Greene County Democrat

Tag: Maya Wiley

  • National and local leaders gather in Selma to strategize on protecting Democracy and Civil Rights 

    Photo No. 1 (cutline) : John Zippert, Co-publisher of the Greene County Democrat and Chair of the Board of the Greene County Health Sysytem speaks about healthcare issues at

     Photo No.2 (Cutline). From right to left: Allison Hamilton, executive director of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice; Faya Touré, American civil rights activist and lawyer; John Zippert, board chair of Greene County Hospital/Greene County Health System; Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP; Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43).; Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families; Juan Proaño, chief executive officer of the League of United Latin American Citizens; Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center; and Martha Morgan, professor emerita of law at the University of Alabama School of Law.

    As our nation commemorated the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, national and state leaders, civil rights organizations, and community advocates convened in Selma, Alabama, for a powerful and urgent discussion about protecting democracy and advancing civil rights in the face of unprecedented threats.

    The event, “Saving Democracy: Our Civil Rights Strategies for this Unprecedented Moment,” was co-hosted by Hank Sanders  and Faya Rose Touré (The Bridge Crossing Jubilee), The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and a coalition of national and local organizations. The convening reaffirmed the movement’s commitment to defending democracy and mobilizing against voter suppression, attacks on civil rights, and systemic barriers to justice.

    Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights: “As we confront an onslaught of attacks from our own federal government on the very civil and human rights it is obligated to protect and uphold, we are working united and unwavering against the attacks on our freedom and potential. This regime is abusing power — violating laws and dismantling its role as a shield — to turn the government into a weapon against us. They are stripping resources from our schools, our health care, and kids who can’t afford college, all while trying to discourage us from using our voice to make demands of the government.

    These efforts to erase our progress and dismantle our civil rights are direct attacks on our power to shape our future and ensure opportunities for our families. The promised land is not a promise, and democracy is a demand. Real power starts in our communities. When we organize locally, build coalitions, and mobilize for change, we create the foundation for national progress. Our coalition knows this is a fight for the promise of America and a multiracial democracy that works for all of us, not just a powerful few. Just as those who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge 60 years ago showed us, when we organize and join together, we can face anything. Our coalition will continue that fight until freedom is won.”

    Hank Sanders, Founder of the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee: “We have to know our strengths if we are to engage effectively in this great struggle to maintain and improve this imperfect democracy. We know that we have been through greater struggles with less resources and triumphed. We must remember that we are not just in a terrible storm but going through the storm. There is something better on the other side. Know your strengths!”

    Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center: “At a time when our nation’s president incredulously tries to undo baseline civil rights protections and stoke fear in anyone fighting for justice, it is critical we double down on our commitment to gender and racial equality. We must not turn our backs on decades of progress secured by people who risked their lives fighting for equality, freedom and a fair shot for all. Diversity, equity and inclusion are not dirty words — and we will continue to challenge a president desperate to normalize racism and misogyny throughout his administration.”

    Derrick Johnson, president & chief executive officer of the NAACP: “Selma is a physical reminder of the history that must inform our future. No matter who occupies the Oval Office or holds the gavel on Capitol Hill, the NAACP will not accept regression as our reality. I was proud to stand alongside our colleagues in the fight for civil rights to remind us that race is merely a tool to distract from the perils of power, hungriness, and greed. We cannot be distracted. We must remain determined. Let’s continue the work to ensure democracy truly works for everybody.”

    Juan Proaño, chief executive officer of the League of United Latin American Citizens(LULAC): “LULAC’s fight for voting rights and immigrant justice is a fight for our democracy. On the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, we’re reminded that the same forces that once attacked Black Americans’ votes now target the Latino vote and vilify immigrants. LULAC stands strong, ensuring minority voices and power are felt in every election. We will not stand by as ICE and Border Patrol invade our schools, hospitals, and places of worship. The SAVE Act and attacks on sensitive locations are tools of intimidation meant to silence us. We will not back down. We’ll fight these policies in court, protest in the streets, and hold those responsible accountable. Our right to vote, learn, earn, heal, and pray is non-negotiable. The time to act is now.”

    Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families: “The ability to access high quality, affordable health care shapes every aspect of our lives, from our physical wellbeing to our economic security to our sense of personal freedom and dignity. Yet, the Trump administration is systematically attacking our health care system by enacting massive cuts to federal agencies, making it harder to collect information on health disparities, targeting programs like Medicaid that provide care to those in greatest need, and undermining abortion access. Our calls to action — to consistently make clear that health care is a civil rights issue; lift up the stories of the people who are harmed when they cannot access much-needed care; push policymakers to mandate the collection of data that can show racial, gender, and other disparities and to make infrastructure investments for more health care facilities; and proclaim that health care should never be treated as a precious resource that is only available to the privileged and the wealthy.”

    Martha Morgan, professor emerita of law at the University of Alabama School of Law and member of the steering committee of SOS (Saving OurSelves Movement for Justice and Democracy): “In Alabama, the attacks on democracy and justice are ongoing and groups like SOS are issuing calls to action to continue defending our rights in the field of education. In 2024, the Republican controlled legislature enacted laws aimed at the heart of both higher education and K-12. First, it banned public funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and restricted the teaching of so-called ‘divisive concepts’ at all public colleges and universities. Public colleges and universities responded by ending or recasting their DEI programs and closing campus spaces for student groups. The ACLU of Alabama and the Legal Defense Fund have filed a lawsuit on behalf of several courageous professors and students at University of Alabama campuses, and the NAACP and the legal battle is underway. A second 2024 law guts funding for K-12 education by allowing families to receive $7,000 to send their children to private school and $2,000 for children who are homeschooled.”

    John Zippert, board chair of the Greene County Health System in Eutaw, Alabama and SOS Steering Committee member: “For the past ten years we have been struggling with the Governor and the Alabama Legislature to expand Medicaid to provide health insurance to 300,000 low-income working people. Now our small rural hospital, nursing home and physician’s clinic faces the Trump Administration’s plan to cut $880 billion from Medicaid. This will further reduce our facility’s income. Every one of the 38 people we currently have in our Nursing Home is supported by Medicaid. Will we have to put these aging Americans, Black and White, into the streets? A reduction in the Medicaid and Medicare already low reimbursements will likely force us to close our facility, creating greater healthcare hardships for rural people in our communities.”

    The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org. 

  • President Biden renews commitment to passage of John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act at Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee

    L To R: President Joe Biden, Cong. Terri Sewell, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson in wheelchair, rolled by son Cong. Jonathan Jackson, Krysten Clarke and Spiver W. Gordon
    Attorney Faya Rose Toure addresses gathering at Commemoration March.
    Rev. Jesse Jackson receives special tribute at Unity Breakfast.
    Senator Hank Sanders at Martin and Coretta Unity Breakfast Rev. Martin Luther King III sitting at right
    Freedom Singers bring inspiration throughout Jubilee.

    At Sunday’s rally at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, President Biden renewed his commitment to passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, even if it requires waiving the U. S. Senate’s filibuster rules.

    Biden accompanied by foot soldiers, current civil rights leaders and thousands of marchers crossed the bridge in the annual reenactment of the ‘Bloody Sunday’ march – March 7, 1965, when 600 marchers were met and beaten by hundreds of Alabama State Troopers and Sheriffs deputies. Later that month, Dr. Martin Luther King led marchers from Selma to Montgomery, completing the march and paving the way for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

    In his statement, President Biden said: “The right to vote, to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty,” 
 “This fundamental right remains under assault. Conservative Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act over the years. Since the 2020 election, a wave of states has passed dozens, dozens of anti-voting laws fueled by the big lie,” he insisted.
 The President continued. “We must redouble our efforts and renew our commitment to protecting the freedom to vote. “We know that we must get the votes in Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and the Freedom to Vote Act. I’ve made it clear: I will not let a filibuster obstruct the sacred right to vote.”
    In his comments President Biden urged passage of the George Floyd Police Reform Act to implement changes in the criminal justice system across the nation. He also urged passage of a ban on assault weapons, like the AR-15, which have hurt people in recent multiple shootings at schools, theaters, and shopping centers.
    The President called for building the economy from “the bottom up and the middle out; and for the rich to pay their fair share of taxes.” He said that he was ready to stand by Selma and other places in the state ravaged by recent storms to rebuild better than in the past. He said over $8 million had already been distributed under the FEMA disaster declaration for the January 12th tornados.
    Biden was introduced by Charles Mauldin, a foot soldier, who was in the third row of marchers on Bloody Sunday. Mauldin explained that all Black public officials and others registered and voting under the 1965 Voting Rights Act owed a debt to the 600 ordinary people from Selma and surrounding areas who decided that they would take action to make a change.
    Mauldin initiated a “Foot Soldiers Breakfast” on Saturday morning of the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, ten years ago, to honor those who participated in Bloody Sunday and the Voting Rights Movement in Selma. At this year’s breakfast, the foot soldiers organization announced they had secured a property near the Carver Housing Project for a “Foot Soldiers Memorial Park” to recognize the contributions of the foot soldiers and to inspire the next generations to become active in positive social change for the Selma community.
    Faya Rose Toure, Selma attorney, civil rights activist, and co-founder, with her husband, Hank Sanders, of the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, which was celebrating its 30th anniversary, also spoke on the program at the foot of the bridge with President Biden.
    Toure said racism is still active and blatant in the Alabama Black Belt along with immense poverty and an abusive criminal justice system. She pointed out to the President, “Not a single white elected official is present on the stage or in the VIP seating for the event. Also, there are less that ten local white citizens involved in the Bridge Crossing Jubilee program. There is no school in the Alabama Black Belt, an area of majority Black population that teaches Black History!”
    Commenting on the recent tornados, Toure said, “Mr. President. Not only must we build back Selma better, but we must also build back Selma fairer, if we are interested in justice and progress for the people of Selma and surrounding communities.
    Toure also told the President, “I do not think you are too old to run again. My mother said the Blacker the berry; the older the berry, the sweeter the juice … “
    A number of the people on the stage and in the VIP seating for the President’s address, had participated earlier in the annual Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast. Among them, Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was in a wheelchair, Congresswoman Terri Sewell and other members of the Black Congressional Caucus, Rev. William Barber of the Poor Peoples Campaign, Dr. Joseph Mitchell, President of Wallace Community College, Barbara Arnwine of the Transformative Justice Coalition, Maya Wiley, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Cliff Albright, Black Voters Matter, and many others.