Greene County Democrat

Tag: Alabama

  • Newswire: Advocates revitalize push for Medicaid Expansion in Alabama

    Newswire: Advocates revitalize push for Medicaid Expansion in Alabama

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. – More than 50 advocates with the Cover Alabama coalition came to the Alabama State House on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, to urge their lawmakers to expand Medicaid. The advocates highlighted a new analysis from Families USA, a nationwide nonprofit consumer health advocacy and policy organization.

    Alabama is losing $181.6 million in 2026 by covering millions in state health care spending that otherwise could be paid for by the federal government under Medicaid expansion, according to the new Families USA report. Medicaid expansion would generate $71.8 million in net savings for Alabama this year, the report estimated. And that amount would not include additional revenue from economic activity resulting from expansion.

    The report points to numerous potential funding sources that could help the state address our health care crisis. These include increasing the state cigarette tax and closing an income tax loophole that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest households.

    “Alabama can’t afford not to expand Medicaid,” said Debbie Smith, Alabama Arise’s Cover Alabama campaign director. “The most costly option is doing nothing.”

    160,000+ Alabamians are in state’s health coverage gap

    Tens of thousands of Alabamians have seen soaring costs this year for Marketplace health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These price increases came after Congress failed to renew enhanced Premium Tax Credits (ePTCs) that make plans more affordable. The increases also came on the heels of other significant federal cuts to health care in HR 1, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

    Many Alabamians have elected to drop health insurance altogether after losing the ePTCs. An estimated 161,000 adults statewide fall into the “coverage gap,” meaning they earn too much to qualify for Alabama Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance on their own. Expanding Medicaid could ensure coverage for more than 150,000 of these Alabamians. That is roughly equivalent to the combined capacities of Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Protective Stadium in Birmingham.

    “In states that have expanded Medicaid, we’ve seen a 6% to 9% increase in the workforce. Just because people can make choices to support themselves and their families,” said Mary-Beth Malcarney, Families USA’s senior adviser on Medicaid policy.

    Presenters at Tuesday’s event included Smith, Malcarney and Formeeca Tripp, Alabama Arise’s senior regional organizer. Many attendees also described their own health care experiences and explained why they support Medicaid expansion in Alabama.

    “No one should have to decide between rent or medicine,” one advocate shared.

    Cover Alabama is a nonpartisan alliance of more than 130 advocacy groups, businesses, community organizations, consumer groups, health care providers and religious congregations advocating for Alabama to provide quality, affordable health coverage to its residents and implement a sustainable health care system.

  • Tonjula Carey announces candidacy for District Court Judge


    My name is Tonjula Carey and I’m proud to announce my candidacy for District Court Judge in Greene County, Alabama.
    Greene County has always been a part of my story. Being surrounded by great people who believe in hard work and values is what makes this community so special. My roots are here and so is my heart. Greene County is more than just a place, it’s home.
    I’m running because I believe in a District Court that reflects the strength, resilience, and values of our community. A court that serves with integrity, transparency, and respect.
    After completing law school, I made the intentional decision to return back to Greene County. I wanted to pour back into the community that poured so much into me. My experiences here helped shape my character, values, and passion for justice. I knew I wanted to use my legal training to serve the people who helped mold me, to give back in a meaningful way, and to help strengthen the systems that impact our everyday lives. Coming back to Greene County wasn’t a career move, it was a calling. Having served in this community the past few years, I know that it is my purpose to be at the forefront of Justice and Change.
    As I begin this journey, I look forward to building a relationship with even more of the incredible people who make Greene County the strong and vibrant community it is today. In the months ahead, I’ll be sharing more about my vision and how we can work together to ensure our courts are accessible, transparent, and worthy of the trust placed in them.
    If you believe in building a court system that reflects our community’s values and serves with fairness and integrity, I invite you to join me — because justice matters, and so does your voice. Whether you can volunteer your time, help spread the word, or simply share your support, we welcome you. This campaign will be powered by people, and we can’t do it without you. Let’s do this, TOGETHER. I hope to earn your support, your prayers, and your vote in the Primary Election on May 19, 2026.

  • No Kings Rally in Selma, Alabama, one of 15 in Alabama, one of 2,700 nationwide, attract 7 million people opposed to Trump’s authoritarianism

    The photos above are of the “No King’s Rally” in Selma, Alabama on Saturday, October 18, 2025. Over 100 protestors in Selma, at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, joined millions nationwide in opposing the authoritarian, dictatorial, un-Constitutional and immoral policies of the Trump-Vance Administration.

  • Newswire : The violence Trump claims to fear occurs mostly in red states

    By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

    Donald Trump continues to attack cities and jurisdictions heavily populated by minorities, often painting them as crime-ridden and unsafe despite evidence showing overall declines in many categories of crime. Nowhere is this tension clearer than in Washington, D.C., where residents face relentless scrutiny from Trump while Red States — many with far less diversity — quietly struggle with some of the highest murder rates in the nation.
    The District of Columbia recorded the nation’s highest murder rate in 2023 at 39 per 100,000 residents, with 265 murders. Despite local efforts to address violence, Trump routinely depicts the city as unlivable. To many residents, the greater tragedy is not just the crime itself but the reality that the capital of the United States now looks like an occupied third-world country, with National Guard and federal troops visibly stationed throughout the city.

    Washingtonians, who have already been denied full congressional representation, have become political pawns in Trump’s rhetoric. What Trump avoids mentioning is that several Republican-led states top the list of the deadliest places. Louisiana had a murder rate of 14.5 per 100,000, recording 663 killings in 2023. New Mexico, Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas — all governed by Republicans in recent years — also posted murder rates higher than 9 per 100,000 residents.

    In Missouri, another GOP stronghold, the murder rate stood at 9.1 per 100,000 with 564 murders, disproportionately concentrated in cities like St. Louis and Kansas City. South Carolina, Alaska, and Georgia each ranked high, while Mississippi, often touted by conservatives as a bastion of “traditional values,” has at times led the nation in murder rates. Meanwhile, states with larger minority populations that Trump targets — including Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Maryland — often have lower murder rates than many of these Red States. Illinois, home to Chicago, recorded a rate of 6.56 per 100,000, below Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
    Critics argue this is no accident. Trump’s fixation on minority-heavy jurisdictions is part of a long-standing strategy of scapegoating urban areas with large Black and Latino populations, while sidestepping the systemic problems facing states where his support is strongest. “Murders were far more common in [Mississippi] than they were nationwide,” the World Population Review reported, with Louisiana, Alabama, Missouri, and Arkansas following close behind. The report’s numbers show that while Trump fixates on minority-heavy cities, the deadliest conditions are playing out in Red States that rarely draw his attention. “Murders are disproportionately concentrated in urban areas, especially in New Orleans and Baton Rouge,” the researchers concluded.

  • No Kings Rally held in Selma

    Part of the No Kings Rally in Selma

    Special to the Democrat by John Zippert, Co-Publisher

    On Saturday, June 14, a multi-racial group of over one hundred people gathered on the west side of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma for a ‘No Kings’ Rally to protest the actions of the Trump Administration that harm low- and moderate-income people and help the richest people in our nation. The rally was sponsored by the Save Ourselves Movement for Justice and Democracy (SOS), Alabama New South Coalition (ANSC), and Indivisible.
    The Selma Rally was one of 13 events held in Alabama and among 2,100 held nationwide which involved 5 million people protesting Trump. This was the largest protest of an American President in history. It was held on the same day as Trump’s birthday parade in Washington D. C.
    The focus of the rallies was opposition to Trump’s immigration and deportation policies; the budget cuts in his reconciliation bill on Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP (Food Stamp and Nutrition Programs), Education, Social Security, and other programs; as well as his attacks on Democracy, Voting Rights and the Rule of Law. Another criticism is Trump’s effort to cut the social safety for vulnerable people to give massive tax cuts to the top one percent of people, multi-millionaires and billionaires in our country.
    Former State Senator Hank Sanders of Selma was the moderator of the No Kings Rally and said that the Selma site was chosen by the sponsors of the rally because of its historical significance to the enactment of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the continuance of Democracy in the United States. ”We have no room for a dictator or a self-proclaimed king in America,” he said.
    Isabella Compas of the Alabama Council for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ), who said she was a child of immigrants, spoke against the actions of the Trump Administration and ICE for rounding up undocumented people from farms, working places, churches, and schools who have committed no crimes. She said that families were separated, and people were sent to detention centers in deplorable conditions. Many have been deported without due process or the chance to get legal assistance. Trump is hurting the economy by taking workers out of the fields, processing plants, hotels and construction sites where they are working to support their families without providing replacement workers.
    Martha Morgan, a retired University of Alabama law professor reported on the many legal challenges to the Trump Administration’s illegal and un-constitional actions. She reported that there are trackers on the Internet monitoring all of the legal actions against Trump. There have been 220 lawsuits so far, 73 have been successful at the initial level. Many are under appeal to appellate courts, and most may eventually reach the Supreme Court, which although aligned 6-3 with conservative members has decided some cases against Trump.
    Another speaker was Annie Pearl Avery, a veteran SNCC civil rights worker, who march across the bridge on Bloody Sunday in 1965. She said, “We cannot give up fighting or Trump will set us back to before the Civil Rights Movement.”
    Faya Rose Toure spoke at the rally holding some Confederate flags that the Daughters of the Confederacy had placed at public places. Faya Rose said she goes around pulling up the flags. “The Confederate flag is a symbol of defiance against the government. Trump would li8ke to take us back to slavery and Jim Crow. We are here today because we cannot allow him to take us back.”
    John Zippert with SOS and the Greene County Health System Board of Directors spoke on the implications of the Trump Medicaid and Medicare budget cuts which will eliminate health care coverage for 15 million people and lead to the closure of many more rural hospitals.
    Azali Fortier, a sophomore at Spellman College and native of Selma, spoke of the concerns of young people facing budget cuts in education for Pell Grants, scholarship, research grants and the banning of books about Black studies. “ We are also worried about the budget cuts on the safety net programs and the attacks on democracy,” she said.
    Charles Flaherty of Marion, Alabama, said this was his first protest rally in fifty years, about the same basic democratic rights, but it will not be my last.
    Near the end of the rally, Hank Sanders asked people at the rally to say where they were from and why they came. For half of the people, including some young people, said this was the first public political rally they had ever participated in. There were several Federal workers who were dismissed and others who were fearful of losing their jobs, under Trump’s directives. Several veterans in the group expressed that they were having problems with securing health care and other benefits from the Veterans Administration
    At the end of the rally, the sponsors urged the attendees to call and write their Senators and Congresspersons about their concerns about budget cuts and attacks on democracy. People were urged to write letters to the editor of their local newspapers. The people were also urged to talk to their neighbors and friends about attending the next rally against Trump to make it even larger and more impactful.
    The next rally in this series is scheduled for July 17, 2025, the “Good Trouble Lives On” to commemorate the work of the late congressman and Civil Rights leader, John Lewis, on the date of his death. The Transformational Justice Coalition will be the national sponsor. More information will be available on their website and the NoKIngs.org website as well.

  • June 9, 2024, program to commemorate 60thanniversary of ‘Bloody Tuesday’ in Tuscaloosa

    Tuscaloosa Police arrest a protestor on ‘Blood Tuesday’

    On Sunday, June 9, 2024, civil rights organizations in Tuscaloosa, Alabama will hold a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of ‘Bloody Tuesday’ when in 1964, police, state troopers and Klansmen beat 300 Black people gathered at the First African Baptist Church. The people, guided by the leadership of church pastor Rev. T. Y. Rogers of SCLC, were preparing to march to the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse to integrate the facility.

    Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had recruited and trained Rev. T. Y. Rogers for a major role in the Civil Rights Movement and sent him to Tuscaloosa to lead the movement. ‘Bloody Tuesday’ occurred eight months before the ‘Bloody Sunday March’ in Selma, Alabama, but did not receive the same news coverage and national attention, although there was more violence and arrests, against more people in Tuscaloosa. ’Bloody Tuesday’ was the largest assault and invasion of a Black church by law enforcement during the Civil Rights Movement.

    The 60h anniversary commemoration will feature Congresswoman Terri Sewell of the 7th. Congressional District speaking on the importance of voting and revitalizing the protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which have been diluted b y Supreme Court decisions and state voter suppression laws. Charles Steele, President of SCLC and a former Tuscaloosa City Councilman and State Senator will make remarks. Steele and his brother, both teenagers at the time, were present at the church on ‘Bloody Tuesday’.

    Other surviving movement foot soldiers, who were present at the church, like Maxie Thomas and others, will present greetings. There will also be a re-enactment of the march to the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse.

    History Professor, John Geggie, of the University of Alabama, who has written a new book on ‘Bloody Tuesday’ will be at the program to give remarks and sign copies of the book.

    The program will he held on Sunday, June 9, 2024, from 3:00 to 6:00 PM at the First African Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa, 2621 Stillman Boulevard, Tuscaloosa, AL 35404. The public is invited to share in this important civil rights commemoration and recommitment to restoring voting rights for Black and poor people.

  • Newswire : NAACP urges Black student-athletes to reconsider Florida Colleges amid DEI funding controversy

    GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – APRIL 13: Kahleil Jackson #22 scores a touchdown against Miguel Mitchell #10 during the 2nd quarter of the Florida Gators spring football game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on April 13, 2023 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

    Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and a photo of Black football players

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson has called on Black student-athletes to reconsider their decisions to attend public colleges and universities in Florida. The call comes in response to a new state policy preventing institutions from utilizing government funds for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

    In a letter sent to current and prospective student-athletes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Monday, NBC News reported that Johnson urged them to “choose wisely” amidst the ongoing debate surrounding DEI funding in Florida. He emphasized the crucial role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in ensuring equitable and effective educational outcomes, noting that Black athletes’ value to large universities is unmatched.

    The controversy stems from a bill signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last year, restricting public colleges and universities from using state and federal funds for DEI programs. “If these institutions are unable to completely invest in those athletes, it’s time they take their talents elsewhere,” Johnson declared, according to NBC News.

    The University of Florida’s recent decision to eliminate all DEI positions, complying with the state rule, drew condemnation from NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, an alum of the school. Smith emphasized the need for minority athletes to be aware and vocal about such decisions.

    The trend against DEI programs has heightened, with Republican politicians in more than 30 states introducing bills to restrict or regulate such efforts. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, for instance, signed a law last year ordering the closure of DEI offices at state-funded colleges and universities.

    The NAACP’s call comes on the heels of a similar message from Birmingham, Alabama, Mayor Randall Woodfin, who asserted that if his state passed a bill blocking funding for DEI in public colleges, he would encourage student-athletes to explore programs in other states.

    Florida’s significance in Division I athletics and its central role in college sports business are one issue the NAACP zeroed in on. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the University of Florida’s sports teams generated over $177 million in revenue from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.

    “If any institution is to reap the benefits of Black talent, it is only right that they completely invest in Black futures,” Johnson argued.
     

  • Greene County honors the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his birthday holiday

    The Alabama Civil Rights Museum Movement held several programs this past weekend in Greene County to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the paramount civil rights and moral leader of the American Civil Rights Movement.

    Dr. King was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39. Had he lived this would have been his 94th birthday.

    Spiver W. Gordon, President of the Greene County based museum, held several programs and a march over the weekend marking Dr. King’s actual birthday on January 15th. and the National Holiday celebration on January 16th. The theme of all three programs was ‘Same Dream – Different Strategies’.

    On Sunday at 3:00 PM there was a County-wide Freedom Rally at the New Generation Baptist Church, with a sermon by Rev. Marcus Wright, Pastor of the Mt. Hebron Baptist Church of Aliceville who spoke on God’s promise to Joshua, “that I will be with you, if you are strong and of good courage”.

    On Monday morning there was a Unity Breakfast at the Eutaw Activity Center featuring Rev. Kendrick Howell, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Union, who preached on the Gospel of John.

    After the breakfast, a group marched uptown from the Eutaw Activity Center to the William M. Branch County Courthouse. The marchers were followed by a long line of cars with people participating but unable to walk the distance. The march was led by Gus Richardson in his wheelchair, as it has been for two decades.

    At the Courthouse, a packed courtroom, took part in another Freedom Rally with Attorney John Stamps, III, of Bessemer, Alabama, giving the keynote address. Stamps stressed the importance of personal responsibility and discipline as a way forward for Black people and families.

    At each of the rallies there was great music, mostly gospel songs sung by the choirs with strong support and rhythmic clapping from the rally participants. On Sunday, there was section to memorialize the community leaders and foot soldiers, who contributed to change in the county but have passed on in the past year. Family members of the remembered were given a chance to speak and recall the lives of their loved ones.

    At each of the programs, Spiver Gordon gave out numerous awards to participants for their service, great and small, to the civil rights movement and struggles in the county over the years.

    At the Unity Breakfast, Dr. Carol P. Zippert, former school board member and Co-Publisher of the Democrat in addressing the occasion of the MLK celebration said, “We, we are the occasion, it is up to us to continue the movement Dr. King led and make a commitment to service and helping others, especially our children.”

    People interested in learning more and supporting the Alabama Civil Rights Museum Movement, can contact Spiver W. Gordon at spiverwgordon@hotmail.com or call 205-372-3446.

  • Terri Sewell brings her ‘Congress in your community tour’ to Boligee, Alabama

    Alabama’s 7th District Congresswoman Terri Sewell brought her ‘Congress in your community tour’ to Boligee, Alabama on April 19, 2022. She is with Mayor Hattie Samuels of Boligee, in photo, who introduced her at the meeting.
    Sewell spoke about working hard in Congress to bring the funding and benefits of the American Rescue Plan and Infrastructure bills to her Alabama Black Belt district, which includes Greene County.
    “We are doing better under President Biden than President Trump. We are getting our fair share and there is more equity and accountability to the people, in this Administration,” said Sewell. She also pointed out that she was the only member of the Alabama Congressional delegation to actually vote for the Infrastructure bill. “ I have let the state agencies handing the infrastructure funds for roads, bridges, broadband and other improvements know our priorities in the Black Belt,” said Sewell.
    Sewell said she will continue her fight for voting rights despite the Senate’s failure to pass it or bypass the filibuster to approve the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. After answering some voter questions, Sewell said she was going to visit Branch Heights to view the tornado damage there firsthand and see what she could do to provide resources to assist the people who suffered damages to their homes.

  • Greene County jury awards half a million dollar verdict against Frontier Bingo


    Special to the Democrat by John Zippert, Co-Publisher


    Last week, a Greene County jury awarded Tony Samuel of Aliceville, Alabama, half a million dollars, against Frontier Bingo because they refused to pay him the $30,000, he won playing electronic bingo back in 2019.
    Samuel was represented by Attorneys Faya Rose Toure a/k/a Rose Sanders and Hank Sanders of the Chestnut, Sanders, Sanders Law Firm in Selma. DREAMS, Inc., a Charity doing business as Frontier Bingo in Knoxville, was represented by Mark Scogin and Victor Hamby of Tuscaloosa. The case was held in the 17th Judicial Circuit presided over by Judge Eddie Hardaway.

    Samuel came to the Frontier Bingo Hall on August 1, 2019, with $4400 and was playing 3 or 4 machines for six or seven hours. He pooled his winnings from one machine to the other. He did not win as much as $1000 a single time but he steadily won and loss smaller amounts, ending up with $33,000. He called his girlfriend who urged him to come home with his winnings.
    Samuel played awhile longer and lost $3,000 back. He decided to cash out with $30,000 in winnings. He called security to cash out. Security sent Carlos Lewis, the technician at Frontier, to print his winning ticket. Lewis testified at trial that there was no machine malfunction and no jackpot that Samuel was owed the $30,000.
    The technician, Carlos Lewis, took Samuel to collect his money. He said the manager said they would pay. He saw them counting out money to pay Samuel. They never told him why they did not pay. The Manager said they would pay him the next day. Samuel asked to take a cell phone photo of his winning ticket but hey would not allow him to photograph his ticket. Samuel refused to leave until he could take a photograph of his winning ticket.
    The Frontier management called 911 for the Greene County Sheriff’s Department to remove him from the premises. When Greene County Deputy Melvin Smith arrived at Frontier, Samuels said he was not leaving without a photo or copy of his winning ticket. Deputy Melvin Smith had to insist that Frontier allow Samuel to make a copy of the winning ticket. A copy was finally made, and he escorted Tony Samuel out of the Frontier Bingo Hall. Samuel only had $200 of $4400 dollars left in his pocket.
    Samuel returned the next day to Frontier to collect his winnings. This time the Frontier management made him wait for some more hours to collect his winnings. They then made him come back a third time and he brought a witness. Frontier never told him why they would not pay him.
    Samuel went back a third time to Frontier Bingo to collect his winnings. This time he was told to call Frontier’s Attorney, Flint Liddon of Birmingham. He called Liddon who said that Samuel would have to collect his money from “the maker of the machine, not Frontier Bingo.” Samuel testified that Liddon has now lost his license to practice law.
    At that point, Tony Samuels consulted Attorney Henry Sanders of Chestnut, Sanders & Sanders, a law firm in Selma. Sanders tried to collect Samuel’s winnings without any success. Sanders filed suit on Samuel’s behalf, which resulted in last week’s trial at the William McKinley Branch Courthouse in Eutaw, Alabama.

    The jury returned a verdict in favor of Samuels, with $250,000 in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages, totaling half a million dollars.
    Attorney Hank Sanders said of the significance of this case, “This was a breach of contract case that turned into a fraud case. The bingo operators of Greene County must be fair in their business dealing with customers who come to play at their facilities. The jury awarded Mr. Samuel much more than his $30,000 winning ticket because of the unfair, degrading, and fraudulent way he was treated.”
    Sanders indicated that he had tried to subpoena Bernie Gomez of Huntsville, Alabama, the reputed “actual owner of Frontier Bingo” to testify at the trial but could not locate him to serve the subpoena. One witness testified that Gomez comes to Frontier Bingo each Monday to collect his share of the winnings in bags of money.
    Efforts to contact Frontier Bingo for their comments on the jury verdict and if they plan to appeal, reached an answering machine that said it was full and could not accept additional messages.