Greene County Democrat

Category: World News

  • Newswire : VP Harris announces $5.5 Billion funding for affordable housing and homelessness solutions

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    A housing crisis is gripping tens of millions of families nationwide, cutting across political lines and sparking bipartisan action in state legislatures.
    The root cause of the crisis is a chronic housing shortage, which has driven home prices up by approximately 60 percent after adjusting for inflation over the past decade. The staggering increase has left many families struggling to afford rent or homeownership, and, according to recent data, around a quarter of renters, equivalent to roughly 12 million households, are spending more than half of their income on housing costs, far exceeding the recommended one-third threshold for financial health. On Tuesday, May 7, Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a significant funding boost to address the pressing issues of affordable housing and homelessness across the United States.
    The White House said the announcement through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) marks a crucial step in Harris and President Joe Biden’s efforts to tackle the housing crisis inherited from previous administrations. Harris announced that $5.5 billion in grants would be distributed to 1,200 communities through more than 2,400 grants to states, cities, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and local organizations nationwide.
    “Homeownership is an essential part of the American Dream that represents so much more than a roof over our heads,” Harris stated. “That is why President Biden and I are expanding on our historic investments in housing by announcing $5.5 billion that will increase access to affordable housing, invest in economic growth, and address homelessness in communities throughout America.”
    The funding, part of the White House Housing Supply Action Plan and the Blueprint for a Renter’s Bill of Rights, aims to boost the housing supply, lower housing costs, expand rental assistance, enhance renter protections, and invest in more robust, more resilient communities.
    “A coordinated whole-of-community approach is crucial to build strong and resilient communities, invest in decent housing, create healthy environments, expand economic opportunities accessible to low-income households, and support aspiring homebuyers and those experiencing homelessness,” Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman emphasized in a statement.
    The White House said the allocation of the $5.5 billion in grants would go through various HUD programs, including:
    $1.3 billion to 668 grantees to build affordable housing through the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME).
    $214 million to every state to increase affordable housing supply via the Housing Trust Fund (HTF).
    $3.3 billion to 1,254 grantees to build stronger communities through the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).
    $455 million to 130 grantees to connect people with HIV/AIDS to housing and support through the Housing Opportunities for Persons With HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) program.
    $290 million to 357 grantees to address homelessness through Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG).
    $30 million to 23 States and the District of Columbia to support recovery from substance use disorder via the Recovery Housing Program (RHP).
    The announcement follows Harris’s recent stops on her nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour, where she has been highlighting the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to support communities and improve access to housing while making it more affordable.
    Administration officials pointed out that Harris has been a vocal advocate for homeownership and housing affordability. As Attorney General of California, she helped pass the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, and as a U.S. Senator, she introduced several bills aimed at increasing the supply of affordable housing and lowering renters’ costs.
    The White House said the latest funding underscores the administration’s commitment to addressing the housing crisis and creating opportunities for all Americans to access safe and affordable housing.
    “The funding made available today serves as building blocks to empower communities to take ownership of community development investments and put the needs of residents first,” Todman asserted.
     

  • Newswire: American Cancer Society launches largest-ever study to probe disparities in cancer outcomes for Black women

    Black women celebrate cancer survival

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    The American Cancer Society is embarking on an unprecedented initiative spanning 20 states, including the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, to investigate the troubling disparities in cancer survival rates among Black women.

    Despite overall declines in cancer deaths, Black women continue to face disproportionately high mortality rates, a phenomenon the organization aims to address through its newly unveiled VOICES of Black Women study.

    “While cancer deaths have declined, Black women maintain a high death rate,” said Dr. Lauren McCullough, co-principal investigator and visiting scientific director at the American Cancer Society, during a recent briefing.  “With few exceptions, Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer, aggressive tumor types, and have higher cancer-specific mortality rates than other women,” McCullough added.

    This disparity is especially pronounced in breast cancer, where Black women face a 40% higher mortality rate than white women despite having a lower rate of diagnosis by 4%.

    Moreover, Black women are 60% more likely than white women to succumb to cervical cancer and nearly twice as likely to die from endometrial cancer. The VOICES of Black Women study aims to enroll over 100,000 Black women aged 25 to 55, making it the country’s most significant endeavor of its kind. Participants must be cancer-free upon enrollment and will be tracked for 30 years to examine the impact of medical history, lifestyle factors, and experiences of racism on cancer risk and mortality.

    “To be eligible for the study, participants must live in one of the 20 states or Washington, D.C., which together account for more than 90% of the U.S. population of Black women ages 25 to 55,” McCullough clarified.

    The initiative seeks to confront historical injustices in medical research, which have often excluded or exploited Black participants. McCullough referenced past instances of medical exploitation, including the Tuskegee experiment and the unauthorized use of Henrietta Lacks’ cells.

    The study allows individuals to opt out of providing medical records, and their identities will remain confidential in published research. Officials said this would safeguard participants’ privacy and ensure ethical oversight,
     
    A brief registration on the study’s website precedes a thorough survey covering medical history, lifestyle choices, and encounters with racism and discrimination.
    Enrollment is open in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
    “This isn’t just a study; it’s a collective commitment to understanding and improving the health of Black women across the nation,” affirmed cancer society officials. “And that change starts with you.”

  • Part of 20th anniversary celebration Black Belt Community Foundation moves to new office in Selma

    On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, the Board, staff, and supporters of the Black Belt Community Foundation (BBCF) moved from their previous office  to dedicate their new office at 410 Church Street in Selma, Alabama. The move, ribbon cutting, office tours, and street festival were all part of the foundation’s year-long 20th anniversary celebration.

    The move from the 609 Lauderdale Street office to the new office, which is owned and has been renovated by BBCF was accomplished in a parade of the staff and leadership of the community foundation. They were accompanied by the Selma High School Band and Cheerleaders.

    Felicia Lucky, BBCF President of the foundation, serving 12 counties that cut across the central part of the.” state, welcomed the crowd. They were assembled in a tent in the blocked off street in front of the new office. There were food trucks, a bounce-house and other games in the blocks of Church Street closed for the occasion. Lucky said, “People and communities are the central focus of our foundation and its activities. This new building will help us to accomplish our mission and better serve the community.

    A proclamation was read from Alabama Governor Kay Ivey designating May 1 as Black Belt Community Foundation Day in Alabama.

    Dr. Carol P. Zippert, founding Board chair of the foundation, was invited to make remarks. She said, “I am glad to be here to tell the story of the BBCF. We must always be ready to tell our own story.

    “We, the 16 members of the organizing committee and first board, went through months of discussion and planning in 2003 and 2004 to develop the name, mission, logo, slogan, and plans for our own foundation. We went to visit each of the 12 counties, asking people about their assets and strengths, not their problems and deficiencies. We wanted to start our community foundation to build philanthropy from the grassroots, recognizing our community needs and ways the community could work together to fulfill those needs. After twenty years of work, we have begun to realize the promise and work of our community foundation.”

    Former State Senator Hank Sanders, a Selma attorney, who was part of the formation of the foundation said that work on developing a foundation had begun for five years before the formal incorporation of BBCF. The idea for a community foundation came out of discussions of a “Selma Collaborative” which was an alliance of social justice non-profits in Selma and surrounding counties.

    “Carol Zippert, who was serving on the Board of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, had visited with community foundations across the country, brought the idea to the Selma Collaborative, as a way to raise and assemble funding for community groups. Then we were contacted by Dr. David Wilson of Auburn and Julian Smith of the Alabama Power Company, who were also looking into the possibility of a community foundation to serve the Alabama Black Belt counties,” said Sanders.

    “Our group in Selma, already had incorporated the BBCF Inc. to be a community foundation. We changed the name by dropping the Inc. and the BBCF was born and has moved forward ever since,” said Sanders. He also explained that the motto of the foundation, “Taking what we have, to make what we need”, came from a saying from his mother, who used it to encourage her large family of 13 children, when things got hard.

    George McMillan, a former Lieutenant Governor of Alabama, who was an original BBCF Board member also attended and spoke. “We had days and days of meetings to work out the details and plans of BBCF. One thing that we can all be very proud of is our foundation in ‘community associates’ which guide and advise the foundation in every county, help to raise money, and serve as points of contact for people to communicate with the foundation. This is a unique element of BBCF’s structure and operations that other groups wishing to start community foundation have studied and tried to copy,” said McMillan.

    Felicia Lucky introduced the current Board of Directors, the staff including Headstart Staff, Community Associates, and other supporters in attendance. She gave a check for $1,000 to the Selma High School Band Director for their participation and invited various ministers to give dedicatory prayers for the dedication. Then current and past board members
    Assembled to officially cut a ribbon to open the new office.

    Persons interested in learning more about, or to donate to, the Black Belt Community Foundation, may contact the BBCF at 410 Church Street in Selma, Alabama 36702; or by going online to their website at: blackbeltfound.org, or calling 334-874-1126.

  • Newswire : President Biden honors Medgar Evers

    Medgar Evers

    Last week, President Biden named nineteen Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, including posthumous recognition of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. He was the first NAACP Field Secretary in Mississippi. 

    Mr. Evers worked to set up an NAACP office there. In the early 1960s, he organized high-profile boycotts of merchants in Jackson. In 1962, he instrumentalized the campaign to admit African American student James Meredith to the University of Mississippi.

    Medgar Evers fought for his country in World War II and returned home to lead the fight against segregation in Mississippi. He was 37 when he was murdered at his home by Byron De La Beckwith.

  • Newswire : The UN issues warning for Sudan

    United Nations agencies issued a joint warning on Friday that time is running out to prevent starvation in Sudan’s Darfur region due to intensifying clashes around the northern capital of El Fasher, which are hindering efforts to deliver lifesaving aid.


    Since fighting erupted last April between rival militaries, Sudan has witnessed shocking levels of violence, plunging the country into a devastating humanitarian and protection crisis.

    Close to 25 million people – more than half the population – are estimated to need assistance, with approximately 17.7 million people facing “acute” levels of food insecurity.

    The crisis, described as being of “epic proportions” by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), is exacerbated by limited access to vulnerable communities due to ongoing fighting and authorities’ restrictions, particularly in Darfur, while the fighting rages on between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

    The latest escalation of violence around El Fasher has halted aid convoys from Chad’s Tine border crossing. Authorities in Port Sudan are preventing aid transport via Adre, the only other viable cross-border corridor from Sudan’s western neighbor.

  • Newswire : Louisiana Supreme Court approves formation of new, all-white, St. George City

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    Deep-seated racial and economic tensions will be present in the new chapter of Baton Rouge’s history because of the Louisiana Supreme Court’s historic decision approving the creation of the City of St. George. The decision follows a protracted legal battle initiated by affluent white residents seeking to carve out their own municipality from the broader cityscape, citing concerns over governance, public safety, and educational quality.

    Encompassing a sprawling 60-square-mile expanse in the southeast of East Baton Rouge Parish, St. George is poised to emerge as an autonomous entity with its own mayor and city council, catering to an estimated population of 86,000 residents. Advocates tout the move as necessary to address high crime rates and underperforming schools.

    However, critics argue that the decision heralds the creation of a de facto segregated enclave, further entrenching racial and economic disparities within the Baton Rouge community. The polarizing debate underscores broader societal challenges and raises profound questions about equity and inclusion. It also has all the earmarks of America’s dark history of racial segregation, which preserves the economic advantages and social dominance of whites and the politically powerful, who have utilized legal and societal barriers to maintain their elite status over other communities. 

    In Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, an African American student protested segregation by sitting at a drugstore lunch counter designated for whites only. Demonstrators staged a famous protest at a Woolworth store in New York City in 1960 to denounce segregation at the chain’s Southern lunch counters.
    Racial segregation has been pervasive worldwide among mixed-race communities, excluding regions like Hawaii and Brazil with significant racial integration. According to Brittanica, while social discrimination exists in these areas, formal segregation does not. Conversely, in the Southern United States, the segregation of Black and white individuals in public spaces was legally sanctioned from the late 1800s to the 1950s under the Jim Crow laws. In response, African Americans initiated the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s to dismantle racial segregation. The movement culminated in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which provided robust protections against discrimination and segregation in voting, education, and public facilities.
    Meanwhile, the genesis of St. George dates back nearly 15 years, when residents initially sought to establish an independent school district. Over time, the ambition evolved into a broader push for municipal independence, culminating in a decisive 2019 ballot initiative in which 54 percent of residents voted in favor of incorporation.

    Legal wrangling ensued, with Baton Rouge city officials contesting the move, warning of dire fiscal consequences and service disruptions. While lower courts initially sided with Baton Rouge, the state’s Supreme Court ultimately overturned their rulings, endorsing the viability of St. George’s internal budget to sustain essential public services.

    Nevertheless, lingering concerns persist regarding the economic fallout. A 2014 study by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber projected a substantial budget deficit for the remaining portions of Baton Rouge, raising apprehensions about the city’s capacity to uphold public services post-separation.

    “My goal from the very beginning—and it will always be my goal — is to advocate for a united Baton Rouge,” Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome told reporters. “I am committed to serving the residents of St. George.” 
     

  • Newswire : Poor People’s Campaign and national partners announce, “Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C. and to the Polls” ahead of 2024 elections

    Rev. William Barber II

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    
Bishop William J. Barber II, president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, alongside Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, led a press conference on Monday at the National Press Club to unveil plans for the “Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C.: A Call to the Polls and to Vote.”

    Scheduled for June 29th, the assembly aims to commence four months of outreach efforts targeting 15 million poor and low-wage infrequent voters nationwide. According to the study “Waking the Sleeping Giant: Poor and Low-Income Voters in the 2020 Elections,” approximately 85 million eligible voters in the United States are classified as poor or low wage, constituting at least 30% of the electorate. In battleground states, the percentage climbs to over 40%.

    “This is movement time,” declared Bishop Barber. “We are here this morning to mobilize the power of over 33 million infrequent voters, poor and low wage, to demand attention to their concerns in the political arena.”
    Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis echoed this sentiment. “Our goal is to center the desires and political agenda of those who are often left out of the conversation,” Theoharis stated.
    The coalition, comprising representatives from over thirty state coordinating committees, religious organizations, labor unions, and advocacy groups, seeks to mobilize the substantial voting bloc to demand political candidates’ endorsement of a moral agenda addressing the poverty and low-wealth crisis, which claims 295,000 lives annually.
    “Poor and low-wage voters are saying in this season that if you want these votes, talk to poor and low-wage folks,” said Bishop Barber.
    Rev. Mark Thompson, who also works for the National Newspaper Publishers Association, was among the many coalition members who addressed the issues during the news conference, which aired live on C-Span and at BlackPressUSA.com.
    Thompson highlighted the interconnectedness of poverty with various social issues. “Wherever there is a lack of health care and voting rights, LGBT rights and immigrant rights, there is an abundance of poverty,” he asserted. “Wherever there is a lack of jobs and labor unions and sensible gun laws in women’s bodily autonomy, there is an abundance of poverty.”
    He continued: “Wherever there is a lack of racial justice and legal rights, criminal justice reform, access to adequate legal representation, an alternative to incarceration and police reform, wherever those things are in lack, there is an abundance of poverty. Wherever there is a lack of what is now under attack, diversity, equity, and inclusion, affirmative action, investment in education, a lack of educational opportunities, there is an abundance of poverty. Wherever there is lack of religious tolerance, racial harmony, and beloved community, there is an abundance of poverty.”
    The event’s organizers emphasized their commitment to empowering impoverished and low-wage individuals, aiming to amplify their voices in the political discourse. Rev. Thompson concluded, “I contend we do not need to ask permission to finish Dr. King’s work. He did not retire. It is our duty to pick up his baton and move forward. They always talk about the people who don’t want to vote. They never talk about the impoverished and low-wage individuals. We want to lift them and bring them forth. If we address these issues, we will address all these others.”
    As the nation gears up for the 2024 elections, Bishop Barber, the Poor People’s Campaign, and its allies assert that they are poised to make their presence felt, advocating for policies that address the systemic issues perpetuating poverty and economic inequality across the country.
    “We want to lift them up and bring them forth. If we address these issues, we will address all these others,” Thompson insisted.

  • Newswire : Community events held to overcome political opposition to union election for UAW representation at Mercedes Benz plant in Vance, Alabama set for May 13-17

     

    Rally held in Tuscaloosa in support of Mercedes Benz workers

     

    By Pat Bryant
    A big battle between workers at Mercedes Benz Vance plant near Tuscaloosa, Ala and its German employer is about to come to a head. Voting begins on whether workers will be represented by the United Auto Worker (UAW) on May 13 through 17 and results will be announced May 17 by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). UAW has been on a roll. Southern worker oppression, tough and unapologetic, seems crumbling. A rather festive weekend of worker support events attracted community supporters in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa.
    The United Auto Workers has filed a complaint with the NLRB of illegal company captive employee meetings and firing of workers who are advocating for unionization. Spokesman for Mercedes denies those allegations. This union battle follows a massive win of workers at the Tennessee Volkswagen plant, another German auto giant in which workers chose the United Auto Workers by a landslide. In Alabama, the main issue is pay and use of “temp workers”. A company spokesperson would not comment on pay structure.
    Unionizing workers catch more hell in the South with elected leaders promising industrialists to provide docile workers in anti-union environments, nearly free land and no or low property taxes, and companies sometime keep state withholding taxes.
    But feeling the power grip over workers slipping Governor Kay Ivey spoke in the media to company officials: “you need to fix this” referring to the system of threats and intimidation unique in the South. Alabama is a right to work state. That means every attempt of workers to organize is met with crushing company and government opposition. Employers can use the capital punishment for workers—firing—with no recourse. Workplaces that have unions provide a level of protection against unreasonable employer actions complained of at Mercedes Benz. Conversations with workers and community leaders show excitement and anticipation.
    Several Democratic Party leaders came to support workers in weekend events in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. The festive events with barbeque, music, and gelato in toasty heat. Former U.S. Senator Doug Jones, Alabama Democratic Party assistant chairperson Tabitha Isner, Birmingham’s Joshua Raby, the party Disability Chair were among many others that mixed with community leaders supporting workers.
    Senator Jones said he was expecting as big a landslide in Alabama as at the Volkswagen vote in Tennessee.
    Austin Brooks, an employee has been at the plant two years was excited. But Brooks says workers are frightened to the extent that many will not take a union flyer. Austin says employees are temps for a year, and if they don’t rub anybody the wrong may become permanent.
    10 year employee Jacob Rines, was a temp worker at Mercedes for 5 years 2 months and 19 days before he was hired full-time. The six foot six husky guy may have rubbed someone the wrong way. The present campaign is his second time supporting unions at the factory. The rapid pace that workers have signed cards to unionize, he says, is amazing. He contributes worker excitement to the Big Three Automakers, GM, Ford, and Chrysler, contracting last year with United Auto Workers in a big 25 percent and higher pay raise. “It is proving that with a union we can win and get our fair share of representation”, Rine said.
    Dr. Pam Foster, a medical doctor and medical school professor, said she is excited about the “possibilities of a union victory in Alabama”. She is a Alabama leader in the Poor People’s Campaign that will bring its leader the Rev. Dr. William Barber to Mercedes’ Vance factory on May 13th, the day voting begins. Barber’s presence will certainly boost a vote for unionization.
    The South’s continued history of slavery, division and oppression of workers, is on the line. Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, and Mississippi governors released a joint letter recently urging their followers to hold the line and not allow United Auto Workers to win at Volkswagen, Mercedes and other southern plants. That did not work in Tennessee.
    Now local chambers of commerce, some elected and appointed officials are busy trying to hold the line, reportedly through fear and intimidation tactics. There are anit-worker videos and ads on television outlets, radio stations, Facebook, Instagram and newspapers. State and company pressure for a no vote is on.
    Former crimson tide and NFL cornerback Antonio Langham was at a rally held at Tuscaloosa’s Christian Community Church and encouraged workers. Langham said NFL players got better health care because of the NFL Players Association fighting for workers against team owners. With the UAW, workers can do the same, he said.
    No one that this writer met in a two-day swing through Alabama seemed to know much about Mercedes Benz history. The company has unions in its German factories. Its existence in Alabama seems contingent on keeping an anti-union environment.
    The company seems to have decided to go along with the South’s program. Fear in the workplace is an example. The company has a history of going along with the program.
    When Hitler rose to power in 1932 Mercedes factories had 6,000 plus employees. As Hitler made war in Europe Germany’s troops captured hundreds of thousands of Jews and others. 60,000 became slaves in Mercedes factories. The auto giant had 68,000 plus workers by the end of WWII. The company apologized in the 1980’s and paid a small $12 million reparations to its victims. The company did not respond to questions about its WWII history.
    *Pat Bryant is a long time southern poet, community organizer, and journalist reporting and writing about the southern civil rights and human rights movement

  • Mark Your Calendars

    Preparing for the 49th annual Black Belt Folk Roots Festival

    By Carol Prejean Zippert

    Just four months before the annual community celebration of the Black Belt Folk Roots Festival, scheduled for August 24 -25, 2024 on the Thomas Gilmore Courthouse Square in Eutaw, and phone calls, texts, emails, and other contacts are pouring in with the perennial question: We’re having the Festival this year, right? The inquiries are more a declaration than a question. So, yes community, we are preparing for the 49th Black Belt Folk Roots Festival.
    The festival was organized in 1975 to pay tribute to those persons recognized as bearers of the folkway, traditions and culture of the West Alabama Region, exemplified through their creations in craft, music, dance, storytelling and foodways. Recently, in observance of National Small Business Week, Representative Terri Sewell toured small businesses in her 7th Congressional District, stopping for lunch at Travis Chicago Style, a locally owned food truck in Birmingham known for their Polish Sausage and Bear Burgers. Travis Holmes is a regular at the annual festival. During the two-day festival activities, the line of folk eager for his delicacies is unending, continuing long after the day’s programs are closed down.
    Many of the festival’s founding elders, the bearers of the culture, have transitioned, signaling a greater need to preserve the stories of struggle, perseverance and the joy shared in How we made it over. Saturday’s Ole Timey Blues recounts hardship and pain. Sunday’s Ole Timey Gospel lifts the spirit in the joy of faith and hope. The grateful music is accented by the colorful crafts that adorn the grounds as well.
    There are fewer quilts, baskets and other traditional crafts of the earlier years, but the young folk come with their own brand of “handmade.” They bring a variety of handcrafted jewelry and other adornments; home made soaps in exotic scents but with useful purposes. They bring art works depicting their views of the world, or just living in a day. They offer decorative items to cheer a body and a home. But the young crafters come and claim the festival in their own ways.
    Belt Folk Roots Festival will again feature the Kid’s Tent with hands-on art workshops. The Kid’s Tent is a special adventure for children at the festival.  They don’t have to do “grown folk stuff.” They have their own piece of the celebration.  Various art supplies are provided for the children to work at their own creations, which they can keep.  The Kid’s Tent also offers pottery making, face painting and games.
    There are costs in producing the festival and we are grateful for the contributors who value the festival, including the Alabama Tourism Department, Alabama Power Foundation, Black Belt Community Foundation, grants from Legislators, other non-profits and local merchants. We appreciate the support of local and county government.
    This festival in unique in that there is no admission charge, simply because it is a community celebration. It would be like charging your family a fee to come home for Thanksgiving. The festival brings people together because they need and desire to be together.
    So, yes community, we are preparing for the 49th annual Black Belt Folk Roots Festival.

  • Newswire: Haiti’s transitional government weighs future after ‘collapse’ of institutions

     

    By Reuters

    Haiti’s transition council took power in a ceremony on Thursday, formalizing the resignation of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry as the Caribbean country seeks to establish security after years of gang violence wreaking chaos and misery.
    Henry’s finance minister, Michel Patrick Boisvert, will be interim prime minister until the transition council appoints a new head of government, a cabinet and a provisional electoral council set to pave the way for an eventual vote.
    “Today is an important day in the life of our dear republic, this day in effect opens a view to a solution,” Boisvert said after the nine-person transition council were sworn in on Thursday morning.
    Regine Abraham, a non-voting council member, thanked Haiti’s security forces and international mediators, and said the council would focus on security, a national consultation on constitutional reform, preparing for elections, rebuilding the judiciary system and the economy.
    “We are seeing the total collapse of our institutions and failure of a government,” she said. Port-au-Prince residents have “literally been taken hostage,” she added. “Facing this unprecedented crisis, the entire population has recognized the urgent need of a firm hand to take us out of this spiral of despair and destruction.”
    Even as the council was sworn in, local media reported houses being set on fire and shooting in the capital’s downtown and Delmas areas, posting photos of columns of gray smoke rising above the skyline and videos of families leaving the area with their belongings.
    Armed gangs, equipped with weapons trafficked largely from the United States, have for years tightened their grip on the capital and sought to topple Henry. Since he pledged to resign last month, they have called for a broader “revolution”.
    Earlier this week, gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier warned members of the transition council to “brace” themselves”. Unverified voice recordings circulated on social media over the weekend in which Cherizier appeared to order his soldiers to indiscriminately burn houses in Lower Delmas, an impoverished part of the capital where he grew up.
    At the ceremony, hosted amid tight security at the prime minister’s Villa d’Accueil office, Boisvert and members of the transition council were flanked by top police and military officials.
    Henry announced last month he would resign once the council was in place, initially expected to happen within a couple of days but delayed amid disagreements as to who should sit on it.
    Henry had left Haiti in late February seeking support for the country’s outgunned police but was left stranded in Puerto Rico as the gangs threatened to completely take over the capital. Boisvert has served as acting prime minister in Henry’s absence.
    The transitional government’s mandate runs until February 2026, by when there are slated to be elections, and cannot be renewed. No date has been set for its naming of a new prime minister or council president.
    ‘Complex interregnum’
    “We just hope the council will quickly choose a president or coordinator in order to move onto the second phase, which is the appointment of a prime minister and the members of government,” said James Boyard, a security expert at the State University of Haiti.
    “The new transitional government has a lot of work ahead of it, and alongside security all the issues are urgent.”
    Diego Da Rin, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, warned of tensions within the council as different factions jostled for power, and a “long and rocky road ahead.”
    Local organization Together Against Corruption (ECC) published a letter calling on the new authorities to be financially transparent to “prove their will to help build a government that breaks with the past.”
    The council’s installation is seen as a key step towards the deployment of a multinational security mission Henry requested back in 2022 and the United Nations approved more than six months ago. Though, Kenya offered to lead this mission, plans were put on hold last month pending the establishment of a new Haitian government.
    U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the new authorities to implement new governance arrangements swiftly to allow for the mission’s deployment. The mission has received less cash and fewer troops than the U.N. has said it needs.
    The council members must, as per the decree installing them, support the mission’s “accelerated deployment.” But some Haitians are wary after previous international interventions left behind a deadly cholera outbreak and sexual abuse scandal.
    Others hope the mission could help restore much-needed security and pave the way for eventual elections.
    According to U.N. estimates, more than 2,500 people were killed or injured in gang violence from January through March, while hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced and millions are facing catastrophic hunger.
    Key ports have been closed for more than a month, but on Thursday Florida-based non-profit Hope for Haiti said a first humanitarian flight since the capital’s airport shut down had landed in Port-au-Prince: a U.S. military plane bringing 20 pallets of rehydration solution for cholera patients.
    Separately, Haiti’s national police said it received a shipment of equipment paid for by Haiti’s government and flown in by U.S. authorities.
    Foreign diplomats hailed the ceremony as an important step to restore security, and Kenyan President William Ruto said the nation stands “ready and willing” with its counterparts to “rapidly execute the security support infrastructure.”
    “Kenya assures the Transitional Presidential Council of Haiti of its full support as it shepherds the country through this complex interregnum,” Ruto said on X.
    The council members installed were the same as announced last week: seven voting members, all men, including representatives from various political parties as well as former diplomats, a barrister, and a businessman, and two non-voting observers: a pastor and former government adviser.
    “We continue the fight for the transformation of our country,” former central bank governor Fritz Alphonse Jean, one of the council members, said on X. “The country needs the talents of all its sons and daughters here and in the diaspora for the construction of the new Haiti.”