#NeverForget the #4LittleGirls who were murdered at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on this day in 1963

#SayTheirNames

#CarolDeniseMcNair

#AddieMaeCollins

#CaroleRobertson

#CynthiaWesley

Funerals[edit]

Carole Rosamond Robertson was laid to rest in a private family funeral held on September 17, 1963.[47] Reportedly, Carole's mother, Alpha, had expressly requested her daughter be buried separately from the other victims due to her distress at a remark Martin Luther King had made in which he (King) said the mindset that had allowed the murder of the four girls was the "apathy and complacency" of black people in Alabama.[48]

The service for Carole Rosamond Robertson was held at St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church. In attendance were 1,600 people. At this service, the Reverend C. E. Thomas addressed the congregation, informing them: "The greatest tribute you can pay to Carole is to be calm, be lovely, be kind, be innocent."[49] Carole Robertson was buried in a blue casket at Shadow Lawn Cemetery.[50]

On September 18, the funeral of the three other girls killed in the bombing was held at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church. Although no city officials attended this service,[51]present at the girls' funerals were an estimated 800 clergymen of all races. Also present was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In a speech conducted before the burial of the girls, Dr. King addressed an estimated 3,300[52] mourners—including numerous white people—with a speech which included: "This tragic day may cause the white side to come to terms with its conscience. In spite of the darkness of this hour, we must not become bitter ... We must not lose faith in our white brothers. Life is hard. At times as hard as crucible steel, but, today, you do not walk alone."[53]

As the girls' coffins were led to their graves, Dr. King ordered that those present remain solemn and forbid any singing, shouting or demonstrations. These instructions were relayed to the crowd present by a single youth with a bullhorn.[54] At the time of the funerals, two of those critically injured in the bombing were still hospitalized, as was a 16-year-old white teenager named Dennis Robertson, who had been hit on the head with a brick thrown by a black youth as Robertson cycled home from his job.[47][55]

#WhiteTerror  #BlackPain 

Again, the reason I oppose the republican party has nothing to do with me being a democrat, and I don't oppose republicans just to support democrats. I oppose republicans because the people who perpetrated the 16th Street Baptist Church bombings and other terrorist acts joined the GOP.

#NeverForget Birmingham Sunday

Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley vs the KKK #BlackHistoryMonth2016

Forty Years ago this week, a democratic Attorney General in Sweet Home Alabama cared more about doing his job, than keeping his job.   That Democratic Attorney General was Bill Baxley.

In 1970, Bill Baxley became the youngest person in the United States to hold a state attorney generalship. Within one week of being sworn in as Attorney General of Alabama, 29-year-old Baxley reopened the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. “Now I could do what I had sworn to do,” he remembers thinking. “Within two months in office I had set one goal for myself: to solve that bombing case.”

 

As you can imagine the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) wasn't to happy with Bill Baxley.  Our rich southern history teaches us the worst thing you can do is stand up for the rights of black folks. 

 the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) dubbed Alabama’s then-attorney general an “honorary nigger” and basically threatened to kill him. 29-year-old AG Billy Baxley promptly issued his response on official State of Alabama letterhead: “kiss my ass.”

Former Democratic Attorney General Bill Baxley is one of the unsung heroes who need to be acknowledged for their contributions during #BlackHistoryMonth. Not only did he get justice for the victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, he appointed the state's first African American assistant attorney general, Myron Thompson, who later became a U.S. District Judge.

Again

the reason I oppose the republican party has nothing to do with me being a democrat, and I don't oppose republicans just to support democrats. I oppose republicans because the people who perpetrated the 16th Street Baptist Church bombings and other terrorist acts joined the GOP.

RedEye

#WhiteTerror #BlackPain #SayTheirNames #CarolRoberston #DeniseMcNair #CynthiaWesely #AddieMaeCollins

Denise McNair, Carol Robinson, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley Resting in Heavenly Peace

Again, the reason I oppose the republican party has nothing to do with me being a democrat, and I don't oppose republicans just to support democrats. I oppose republicans because the people who perpetrated the 16th Street Baptist Church bombings and other terrorist acts joined the GOP.

Does this sound familiar?

Back in 1966, after an election in which, having won voting rights after the
1965 Selma to Montgomery March, in which I lost two dear friend, Rev Jim
Reeb and Viola Liuzzo, blacks rushed to register to vote and to run for office, most considered themselves to be Democrats . Gov Wallace (a democrat) refused to allow them to run for office as Democrats. To combat the continuing absolute racism of the Alabama Democratic Party, some of us created another Democratic Party, the National Democratic Party of Alabama (NDPA), went through a difficult struggle, and elected the first blacks to office in Alabama as Democrats! But the ADP fought as a fully segregated party for almost 10 years as the NDPA came to hold over 100 elected offices,more than any other state!!! Then and only then did the ADP want us, and we forgivingly moved into the ADP. But of course its leadership remained fully racist and we have been struggling to change that ever since. But racists continued to run for and hold office as Democrats. It never fully changed. That makes it clear why people are still very suspicious of attitudes in the ADP.

Prior to the the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Nixons' Southern Strategy, these people were loyal democrats, then the Democratic Party split along sectional lines in the aftermath and the republicans reached out to the disaffected Southern Democrats, encouraging them to join the GOP. The party did not change the Dixiecrats, the Dixiecrats changed the party.

When Lyndon Johnson signed the 1965 voting Rights Act, he said “there goes the Democratic Party in the South.” How right he was."What ever political party draws it's strength from these people is the party I'm going to work to defeat. " 

Are you with us, or are you with them?

That is the question.

All that blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice, wiped away with a 5-4 vote

Fumbling Toward Divinity: Remembering Four Little Black Girl

On Sunday, 15th September, 1963, a white man was seen getting out of a white and turquoise Chevrolet car and placing a box under the steps of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Soon afterwards, at 10.22 a.m., the bomb exploded killing Denise McNair (11), Addie Mae Collins (14), Carole Robertson (14) and Cynthia Wesley (14). The four girls had been attending Sunday school classes at the church. Twenty-three other people were also hurt by the blast.

Civil rights activists blamed George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, for the killings. Only a week before the bombing he had told the New York Times that to stop integration Alabama needed a "few first-class funerals."

 Again, the  reason I oppose the republican party has nothing to do with me being a democrat, and I don't oppose republicans just to support democrats.  I oppose republicans because the people who perpetrated the 16th Street Baptist Church bombings and other terrorist acts joined the GOP.

I oppose the Alabama Democratic Majority because they believe the Alabama Democratic Party is the black man's party, like that's a bad thing.

Does this sound familiar?

Prior to the the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Nixons Southern Strategy, these people were loyal democrats, then the Democratic Party split along sectional lines in the aftermath and the republicans reached out to the disaffected Southern Democrats, encouraging them to join the GOP.  The party did not change the Dixiecrats, the Dixiecrats changed the party. 

When Lyndon Johnson signed the 1965 voting Rights Act, he said “there goes the Democratic Party in the South.” How right he was.

"What ever political party draws it's strength from these people is the party I'm going to work to defeat. "

Are you with us, or are you with them?

That is the question.

I weep for "Four Little Girls, and all of the others who lost their life fighting for the right to vote in the United States of America

The Congressional Gold Medal has been posthumously awarded to four girls killed in the 1963 bombing of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church. President Obama signed the legislation Friday, as (from left) Birmingham Mayor William Bell, Dr. Sharon Malone Holder, Attorney General Eric Holder, Rep. Terri Sewell, and relatives of Denise McNair and Carole Robertson look on.

What's wrong with this picture?  Here's hint, relatives of Denise McNair look on because Denise McNairs critically ill 85+  year old father is in jail. convicted of bribery and the conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with the construction and repairs of the Birmingham sewer system.

In the Summer of 2005 a multi-count indictment naming 21 defendants was filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in connection with alleged bribery, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. As of April 2008 fifteen individuals have been convicted of bribery.

• Chris McNair (Jefferson County Commission), convicted December 2006, pleaded guilty during appeal in February 2007, sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in June 2007, but later freed after he was granted a new trial.
• Gary White (Jefferson County Commission), convicted on 9 counts, but granted a new trial
• Mary Buckelew (Jefferson County Commission), agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice in exchange for cooperation with investigators.
• Jack Swann, (Director of Environmental Services), sentenced to 102 months imprisonment and $350,000 in restitution to the County. Currently free on appeal.
• Harry T. Chandler (Assistant Director of Environmental Services), sentenced to 2 years probation and a $33,000 fine
• Ronald Wilson (Chief Engineer for Environmental Services), sentenced to 13 months imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Released February 2008.
• Clarence Barber, former County Maintenance Chief, sentenced to 5 months imprisonment. Scheduled for release in June 2008.
• Larry Creel, sentenced to probation.

As expected the United States Supreme Court over turned Section 5 of the Voting Right Act, and I have that same pit in my stomach I had when the Supreme Court ruled in Bush v. Gore .  A lot of us tried to tell y'all It's The Supreme Court Stupid, but did you listen to us?  Nope.  So here we are, Mission Accomplished, it's about to get uglier because this ruling opens the door to republican gerrymandering, Voter suppression ensuring a permanent republican majority.  Yee Haw!

“This is a devastating blow to Americans, particularly African-Americans, who are now at the mercy of state governments. Given last year’s attempts by states to change voting rules, it is absurd to say that we do not need these protections.~ Rev. Al Sharpton

To say that I am angry is an understatement.  

I'm angry the Supreme Court stopped the vote count in Florida because it would do irreparable harm to George W. Bush, who ended up doing irreparable harm to we the people.  Strike that, we the black/brown/poor/disabled/ people.  The next time someone say's it doesn't matter who the President is, remember Supreme can Federal Court nominations.

I'm angry that not one democrat would sign the challenge to the 2000 election.

I'm angry at President Obama for not restoring honest and integrity to the United States Justice System like he promised.

I'm angry at the so-called mainstream media for enabling the gop infused Tea Party to take control of our government.

I'm angry at Alabama democrats.  If they fought the ALGOP with the same intensity they fight Joe Reed, we wouldn't be in this mess.  Instead of all the fingers on the hand working together to form a mighty fist,  they had to go and form their own group because the ADP party catered to blacks at the expense of whites, like that's a bad thing.  Instead of fighting the GOP, they want to be the gop.

To be clear, this ruling means the Fox is guarding the Hen House, and we the people can't even vote the Fox out of the Hen House.

God, help America. 

RedEye tiptoeing away from the computer to go weep.

"Ain't gonna let nobody turn us around" Voting Rights Photo Blog

Young students march for voter rights and are placed under arrest in Selma Alabama 

In a discussion with my favorite Righty's about the republican plan to steal the 2012 election I posed the following question:

 What do republicans think is going to happen on election day when voters show up at the polls to vote for President of the United States of America and are told they can't vote this time because they don't have a government issued Photo ID card?  Do they expect them to say Oh OK and turn around and go home like good little boys and girls?

I don't think so.

What will our government do on election day when all hell breaks lose because millions of Americans are told they won't be allowed to vote for the President of the United States of America because they don't have a government issued Photo ID card?

Call the police?

Yep, that will look real good on televisions sets around the world, the United States of America, that beacon of freedom and democracy beating, jailing and possibly killing it's own people for trying to vote for President of the United States of America.

That sounds like something an evil dictator would do. Snark

The RIGHT to vote is sacred to African Americans.  It is steeped in the blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice of Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, Viola Luizzio, Jimmie Lee Jackson, John Lewis, Denise McNair,CaroleRobertson,  and countless unsung Heroes and Sheroes.  

If the Grand Old Party thinks they are going to turn us around, and the struggle we went through to get those rights be in vain, as the young people say...... "They better ask somebody".  

We ain't going to let NOBODY turn around our RIGHT to vote around.  Note all the violence is being perpetrated by whites against blacks, not the other way around, so don't get it twisted and try and paint the the Civil Rights Movement or the "rhetoric" as violent.

Our troops fought died and were maimed for life so the Iraqi people could have fair and free elections, remember?  If the Iraqi people don't need a photo ID to vote why do we, the American people, who  sacrificed our blood and treasure for them need one?

I sure do miss the good old days when we had Fair and Free Elections in America too!