January 2, 2021 Racism On Our Southern Border - Documentation of Illegal Acts, Utilization of the Color of Law to Violate Civil Rights - Hundreds of Separated Children's Parents Can't be Located

 

"Inside an old warehouse in South Texas, hundreds of immigrant children wait in a series of cages created by metal fencing. One cage had 20 children inside. Scattered about are bottles of water, bags of chips and large foil sheets intended to serve as blankets."  Fair Use for Non-Profit News Reporting and Education. Photo link and story: https://urbanchristiannews.com/2018/06/immigrant-children-held-in-fenced-areas-inside-border-facility/ 

CHILD DEATHS WHILE IN U.S CUSTODY (as of May 23, 2019)

CBS News Report - Fair Use for Non-Profit News Reporting and Education

"The wave of deaths has led lawmakers to call for an investigation into the medical practices of Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Refugee Resettlement." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/darlyn-valle-what-we-know-about-the-10-year-old-migrant-girl-6th-to-die-in-us-custody/

CHILD SEPARATION - OCT. 21, 2021 AP WIRE AND SNOPES REPORT 

"The children were separated between July 1, 2017, and June 26, 2018, when a federal judge in San Diego ordered that children in government custody be reunited with their parents." 545 children's parents can't be located. https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/10/21/parents-of-545-children-separated-at-border-cant-be-found/

REPORTS

"Racism and the Politics of Fear at the U.S-Mexico Border:" https://www.e-ir.info/2020/07/08/racism-and-the-politics-of-fear-at-the-us-mexico-border/

"Institutional Racism Is Rampant In Immigration Enforcement At The U.S-Mexican Border:"  https://immigrationimpact.com/2020/09/02/mexico-border-racism/#.X_BoNdhKjIU

Long Term Problem, 2014 Report - 

"Everyday violence, structural racism and mistreatment at the US–Mexico border:" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953614001026 

"Understanding Structural (Institutional) Racism in the United States Government"

Historical Disparity - "As early as the Naturalization Act of 1790, America imagined the freed white man as its default citizen. . ." https://www.studioatao.org/post/understanding-structural-racism-in-the-u-s-government

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY OIG REPORT 18-84

Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General Report – Findings indicate law enforcement and administrative officials deceived the OIG in their statements to investigators. However, there was no corrective actions taken in any of the deficiencies or misconduct identified. 

“On June 23, 2018, DHS announced that DHS and HHS had “a central database” containing location information for separated parents and minors that both departments could access and update. However, OIG found no evidence that such a database exists. The OIG team asked several ICE employees, including those involved with DHS’ reunification efforts at ICE Headquarters, if they knew of such a database, and they did not.” Page 10 OIG Report 18-84

DEPRIVATION OF RIGHTS UNDER THE COLOR OF LAW - 18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu)

VIDEOS

VOX - “The dark history of "gasoline baths" at the border. An alarming US border policy forced fumigations on migrants at the US-Mexico border.” (Fair Use for Non-Profit News Reporting and Education)

CBS VIDEO REPORT

Leaked video from inside facility for separated immigrant children.

Juneteenth Celebration in Scottsboro, Alabama - Sponsored by the Scottsboro Boys Museum June 18, 2016

Juneteenth (Fair Use for non-profit news reporting and commentary)

Wikipedia on Juneteenth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth

Library of Congress Story on Juneteenth

Do you know what Juneteenth is?

It is the name for a holiday celebrating June 19, 1865, the day when Union soldiers arrived in Texas and spread the word that President Lincoln had delivered his Emancipation Procalamation. News traveled so slowly in those days that Texas did not hear of Lincoln's Proclamation, which he gave on January 1, 1863, until more than two years after it was issued!

The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." Thus, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. It also expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy that had already come under Northern control. Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory.

Although Juneteenth has been informally celebrated each year since 1865, it wasn't until June 3, 1979, that Texas became the first state to proclaim Emancipation Day (Juneteenth) an official state holiday. But it is much more than a holiday. Juneteenth has become a day for African Americans to celebrate their freedom, culture, and achievements. It is a day for all Americans to celebrate African American history and rejoice in their freedom.       

Video Short featuring Ms. Sheila Washington, Director, Scottsboro Boys Museum. 

(Video by G. Morgan)

VIDEO OF EVENT

Forgotten History and An Impressive Face Book site - "Mighty Girl" with Today's Women Making History

Photo courtesy of "Mighty Girl" Face Book site - which impressed me. Fair use for non-profit news reporting and commentary. https://www.facebook.com/amightygirl/

Forgotten History

16-year-old Sybil Ludington became a hero of the American Revolutionary War. At approximately 9 pm on April 26, 1777, Sybil, the eldest daughter of Colonel Henry Ludington, climbed onto her horse and proceeded to ride 40 miles in order to muster local militia troops in response to a British attack on the town of Danbury, Connecticut -- covering twice the distance that... Paul Revere rode during his famous midnight ride.

Riding all night through rain, Sybil returned home at dawn having given nearly the whole regiment of 400 Colonial troops the order to assemble. While the regiment could not save Danbury from being burned, they joined forces with the Continental Army following the subsequent Battle of Ridgefield and were able to stop the British advance and force their return to their boats.

Following the battle, General George Washington personally thanked Sybil for her service and bravery. Although every American school child knows the story of Paul Revere, unfortunately few are taught about Sybil Ludington's courageous feat and her contribution to war effort.

                                                NANCY WAKE

Ms. Wake - Photo courtesy of "Mighty Girl" Face Book site - which impressed me. Fair use for non-profit news reporting and commentary.  https://www.facebook.com/amightygirl/

British secret agent Nancy Wake was the Allies' most decorated servicewoman of WWII and the Gestapo's most-wanted person. By 1943, the Gestapo had placed a 5 million franc bounty on her head and nicknamed her the "White Mouse" for her ability to elude capture.

Born in New Zealand in 1912, Wake grew up in Australia but ran away from home at the age of 16 to become a nurse and later a journalist. She used an inheritance from an aunt to travel to New York, London, and then to Paris where she worked for a variety of news outlets during the 1930s. She and her husband, Henri Fiocca, were living in Marseille when Germany invaded France, trapping them in the country. Undaunted, Wake became a courier for the Resistance and helped stranded British military personnel escape capture and return to the UK.

When the local resistance network was betrayed in 1943, Wake fled Marseille; her husband remained behind to settle the family business and was captured and executed by the Gestapo after he refused to disclose her location. Wake was herself arrested in Toulouse, but was released four days later when the Gestapo didn’t realize her true identity. From Toulouse, Wake tried five times to escape into neutral Spain, but each of these attempts were thwarted by German patrols. At one point to escape, Wake was forced to hurl herself from a train window while dodging gunfire. Finally, on her sixth attempt Wake was able to cross into Spain while buried in the back of a coal truck.

From Spain, Wake made her way to Britain and was soon recruited by the Special Operations Executive, the British organization focused on conducting espionage and aiding resistance movements in Nazi-occupied territory. Wake distinguished herself in training and parachuted into France in April 1944, less than a year after her daring escape. Wake’s instructions were to help the Resistance to prepare to assist the Allied invasion and she dedicated herself to building up various resistance groups into a cohesive fighting force. With her help, this group of 7,500 French Resistance guerrilla fighters assaulted factories and communications, successfully engaging over 22,000 SS soldiers.

After the war, Wake was honored by Australia, France, Great Britain, and the US for her service. She continued to work as an intelligence officer and also tried her hand at politics. She published her autobiography, “The White Mouse”, and her story was also featured in several TV shows and movies, including a 1987 made for TV movie called “Nancy Wake.” She scoffed at her portrayal in that film, which showed her cooking breakfast and getting romantically involved with another resistance member: “For goodness sake, did the allies parachute me into France to fry eggs and bacon for the men?” she said. “There wasn’t an egg to be had for love nor money, and even if there had been, why would I be frying it when I had men to do that sort of thing?” Wake passed away in London in 2011 at the age of 98
.
Nancy Wake is one of 26 incredible women featured in the excellent book for ages 13 and up, "Women Heroes of World War II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue" at http://www.amightygirl.com/women-heroes-of-world-war-ii

For adult readers, there is also a recent biography about her amazing story: "Nancy Wake: SOE's Greatest Heroine" http://amzn.to/1BGXJZv
A complementary book telling the stories of heroic women of WWI was also recently released: "Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics" at http://www.amightygirl.com/women-heroes-of-world-war-i
T
o learn about another real-life WWII resistance fighter, British special agent Pearl Witherington, check out "Code Name Pauline," for ages 12 and up at http://www.amightygirl.com/code-name-pauline

To learn about more heroic women from throughout history, check out our recent blog post, "Spies, Medics, Soldiers, & Peacemakers: 15 Women Wartime Heroes You Should Know" at http://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11974

Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green "I'm really hoping this can change the way we treat cancer in America,"

Dr. Green - Photo courtesy of "Mighty Girl" Face Book site - which impressed me. Fair use for non-profit news reporting and commentary.  https://www.facebook.com/amightygirl/

Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, one of fewer than 100 black female physicists in the US, was recently awarded a $1.1 million grant to further develop her revolutionary technology that uses laser-activated nanoparticles to treat cancer. "I'm really hoping this can change the way we treat cancer in America," the assistant professor at Morehouse School of Medicine told AL.com. "There are so many people who only get a three-month or six-month survival benefit from the drugs they take. Then three or six months later, they're sent home with no hope, nothing else we can do. Those are the patients I want to try to save, the ones where regular medicine isn't effective for them."

The loss of close family members to the disease fuels Green's drive to find more effective treatments. After the death of her parents, she was raised by an aunt and uncle, both of whom died from cancer. She took time off from school to help her uncle through chemotherapy and says that she "saw first-hand how devastating it was." She adds that her aunt "refused the treatment because she didn't want to experience the side effects. It was heartbreaking, but I could appreciate she wanted to die on her own terms." This experience motivated her to find alternative cancer treatments that don't have the devastating side effects of radiation and chemotherapy.

In addition to pursuing her research, which has received a huge boost by the grant from the Veterans Administration HBCU-Research Scientist Training Program Career Development Award, Green also works to inspire the next generation to follow in her footsteps. Physics is still an overwhelmingly male profession so Green rarely turns down invitations to speaks at schools and nonprofit organizations. "Usually if there is an invitation to speak at a forum like that, I accept it because I feel like it's a responsibility," she says. "There are so few of us (black women in STEM fields) I don't feel like I have the luxury to say I'm too busy."

"There are black female scientists who don't get media exposure," she continues. "Because of that, young black girls don't see those role models as often as they see Beyonce or Nicki Minaj. It's important to know that our brains are capable of more than fashion and entertainment and music, even though arts are important... It takes a village to raise a child. I repeat that because a village of people helped raise me and instill values in me, and encouraged me to get to this point. I did not get here by myself. Because of that clarity, I know my responsibility to encourage and mentor the next generation."

To read more about Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green's research on AL.com, visit http://bit.ly/1OzMZYi
To inspire Mighty Girl of all ages with stories starring girls who love science, visit our blog post, "Ignite Her Curiosity: 25 Books Starring Science-Loving Mighty Girls," at http://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10940

Role models help show Mighty Girls everywhere the possibilities before them -- to introduce your Mighty Girl to real-life female trailblazers in science, arts, and other fields, visit our "Role Models" biography section at http://www.amightygirl.com/books/history-biography/biography

To learn about more pioneering women of science, we highly recommend the new book "Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science -- And The World," for teens and adults alike at http://www.amightygirl.com/headstrong-52-women

And, for our favorite science kits and toys to encourage your own budding scientist from a young age, check out our blog post, "Top 40 Science Toys for Mighty Girls" at http://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10528

Scottsboro Boys Trial Attorneys

Jul 26, 1937- Titled "Enjoying Their Freedom." Byline on reverse of photo reads: Samuel Liebowitz and the 4 youths he defended in the famed Scottsboro case wave farewell as they leave for New York after viewing a movie at Cincinnati. Those freed are Eugene Williams, Roy Wright, Willie Roberson and Olen Montgomery. (original press photo owned  by G. Morgan purchased from Historical Images-Memphis, Tn. May 9, 2012 - ( Fair Use Rule - Photo utilized for non-profit news reporting and commentary))

A bit of information surfaced in last weekend's edition of the Chattanooga Times Free Press regarding the attorneys from Chattanooga involved in the "Scottsboro Boys" case and the physician who examined the alleged victims in the case.

Regarding George Chamblee, Esq., employed by the ILD, International Labor Defense League, to assist Samuel Liebowitz in the Scottsboro Case. "Chamblee, the grandson of a decorated Confederate veteran and member of a prominent Tennessee family, had no trouble with unpopular defendants and causes including Communists and radicals. He represented many moonshiners during the Prohibition era and claimed he had tried more than 800 murder cases with none of his clients being electrocuted or hanged. A graduate of Mercer Law School, he served as Chattanooga city attorney and district attorney general in Hamilton County before becoming involved in Scottsboro."
 http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/opinion/columns/story/2016/feb/28/summers/352089/

African American History Month 2016 - Carter G. Woodson

Carter G. Woodson Image Courtesy of Ancella Bickley Collection, West Virginia State Archives - See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/woodson-carter-g-1875-1950#sthash.qaCD0Cyu.dpuf

February is African American History Month

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.

As a Harvard-trained historian, Carter G. Woodson, like W. E. B. Du Bois before him, believed that truth could not be denied and that reason would prevail over prejudice. His hopes to raise awareness of African American's contributions to civilization was realized when he and the organization he founded, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), conceived and announced Negro History Week in 1925. The event was first celebrated during a week in February 1926 that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The response was overwhelming: Black history clubs sprang up; teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils; and progressive whites, not simply white scholars and philanthropists, stepped forward to endorse the effort.

By the time of Woodson's death in 1950, Negro History Week had become a central part of African American life and substantial progress had been made in bringing more Americans to appreciate the celebration. At mid–century, mayors of cities nationwide issued proclamations noting Negro History Week. The Black Awakening of the 1960s dramatically expanded the consciousness of African Americans about the importance of black history, and the Civil Rights movement focused Americans of all color on the subject of the contributions of African Americans to our history and culture.

The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation's bicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” That year, fifty years after the first celebration, the association held the first African American History Month. By this time, the entire nation had come to recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the American story. Since then each American president has issued African American History Month proclamations. And the association—now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—continues to promote the study of Black history all year.
(Excerpt from an essay by Daryl Michael Scott, Howard University, for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History)

Executive and Legislative Documents

The Law Library of Congress has compiled guides to commemorative observations, including a comprehensive inventory of the Public Laws, Presidential Proclamations and congressional resolutions related to African American History Month.
http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/

Sermon by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Why Jesus Called a Man a Fool" August 27, 1967; The Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Debate and Dr. Derrick Hudson on Dr. King

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Debate



Dr. Derrick Hudson Presentation: "On March 26th, 1964, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X met at the United States Capital to hear deliberations on the Civil Rights Bill being debated by the United States Senate. I was born on March 9, 1964, so I would have been a mere 17 days old when these two men, whose shoulders I stand upon, came face to face with one another..."

"There is a danger in making MLK a mere object of hero-worship. By this we allow his courage to substitute for our fear, his boldness to take the place of our timidity, his radical call to hide our tepid
conformity. If we do this, we shall simply be like the people Brutus describes in the lines following his quote above, where he refers to those who omit to take on the affairs of men at the flood: "Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; and we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures." If, in our current affairs, we allow ourselves to be bound in shallows and miseries instead of taking issues at the flood, we shall simply be angry men and women who live the life of endless, but futile critics..."

Link to the rest of Dr. Hudson's presentation - http://www.mines.edu/UserFiles/File/Hudson.pdf

The Inconvenient Truth - Black American Lynchings and The Use of The "N" Word.

Fair Use for non-profit educational display. 

Story and picture from Face Book

Excerpt taken from the article, "Black Women Lynched in America," photo is of Laura Nelson.

Black American Lynchings and The Use of The "N" Word.

"American mobs lynched some 5000 Black Americans since 1859, scores of whom were women, several of them p...regnant. Rarely did the killers spend time in jail because the white mobs and the government officials who protected them believed justice mean't (just us) white folks. Lynching denied Black American's the right to a trial or the right to due process. No need for a lawyer and a jury of your peers: the white community decided what happened and what ought to be done. After the whites accused Laura Nelson of killing a white deputy In Oklahoma, they raped this Black woman, tied her to a bridge trestle and for good measure, they lynched her son from a telephone pole. Did the white community react in horror after viewing the dangling corpses of Laura Nelson and her son? No, they came by the hundreds, making their way by cars, horse driven wagons, and by foot to view the lynching. Dressed in their Sunday best, holding their children’s hands and hugging their babies, the white on-lookers looked forward to witnessing the spectacle of a modern day crucifixion. They snapped pictures of Laura Nelson, placed them on postcards and mailed them to their friends boasting about the execution. They chopped off the fingers, sliced off the ears of Ms. Holbert, placed the parts in jars of alcohol and displayed them in their windows.

White America today know little or nothing about lynching because it contradicts every value America purports to stand for. Black Americans, too, know far too little about the lynchings because the subject is rarely taught in school. Had they known more about these lynchings, I am almost certain that Black Americans would have taken anyone to task, including gangster rappers, for calling themselves niggers or calling Black women “hoes” and “bitches.” How could anybody in their right mind call these Black women who were sexually abused, mutilated, tortured and mocked the same degrading name spoken by their murderers? What Black woman in her right state of mind would snap her fingers or tap her feet to the beat of a song that contained the same degrading remarks that the whites uttered when they raped and lynched them.

The lynchers and the thousands of gleeful spectators called these Black women niggers when they captured them, niggers when they placed the rope around their necks and niggers when their necks snapped. Whites viewed Black women as hated black things, for, how else can one explain the treatment of Mary Turner? The lynch mob ignored her cries for mercy, ripped off her clothes, tied her ankles together, turned her upside down, doused her naked body with gas and oil, set her naked body on fire, ripped her baby out of her, stomped the child to death and laughed about it. Blacks purchased Winchesters to protect themselves, staged demonstrations, created anti-lynching organizations, pushed for anti-lynching legislation and published articles and books attacking the extralegal violence.

So who are our real heroes? Lil Kim Is not a hero. Oprah is not a hero. Whoopie Goldberg is not a hero. Michael Jordan is not a hero. Dennis Rodman is not a hero. They are entertainers, sport figures, creations of the media, media icons and they are about making huge sums of money and we wish these enterprising stars well. Mary Turner, Laura Nelson, Marie Scott and Jennie Steers and countless others who died painful, horrifying deaths are your true historical heroes. Niggers they were not, bitches they were not and hoes they were not. They will not go down in history for plastering their bodies with tattoos, inventing exotic diets, endorsing Gatorade, embracing studio gangsterism. They were strong beautiful Black women who suffered excruciating pain, died horrible deaths. Their legacy of strength lives on. These are my heroes. Make them yours as well".

Before you even form your mouth again to use the "N" word, please consider the inhumanity behind the origin of the word, consider the history of pain and death tied to that word and vow to never use it again, ever!""

Excerpt taken from the article, "Black Women Lynched in America".
Attached photo is of Laura Nelson. (Fair Use Rights for non-profit education.)

Fair Use Rights for non-profit educational use

We must never forget our history so that we may never repeat our mistakes.

https://henriettavintondavis.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/black-women-who-were-lynched-in-america/

November Was Native American Heritage Month

Trail of Tears -  Cherokee Removal Orders

http://www.genealogytrails.com/ala/jackson/nativeamericans_cherokee.html

In a web portal developed by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, the celebration was proclaimed as “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations were made under variations on the name (including ‘Native American Heritage Month’ and ‘National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month’).

Link - Visit Cherokee Nation https://www.youtube.com/user/cherokeetourismok

Womens Equality Day 2015 - August 26, 2015

Celebrate Equality Day – August 26th is the anniversary of national woman suffrage. Across the seventy-two years between the first major women’s rights conference at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, thousands of people participated in marches through cities like New York and Washington DC, wrote editorials and pamphlets, gave speeches all over the nation, lobbied political organizations, and held demonstrations with the goal of achieving voting rights for women. Women also picketed the White House with questions like, “Mr. President, what are you going to do about woman’s suffrage?” “Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?” This was the first time in history that a group of  women picketed the White House. For more info go to: https://www.nwhm.org/blog/celebrate-equality-day/


Women's Suffrage Timeline


One of my favorite videos on this issue, catchy and helps folks to remember the importance of Womens Suffrage and their fight for voting rights and equality.



A Story of Horror in the History of the United States of America. We must never forget our history so we may never repeat it. http://scottsborostories.blogspot.com/2010/11/93-years-ago-night-of-terror-nov-15.html

Firearms - Race in America - Video and the Police - Training is Important

Asian American and Pacific Islanders History Month - May 2015

From the Smithsonian: "Asian and Pacific Americans make up more than 5% of the U.S. population, over 17 million people—and those numbers are growing. Their ancestral roots represent over 50% of the world, extending from East Asia to Southeast Asia, and from South Asia to the Pacific Islands and Polynesia." The Asian Pacific American Story   The Asian Pacific American Story - http://sites.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibits/asianPacificAmericans/index.htm



The White House Summit on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders - Opening Program

Music Heals the Soul - The Klan, Music and Change - The Story of Daryl Davis and the KKK

Racism and people's hatred may be healed.

This is a true story about a world traveled musician changing the lives of Klansman.

Photo from Daryl Davis, story by Rebecca Savastio published on line at http://guardianlv.com/2013/11/kkk-member-walks-up-to-black-musician-in-bar-but-its-not-a-joke-and-what-happens-next-will-astound-you/#ELL6pI9i9HGSH8k8.99  Fair Use for non-profit Race Relations education and news reporting.

"Daryl Davis is no ordinary musician. He’s played with President Clinton and tours the country playing “burnin’ boogie woogie piano” and sharing musical stylings inspired by greats like Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis. He’s a highly respected and electrifying performer who is currently an integral member of The Legendary Blues Band (formerly known as the Muddy Waters Band,) and he rocks the stage all over the nation...It was 1983 and Davis was playing country western music in an (informally) all-white lounge. He was the only black musician in the place and when his set was over, a man approached him."

At the stories end, Davis tells Ms. Sevastio - “When two enemies are talking they’re not fighting.”

The rest is history, please read more about this marvelous story about people and how music truly soothes the soul. Story link at: http://guardianlv.com/2013/11/kkk-member-walks-up-to-black-musician-in-bar-but-its-not-a-joke-and-what-happens-next-will-astound-you/#ELL6pI9i9HGSH8k8.99 

Daryl Davis's Book

Info on Davis's book from Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Klan-Destine-Relationships-Black-Mans-Odyssey/dp/0882822691

G-MAN Interview

Music of Daryl Davis, oh man, he makes the keys sing.


Changing the Klan

Remembering the Holocaust - Hitlers Racist Model was American in Origins

The Nazis studied intently how the U.S. Government exterminated Native Americans.
http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/american_holocaust_when_its_all_over_ill_still_be_indian/
The Nazis also sent envoys to study the concept of Jim Crow discrimination in the early 1930's.


 The U.S. Holocaust Museum, Days of Remembrance:  http://www.ushmm.org/remember/days-of-remembrance



Photos - http://www.ushmm.org/

Womens History Month - March 2015

"“Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives” is the theme for National Women’s History Month 2015.
The theme presents the opportunity to weave women’s stories – individually and collectively – into the essential fabric of our nation’s history." Brochure - http://www.nwhp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015_brochure.pdf

IN HONOR OF WOMEN HISTORY MONTH 2015 Inspirational Quotes By Famous Women

Secretary of the Air Force: Women's History Month

Deaf Women History Month - 2015

Black History Month 2015

Why Do We Need Black History Month?

EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE - "CONFRONTING  THE LEGACY OF RACIAL TERROR"
An Alabama-based racial justice group is courting controversy for its plan to mark the locations where white mobs hung African-American men, women and children from trees and telephone poles in southern U.S. states for more than 70 years. The Equal Justice Initiative has compiled an inventory of 3,959 victims of “racial terror lynchings” that occurred in 12 Southern states from 1877 to 1950.
http://www.ibtimes.com/black-history-month-2015-racial-justice-group-plans-mark-thousands-sites-where-blacks-1811260

From the report - "...racial terror lynching was much more prevalent than previously reported."  http://www.eji.org/files/EJI%20Lynching%20in%20America%20SUMMARY.pdf

African American Lynching Victims by State, 1877-1950
Alabama 326
Arkansas 503
Florida 331
Georgia 586
Kentucky 154
Louisiana 540
Mississippi 576
North Carolina 102
South Carolina 164
Tennessee 225
Texas 376
Virginia 76
Total 3959

Lynchings were not restricted to the south as shown by this 1930 lynching in Marion, Indiana.

            
   SCOTTSBORO BOYS MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER

(photo by G. Morgan)

Every Sunday in February - The Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center will present programs begining at 2:30 pm.  Presented in the community where the Civil Rights era as we know it today began in America. Experience historically significant events from nationally known writers and speakers. Location and directions: 428 W. Willow St., Scottsboro, Al., 35768

Eric Garner being strangled to death by NYC Police (fair use for non-profit news reporting - photo by Ramsey Orta, video )

A discussion on Race & Police: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/police-reasonable-force-brutality-race-research-review-statistics#

A couple of other takes from Black Folk.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech at Stanford University, April 16, 1967 - "The Other America"

Martin Luther King's Final Speech: 'I've Been to the Mountaintop' 

MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 3, 1968  http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/martin-luther-kings-final-speech-ive-mountaintop-full/story?id=18872817

Local Event

Scottsboro, Alabama -  Dr. Thomas Reidy, professor at the University of Alabama Huntsville will be the  guest speaker at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Commemoration to be held on January 19 [2015] at the Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center.  http://www.theclarion.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8882:dr-thomas-reidy-to-speak-at-mlk-day-commemoration&catid=42:clarion-rotation-stories&Itemid=142

The King Center, Atlanta Georgia
Archives of the King Center: http://thekingcenter.org/archive

 Wiki History on Dr. King

2014 American Indian Heritage Month

Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute Poster for 2014

The Society of American Indian Government Employees (SAIGE) developed the theme for this year’s National American Indian Heritage Month observance products: “Native Pride and Spirit: Yesterday, Today and Forever.”

Mr. Robert Brown, DEOMI (Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute) illustrator, describes the artistic design of this year’s National American Indian Heritage Month Observance poster: “A people and their culture are often preserved and communicated through artifacts, ancient writing and art. I felt the featured items were inspiring representatives of the rich and lasting history of American Indian and Native Alaskan culture. The top and bottom borders were taken from a pictorial notation of an Ojibwa music board found in the archives of the Library of Congress. The bird carving from a single piece of wood is a rare war helmet from the Tlingit people of southeast Alaska. The helmet, rediscovered in December 2013 in the Springfield Science Museum archives, is one of approximately only 95 left in existence today. Beginning as protection for Tlingit warriors in battle, war helmets today serve the Tlingit as healing reminders of their rich and ancient history,” said Mr. Brown.

In accordance with Public Law 101-343, National American Indian Heritage Month honors the many contributions and accomplishments of American Indians and Alaska Natives. During November, we remember the legacy of the first Americans and celebrate their vibrant culture and heritage. Since the Revolutionary War, Native Americans and Alaska Natives have played a vital role in our country’s freedom and security. They proudly serve in all departments of the United States Government today.

From the Aleutian Islands to the Florida Everglades, American Indians and Alaska Natives have contributed immensely to our country's heritage. During National American Indian Heritage Month, we commemorate their enduring achievements and reaffirm the vital role American Indians and Alaska Natives play in enriching the character of our Nation.

In 1976, the United States’ bicentennial year, Congress passed a resolution authorizing President Ford to proclaim a week in October as “Native American Awareness Week.” On October 8, 1976, he issued his presidential proclamation doing so. Since then, Congress and the President have observed a day, a week or a month in honor of the American Indian and Alaska Native people. And while the proclamations do not set a national theme for the observance, they do allow each federal department and agency to develop their own ways of celebrating and honoring the nation’s American Indian heritage.

Life of the Law Presentation on The Scottsboro Trials - Emphasis on Clarence Norris, By Ashley Cleek, NPR

Scottsboro Defendants Under Guard. Photo-Fair Use for non-profit education and news.

Clarence Norris 

(photo-Fair Use for non-profit education and news reporting, source unknown)

In The Name Of The Father

 Listen:- https://www.lifeofthelaw.org/2014/10/inthenameofthefather/

THE LIFE OF THE LAW SERIES

"“A posthumous pardon causes people to think about the next case,” says John Miller, a lawyer and professor at the University of Alabama, who helped write the Scottsboro Boys Act.

   Miller was not pleased by all the loopholes, but he says, the Act isn’t simply a symbolic, feel-good moment for Alabama.

   “Are we going to [do] better by the next group of people that are brought up on charges when the evidence looks a little thin and when they come from a background that is not like that of the people sitting in the jury box or the prosecution sitting across the courtroom,” questions Miller.

   Clarence Norris Jr. was the only family member of the Scottsboro Boys to attend the pardoning. Norris feels responsible for his father’s memory and a lack of resolution. While learning about the case, Norris discovered that in the 1982, his father had petitioned the state of Alabama for reparations — 10,000 dollars in compensation for wrongful incarceration.

   “When I found that [my father] had tried and failed, I felt like this is something that I need to finish for him,” Norris explains. “Even though he is not here to benefit from it. I feel like [the state of Alabama] still owes him.”

   In Alabama, a wrongful conviction can be awarded $50,000 for every year of prison. So Norris and his sisters hired a lawyer and filed a case against the state of Alabama for $750,000 in reparations. They are the only family of all nine Scottsboro Boys who can be found.

   States across the U.S. address reparations differently. Alabama is one of only 17 states that have mandated a fixed amount per year of wrongful incarceration. But, in Alabama, the process of petitioning for reparations is strict. Only two people have ever received compensation.  According to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office the statute of limitations for reparations for Clarence Norris, has passed. Even the language of the very Scottsboro Boys Act says that a posthumous pardon cannot be used as evidence that the state owes anyone reparations." For more on this story go to:   http://www.lifeofthelaw.org/inthenameofthefather/  (Fair use rights for non-profit education and news reporting.)

DENIAL OF TRUTH, INJUSTICE, GLORY SEEKERS and MURDER

There is one problem with this article - Ms. Washington did not collect all of the pictures, nor memorabilia, many contributed in building the museum and the multi-cultural foundation. The full truth has not been told about the pardon, there was more that could have been accomplished. 

This writer believes the pardon should have been the way and means to establish a Race Relations state schools education program or to increase funding for indigent defense.

Alabama incarcerates minority peoples and the poor many times over the influential and white majority. 

Only through education may racial prejudices be overcame that have been taught and encouraged via peer pressure, in families and in the local culture. The state and it's glory seeking politicians have refused to put their money where it counts. Those supporting the pardon have failed to realize that there is a cure for the disease of racism through education. Apparently some are afraid that the cure might change the face of our future for the betterment of our culture.

Then, there is the other story which goes to the very heart and soul of Jackson County Alabama and the injustice of racism and those who make a stand against wrongful conduct and social injustice. The Murder of Sheriff Matt Wann, hopefully Ms. Cleek will revisit that issue in her investigations. 

The bottom line for that story is this - Shh, we have secrets and we do not want to tell the truth about our murdered Sheriff.. 

After research, study of local cuture, and inquiries, I believe Sheriff Wann was murdered because of his not allowing the Scottsboro Defendants to be lynched by the Klan mob. Motive - revenge for foiling the lynching. The lack of prosecution and allowing the escape of the alleged murderer of Sheriff Wann points to a crime which has not been prosecuted. The murder was a conspiracy involving Klan members, other law enforcement along with political officials of the time. 

http://scottsborostories.blogspot.com/2010/10/sheriff-matt-wann-brave-man-and-untold.html

An Ode to a Sheriff from "The Odes" in part,

A story of an Odd Fellow from the heart.

*

The restless wings of time hath brought

the parting moment near.

The bell that tolls the midnight chime,

will knell a glorious day-

The memory of a forgotten time,

shall never fade away.

.

Farewell ye Brothers true and bold!

This day to you shall be.

O'er prejudice and slander old;

The Day of Victory;

And they who barr'd our infant way

Shall cheer our mighty youth,

And own the noble power to-day,

Of Friendship, Love and Truth.

.

The story of Matt Wann is told,

So the "Pale Face" may n'er agin be so bold,

Thus-this story of murder is told.

Poem by Garry Morgan in part and in part from the Odd Fellows, "The Odes". 

The poem represents a murder and the lack of prosecution by past elements of our local society which supported the action of the Ku Klux Klan - the "pale face." 

Past unresolved criminal acts and racism sets the stage for current cultural exclusion of those who do not agree with status quo political extremism and facilitates threatening behaviors and harassment in today's local culture from political extremists.

It was and is through Federal Law such as the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts that racial discrimination was prosecuted. There is an element of political neo-fascist extremists who are attempting to end the advancements of the Civil Rights Movement. Glory seeking does not resolve the age old problems of the Culture War which continues today.

University of Alabama - Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility and the Scottsboro Boys Museum - Questions, Change of Focus Needed?

Photo of Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center by G. Morgan

Photo of the Scottsboro Defendants guarded by National Guard Troops. (Fair Usage rights for non-profit news reporting.)

Sep. 11, 2014 - Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility

Article by Olivia Grider

Headline - "UA students play crucial roles in raising awareness of – and rectifying – an 80-year-old case of injustice"

Byline - Through the Scottsboro Boys Museum University-Community Partnership and service-learning courses, students contribute to the museum and history in numerous ways.

Excerpts from article (Fair usage for non-profit news reporting) "In 2010, when Jennifer Barnett, a UA graduate student in women’s studies, mentioned to one of her professors an oral-history interview she was doing with Shelia Washington, the chairperson of the newly formed Scottsboro Boys Museum & Cultural Center, she was unaware she was setting in motion a series of events that would reignite the decades-old case... Tom Reidy, a student who was working toward his doctorate degree in history, played a crucial role in achieving the pardons. Spears invited him to join the team partnering with the Scottsboro Boys Museum in early 2011. While working on the travel guide and the history section of a grant proposal, he became friends with Washington, whose dream was to procure pardons for the Scottsboro Boys...Spears said students shaped history in two ways. “They dug up research and helped to write the history, producing usable contributions to remembering this iconic moment of Jim Crow history in the American South,” she said. “They also helped facilitate a legal change – the real, practical, public-policy effect of clearing these men’s names in the legal record...Reidy and Washington met multiple times with members of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles and with state senators and representatives, eventually negotiating legislation that would make that dream a reality.”  http://cesr.ua.edu/ua-students-play-crucial-roles-in-raising-awareness-of-and-rectifying-an-80-year-old-case-of-injustice/

Dr. Ellen Spears makes presentation at the Scottsboro Boys Museum (photo by G. Morgan)

The understanding of racial prejudice, racial and sexual discrimination, institutional racism and how it affects our nation then and today is necessary if we are to overcome the sickness of racism and its debilitating economic consequences. The Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center may be utilized as an institution to accomplish that goal, but will it?

Students at U of A have contributed much and are recognized, but until there is an effort to place forward educational programs in our public school system the sickness of racism will not be resolved in our nation, state or locally.

Is the mission of the foundation, museum and the University of Alabama's New School recognition and glory; or serve and assist as an educational facility to participate in resolving the age old sickness of racism? Maybe the current goal is to build educational resources for the needed mission, if that is the current goal it is not stated as such and should be stated publically. That is not saying recognition is not important, it is, particularly when there is a need for financial backing for programs.

Scottsboro Boys Museum Mission Statement from their web-site: "The Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center commemorates the lives and legacy of nine young African Americans who, in the 1930s, became international symbols of race-based injustice in the American South, and celebrates the positive actions of those of all colors, creeds and origins who have taken a stand against the tyranny of racial oppression. We are committed to advancing reconciliation and healing, and promoting civil rights and an appreciation of cultural diversity worldwide." http://www.scottsboro-boys.org/aboutus.html  The last sentence is important as this is where education enters into the museum's mission.

Thus far, it seems recognition and glory have been the primary focus, when will the focus change to addressing personal and institutional racism in our local, state and national culture? If the goal of the University of Alabama's participation in the museum is to build it into an educational facility to assist in overcoming years of racism and Jim Crow Practice it should be stated directly and publically.

Personally, I think the underlying sickness of the disease prevents meaningful change. An opportunity was missed in the pardon act process to fund race relations education in Alabama or to increase indigent legal defense funding. The Republican administration was "drooling all over themselves" to prove they are not bigots with the pardon, this was a missed opportunity to facilitate change instead of supporting political glory seeking. Missed opportunities should be a lesson learned, but is that the case?

Adequate legal defense of the poor in our courts has never been an expressed goal of our Alabama Justice System. Prison slavery is needed to continue the prison industry. The majority of prisoners in Alabama's correctional facilities are black. It is evident racial discrimination is practiced in our communities and justice system in Alabama. The problem with Alabama Corrections: http://www.vice.com/read/the-horrific-state-of-alabamas-prisons  Alabama prison slavery is a problem for another day. Ending racial/sexual discrimination via education is a problem with solutions for the here and now.

Will the University of Alabama New School learn THEIR lessons of history?

Many people have participated to insure the museum's successful beginnings, notable participants and founders are Mrs. Kim Spears and Dr. Gary Spears, far right in photo.  (photo by G. Morgan)