State highway dedicated to former Greene County Sheriff, Thomas E. Gilmore

Posted on October 21, 2019 by greenecodemocratcom

A dedication ceremony was held on Saturday, October 12, 2019, in Eutaw, naming portions of Alabama State Highway 43, from the Black Warrior River bridge north of Demopolis, to the intersection of State Hwy 43 and State Hwy 14 in Eutaw, for the late pastor and Greene County Sheriff, Thomas E. Gilmore.
The dedication was part of the 5th Annual Memorial Fun Run/Walk sponsored by the Gilmore family offsprings of Thomas and Minnie Gilmore.

Mrs. Johnnie Knott served as Mistress of Order and presented a brief history of the contributions of Sheriff Gilmore to the Greene County Community, who was know as the sheriff without a gun. Eutaw Mayor Raymond Steele welcomed the gathering and greetings were given by State Senator Bobby Singleton, State Representatives A.J. McCampbell and Ralph Howard, Greene County Commissioner Allen Turner, Jr. and Eutaw Councilperson, LaTasha Johnson.
Following the dedication ceremony, many participated in the run/walk and gathered at the Eutaw City Hall where proclamations were presented to the Gilmore family as well as a portrait of Sheriff Gilmore by local artist Mynecia Steele.
Remarks were shared by Gilmore siblings who presented a financial contribution to Mayor Steele for the youth activities. The Gilmore siblings also pledged to support various scholarships for graduates of Greene County High School.
The program concluded with a balloon release on the Thomas E. Gilmore Courthouse Square.

Town of Forkland receives $7,000 grant from Tombigbee RC&D for adult education program

Posted on April 25, 2019 by greenecodemocratcom

On Monday, April 22, 2019, the Town of Forkland received a $7,000 grant from the Tombigbee Resource, Conservation and Development district located in Tuscaloosa. The grant was to support the town’s adult education program.
The program is primarily focused on providing seniors with computer training and other useful life skills to keep them involved and active in their community.
“We have used these funds to provide laptop computers,training modules and screens and an instructor. We are serving over twenty students aged 63 to 83 who want to learn how to use computers and new technologies,” said Mayor Charlie McCalpine of Forkland.

Mayor McCalpine said that the Town of Forkland appreciated the support and matching funds from Tombigbee RC&D which made the senior learning program possible and successful.
Ms. Scheree Dasher, the class instructor indicated that, “When our seniors go to the doctor or Social Security office they are handed a computer tablet to sign in and many wanted to be able to handle these situations themselves. Others receive emails and other social media from their children, grandchildren, friends and other relatives which they also wanted to be able to read and answer.”
The classes are three days a week with computers and on other days, the group does exercises, puzzles, drawing and some classes with a nutritionist and other specialists.
Presenting the grant award to the Town of Forkland were Don Sherrod, Chair of the Tombigbee RC&D Board, who is also the Mayor of Pickensville and Bailey Sloan and Mckenzie Montgomery from the agency staff. Also attending the check presentation were: Tennyson Smith, Greene County Commission Chair, Probate Judge Rolanda Wedgeworth, Representative A. J. McCampbell, State Senator Bobby Singleton and others. The members of the class are gathered behind a large replica of the grant check.

Local Black state legislators will hold leadership positions in 2019

Posted on January 9, 2019 by greenecodemocratcom

Several local state legislators will hold key leadership positions in the upcoming 2019 state legislative session.
State Senator Bobby Singleton of Greensboro (District 24), who represents Greene and surrounding counties, will serve as Minority Leader of the Alabama State Senate.
Representative Christopher England of District 70, which includes most of southern and eastern Tuscaloosa County, was chosen to head the Democratic Caucus in the Alabama House of Representatives.
Singleton, who was first elected to the state Senate in 2005, was chosen for the post by the eight members of the Democratic caucus.
“I just want to thank my colleagues for having the confidence in me to be able to lead them for the next four years,” Singleton said in a statement. “As the minority leader, we will be looking at a robust agenda; not just for the Democrats, but for the state of Alabama. Hopefully, we can work across the aisle with the majority. I look forward to working with Senate Majority Leader Sen. Greg Reed and Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh.”
Singleton replaces Sen. Billy Beasley of Clayton. Beasley will assume the duties of deputy minority leader.
Singleton earned his bachelor’s degree from Alabama State University and his law degree from Miles Law School. He served in the state House of Representatives from 2002-05 before being elected to the state Senate. He represents District 24, which includes parts of Choctaw, Clarke, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Sumter and Tuscaloosa counties.
Marsh congratulated Singleton on his appointment as Senate minority leader.
“There are many tough issues facing the Alabama Senate in the year to come and I look forward to working with Sen. Singleton as we develop legislation that improves the lives of all Alabamians,” Marsh said in a statement. “Sen. Singleton and I have worked well together for several years and I have no doubt that will continue as we strive to ensure that the Senate runs smoothly and that all Senators are represented equally.”
Representative Chris England, who begins his fourth term in the House of Representatives, said, “I am honored and humbled to serve our caucus in this capacity. I am looking forward to working with the members of the leadership team and the caucus overall to build a better Alabama,” England said in a news release.

England graduated from Howard University in 1999 and earned a juris doctorate degree from the University of Alabama in 2002. He was first elected in 2006 and ran unopposed in the November general election.
Members of the caucus also re-elected Rep. Anthony Daniels of Huntsville as minority leader and Rep. Merika Coleman of Pleasant Grove the assistant minority leader.
Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, was elected chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, which includes both senators and House members.
Figures will serve in that position for two years. A House member will chair the Black Caucus the following two years, as is customary.
Despite losing a number of influential Black legislators to retirement and election losses, including Senator Hank Sanders of Selma, Rep. John Knight and Rep. Alvin Holmes of Montgomery, there are younger leaders who are asserting themselves and coming forward to lead on critical issues facing the Black community.

Jimmie Lee Jackson program in Marion begins Bridge Crossing Jubilee activities

Posted on February 21, 2018 by greenecodemocratcom

Tamika Mallory receives “Drum Major for Justice Award” from Perry County Civic League. L to R: Mayor Dexter Hinton of Marion, Luther Winn, Greenetrack CEO, State Senator Bobby Singleton, and Walt Maddox, Mayor of Tuscaloosa

The Perry County Civic League honored over 50 Perry County natives that have secured nursing degrees

Last Sunday, February 18, 2018 the Jimmie Lee Jackson Memorial Program was held at Marion Baptist Academy in Perry County to memorialize the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson who was martyred 53 years ago in February 1965. Jackson’s death intensified the voting rights movement in the Black Belt of Alabama and led to the March 7, 1965 “Bloody Sunday March” from Selma-to-Montgomery, where marchers were beaten by Alabama State Troopers and deputized local citizens.

The march from Selma-to-Montgomery was ultimately successful and led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act which gave Black people back the right to vote which was lost in the Reconstruction period following the Civil War and passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the U. S. Constitution.
The Jimmie Lee Jackson Day starts a three-week celebration and commemoration called the Bridge Crossing Jubilee with events in and around Selma related to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. The Jubilee is the largest continuous celebration of civil rights in the United States.
The Perry County Civic League sponsors the Jimmie Lee Jackson Program each year. This year’s program included honoring over 50 Perry County natives that have secured nursing degrees of various kinds since the beginning of the movement in 1965. Albert Turner Jr. and Ms. Willie Neal Avery with the Perry County Civic League presided over the program.
State Senator Bobby Singleton, Circuit Judge Marvin Wiggins, the Mayor of Marion, John Heard III, Superintendent of Perry County Schools, and Walt Maddox, Mayor of Tuscaloosa, who is running for Governor of Alabama, gave short greetings.
Corey D. Hawkins, Most Worshipful Grand Master of Prince Hall Masons gave a special greeting on behalf of a large group of masons who attended the meeting. Hawkins pointed out that Jimmie Lee Jackson was a member of the Masons whose life was cut short of its full potential in 1965, while protecting his mother and grandfather from a police beating connected to a civil rights meeting in Marion.
Tamika Mallory, Executive director of the National Action Network and one of four National Co-Chairs of the Womens March on Washington, held in January 2017, to protest the Inauguration of Donald Trump as President. Mallory said that her family roots were in Monroeville, Alabama and her mother sent her to spend summers with her grandmother and aunts in Monroe County, which taught her about life in America for her poorest people. She also was exposed to the civil rights movement spending summers in Alabama in the 1980’s and early 1990’s.
Mallory said,” I learned at the intersectionality, where the women’s movement and the civil rights movement meet that new leaders are needed to carry the work forward. Those leaders cannot feel too comfortable with their positions. You must lead because you want to help people build a better world where everyone will have a chance to feel comfortable.” The Perry County Civil League awarded Mallory with its “Drum-Major for Justice Award”.

Jubilee Festival returns to Water Street

The Selma City Council at its February 13 meeting voted to allow the 2018 Bridge Crossing Jubilee Festival to be held downtown on Water Avenue as it has been for previous decades except for last year.
State Senator Hank Sanders said: “This is a win for Selma, a win for Alabama, a win for the country. The Bridge Crossing Jubilee is a national and international event. I am so glad that matters could be worked out with the City of Selma so that the Bridge Crossing Jubilee can continue to serve the tens of thousands who come each year.
“I am very appreciative to Councilman Michael Johnson and the Selma City Council for taking this positive action. I also want to thank the Mayor and all the other Members of the City Council for helping to make it possible for the Jubilee to be back on Water Avenue, where it has been for more than two decades, with the exception of 2017.”
The Bridge Crossing Jubilee has brought two sitting U.S. Presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama; two former presidents, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton; a sitting Vice President, Joe Biden; numerous Cabinet members, Members of Congress, U.S. Senators, Civil Rights leaders, and internationally known celebrities.
This is the 53rd Anniversary and Commemoration of the Selma-to-Montgomery March. The Bridge Crossing Jubilee has been held every year for more than two decades. Most of the events are free to the public.

Annual Martin and Coretta Scott King ‘Unity Breakfast’

The Bridge Crossing Jubilee this year has more than 40 events over a four-day period. One of these events is the Annual Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 4th, on the campus of Wallace Community College Selma.
The Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast features messages from leaders from across the country. This year Congresswoman Maxine Waters will receive the 2018 Martin and Coretta King Unity Award. Congresswoman Waters has been an outspoken champion for justice and democracy for more than 25 years.
Other speakers at the breakfast include U.S. Senator Doug Jones, Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Repairers of the Breach President Rev. Dr. William Barber, NAACP Legal Defense Fund President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill, National Educational Association President Lily Eskelsen García, Southern Christian Leadership Conference National President Charles Steele, and Rainbow PUSH Coalition Founder and President Rev. Jesse Jackson. We also expect that Congressman John Lewis and Congresswoman Barbara Lee will share in the recognition of Congresswoman Waters.
Other presentations will include a performance by the Brazilian dance group, Viver Brasil Dance Company, which uses dance to support struggles for freedom. Also, the original Freedom Singers from the Voting Rights Struggle will be performing. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. William Barber is carrying on the Poor People’s Campaign in honor of and in the spirit of Dr. King. Dr. King initiated this Campaign just before he was assassinated in 1968.
More information on tickets for all events is available at:www.BridgeCrossingJubilee.com.

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Tag Archives: State Senator Bobby Singleton

State highway dedicated to former Greene County Sheriff, Thomas E. Gilmore

Town of Forkland receives $7,000 grant from Tombigbee RC&D for adult education program

Local Black state legislators will hold leadership positions in 2019