Alabama plan advances to "change'" the name of the Edmund Pettus Bridge

The Alabama Senate voted 23-3 for legislation that would change the official name of Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge, but not to a name many wanted or to one that many would expect. While I somewhat understand the explanation given I don't like the proposed name change.

George Cook African American Reports.

From the Associated Press:

Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday advanced legislation that would alter the name of Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge to honor those who were beaten on the bridge as they marched for civil rights in 1965.

The Alabama Senate voted 23-3 for legislation that would change the official name to the “Edmund W. Pettus-Foot Soldiers Bridge.” However, the lettering on the famous bridge would remain unaltered. The name “Foot Soldiers” would be on a separate sign that would include a silhouette of the marchers.

The bill, dubbed the “Healing History Act,” now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives with three meeting days remaining in the legislative session.

“Not a single letter would be touched. It would stay intact in its historical context. And at the same time... honor the history that is there and the history that came out of it,” said state Sen. Malika Sanders-Fortier, a Democrat from Selma.

Through the years some have proposed changing the name of the bridge, including a push to name it for the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis. The Georgia congressman was one of the demonstrators beaten on the bridge in 1965.

Sanders-Fortier said many who marched for civil rights in her community do not want the bridge name changed entirely because of what the bridge has come to represent.

Sanders-Fortier said it is important to honor all of the state's history and “to heal from our past so we can move forward as a state.”

“Many of the events in our state’s history have been traumatizing, been traumatizing to African-American folk to Indigenous folk to white folk," she said, adding that healing means considering the "hurt of each group.”

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Black Women of Influence in Hillside, NJ, and the Making of American History

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Black Women of Influence in Hillside, NJ, and the Making of American History

By Dr. Christopher Michael Jones

On Monday, April 4, 2022, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez along with a strong contingent of politicians, clergy, business owners, community activists, union leaders, and heads of organizations assembled on the grassy front lawn of First Baptist Church of Hillside to pray. The focus of that prayer centered on the well-being of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and the Senate Judiciary Committee vote scheduled to take place later that afternoon.

Having been given this task to pray four days before, I considered the magnitude of the moment. There will never be another time in history when a U.S. Senate Judicial Committee gathers on the 54th year of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination to affirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s candidacy to be presented to the U.S. Senate as the first African American female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. In many regards, Judge Jackson is an existential representation of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech declared on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., on August 28, 1963. Judge Jackson is a dream come true, and the full embodiment of the hopes and dreams of so many black and brown girls who look just like her.

The thought hasn’t escaped me that Hillside, NJ is undergoing a bit of its own renaissance as it relates to dynamic black women serving and leading the local community. The Township of Hillside is the only municipality in the state of New Jersey currently being led by an African American female mayor, police captain, city councilwoman, district leaders, board of education president, and founder and president of a local NAACP chapter simultaneously. Each of these dynamic leaders work in tandem with an African American female county commissioner who is also a former Hillside mayor. This is history. This is our history. The story needs to be told about how Mayor Dahlia Vertreese, Commissioner Angela Garretson, Captain LaShonda Burgess, City Councilwoman Andrea Hyatt, Board of Education President Kimberly Cook, District Leaders Val Mayo and Monique Fletcher, and NAACP President and Founder Nicole Graves-Watson strive to lead ethically from a place of compassion as black women in power. They too share in the story of black women like Judge Jackson and have overcome some of the same systemic barriers which have made Judge Jackson’s ascension to the Supreme Court so improbable.

I stated in my prayer on Monday morning, “America has been afforded another opportunity, “to let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” As the U.S. Senate prepares to take their vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first African American female Supreme Court Nominee in its 233-year history, I pray for the fulfillment of Dr. King’s prophetic words: “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.” Let’s make history. In making history, let’s also make sure the whole story is being told.

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The Reverend Dr. Christopher Michael Jones is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Hillside, NJ and Co-Mentor at United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH.

No charges will be filed in killing of Amir Locke

The Hennepin County Attorney announced Wednesday that no criminal charges will be filed in the death of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old man who was shot and killed by a SWAT team during a no-knock raid in February.

County Attorney Michael Freeman and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement that there is "insufficient admissible evidence" to file charges in the case.

"Specifically, the State would be unable to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the elements of Minnesota's use-of-deadly-force statute that authorizes the use of force by Officer Hanneman," the statement said. "Nor would the State be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a criminal charge against any other officer involved in the decision-making that led to the death of Amir Locke."

Ellison said at a press conference Wednesday morning that it would be "unethical" for prosecutors to file charges in a case they know would not prevail in court.

"And still, and yet, a loving promising young man is dead," Ellison said. "His death leaves us with a wound in our community, but that is small in comparison to the wound his family is suffering from."

[SOURCE; CBS NEWS]

NAACP wants President Biden to cancel student loan debt

The Biden administration is planning to extend a pause on federal student loan repayments through August 31, according to an administration official familiar with the matter.

Wisdom Cole, National Director of the NAACP Youth and College Division, released the following statement in response to President Biden's student loan repayment extension.

"President Biden, student loan debt is a racial and economic justice issue that stains the Soul of America. With each and every repayment extension, you make a stronger case for canceling it.

At this point, just cancel it. $50,000 is the bare minimum. $10,000 is not enough."

New Children's Book by Colin Kaepernick: I Color Myself Different

I Color Myself Different is an inspiring story of identity and self-esteem from celebrated athlete and activist Colin Kaepernick.

When Colin Kaepernick was five years old, he was given a simple school assignment: draw a picture of yourself and your family. What young Colin does next with his brown crayon changes his whole world and worldview, providing a valuable lesson on embracing and celebrating his Black identity through the power of radical self-love and knowing your inherent worth.

I Color Myself Different is a joyful ode to Black and Brown lives based on real events in young Colin's life that is perfect for every reader's bookshelf. It's a story of self-discovery, staying true to one's self, and advocating for change... even when you're very little!

BUY THE BOOK