Irreverence: the US Penal System vs. the African American

H. Lewis Smith

by H. Lewis Smith

In 1991, Troy Anthony Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of Mark A. MacPhail, a Savannah police officer. On Tuesday, October 14, 2008, the Supreme Court rejected appeals for the condemned Georgia Department of Corrections 40-year-old inmate. The execution date was hastily reset for October 27, 2008.

The Gantt Report: If White Folks Could Cut Nappy Hair

Lucius Gantt

If white folks could cut nappy hair or glue on colored hair weaves, we might not even patronize Black barber shops and beauty salons!

By Lucius Gantt     A good friend of mine recently gave me a unique perspective about most of America’s African American communities.

Living Between The Races

Barbara Evans

Living “between the races” is often a lonely place for me, but there are times when it is the greatest blessing of all.  Choosing to live in harmony with people who may not look like me, worship like me, think like me nor live like me has given me the opportunity to get to know folks of all religions, races and cultures.  It saddened me that volunteers for Obama working in my “home” state of Pennsylvania report that some whites there aren’t voting for Obama because of race.  Surprise, surprise.  But this really does illustrate how racism hurts everybody.

Meriwether NAACP President Seeks Help from Congressman

Shirley Hines

 

In a battle that appears to be growing more intense with each passing week, Shirley Grier Hines, President of Meriwether County’s NAACP urged Georgia State Representative Lynn Westmoreland to “take immediate steps to stop the environmental injustice in her community by facilitating an EPA investigation into all aspects of the Turkey Run Municipal Solid Waste Landfill.”

The landfill has become a hot subject of debate because it’s proposed location is on a municipal watershed in northern Meriwether County, Georgia, and very near property owned and inhabited by a predominantly black population.

Former Roanoke Police Officer Arrested In Robbery

Jonathan Heard, Former Roanoke Police Officer

The Montgomery Advertiser

Elmore County, Alabama
Mississippi law enforce­ment arrested a Roanoke man who is a suspect in an Elmore County armed rob­bery.

 

Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said the man, Jonathan Heard, is a former Roanoke police officer. Re­peated calls to the Roanoke Police Department were not returned.

 

Franklin said the Central Store in Central, a town about nine miles north of Wetumpka, was robbed at about 6:30 p.m. Friday night.

Meriwether Landfill: “The Right Development At The Right Time In The Wrong Place”

300 feet from Blue Creek… All we need is a good storm like the ones they are having up in Iowa and Missouri and we, too will realize that this is definitely the wrong place for the landfill.  Who’s to say this can’t happen here?   

 

In discussing the Turkey Run Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, Commissioner Charles Neely has quoted the Greek poet’s and theologian’s words of wisdom; however, those words are not relevant to this particular project. 

Dr. Stacy Branch Updates Concerns About Anniston Police Abuse

Letter to the Editors Of The People’s Voice

Back on February 1, you printed my letter concerning the experience my husband and I had of police misconduct (Anniston, AL police).  Again, I thank you for being willing to print it and even responding.  I called you a couple of times, but you were not in at those times.  I decided it may be best to wait until there was more information to share or if there were any additional news concerning this. 

 

We are still searching for an attorney to file a lawsuit against these cops and the city that employs them.  We had an attorney who added insult to injury.  The attorney we hired and paid (who never did get around to filing the lawsuit against the officers and their municipality) forged our signatures on documents submitted to the court without our authorization (she was supposed to submit a notice of intent to file a lawsuit).  When we finally did see the documents, we (nor anyone) would have allowed these to be submitted.  We believed that being African-American, she would at least have an understanding of the impact of what we suffered.  After committing many more errors, she still did not prepare nor file any lawsuit after spending thousands of dollars of our retainer funds.  This is just another form of disenfranchisement.  The little money we struggle to earn is eaten up in counteracting civil and human rights violations, false charges, and other ridiculous attacks.  Then our energy and resources are further disintegrated when those we trust to represent us in these struggles act in incompetence or lack of commitment to their jobs. 

 

It was and still is important to me to be able to connect with someone who may genuinely understand what we went and are still going through.  I tried communicating on several occasions with the NAACP and the National Action Network for a year to no avail (not even a greeting or acknowledgment of receipt).  For example, I wrote twice and spoke by phone with Rev. Randy R. Kelley of Hobson City, AL – Anniston/Calhoun County president of the NAACP.  I did not ask for legal representation (although we could certainly use it) or anything substantial, just a response to my letter in hopes that I can believe that we as a people still care for one another.  He said he would, but never did.  

 

Every case of civil and human rights abuse is important, and although one person may be affected in a given incident, it represents the multitudes that are affected by the same type of injustice daily.  Exposing these incidences as much as possible serve to, not only vindicate the victims, but informs the public.  Civil rights organizations may not be able to fight each and every case, but they can respond to a call or e-mail indicating that they at least care.  Doing as much as we can EVERY time an abuse occurs helps to put the abusers on notice.  When daily abuses go ignored and unaddressed, these crimes escalate in frequency, number and severity.  Then, when the most egregious acts occur, these too then go unpunished.  The message sent is that police, government, etc. can at will violate our rights and even kill us at anytime without redress. 

 

The residents and even the government of Anniston, AL should wonder how their tax dollars are being spent.  I have read that Anniston, AL has a violent crime rate issue that the community is trying to address.  Yet the police spend their time acting out acts of bigotry, wasting time and dollars to arrest Black and Brown people for nothing instead of arresting actual criminals.  In our case alone, there were a total of eight white male officers harassing us (some who were with dogs and a couple of the cops were narcotics officers).  All this for what!  An entire day was spent on this and court time for the cases they surely knew would be dismissed.  They just wanted to harass and dehumanize and did not care that their false charges would be dismissed.  Why all of this?  All of this occurred simply because a Black woman and a Mexican man were traveling in peace on the highway.  By the way, we found out that it was the week of confederate celebration on top of everything.  They used their badges and positions to discriminate, harass and abuse innocent people, period.  If they knew that there would be a likelihood of accountability, they may not have chosen to go on this needless hunt.  Is it that the people are in agreement with spending tax dollars on modern day lynchings?

 

What I’ve also realized is that I do not have a single white colleague who has suffered anything remotely resembling this, yet I have at least three black colleagues who have been ill treated by the justice system in some way.  I am still interested in continuing discussions with you.  You have at least cared enough to respond to me and even print the story.  You were the only African-American to do so.  If not for this, I would have believed that we as a people have completely forsaken one another (especially, given the apparent indifference of community leaders and the misconduct of our attorney).  I am still hoping we have not yet forsaken each other.  If you can suggest any forms of redress or attorneys we can contact to file a lawsuit, I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you again and I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Stacy Branch

Stacy Branch, DVM, PhD, FACFE, DABFM

106 Rugged Dr.

Red Oak, TX 75154 

Potential Contamination, Hazards Associated With Proposed Landfill, Central Focus of Meriwether NAACP Meeting

TPV News Staff

Greenville, GA

 

The R.D. Hill Community Center, in Greenville, Georgia was the setting for the recent meeting of the Meriwether County Branch of the NAACP held on Monday night at 6:30.

 

Monday night’s meeting, comprised of a racially mixed group of citizens, was enhanced by the presence of two speakers, Edward Dubose, Georgia State Conference NAACP President, and David Baker of Anniston, Alabama, Founder of Community Against Pollution (CAP) based in Anniston. 

 

Among other things, one of the objectives of the meeting was to make clear that the NAACP is here to serve a vital role in the community.  

 

With growing concern and legal controversy over the proposed Turkey Run Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, several Meriwether County NAACP members felt it was necessary to bring in someone who had already experienced the plight of environmental injustice.  Baker brought that expertise to the community by sharing his experiences with Monsanto in Anniston. 

Meriwether Landfill Opponents Score Partial Victory Before Administrative Law Judge

T-P-V Staff Reports
West Georgia Bureau

One group of opponents to Meriwether County’s proposed regional landfill scored a partial victory on Wednesday when an Administrative Law Judge issued an order, partially granting and partially denying motions made by Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD), and Greenbow, LLC’s to dismiss their petition.

The petitioners include: Darrell Segraves, Traci Segraves, Evelyn Zarate, Deanna Work, Steven Work, Ronald F. Doche, Darrek W. Haye, Dawn Campbell, Sanford L. Wood, and Herb Bartlett. 

Meriwether’s Newest Commissioner Appeals Proposed Landfill

T-P-V Staff Reports

Meriwether County, Georgia

Citizens of Meriwether County, troubled over the prospect of a regional landfill being placed on a municipal watershed, are making their objections known in an effort to invalidate the permit authorizing the landfill, issued by the Meriwether County Commission last year.

 

One such citizen, Freddie Hines, the newest Commissioner elected in November to the Meriwether County Commission, made his objection known by writing and filing his own appeal several weeks ago.

 

Hines petitioned The Office of State Administrative Hearings, State Of Georgia, for a hearing to oppose the Solid Waste Handling Permit, previously granted by the Director of the Environmental Protection Division of Georgia, to Greenbow, LLC of Montgomery.