Commemorating The Selma-To-Montgomery March

The Grand Rapids Times
3-14-2008

By George E Curry
NNPA Columnist

Selma, Ala. – Over the weekend, I was here for the commemoration of the 43rd anniversary of the historic 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march that directly led to passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. As expected, the Who’s Who of Black leadership was there: John Lewis, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, Bernice King, SCLC President Charles Steele, Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Sheila Jackson Lee and others.

It was not surprising that so many African-American leaders came to the annual event to commemorate March 7, 1965, known as “Bloody Sunday,” when demonstrators were gassed and clubbed as they set out on the march along Highway 80 to the state capital. More encouraging, last weekend hundreds came from around the country to honor the past and to recommit to the future.

As I’ve written in this column before, I was a senior at Druid High School in Tuscaloosa, Ala. at the time of the march. After watching TV images of John Lewis and others being savagely beaten, carloads of us drove to Montgomery for the final leg of the march. I remember seeing James Baldwin and Harry Belafonte for the first time and being impressed that such luminaries would come to my home state to lend their support to the struggle.

I also remember those whom SCLC President Charles Steele likes to refer to as “scared Negroes.” Many people who are so vocal about civil rights today failed to answer the call of Selma. Even after protesters were beaten – maybe because they were beaten – too many African-Americans were afraid to show their face in Selma, Montgomery or anywhere in between. The modern civil rights movement provided the test of our time and far too many failed that test.

This is also a good time to reflect on a period when Whites were willing to give their life to right a wrong. During the Selma campaign, Rev. James Reeb, a minister from Boston, was beaten to death on a Selma street by a group of White men. And Viola Gregg Liuzzo, a Detroit housewife, was shot to death as she drove a group of marchers from Montgomery back to Selma.

The real stars of the civil rights movement were not celebrities or even northerners who had traveled south to participate in demonstrations. Rather, it was common everyday people, then called Negroes or worst, who knew that participating in the movement could cost them their low-paying jobs or their life. Yet, they took that risk.

The story of Selma is really the story of Jimmie Lee Jackson. His story should be required reading for any young person growing up in the United States. Certainly, no Black parent should rear a child without passing along the story of Jackson, an unsung hero of the civil rights movement.

Jimmie Lee Jackson grew up in Marion, Ala., the hometown of Coretta Scott King. Marion is the county seat of Perry County, one of the soil-rich black belt counties clustered in the southern part of the state. Like many counties in the region, Blacks were prevented from voting through violence, fear and intimidation.

James Orange, a 22-year-old SCLC organizer, had arrived in Marion in early 1965 to help with a Black voter registration project. After he was jailed, 500 African-Americans protested by marching from Zion Methodist Church to the county jail. But before they could arrive, they were attacked by Alabama state troopers and local policemen. In the crowd were Jackson, 26; his mother; and his 82-year-old grandfather.

Jackson and his family retreated to a nearby café when violence erupted, but troopers followed them. State troopers began clubbing Jackson’s 82-year-old grandfather, continuing to strike him even after he had been knocked to the floor. When’s Jackson’s mother tried to intervene, she was also beaten. Jumping to his mother’s rescue, young Jackson was beaten, thrown against a cigarette machine and shot twice in the abdomen. He died eight days later in a Selma hospital.

James Fowler, the state trooper that admitted killing Jackson, was not indicted until last year; an all-White grand jury convened shortly after the murder refused to indict him. Fowler is expected to finally go on trial for murder in May or June. James Orange, the jailed SCLC organizer, died last month after as a result of complications from gallbladder surgery. He was 65 years old.

Congressman John Lewis succinctly captured the contributions of Jimmie Lee Jackson in a recent statement. Lewis observed: “It was the killing of Jimmie Lee Jackson that provoked the march from Selma to Montgomery. It was his death and his blood that gave us the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”
George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the NNPA News Service, is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. He can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com.

Alice Gant: Living Testimony Of Faith

Sponsors, Service Providers Urge Pres Bush: Sign Second Chance Act

Initiatives assisting offenders with re-entry into their communities are likely to get a boost nationwide if President Bush signs the historic” Second Chance Act of 2007" that the United States Senate unanimously passed, March 11, 2008.

The bill is intended to help the more than 650,000 men and women who are released from prison each year – more than 1,700 everyday.

Congressman Danny K. Davis, chief sponsor, along with Senators Joe Biden, Sam Brownback and Patrick Leahy, championed the act that provides federal assistance to state and local communities for ex-offender reentry projects focusing on job training, housing, substance abuse and mental health treatment, as well as programs to work with the children and families of ex-offenders.

At a news conference in Washington, D.C., March 13, Congressman Davis said, “The Second Chance Act is landmark because it is comprehensive legislation that will have an everlasting impact across the country. It is the first time in U.S. History, where we as a nation are moving away from strict {lock-em-up and throw away the key“ policies.”

Locally, ACSET is a primary funding stream for local and area initiatives assisting offenders with reentry. Jubilee Jobs, Hope Network and Goodwill Industries are primary service providers.

“This legislation can have far-reaching impact on the lives of ex-offenders and their families,” said Chana Edmond Verley, Executive Director, Jubilee Jobs in Grand Rapids. “It offers hope and the potential for strengthening families. Given that 70% of children whose parents are incarcerated are likely to become offenders, more resources to agencies for intervention programs could help reverse this trend.”

Assisting ex-offenders with reentry is but one of several client-centered initiatives provided by Jubilee Jobs, a faith-based workforce development agency that also serves other adults, youth and families.
In an action alert encouraging citizens to write letters to President Bush, urging him to sign the bill, the national office of the NAACP noted:

“Ex-prisoner re-entry has a disparate effect on communities of color, since two-thirds of the people currently in prison are racial and ethnic minorities,” The NAACP also observes, “Studies have shown that many of those released from prison come back into society with a substance abuse addiction or mental health problem. Employment and housing are often difficult; one study found that applicants with criminal records experienced a 50% reduction in job offers for entry-level jobs, compared to those without records. This is compounded by racial bias as African American former inmates experienced a 64% reduction in offers. As many as a quarter of all ex-offenders go to homeless shelters upon release.”

These issues also challenge re-entry populations served through networks of local agencies.
“Through links with the Michigan Prison Re-entry Initiative, the Preparing for Better Life Initiative (a Kent County Jail program) and the Community Stakeholders of the Local Re-entry Center Initiative, as a client - centered workforce development provider, Jubilee Jobs presently assists more than 300 offenders. At least 65% are African Americans.” Edmond-Verley said.

Speaking in Washington, Congressman Davis said, “There is an urgent need for criminal justice reform in this country. Prisoner reentry is one aspect of this very serious issue. Criminal Justice reform badly needed to alleviate the growing costs of incarcerating prisoners, the devastating impact on victims, and the negative impact on the very fabric of American life.”

Where Have All The Men Gone?

The Grand Rapids Times
3-14-2008
Let’s Talk About It
By Rev. Dr. David G. May

I know this is National Women’s History Month, a movement that started in the 60’s to insure that the “invisible” population of women in America became a subject of serious study. So, I give kudos to all the women on the planet, and note that they deserve the recognition.

However, as I was pondering the significance of women in the life of the world, I became pointedly aware of the “men” in the church, or should I say the absence of them!

I don’t know about the church you go to, but in the one that I pastor the women out number the men. Men only make up about 10-15% of our church congregation!

So, I began to do some exploration and reflection on the presence of men compared to women in the New Testament. I found that the appeal of the Gospel to men in the early church was phenomenal!

[read more in the print edition of the Grand Rapids Times or click here to log in if you have a subscription or want to buy a subscription]

Six Black Perspectives On The Obama Campaign

Reality Check
By Peter Bailey
NNPA Commentary

There are basically six Black perspectives on Senator Barack Obama’s campaign to be the Democratic Party’s candidate for president of the United States in the 2008 election.

One is those Black folks who sincerely believe that a voting public that has elected only one White Catholic as president in its entire history and that has never elected a Jewish president or even had a serious Jewish candidate for the position, is going to elect a Black man as president in 2008. This group includes many young Blacks who have rarely experienced overt racism and who are often totally unaware of Jesse Jackson’s 1984 run in the Democratic primaries.

A second perspective is held by those Blacks who support Obama because of what they consider his campaign’s symbolic value. “Whether he wins or loses,” they insist, “his campaign is very important symbolically, especially for young Black people.”

Next are those Black folks, probably the largest group, who support Obama mainly or even solely because he is Black. “The fact that he is a Black man running against a White person is enough for me,” is their bottom line position.

[read more in the print edition of the Grand Rapids Times or click here to log in if you have a subscription or want to buy a subscription]

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