Don Lemon made the headlines, but Georgia Fort’s arrest shows no journalist is safe
By Stacy M Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
Georgia Fort and Don Lemon
Famed journalist Don Lemon may draw the headlines, but Emmy-winning independent reporter Georgia Fort and Trahem Jenn Crews and Jamael Lydell Lundy were also taken into custody as federal agents moved against four Black journalists whose only apparent offense was documenting protests critical of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown
See Don Lemon, p 6
New Postal Service rule could quietly void ballots and delay healthcare
By Stacy M Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
A quiet clarification by the United States Postal Service is drawing renewed scrutiny after health care advocates and voting rights observers warned that the change could carry serious consequences for millions of Americans who rely on postmarks to meet legal deadlines
See New Postal Service Rule, p 6 Why Black History Month matters at 100 more than ever
By Shannon Dawson NewsOne
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Black History Month As we reflect on our stories, this centennial is not only a moment of celebration but a call to urgency, a reminder that protecting, preserving, and uplifting Black history matters now more than ever Let s take a look back at how we got here and why this year carries such deep significance
See Black History Month, p 6
Alabama Prison Documentary
‘The Alabama Solution’ earns Oscar Nomination
By Lisa Crane | WVTM | The Birmingham Times
Alabama s prisons
A documentary that puts Alabama prisons in the spotlight is now in the running for one of the most wellknown prestigious awards in Hollywood an Oscar Nominees for the 98th Academy Awards were announced Thursday The Alabama Solution is one of five films nominated in the documentary feature film category
See Alabama Prison, p 6
Mayor Cor ey Cockr ell and Eutaw City Council hold meetings
By John Zippert, Co-Publisher
This is a report of the Eutaw City Council regular meeting on January 27 2026 and a Community Informational Meeting the next day on January 28 2026 also at Eutaw City Hall
The January 27th meeting of the Eutaw City Council dealt with routine business The Council approved a 020 Restaurant Retail Liquor License for Main Street Grill Representatives of Main StreetGrill were present and thanked the Council for its support
The Eutaw City Council also agreed to approve payments for required training courses provided on online for the Mayor and
Greene County
Council members The Council also approved a $200 registration fee for Councilwoman Carrie Logan to attend the National League of Cities Conference in Washington
D C On March 16-18
2026 Later in the meeting the Council approved registration and travel expenses if other council members wanted to attend this NLC Conference
The Eutaw City Council reappointed James Powell to the Eutaw Housing Board They also approved payment of monthly bills
Mayor Cockrell in his report recognized Julia Carter, the new Water Clerk, who will be handling billing and collection for the Water Department The Mayor also explained he was working on steps to
improve the conditions of the City Hall, tennis courts, National Guard Armory and Robert H Young Community Center (formerly Carver School) and other City owned facilities so they could be fully utilized by city residents
The January 28, 2026 Community Meeting, was one of several that the Mayor has set up around the city to provide information to residents, most of the City Council members also attended this meeting
The first item on the agenda dealt with the operation of the Water Department The Mayor asked anyone with complaints about the quality of water, coloration, or billing to contact him and the Water Department in City Hall to correct the problems Pay-
ment plans can be developed for high water bills, caused by leaks Insurance is also available, at moderate cost, to cover leaks on the resident s side of the meters Mayor Cockrell urged everyone to pay their water bills on time to avoid late charges, and allow the system to operate properly
The next agenda item concerned improving the community appearance by not littering and not putting furniture appliances electronic devices or other large materials by the side of the road The Mayor said the City was arranging a schedule to pick up furniture and other large items
See City Council, p 2
W illiam Mack a candidate for Gr eene County Commissioner, District 3
My name is William Mack and I am a candidate for Greene County Com-
missioner, District 3 I have been married for 16 years to Rosie Mack We have four children and 3 grandchildren I attended school at Caver High School I furthered my education in Detroit Michigan at Old Eastern High School Later on I obtained my Associate degree at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary After become a minister, I worked for Mac’s Trucking Co , in which we built Highway & Express way for 39 years I am now a re-
Tennyson Smith announces candidacy for r e-election for Commissioner, District #2
To the Citizens of Greene County and Voter of District 2 When I took the oath of an elected official years ago I pledged to do my best to help improve Greene County and District
2 Today, I am pleased to say I have done my best to uphold that pledge Each
decision and vote were made with you, the citizens, and voter of District 2, in mind I am seeking reelection as Greene County Commissioner of District 2 in the May 19, 2026 Primary Election
*I am dedicated to the task that is before me
*I am available to you whenever you need me
* I operate an OpenDoor Policy; no appointment is needed to see me
*I will continue to return each of your calls an check on and resolve all concerns and problems Vote to re-elect experienced, Knowledgeable and Ready to Serve!
tired CME Pastor I drive school bus for the Greene County Board of Education I am running because I believe our community deserves leadership that is honest, accountable, and truly committed to serving the people As a Pastor and lifelong servant of the community I understand the importance of listening, standing up for what’s right and working together to build a stronger future for our county My mission is to advocate for our families and improve our infrastructure
support economic growth, and ensure that every voice is District 3 is heard and respected I believe in leadership rooted in faith integrity, and service -not politics as usual I humbly ask for your support and your vote as we work together to move Greene County forward Vote William Mack for Greene County Commissioner District 3 together
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Roshanda Summer ville seeking r e-election for Commissioner, District 5
I am Roshanda Summerville and I am seeking reelection for Greene County Commissioner of District 5 I ask the Citizens of Greene County, District 5, For your continued and unwavering support You have a representative who has always been dedicated to serving the people of District 5 and all of Greene County Together Let keep progress working for you On May 19, 2026 vote and re-elect Roshanda Summerville, Commissioner of District 5 PROVEN
Eutaw PD two ar r ests, Gr eene Co. Sherif f Depar tment two ar r ests; many incidents
The Eutaw Police Department reported the following arrests
1/23-Phillip Williams of Mississippi was arrested for public intoxication, disorderly conduct and robbery 3rd degree
1/29- Arington McDowell of Eutaw was arrested for robbery 1st degree
The Eutaw Police Department reported the following incidents
1/29-Greene County Hospital (Roderick Williams CEO) of Eutaw reported disorderly conduct
1/30-Piggly Wiggly (Ernie Halper manager) of Eutaw reported theft of property 4th degree Greene County Sheriff Department reported the following arrests 1/26- Trevaris Turman 31 of Eutaw, was arrested for theft of property 4th degree 1/27- Jerome Hughes 34, of Eutaw, was arrested for disorderly conduct He was released on a bond of $1,000 01/26/2026 J a s o n Taylor of Palace Live
4, 2026
History Lessons For Today
She said don’t stand on my shoulders Get down and do your own marching Build your strength in the Movement
So you can lift and carry me over
Mantras of the previous generation: We Aint Gonna Take It No More, We Shall Overcome, Black Power What will fuel the urgency of Leadership today
The revolution won’t be televised But now we know it will go digital So what stands, what actions will We flash across the globe.
We are grounded in community When we are absent and others Miss us besides our family
Carol Prejean Zippert
City Council
Before
The
Mrs Jennifer Davis Gardner September 3, 1979February 3, 2026
Mrs Jennifer Davis Gardner of Forkland, Alabama entered into eternal rest February 3, 2026 at Hunter Creek Health and Rehabilitation Northport, Alabama Funeral services for Mrs Jennifer Davis Gardner will be held Sunday February 8 2026 at 1:30 p m from Lloyd Chapel Baptist Church Forkland, Alabama Interment will follow in Mr Thomas Hall February 27, 1935January 25, 2026
Mr Thomas Hall of Forkland Alabama entered into eternal rest January 25,2026 at Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital Homewood Alabama Funeral services for Mr Thomas Hall were held Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 3:30 p m from Ebenezer Baptist Church Forkland Alabama Interment followed in the adjoining churchyard cemetery Larkin and Scott
March 2-
GIANT KILLERS: MORE THAN TWO (2) BILLION DOLLARS FOR CLIENTS
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Don’t
Poetry
Pine Grove Baptist Church Sixteen Section Road will host their Pastor ’ 16th Pastorial Anniversary at 2:00 p m Reverend Jessie White, Pastor of the Trinty Baptist Church Alilceville AL will be the guest speaker The public is invited Rev Derrick Wright is Church Pastor
GCHS scholar s completed cour se with Skills for Success pr og r am
Congratulations to the following Health Science students who successfully completed the Mental Health Worker course through the Skills for Success program in partnership with Wallace Community College Selma:
Laila Coleman
Lai’Necia Peebles
DeLandria Turner
Anya Jones
We are proud of your dedication, hard work, and commitment to serving others in the health field!
Car eer Pr ep Class pr epar e for futur e
Mrs TK Hill’s Career Prep class recently dressed professionally as part of an activity to help students learn how to present themselves for interviews and other professional events It was great to see students step into a professional mindset and practice skills that will prepare them for future success
ANNOUNCEMENT
MACEDONIA CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF BOLIGEE, AL WILL BE HAVING ITS ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY PROGRAM ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2026 AT 2 P M MR DANNY STEELE, OWNER OF VAN HOOSE AND STEELE FUNERAL IN TUSCALOOSA, AL AND A MEMBER OF BAILEY TABERNACLE CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF TUSCALOOSA, AL IS THE GUEST SPEAKER BAILEY C M E MALE CHORUS IS THE GUEST CHOIR WE WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENCE AS WE CELEBRATE “A CENTURY OF BLACK HISTORY COMMEMORATIONS ” HONORING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CELEBRATION FOUNDED BY DR CARTER G WOODSON IN 1926 DINNER WILL BE SERVED REV JAMES WILSON, PASTOR
“Your Personalize Florist” 207 Boligee Street Eutaw, Alabama 205-372-5444
Call Now or Stop In Place Your Order Early OPEN Friday Feb 13th and Saturday Feb 14th All Day 7 a m until Fresh flowers Arrangement Dish Garden Plant Rose * Ballons * Candy Stuff Animals * Daily Delivery
This Valentine’s Day, Greene County Nursing Home is inviting our community to help us bring smiles, comfort, and joy to the residents we care for every day A simple card or small gift can make a big difference and remind our residents just how loved they are
We are accepting donations of:
• Valentine’s Day cards
• Stuffed animals
• Regular and sugar-free candy Drop Off Location Greene County Nursing Home Lobby Deadline: Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 3:00 PM Mail In Option Greene County Nursing Home 509 Wilson Avenue Eutaw, AL 35462 For More Information
Andrea Woods, Marketing Director 205 372 3388 ext 131 andrea woods@g cheutaw com
Cong r atulation
We are proud to announce that Haley Noland a 2020 graduate of Greene County High School has completed her studies with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Food Science from AAMCU Huntsville, Al on December 12, 2025 She is the daughter of James & Opal Gaines and Alfonzo Noland Congratultions Haley, We Love You
Phone: 205-372-3373
Fax: 205-372-2243
Website:greenecodemocrat
Immig r ation enfor cement a buses ar e under mining public safety. T he National Urban Lea gue's 21 Pillar s can r estor e it
by Marc H Morial, President
and CEO, National Urban League
(TriceEdneyWire com) -
“Officers in unmarked cars and masks are indiscriminately arresting people based on the language they speak or the color of their skin They re detaining U S citizens! Even folks without criminal records
They’re disregarding Americans’ constitutional rights and throwing due process to the wind This is NOT what a safe city looks like: Kids are terrified to go to school Families can t go to the grocery store It s horrifying ” – Senator John Hickenlooper A violent death at the hands of law enforcement An official account riddled with falsehoods, clearly contradicted by video evidence A citizen uprising against injustice and brutality
Nearly six years after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police inspired a nationwide reckoning on civil and human rights, history appears to be repeating itself with the fatal shooting of Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti by immigration enforcement agents
Law enforcement doesn’t have to look like this In the wake of Floyd murder, the National Urban League developed 21 Pillars for Redefining Public Safety and Restoring Community Trust a framework for criminal justice advocacy Each of the 21 Pillars addresses one of five goals –goals that current immigration enforcement agencies not only fail to meet but are actively undermining:
• C o l l a b o r a t i o n with communities to build a restorative system
•Accountability
•Reform of divisive policies
• T r a n s p a r e n c y ,
Black student loan default r ate five times higher than W hites
By Charlene Crowell (TriceEdneyWire com)
On behalf of the nearly 9 million people who are now in default on their student loans a coalition of advocates from consumer, civil rights, and education organizations are appealing to the federal Education Department to halt its plans to begin garnishing borrower wages this month
Default status connotes borrowers are 270 days or more behind on their payments
-
reporting, and data collection
•Improved hiring standards and training
The aggressive and confrontational tactics of federal immigration agents undermine both the fairness and effectiveness of the immigration system and make communities less safe Adoption of the 21 Pillars framework would transform the relationship between immigrant communities and immigration enforcement agencies and restore public safety
Collaboration: The Program, which deputizes local police as immigration agents, damages longstanding trustbuilding strategies that help reduce crime Fear of deportation deters immigrants from calling 911, seeking medical care, or sending children to school Local law enforcement authorities say this fear makes their jobs harder and compromises their ability to detect and prevent crime
Law enforcement depends on cooperation from victims and witnesses
When that cooperation collapses, crime increases, offenders go unpunished, and public safety declines for everyone
Accountability: Immigration enforcement agents concealing their identities behind masks undermine due process and equal protection by preventing individuals from verifying the legitimacy of arrests and seeking justice for abuse 21 Pillars calls for robust policies and procedures to investigate misconduct and enforce d i s c i p l i n a r y standards The Trump administration has barred state and local authorities from reviewing evidence related to Pretti s death and is itself conducting only a cursory review of the shooting Meanwhile, the administration has eliminated personnel responsible for investigating abuses within the agency and restricted congressional oversight of ICE detention As outlined in 21 Pillars civilian review boards, body worn cameras, mandatory officer identification, and full public reporting of critical incidents would bring accountability to a far-too opaque system
defaulted borrowers, who are disproportionately seniors and Black borrowers wrote the coalition In fact, of the borrowers already in default roughly a third of them are older borrowers Black graduates are additionally five times more likely to default than their white peers ”
Additionally, and according to Protect Borrowers nearly two-thirds of the borrowers who defaulted during the Trump Administration more than 2 6 million people live in states that President Trump won in the 2024 election Among the states most severely affected were Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and Texas each of which saw 100 000 or more borrowers default last year
C i t i n g new research from Protect Borrowers formerly the Student Borrower Protection Center, the coalition advised Education Secretary Linda McMahon in a January 7 letter that a new student loan default occurred every nine seconds in 2025 That escalating rate is unprecedented and is nearly three times worse than in 2019the year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic
Further according to the advocates, the Trump administration’s student loan policies are disproportionately harming Black and older borrowers Signing the joint letter of appeal were: Protect Borrowers, American Federation of Teachers the Debt Collective, NAACP, National Education Association, the Student Debt Crisis Center, and Young Invincibles Research shows that involuntary collections only exacerbate the economic challenges faced by
“The decision to resume wage garnishment against millions of borrowers amidst a growing affordability crisis crushing working families is calloused and unnecessary continued the coalition
“The decision also comes at a time when struggling borrowers have been forced to wait amidst a nearly 1 million application backlog to enroll in an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan and as mass layoffs at the Department have made it even harder for borrowers to get help with their student loans or if they are experiencing issues with their student loan servicer ”
For Derrick Johnson President and CEO of the NAACP, the nation s oldest civil rights organization, the Trump administration policies are about financial rights
By garnishing wages for defaulted student loan borrowers the Trump Ad-
ministration will only deepen financial hardship for working families and disproportionately harm Black borrowers,” said Johnson “Millions are already struggling with rising costs and economic uncertainty, and stripping wages will only push families further into financial crisis
Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers agreed with Johnson: “This is not about borrowers responsibility; it s outright hostility to the young people trying to get ahead The Trump Administration is choosing to squeeze teachers, nurses and others while prices are increasing and families are struggling to stay afloat ripping away wages and tax refunds when people need them most ”
A fact sheet developed by the Center for Responsible Lending tracks key 2025 policy decisions that summarize the Education Department’s actions taken against student loan borrowers These include:
•In March 2025, the Department cut nearly half its workforce with the Federal Student Aid office and Office for Civil Rights among the hardest hit With Federal Student Aid’s servicing and community outreach infrastructures dismantled, systemic servicing errors are less likely to be caught or corrected leaving borrowers with fewer avenues for help just as major loan policy changes are being rolled out
•In May 2025, the Department reinstated the Treasury Offset Program allowing the government to seize tax refunds from borrowers in default
On August 1, 2025, the Department of Education restarted interest accrual for borrowers with Department of Education loans in the SAVE forbearance Since 2023 SAVE’s unpaid interest shielded borrowers from balance growth With that protection gone borrowers’ balances will now grow during this forbearance and may keep rising if monthly payments do not fully cover accrued interest This shift makes repayment harder and adds long-term uncertainty for more than 7 million borrowers
Beginning July 1 2026 parents who take out new Parent PLUS loans will no longer be eligible for any income-driven repayment plan That means no access to income-contingent repayment (ICR) or repayment assistance plan (RAP) leaving the standard repayment plan as their only choice Borrowers with existing Parent PLUS loans can preserve access to ICR if they consolidate their loans before the July 1, 2026, deadline “As safeguards are rolled back and oversight weakens, borrowers face growing balances and greater financial strain, making it urgent to press for stronger policies that preserve the promise of higher education as a pathway to opportunity,” concluded CRL
Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending She can be reached at Charlene crowell@res p o n s i b l e l e n d i n g o r g data-linkindex="3">Charlene crowell@responsiblelending org
NNPA stands with Geor gia For t, Don Lemon, and all ar r ested, and demands all char ges be dr opped
By: Benjamin Chavis, President, National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)
Insert photo: Ben Chavis History has a way of repeating itself Today, it rhymes with the clicking of handcuffs on two of our own: Don Lemon and Georgia Fort
We know this playbook We saw it in 1942 when the Department of Justice threatened John Sengstacke and the NNPA with sedition We saw it in the 1960s when Southern sheriffs labeled journalists outside agitators to hide their own brutality
The strategy hasn’t changed only the statutes have By weaponizing the
FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act to turn reporters into conspirators, this government is attempting to resurrect the same walls of silence that the Black Press has spent two centuries tearing down There is a bitter, hollow irony in seeing the KKK Act a law forged during Reconstruction to protect Black lives from white terror now being used to prosecute Black journalists for the crime of holding a camera When federal agents arrived at Georgia Fort’s door while her children were watching, they are sending a message to every independent journalist of color: your camera is a liability and your witness is a crime In 1918, when the government tried to use the Espionage Act to muzzle W E B Du Bois he looked
them in the eye and said: The right of the people to speak and to print is a right which no government in a democracy can safely take away ” He knew then what we must remember now: you cannot build a democracy by arresting its witnesses Dr Du Bois taught us that the Black Press is the only press that is “really free” because it refuses to be owned by the powerful He called this work the voice of the voiceless We, the NNPA, stand with Georgia Fort Don Lemon and all those arrested We demand these charges be dropped immediately We close with Du Bois’s eternal warning: “If the government thinks it can silence our complaints, it is making a mistake ” And we shall not be moved
Reform of divisive policies: In addition to the use of masks to conceal agents’ identities immigration enforcement is further undermining public trust and community safety with the use of racial profiling, aggressive militarized tactics and indiscriminate use of excessive force At least eight people have been killed by federal immigration agents or died in custody in the first month of 2026 alone An overwhelming of Americans say it s unacceptable for agents to use people’s appearance or the language they speak as a reason to check their immigration status and a clear majority believe immigration enforcement is too aggressive Increasingly, enforcement has focused on people who have no criminal history diverting resources away from those who pose actual publicsafety risks
Transparency reporting and data collection: Federal immigration authorities have a pattern of limited transparency and slow or incomplete accountability around ICE useofforce and public arrests, while regularly withholding records including useofforce reports requiring FOIA litigation to obtain even basic information Only with complete and transparent data cand policymakers and oversight agencies detect deviations, correct course, and hold the agency accountable for both errors and abuses
Improved hiring standards and training: A recent viral account of a journalist s experience revealed just how lax hiring procedures are for immigration enforcement The reporter was offered a job following a six-minute interview without a single signature on agency paperwork The Trump administration has relaxed hiring and training standards and even used white nationalist imagery and language in recruiting Stringent background checks, higher recruiting standards screened and thorough training will result in fewer dangerous raids unlawful arrests and unjustified incidents of excessive force
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 following the September 11 attacks combined the functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the United States Customs Service under a new agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Its primary responsibility is “to preserve national security and public safety " The current policies and practices of the agency serve only to endanger public safety and terrorize communities Adoption of 21 Pillars would allow the agency to fulfill its mission effectively efficiently and humanely
Remembering the American Revolution: Lessons for today
by Ben Jealous (TriceEdneyWire com)
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In Minnesota this winter amid the steady stream of grim headlines out of Minneapolis, one story barely made it beyond Duluth’s city limits The Duluth News Tribune and other regional outlets are inviting residents to dig into the city’s archives retell old stories, and share plans for America s upcoming 250th anniversary Town halls are discussing parades Local museums are planning exhibits Families are marking the milestone in small, thoughtful ways Amid the snow and long nights there is a quiet insistence on remembering, on telling the stories that matter And yet not far away the news tells of lives ended, of authority deployed without accountability, of neighbors afraid to act The contrast is sharp It is both a blessing and a wound
This year, as America approaches its 250th anniversary the circumstances that led our ancestors to rebel feel more familiar than they should Standing armies enforcing laws without consent Violence meted out without accountability Ordinary people afraid to act And yet like the colonists in Boston we are reminded that liberty is not inherited; it is earned, defended, and demanded In Minneapolis the killings of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti by federal immigration agents have underscored that lesson in the harshest terms Their deaths remind us that no one is immune to injustice when authority acts without accountability Some administration officials have publicly suggested that federal agents enjoy sweeping immunity from local oversight claims that legal experts dispute but the rhetoric underscores how far we’ve drifted from the principle that no authority should be above the law
I watch my children and the people I love grow more fearful with each news cycle I watch neighbors endure quietly, afraid to speak out Their courage is tested not in the abstract but in daily life just as it was for my ancestors under British rule They endured fear They felt the weight of authority without accountability And yet they stood, risking life and limb, to insist that liberty was not a privilege of the powerful but a right of all I carry their legacy with me I am a descendant of seven members of the
Massachusetts line of the Continental Army enslaved people who supported the Revolution, and two Black Reconstructionera statesmen in Virginia who helped rebuild the nation after the Civil War I am also the child of parents who were active in the civil rights movement a multiracial family that taught me early: freedom is never given It must be defended
As we did 50 years ago we will honor this 250th anniversary by telling stories to our children, much like communities in Duluth are doing now That year 1976 marked the bicentennial of the Revolution and the centennial of the end of Reconstruction It was my grandmothers who told most of the stories one White, one Black each with her own focus My White grandmother kept the Revolution close to her heart My Black grandmother told stories of the Civil War and the era of Reconstruction They shared these histories not as trivia, but as instruction: to teach, to inspire and to hold firm to the principles that guided our ancestors, white and Black alike In their different stories, the same thread ran through both: the American principles that led our ancestors to throw off kings also made it possible to throw off slave owners Liberty they showed us, was never limited to one race, one time, or one struggle
Our nation’s story is one of struggle and perseverance For people across races, regions, and walks of life, liberty has always been contested
The ideals of the Revolution were aspirational from the start, limited by the exclusions of the time and extended only through centuries of struggle: abolition, civil rights, voting rights, labor rights, and the ongoing fight for accountability and justice for all
As cities plan parades, concerts, and tall ship flotillas for the 250th we should ask who will be invited to the stage and whose stories will be told Celebrations of liberty mean little if they erase the struggles that made it possible or ignore freedoms still denied today
The deaths in Minnesota are not merely local tragedies; they are a call to the conscience of every American They remind us that the revolution the effort to define freedom as something real and universal is not over It didn t end on a battlefield, and it doesn’t stop with another fireworks display
So when we tell the stories this year, let’s do it as my grandmothers did Let us tell history to the children as instruction for the America we must all build together again
Ben Jealous is a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania and former national president and CEO of the NAACP
Senate Sketches #2015.....by Hank Sander s Don’t Let The Devil Ride!
Don t Let The Devil Ride!” This is the title of a gospel song written by Reverend Orvis Mays in 1968 It captures such common sense which can be applied to so many situations And there are so many kinds of “devils” from humans to drugs to greed to leaders and so on It keeps ringing in my mind as I survey the terrible situations this country is going through so I have to write about it Don t Let the Devil Ride!
The following is a condensation of the song: “Don’t let the Devil Ride If you let him ride he will surely want to drive Don t let him flag you down If you let him flag you down he’ll turn your soul around Don t let him in your car If you let him in your car, he will take you way too far Don’t let him call your name If you let him call your name he will throw you in the flame Don t let him be your boss If you let him be your boss, your soul will be lost Don’t let him talk to you If you let him talk to you he ll tell you what to do Don t Let the Devil Ride!
In 2012, Donald Trump repeatedly and falsely accused President Barack Obama of not being born in this country, not being a citizen of this country, and therefore disqualified from serving as President Others had raised these false accusations, but Trump made it a continuous national issue The media let him ride by carrying these lies day after day on the evening news and all day cable coverage Others let him ride by not challenging these lies head on Don’t Let the Devil Ride!
When Donald Trump announced his campaign for President in 2015, he called Mexican immigrants rapists drug dealers and criminals We knew that it was bad to slander a whole group of people, but we let him ride by not widely speaking out We let him ride by eventually electing him President Don t Let the Devil Ride!
When President Trump wanted to utilize the military to shoot people in the legs simply for protesting the brutal murder of George Floyd in 2020, we let him ride When President Trump marched to a church with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and lifted a Bible upside down, we let him ride When President Trump withheld military support for Ukraine in an effort to force its leaders to falsely file a formal criminal investigation against former Vice President Joe Biden we let him ride The House impeached him but the Senate failed to convict and remove him from office They let him ride Don’t Let the Devil Ride!
When President Trump clearly knew the terrible dangers of a looming COVID epidemic early in 2020 but did not warn and/or prepare the country and the world, millions died unnecessarily and many businesses, schools and other entities closed We voters let him ride by almost reelecting him as President Don t Let the Devil Ride!
When President Trump lost the election to President Joe Biden in November of 2020, he vigorously contested many state elections Sixty-some judges, in so many words ruled in a multiplicity of cases that he had lost the election However, he kept going When he could not win legally in the courts he engineered a violent unlawful insurrection in a brazen attempt to seize the Presidency He even encouraged the violent invaders of the U S Capitol to hang his own Vice President because he would not go along with the illegal scheme to seize the Presidency The insurrection was captured on live television from many angles In response, the U S House of Representatives impeached President Trump However the U S Senate let him ride by not convicting and removing him from office, which would have prohibited him from running for President again Don t Let the Devil Ride!
When a jury, after a full blown trial, found that Former President Trump had
sexually assaulted a woman and then slandered her it awarded her $5 million in 2023 However former President Trump continued to slander her She sued again, and another jury awarded her 83 3 million dollars in 2024 Another Jury found that he had defrauded certain New York entities out of nearly half a billion dollars Also Twenty some women publicly announced that the former President sexually harassed them There was a video where he stated he could do anything to women even grab them by the p--y if you are a star (And he said he is a star!) The voters let him ride by electing him President again Don t Let the Devil Ride!
Former President Trump was indicted on 94 criminal charges (counts) in four different courts: two state courts and two federal courts The U S Supreme Court derailed the federal prosecutions and adversely impacted the state prosecutions by declaring that a former President of the United States has broad immunity from prosecution unrelated to the job as President A state jury found former President Trump guilty of 34 counts of fraud, but the judge failed to timely sentence him The Supreme Court of the United States and this State Court let him ride The voters let him ride by electing him in spite of these terrible concerns Don’t Let the Devil Ride!
When Donald Trump ran for President a third time, he said that he would deport immigrants that were murderers and rapists the worst of the worst He also said that there would be mass deportation of illegal aliens ” There are 16 million undocumented immigrants in these United States of America President Trump considers them all (“illegal aliens”) A whole lot of people with Hispanic and other cultural backgrounds whose relatives, friends and neighbors were exposed to potential deportation still voted for him or did not vote at all They let him ride Don t Let the Devil Ride!
In the 2020 Presidential election a lot of men refused to vote for a woman Many White women and Hispanic women just could not vote for a Black woman who had served as attorney general of the largest state in the union and Vice President of the United States They would rather vote for a man with 34 convictions 94 criminal charges and all kinds of serious allegations rather than vote for a Black woman They let him ride by helping to elect him President again Don’t Let the Devil Ride!
The song also says that if you let the devil ride, he will take you too far We are headed for a dictatorship on so many fronts There are thousands of law enforcement personnel in masks and unmarked cars flooding our streets They are snatching people from cars from schools from homes and shipping some to foreign countries that they have never seen They take children as well Grandmas Great Grandmas All this is based on color They have thousands of law enforcement called ICE in Minnesota In the last several weeks ICE forces have killed two 37year old American citizens apparently in cold blood Many citizens have been physically abused Even more have been psychologically abused The whole state is under a military-like invasion The country is being taken too far in the wrong direction Don t Let the Devil Ride! European countries had been viciously fighting each other for centuries After two world wars started by European nations in the 20th century, the United States took leadership in setting up the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) These entities prevented European countries from starting new world wars for more than 70 years Now President Trump has greatly weakened NATO, even threatening to attack a NATO member in order to
take the Island of Greenland from Denmark He has set up a so-called board of peace which undermines and weakens the United Nations We are being taken too far in the wrong direction Don’t Let the Devil Ride! When Russia attacked Ukraine, all the NATO countries supported Ukraine because their own countries could be next The United States and Russia had each signed a written agreement in the early 1990s to protect Ukraine if it gave up its nuclear weapons Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons Now Russia viciously attacked Ukraine in violation of the agreement President Trump greatly reduced the support needed by Ukraine to defend itself, in spite of the agreement The United States has illegally bombed boats in the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea unlawfully killing 125 or more persons, It has bombed the countries of Nigeria, Somalia and Iran It used the military to blockade and take over the country of Venezuela and remove its President in order to take the oil We are being taken too far in the wrong direction Don t Let the Devil Ride!
Among the long-term impact of many of these actions is the constant encouragement of white supremacy with attacks on Black women, attacks on the history of African Americans, and attacks on Diversity Equity and Inclusion It openly promotes white nationalism This country spent the last 250 years trying to limit this powerful force White supremacy has deep roots and fertile grounds which produces a bounty of destructive fruits We are being taken too far in the wrong direction Don’t Let the Devil Ride!
The number of violations are far too numerous to set forth in this one writing This includes widespread corruption acts of revenge, enriching the very rich at the expense of the average person, etc The point is that too many individuals too many leaders too many political parties, too many organizations, and too many countries and others have let the devil ride I am glad that there are some who say We can t let him drive We can’t let him flag us down We can’t let him ride We can’t let him call our names We can t let him be the boss We can t let him talk to us Each of us can do something because each of us has a voice a vote donations and or other resources to stop him and others from driving us off the Cliff Don’t Let the Devil Ride!
Now on to the Daily Diary
SATURDAY, January 24, 2026 – I awakened in Birmingham We attended the funeral of Claudette Colvin who refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus and was arrested nine months before Rosa Parks in 1955 Faya was a speaker at the funeral We met with various leaders at the funeral and repast before returning to Selma Among others, I communicated with the following: Gloria Laster, sister of Claudette Colvin; Brenda Page Ward of Birmingham; David Barley of Montgomery, Mosi Omar Major of Atlanta; and Retired Circuit Judge John England Jr
SUNDAY – I hosted the Sunday School Lesson with Dr Margaret Hardy on Facebook Live and Z105 3 FM Radio Station and worked into the night Among others, I communicated with the following: Sharon Wheeler of Montgomery; Selma businessman Floyd Hatcher; Ainka Sanders Jackson of the Selma Nonviolence Center and Bridge Crossing Jubilee; Lorraine Capers Khadijah Ishaq of Selma; and Charles Sanders of Baldwin County
MONDAY – I handled many matters participated in conference calls and worked into the night Among others, I communicated with the following:
Marilyn Cosby and Karen Jackson of Selma; Rebecca Marion of the Bridge Crossing Jubilee; Roger Sims of Talladega; Alabama State Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton; Greene County Chief School Finance Office Marquito Lennon; Demopolis City Councilman Charles Jones Jr ; Barbara Amerson Hunter of Greene County; and Selma Foot Soldier Sheyanne Webb Christburg of Montgomery
TUESDAY – I handled various matters, participated in a Zoom call traveled to Montgomery returned to Selma and worked into the night Among others, I communicated with the following: Retired College President Dr James Mitchell and wife Priscilla Mitchell; Wallace Community College Selma President Dr Donitha Griffin; B Marie Jones of Hattiesburg Mississippi; Lowndes County School Superintendent Samita Jeter and Board President Steve Foster; Dorothy Hullett of Lowndes County; Jonathan Ralston of Birmingham; Liz Rutledge of Selma; and Zane Willingham of Greene County;
WEDNESDAY – I handled many matters, chaired meetings and worked into the night Among others I communicated with the following: Shelley Fearson of the Alabama New South Coalition; Jennifer Singley of the Craig Field Airport and Industrial Authority; Josephine Curtis and Charlene Williams of Selma; Dallas County School Superintendent Dr Corey Jones; and Former Alabama State Senator Malika Sanders Fortier
THURSDAY – I was at my office by 6:00 a m handled many matters chaired a SOS meeting by conference call and worked deep into the night Among others I communicated with the following: Law Professor Emerita Martha Morgan; Greene County Democrat Co-Publisher John Zippert; Karen Jones of Montgomery; Reverend Jamal Sanders of Selma; Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson; Elouise Robinson of Baldwin County concerning the death of Judy McReynolds; Reverend John Grayson of Selma; Obi Egbuna of Washington D C ; Craig Field Airport Authority CEO Cal Ryan Corrigan and Vice Chair Amos Moore; Dallas County Commissioner Connell Towns; Retired Probate Judge Kim Ballard; and Brenda Tucker of the Selma and Dallas County Economic Development Authority
FRIDAY – I was at my office very early where I handled many matters and worked into the night Among others, I communicated with the following: Greene County School Board President Leo Branch and Interim School Superintendent Darryl Aikerson; K C Bailey Asa Fortier and Azali Fortier of Selma; Law Professor Kindaka Sanders; Dr Carol Prejean Zippert of Lake Charles Louisiana; Steve Thomas of Montgomery; and Askhari Litle of Washington, D C
EPILOGUE – The song
“Don’t Let the Devil Ride” ends with this refrain repeated nine times: Don t do it; Don
EarthTalk®
From the Editors of EThe Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: Is New York City the first big U S city to mandate that all new buildings avoid fossil fuels and only offer electricity hookups? Will others likely follow suit? - J L , via email
Whether the Big Apple is truly the greatest city in the world” may be debated, but one fact is clear: New York City is officially the first large U S city to adopt a comprehensive, city-wide mandate requiring most new construction to avoid fossil fuels and rely entirely on electric systems and its policy is likely to influence other cities and states “I’m excited that we are finally tackling statewide our largest source of fossil-fuel emissions,” said state Assemblymember Emily Gallagher who sponsored the 2023 legislation This new policy places the city at the forefront of green infra-
Black Histor y Month
structure policy and is also shaping conversations nationwide
Buildings are the main focus of this mandate for a clear reason: New York’s residential and commercial buildings produce as much as 32 percent of statewide greenhouse-gas emissions making them a critical source of climate pollution
The effects of climate change are already seen in New York’s climate and infrastructure in recent heat waves rising sea levels and storm damage Lawmakers argue that electrifying buildings is essential not only for reducing emissions but also for improving air quality and public healthUnder New York’s
Black History Month traces its roots back to 1926 when historian Carter G Woodson and his Association for the Study of Negro Life and History launched Negro History Week Woodson, the son of formerly enslaved parents, understood something radical for his time: that the absence of Black history in American education wasn’t accidental; it was structural Woodson witnessed firsthand that racial discrimination was not simply a social reality; it was enforced by law Segregation was codified across nearly every aspect of public life, with states mandating separate transportation, schools, and public spaces for Black and white Americans From buses and trains to classrooms water fountains hospitals and even courtrooms these laws institutionalized inequality and shaped daily life reinforcing a system designed to exclude and marginalize Black communities
In response to this reality, Woodson created Negro History Week, driven by a sense of urgency and the belief that change had to begin with education He was determined to ensure that Black children and the nation as a whole were exposed to Black history Woodson chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, figures long honored within Black communities
Negro History Week was not born in a vacuum The 1920s marked a flourishing of African American cultural expression through the Harlem Renaissance, as noted by the National Museum of African American History & Culture Writers such as Langston Hughes Georgia Douglas Johnson and Claude McKay explored the joys and struggles of Black life, while musicians like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Jimmy Lunceford captured the rhythms of a changing urban America shaped by the Great Migration Visual artists including Aaron Douglas Richmond Barthé and Lois Mailou Jones created powerful images that celebrated Black identity and offered affirming representations of the African American experience Woodson hoped to build on this momentum, using Negro History Week to further spark curiosity, pride, and sustained engagement with Black history and to challenge a national narrative that erased Black contributions giving Black communities a way to tell our own stories in classrooms churches and civic spaces
Teaching Black history was an act of resistance against a society invested in forgetting
What began as a week quickly grew beyond Woodson’s original vision, not because the work was finished but because it became clear that a week was never enough By the 1960s and ’70s amid the Civil Rights and Black Power movements educators and students pushed for broader recognition In 1976, the U S officially designated February as Black History Month, with President Gerald Ford recognizing the month, according to AP News
The expansion reflected both progress and tension On one hand Black history gained national visibility On the other hand it risked being contained treated as an add-on rather than as foundational to American history The month became a compromise: acknowledgment without full integration
Don Lemon
Lemon, a veteran broadcaster and longtime critic of President Donald Trump, was arrested late Thursday night in Los Angeles after livestreaming an anti-ICE demonstration connected to a January protest at a St Paul Minnesota church A short time later Fort a respected Minnesota-based journalist, was arrested by federal agents in her home state for reporting on the same protest, according to public statements and court records Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the arrests signal a dangerous escalation by the Trump administration rather than any attempt to ease tensions following the fatal shootings of civilians by federal agents in Minnesot She said Lemon was simply doing his job when agents arrested him and stressed that Fort s detention made clear this was not an isolated incident but a broader assault on press freedoma
Federal authorities revived charges tied to a protest at Cities Church in St Paul after a magistrate judge had already declined to approve arrest warrants against Lemon and others citing insufficient evidence Prosecutors then pursued indictments through a grand jury, a move civil liberties advocates say appears designed to sidestep judicial scrutiny and chill coverage of protests against ICE operations Fort documented her own arrest in a brief livestream as agents arrived at her door telling viewers she was being taken into custody for filming the protest as a member of the press Her arrest, announced publicly by Attorney General Pam Bondi, placed an Emmy-winning journalist alongside protesters in a case the administration has described as a coordinated attack
Civil rights leaders said the symbolism was unmistakable Rev Al Sharpton founder and president of the National Action Network said Lemon s arrest marked a direct blow against the First Amendment and warned that journalists critical of the president were being singled out
Press freedom advocates echoed those concerns Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen said the arrests represent a constitutional crisis for journalism in the United States adding that reporters have the right to document and share information with the public without fear of retaliation
Mayor Bass said she contacted the U S attorney to demand information about Lemon’s status and warned that arresting journalists for entering a church while reporting crosses a line the Constitution was written to prevent “It s an egregious assault on constitutionally protected First Amendment rights, Bass said
Aa bama Prison
It’s a sobering look at life behind bars in Alabama prisons Most of the video in the documentary “The Alabama Solution ” is shot by inmates themselves on contraband cellphones It s graphic and at times difficult to watch Former corrections officer Stacy George is a part of the documentary He called it an accurate depiction of what an Alabama prison inmate faces
“These things are real I mean there’s a lot of abuse and there’s a lot of neglect I saw boxes that said ‘not for human consumption’ on the boxes; they feed them ” George said Some say part of the problem is the secrecy Not many people from the outside ever get to see inside Alabama prisons Even journalists aren t allowed to get close We re kept about a mile away from St Clair Correctional Facility That’s as close as we’re allowed to be George claims the culture is the real problem He said sadly many of the corrections officers are simply bullies
“If they come down here to Birmingham and they want to be a police officer, the first thing they probably do will take a mental evaluation test Well, if that officer wants to be an officer if he fails that test guess where the next place he goes to get a job It’s with the Alabama Department of Corrections George said
Gov Kay Ivey s press secretary released a statement saying, We already knew the Oscars had a low bar, but as far as corrections goes, there has never been an Alabama governor more dedicated to solving the longstanding challenges facing the system than Governor Ivey From recruiting a record number of corrections officers to doing sentencing reforms to constructing needed, new facilities, Governor Ivey is getting the job done and making it safer for inmates, officers and the public alike
Now that the documentary is a favorite to win an Academy Award, George hopes even more people will watch it and be inspired to push for change The Oscars ceremony is set for 6 p m March 15
all-electric buildings law, most new construction will be prohibited from installing fossil-fuel equipment as the policy phases in between 2026 and 2029
Beginning in 2026 most new buildings up to seven stories must be all-electric By 2029, the requirement expands to larger buildings as well However exemptions still exist for facilities such as hospitals, commercial kitchens and highly specific industrial uses New York City s action builds on Local Law 154, aligning the city with a broader statewide push towards electrification Although smaller cities and municipalities have previously experimented
with gas restrictions, New York is the first large U S city to adopt such a broad citywide all-electric requirement For example, Berkeley, California, became the first city in the nation to ban natural gas in most new buildings in 2019, but it is far smaller in scope compared to New York In contrast New York s mandate applies citywide, and New York State has also adopted a similar statewide standard highlighting its leadership
It is likely that other cities and states will consider similar mandates in the coming years Supporters point to long-term climate benefits, reduced indoor air pollution and alignment with cleanenergy goals Even in smaller towns like Crested Butte Colorado local officials have shown strong support for these types of policies A member of the town council argued “It’s an investment in the future Going forward people will see this as the way to cleaner living ”
CONTACT: Urban Green Council - Decarbonizing Buildings in New York urbangreencouncil org EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit EarthTalk See more athttps://emagazine com To donate, visit https://earthtalk org Send questions to: question@earthtalk org
Still communities used the space creatively building archives hosting lectures preserving oral histories, and insisting that Black history was not a niche subject, but central to understanding the nation itself
This February, we mark the 100-year anniversary of this incredible commemoration, and the work of preserving protecting and honoring Black leaders and communities is far from finished Reaching this milestone is not just symbolic; it s urgent We are living in a moment where Black history is actively being censored in schools and other educational institutions, where DEI initiatives are under attack, and where deliberate historical erasure is becoming policy not coincidence
In 2025 President Donald Trump signed “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12
Schooling (Executive Order 14190), an executive order aimed at removing what it labels specific ideologies from public education and reorienting schools toward so-called patriotic education ” In practice, the order significantly restricts how Black history, and particularly the history of slavery and systemic racism can be discussed in classrooms By redefining discussions of equity and racism as discriminatory it creates a chilling effect on honest teaching That we are living in a time when truth itself is treated as a threat should alarm us all
Across the country, school districts are banning books, limiting how race can be discussed and reframing accurate history as “divisive ” The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and All Boys Aren t Blue by George M Johnson are just a few of the many works that have been targeted These aren t isolated decisions; they are part of a broader effort to control the narrative of America’s past, and we can’t let it happen
While Black history should be taught and celebrated year-round Black History Month remains a powerful and necessary space to ensure our stories are told truthfully and to push back against policies designed to erase the contributions and sacrifices Black Americans have made
The centennial forces an essential question: What happens if we stop telling these stories? The answer is already visible When Black history is minimized inequality becomes easier to justify When contributions are erased power appears natural rather than constructed
Remembering Black history, publicly, loudly, and accurately, is not nostalgia It is a defense against revisionism It is a refusal to allow the past to be rewritten to serve the present
And finally, Black history must move beyond February The goal has always been yearround integration, where Black experiences are woven into how we teach literature, science, politics, labor, and culture, rather than reduced to a single month
If the first 100 years were about fighting to be seen the next 100 must be about refusing to be confined Black history isn t a supplement It s a foundation and the future depends on how well we protect it
New Postal Ser vice Rule
Under new USPS guidance that took effect late last month, the date printed on a postmark no longer reflects when a letter or ballot is dropped into a mailbox Instead, the postmark now reflects the date the mail is first processed at an automated sorting facility which can occur days after the item is mailed The Postal Service says the change is intended to clarify how postmarks are applied, particularly as transportation schedules and regional processing systems evolve
For voters in states that count mail-in ballots based on postmark deadlines, and for patients navigating appeals authorizations and Medicare paperwork the distinction is anything but academic
In recognition of the importance that the election laws in some states place on postmarks, it has been the longstanding policy of the Postal Service to try to ensure that every return ballot mailed by voters receives a postmark whether the return ballot is mailed with postage pre-paid by election officials or with a stamp affixed by the voter ” officials wrote in a release A voter can ensure that a postmark is applied to his or her return ballot by visiting a Postal Service retail office and requesting a postmark from a retail associate when dropping off the ballot ”
The issue gained wider attention after a detailed explanation circulated to millions of viewers on social media from the account @cjnlegalnurse a health care advocate who outlined how the rule shift moves risk away from institutions and onto individuals
“The postmark rule changed quietly, and it affects voting and health care Let me explain what just happened at USPS because this is not minor and it’s not theoretical ” the user said “So as of this week the United States Postal Service clarified that a postmark date is no longer tied to when you drop your mail off It s tied to when that mail is first processed by an automated facility
As the user explained, a letter placed in a mailbox on Monday may not reach a sorting center until Wednesday making Wednesday the official postmark For ballots and legal filings governed by strict deadlines that delay can mean rejection despite timely mailing
Many states say a mail-in ballot counts if it s postmarked by election day, the user said “Under this rule, you can mail your ballot before election day and still have it postmarked after So that’s not voter fraud, that’s logistics quietly overruling intent ”
USPS guidance confirms that most postmarks are now applied at large processing plants rather than local post offices and that mail may sit before receiving a postmark due to updated transportation schedules The agency recommends that customers with deadlinesensitive mail bring items directly to a post office counter and request a manual local postmark
Health care advocates say the implications extend far beyond elections
Health care runs on mail deadlines, appeals, prior authorizations, Medicare notices, and prescription paperwork, the user said If an appeal has to be postmarked by a certain date and USPS processes days later, it looks late So late appeals get denied Denied appeals delay care ”
The user said the shift places the burden squarely on individuals navigating already complex systems
“In nursing and health care advocacy, timing is everything,” the user said “And this rule shifts the risk from the institution back to the patient The system didn’t get faster the rules just got tighter ”
So if you re mailing anything time-sensitive now, ballots or health care documents, dropping it in a box is not enough, the user said Go inside the post office for deadline mail Ask for a manual postmark or receipt Use certified mail for appeals and legal documents and do not rely on blue mailboxes for last week’s deadlines So this isn’t panic; it s adjustment
BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2026 BLACK HISTORY THEME: A CENTURY OF BLACK HISTORY COMMEMORATIONS
2026 marks a century of national commemorations of Black history Dr Carter Godwin Woodson, George Cleveland Hall, William B Hartgrove, Jesse E Moorland, Alexander L Jackson, and James E Stamps institutionalized the teaching, study, dissemination, and commemoration of Black history when they founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) on September 9, 1915
In 1925 when Dr Carter G Woodson planned the inaugural week-long observance of Black history he could hardly have anticipated the imprint he would leave on the world
From Negro History Week to Black History Month ASALH has carried forth the tradition and the observances have become part of the warp and weft of American culture and increasingly the global community For our 100th theme, the founders of Black History Month urge us to explore the impact and meaning of Black history and life commemorations in transforming the status of Black peoples in the modern world
As part of the global African diaspora people of African descent in the United States have viewed their role in history as critical to their own development and that of the world Along with writing Black histories antebellum Black scholars north of slavery started observing the milestones in the struggle of people of African descent to gain their freedom and equality Revealing their connection to the diaspora, they commemorated the Haitian Revolution, the end of the slave trade, and the end of slavery in Jamaica They observed American emancipation with Watch Night, Jubilee Day, and Juneteenth celebrations Eventually they feted the lives of individuals who fought against slavery, most notably Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass The scholar Arthur A Schomburg captured the motivation of Black people to dig up their own history and present it to the world: “The American Negro must remake his past in order to make his future ” When Carter G Woodson as director of the Association established Negro History Week he did so as part of that tradition Yet by concentrating the attention of the American public on the scientific findings of historians, he sought to turn the commemorations more forthrightly into a far-reaching, organized, and sustained effort to transform how Black folks viewed themselves and how the world viewed them Year after year, he built Negro History Week into an African American and American cultural institution He set the themes and provided materials to illustrate the contributions people of African descent had made to the movement of history and modern culture As his contemporary W E B Du Bois put it “He literally made this country recognize and celebrate each year a week in which it studied the effect which the American Negro has had upon the life thought and action in the United States I know of no other man who in a lifetime has unaided built up such a national celebration
Since the passing of the founder, ASALH has continued his work, making Negro History Week and Black History Month an even more deeply rooted American institution On February 10, 1976, during the United States Bicentennial, President Gerald R Ford became the first president to issue a message recognizing Black History Month Then in 1986 Congress passed Public Law 99-244 designating February as Black History Month These efforts have made February the month when Black history finds its way not simply into the schools of the American nation but also into cultural heritage sites (museums archives libraries parks etc ) public squares workplaces houses of worship and homes across the land and across the oceans These institutions offer sites to discover and learn more about African American history through programming, camps, book displays, and exhibitions
To understand the modern world, especially nations where Black peoples form a significant population, one must grapple with the impact that the public observances have had on the past and the present This year when we are also commemorating the 250th anniversary of United States independence it is important to tell not only an inclusive history but an accurate one We have never had more need to examine the role of Black History Month than we do when forces weary of democracy seek to use legislative means and book bans to excise Black history from America s schools and public culture Black history s value is not its contribution to mainstream historical narratives, but its resonance in the lives of Black people
61st Annual Selma Bridge Cr ossing Jubilee
Thursday, March 05, 2026 | 09:00 AM to Sunday, March 08, 2026 | 06:00 PM
The 2026 Bridge Crossing Jubilee commemorates the 61st anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the Selma to Montgomery March and the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
7 US Highway 80 East, Selma, AL, 36701
Legal Notices In Re: The Estate of Erma Myrtle Hitt
Deceased Continuance of Hearing and resetting the Date to have the hearing to admit to Probate and instrument pruportin to be the last willand testament of Erma Myrthle Hitt
This Order is being entered due to the fact that the date previously set to hear the Petition for admitting the Last Will of Erma Myrtle Hitt in to probate being February 8, 2026 is having to be continued because the undersigned Judge is required to attend a Judge s Conference on that day
Therefore, the hearing on February 8 2026 will not be held rather in is hereby Ordered, Adjudged and Decreed by this that the 3rd day of March, 2026 at 10;00 o’clock be and the same hereby is fixed by the Court as the day and time for the hearing on said Petition Same to be held at the Office of the Probate Judge of Greene County, Alabama, 400 Morrow Avenue Eutaw Alabama 35462
It is furthered Ordered that notice be given to Martha Hitt Woodard, who lives ouside of Alabama,by legal publication in accordiance with 43-8-166 of the Code of Alabama that being by a publication for three (3) successive weeks
Johnnie
Breneesha Turner, Desmond McMilian Darrack Davis Sr Tondra Johnson, Nancy
---Le gal Notices---
in the Greene County Democrat a newspaper published in Greene County Alabama Martha Hitt Woodard is the next of kin to the decedent Said publication shall provide notice of said Peitition and of the day and time fixed by the Court for the hearing thereon
Done and Ordered by this the 27th day of January 2026
Rolonda M Wedgeworth
Probate Judge of Greene County, Alabama
3tcg 1/28 2/4 12
Legal Notices
Office of the Greene County Probate Case No 2025-017
Estate of the Charles E Hardy Deceased Notice of service by publication to the following heirs of Charles E Hardy: Earnestine Hardy and Carla Hardy, non-residents of Alabama, And to any unknown heirs incompetents and minors
The Petition of G Stephen Wiggins for Letters of Administration of the estate of Charles E Hardy having been filed with the Probate Court of Greene County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that
said matter will be heard on the 19th day of February 2026 at 12:00 p m
G Stephen Wiggins Capell & Hoard, PC 1490 Northbank Parkway Suite 226 Tucaloosa, AL 35406
3tcg 2/4 2/12 2/19
Notice of Completion
PED Services hereby gives notice of completion of contract with Greene County Water and Sewer Authority for the construction of Project No 17-178 Greene County Water Improvements Project- Office
Building This notice will appear for four consecutive weeks beginning on 02/04/2026 and ending on 02/25/2026 All claims should be filed at Sentell Engineering, 639 Black Bears Way Tuscaloosa AL 35401 during this period
3tcg 2/4, 2/12, 19
Washington, Donniesha Falls Jasmine Edmonds
Mark Ivory, Jr , Karon Davis Sharon Davis
Demetrius Carrik Hodges, Schiquetta Burrell Mercedes Simon, James Crawford Teresa A Robinson
Ashlegh Kimble, Elijah
Isaac ‘The best portion of a good life is litle nameless, unnumbered acts of kindness and of love
Legal Notice In the Probate Court of Greene County Alabama the Estate of Ben Yeager, Deceased Notice Of Appointment of Personal Representative Letters Testamentary of said deceased having been granted to George M Yeager on February 2, 2026, by th Hon Rolonda M Wedgeworth, Probate Judge of Greene County Alabama notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said Estate are hereby required to presented same within the time allowed by law or the same will be barred
Mark A Scogin Espy Scogin Cain and Hamby, P C P O Box 2786
Tuscaloosa, Al 35403
3tcg 2/4 12 19
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Erie Metal Roofs! Three styles and multiple colors available Guaranteed to last a lifetime! Limited Time Offer up to 50% off installation + Additional 10% off install (for military health workers & 1st responders ) Call Erie Metal Roofs: 1-833-955-3163
AUTOMOTIVE
Donate your car, truck boat RV and more to support our veterans! Schedule a FAST, FREE vehicle pickup and receive a top tax deduction! Call Veteran Car Donations at 1-877-724-3049 today!
GOT AN UNWANTED CAR??? DONATE IT TO PATRIOTIC HEARTS Fast free pick up Patriotic Hearts’ programs help veterans find work or start their own business Call 24/7: 1-833-426-0193
ANNOUNCEMENT Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church Pleasant Ridge is in search of a MUSICIAN 1st and 3rd Sunday Contact Dec Floyzelle at 205-496-2910 or 205-372-5821
ACCIDENTS & INJURIES AUTO & TRUCK ACCIDENTS, WRONGFUL DEATH, SLIP & FALL Office-205-933-7533 Cell – 205-901-6129
“I like Big Bucks and I cannot lie” 24 HOUR SERVICE –FREE CONSULTATION OVER 100 YEARS COMBINED EXPERIENCE FRANK S BUCK P C ATTORNEY 2160 14TH Ave South BIRMINGHAM AL 35255
