,500 before the renovations.
    “We have lost some seating capacity due to the improvements that we made, allowing better access for handicapped individuals,” the Friends of Rickwood chairman said. “We will have to have areas for more press and there’ll be some VIP areas that we’ve never had to deal with before. But, as MLB looks at it, they’re thinking about a television game.”
    That television experience will be enhanced by a Jumbotron that will be temporally installed in right centerfield.
    While access to the Major League game is limited, the MLB (Minor League Baseball) game between the Biscuits and Barons and the Barnstorm Birmingham softball contest will have greater access.
    Prices for Barnstorm Birmingham tickets are $24 in a nod to Birmingham’s own, the great Willie Mays, whose jersey number was 24. As with the other games, MLB will make a select number of tickets for Barnstorm Birmingham available for free to local youth and community groups.
    Watkins said he’s learned from his conversations with Major League Baseball that it is interested in coming back for a second game.
    “There’s no guarantees, but we have been told that the main thing we have to do is keep the field up at a Major League level,” he said. “That means we can’t overplay on it. That means we’ve got to make sure it’s cut properly, it’s watered properly, all the chemicals are applied properly.”
    Simply put, Birmingham must keep its gem polished.

  • Newswire : Federal Judge halts Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan: Administration vows to fight on

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    President Joe Biden’s ongoing efforts to alleviate the burden of student loan debt have hit another significant obstacle. U.S. District Judge John A. Ross, an Obama nominee, issued an order halting further loan forgiveness under the Biden administration’s income-driven repayment plan known as SAVE. This decision is a component of a more significant legal conflict that several Republican-led states started.
    Judge Ross stated that the administration is “preliminarily enjoined from any further loan forgiveness for borrowers under the Final Rule’s SAVE plan until such time as this Court can decide the case on the merits.” The ruling is a major setback for Biden, whose administration launched the SAVE plan after the Supreme Court quashed a more comprehensive debt relief initiative last year. That plan had aimed to eliminate up to $20,000 in federal student debt for approximately 43 million borrowers.
    The judge rejected the administration’s motion to dismiss the case, affirming that the states involved had standing and “are likely to succeed on the merits of their argument that the early loan forgiveness provisions… were promulgated in a manner exceeding the Secretary’s statutory authority.”
    The Biden administration, undeterred, quickly responded. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre vehemently disagreed with the ruling, asserting that the Department of Justice would continue to vigorously defend the SAVE Plan. “Since day one, the President and his Administration have fought to fix a broken student loan system and make sure borrowers aren’t saddled with unmanageable student loan debt,” she emphasized.
    Jean-Pierre pointed out the SAVE Plan’s immediate benefits: lower monthly payments for 8 million Americans and accelerated debt cancellation for hundreds of thousands of borrowers. She criticized Republican officials and their allies for obstructing these efforts, accusing them of fighting to prevent their constituents from accessing much-needed financial relief.
    Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, representing one of the states that filed the lawsuit, celebrated the ruling. “By attempting to saddle working Missourians with Ivy League debt, Joe Biden is undermining our constitutional structure,” Bailey declared. “Only Congress has the power of the purse, not the President. Today’s ruling was a huge win for the rule of law and for every American who Joe Biden was about to force to pay off someone else’s debt.”
    Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin echoed this sentiment: “With Independence Day fast approaching, another court has reminded President Biden that he is not a king. He can’t go around Congress and unilaterally cancel student loans. He should have learned that from Schoolhouse Rock!”
    According to the lawsuit, which Florida, Georgia, North Dakota, Ohio, and Oklahoma have joined, the SAVE Plan allegedly violates the Constitution’s guarantee of the separation of powers. Despite the ruling, Judge Ross noted that other beneficial aspects of the program, such as lowering monthly payments and limiting interest accrual, could continue, acknowledging that the states had not demonstrated harm from these provisions.
    Adding to the administration’s challenges, U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree issued a separate ruling blocking parts of the SAVE Plan set to take effect on July 1. Crabtree found that while the states had not shown irreparable harm from provisions already in effect, they had demonstrated potential harm from the forthcoming provisions.
    The Biden administration has made significant strides in debt relief, forgiving substantial amounts under the SAVE Plan. Last month, officials announced $613 million in debt cancellation for over 54,000 borrowers, part of a broader effort that has resulted in $167 billion in loan forgiveness for 4.75 million people through various administrative actions.
    Despite legal setbacks, the Biden administration remains resolute. “Today’s rulings won’t stop our Administration from using every tool available to give students and borrowers the relief they need,” Jean-Pierre affirmed. “President Biden and his administration will continue to build off of the progress made in delivering debt cancellation to over 4.75 million Americans through various actions, and we will never stop fighting for students and borrowers, no matter how many roadblocks Republican elected officials and special interests put in our way.”

  • Newswire : Biden and Trump to square off in first debate

    President Joe Biden and Donald Trump

    Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from BlackMansStreetToday

    The first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle is set for Thursday, June 27, when President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will take the stage without an audience cheering for the candidates. Black voters will play a key role in determining the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

Both Biden and Trump will go head-to-head at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. CNN in Atlanta will broadcast the debate. The debate will be moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

 Biden and Trump are virtually tied at 41.0 percent for Biden, compared with Trump at 40.6 percent going into the debate. The candidates will hold the debate prior the Democratic and Republican conventions, although the selection of both candidates is assured.
    
The Democratic Party will hold its nomination event in Chicago beginning Monday, August 24 through August 22.

The Republican Party will hold its nomination event in Milwaukee. It is scheduled from July 15 through Thursday, July 18.

Voters will choose between two White septuagenarians with dramatically different prescriptions for health care, climate change, foreign policy, and leadership in an era of extreme partisanship.

At 81, Biden becomes the oldest major party presidential nominee in modern history.
In Trump, Biden is up against an adversary the likes of which he has never faced in his decades-long political career. Trump, who is 78 years old, opens with a cash advantage and a well-established willingness to win at any cost.

Biden reportedly is hunkered down with advisors going over potential questions at Camp David, and Trump continues on the campaign trail.

And while Black voters remain overwhelmingly Democratic and support Joe Biden over Donald Trump by a wide margin, Biden’s advantage among this group is not as wide as it was four years ago, according to Pew Research Center.

  • Newswire: Oklahoma Supreme Court dismisses Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors’ lawsuit

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

     

    The Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a case filed by the last two remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre on Wednesday, June 12, casting doubt on racial equality campaigners’ aspirations for justice and reparations for one of the most heinous acts of racial violence in American history.
    The nine-member court upheld a previous ruling by a district court judge in Tulsa, stating that the plaintiffs’ grievances, although legitimate, did not fall within the purview of the state’s public nuisance statute. “We further hold that the plaintiff’s allegations do not sufficiently support a claim for unjust enrichment,” the court declared in its decision.
    Attempts by the Black Press to contact both parties were unsuccessful.
    Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Fletcher, two survivors who are both over 100 years old, filed the lawsuit in 2020 to compel the City of Tulsa and other parties to make amends for the destruction a white mob caused to the thriving Black neighborhood known as Greenwood. On May 31 and June 1, 1921, the mob, which included individuals hastily deputized by local authorities, looted and set fire to the district, famously dubbed “Black Wall Street.”
    The massacre resulted in the deaths of up to 300 Black Tulsans and forced thousands of survivors into internment camps managed by the National Guard. Today, only remnants like burned bricks and part of a church basement remain of the once-thriving 30-block area.
    Benningfield Randle and Fletcher, along with the now-deceased Hughes Van Ellis, sued to secure what their attorney termed “justice in their lifetime.” Van Ellis, affectionately known as “Uncle Redd,” was a WWII veteran and a symbol of resilience who died last year at age 102. The lawsuit was grounded in Oklahoma’s public nuisance law, arguing that the massacre’s legacy of racial division and economic disparity persists in Tulsa to this day.
    The plaintiffs contended that the city’s history of racial tensions and the economic fallout from the massacre still reverberate, citing the lack of compensation for victims by the city and insurance companies. The lawsuit sought an exhaustive accounting of the property and wealth lost or stolen during the massacre, the construction of a hospital in north Tulsa, and the establishment of a victims’ compensation fund, among other reparations.
    In reflecting on Van Ellis’s legacy, advocates emphasized his lifelong commitment to seeking justice for massacre survivors. “He bravely served America, even as he spent a lifetime awaiting atonement related to the Tulsa Race Massacre,” Oklahoma Democratic Rep. Regina Goodwin stated after Van Ellis’s death. “Mr. Ellis urged us to keep fighting for justice. In the midst of his death, there remains an undying sense of right and wrong.”
    Rocky Dawuni, a three-time Grammy-nominated artist, also paid tribute to Van Ellis, remarking on his indomitable and uplifting spirit. “Uncle Redd had a larger-than-life presence. His life and story have become part of our collective struggle as a people,” Dawuni said. “His experiences give us a unique glimpse into what Black people had to endure and still have to endure to this day.”
    Despite the legal setback, advocates vow to continue their fight for justice, drawing inspiration from the survivors’ unwavering resolve.
    “If this truly is a nation of laws and a state based on the law, then my clients, the last-known survivors of the massacre, should get the opportunity that no one else who suffered the devastation had the privilege of,” Damario Solomon-Simmons, a National Civil Rights Attorney and founder of Justice for Greenwood, recently asserted.