How do we preserve the legacy of Commissioner Robert "Bob" Harrison March 8, 1943-October 25, 2017?

Robert "Bob" Harrison 

EYE would give anything not to be writing this post.  Maybe the reason it has taken me so long to pay tribute to Commissioner Robert "Bob" Harrison is I don't want to accept the fact he is gone on to glory and that I will miss him all the days of my life.  I started trying to write this post to Bob Harrison shortly after his funeral, I start typing and I stop typing.  Will today be the day I finally click publish?  Time will tell the truth.

Bob Harrison was a human being; therefore, he wasn't perfect but he was larger than life.  He was fearless and ferocious.  He was compassionate and committed.  He was effective as the people's commissioner and for that, he was sometimes rebuked and scorned, but that never stopped him from standing up for truth, justice, and the American way. 

A frequent criticism/complaint made by detractors was his commitment to "social programs" to help the people in his district.  Unlike other elected officials Bob Harrison used his discretionary money and resources to develop programs to uplift the least of these.

Commissioner Bob Harrison gave nearly $70,000 to a nonprofit group, Northwest Community Service Organization, that he helped create and ran out of his office. "I have divested myself of Northwest," Harrison said this month.
Northwest, which provides support programs for schools, now runs out of a separate building, Harrison said, and he has stepped down from the governing board. But he said he still uses his county tax dollars to pay two employees at Northwest.

How do we continue his legacy?   Can Bob Harrison be replaced, or is he one of those once in a lifetime irreplaceable leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcome X, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. James I. Dawson, Dr. John Cashin, and Dr. Sonnie Wellington Hereford II?

The Republican Governor has decided Huntsville Police Department Captain  JesHenryMalone will represent District 6 on the Madison County Commission for the remainder of Bob's term.  Our challenge is to ensure that Bob's work goes on.  He had the vision, ingenuity, and determination to make life better for his constituents. He genuinely cared about the city of Huntsville and the quality of life for all it's citizens especially those of color who are often the last, the least and the left behind.

EYE wish the new Commissioner well but in the end, it will be the voters who determine if JessHenry Malone has the attributes, commitment, dedication and the fortitude to carry on Bob's vision on behalf of the people of District 6. It is important for the newly appointed Commissioner to remember Bob Harrison was not one to go along to get along.  He was the voice of/for/by the people and he deplored Handkerchief Heads.  If he wants to be elected to represent the district he needs to get to know the people and vice versa because right now all we know is he is a member of law enforcement. 

"I shake the trees; They make the jelly."

RedEye's Rundown #BlackHistoryMonth2016

White America's Broken Heart 

Much of America’s past is the story of white people benefiting from a system that white people designed and maintained, which increased their chances of success as it suppressed those same chances in other groups. Those systems persist to this day in some disturbing ways, but the current, vociferous naming and challenging of those systems, the placing of the lamp of truth near the seesaw of privilege and oppression, has provoked a profound sense of discomfort and even anger.

SaLuTe #BlackLivesMatter

Black Struggle is Not a Soundbite

Here we go again.

You know the drill. 

Mass shooting

Thoughts and prayers. 

President offers condolences.  

Legislators shrug, do nothing.

Repeat. 

#gunsense

#BlackHistoryMonth2016

Today is a day of remembrance as we celebrate the life of #MalcolmX! 51 years ago today Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ball Room in Washington Heights!


“No, I don’t worry,” Malcolm X said. “I tell you, I’m a man who believes that I died 20 years ago and I live like a man who is dead already. I have no fear whatsoever of anybody or anything.”

Sound Familiar?

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.

What we have here is a "conflict of religious interest"

Conflict of religious interest. pic.twitter.com/12KNSogHCP
— Action  (@BoneKnightmare) April 6, 2015

Update~ The High Tech Lynching of Eleanor Burks

Huntsville teacher suspended for violating testing policy

Here we go again.

Eleanor Burks is a 4th-grade teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary. She has been with the school for 27 years.

You know the drill.

School board leaders allege Burks assisted a student in changing test responses on the May 5 examination. Evidence came from the student himself, who said in a statement read aloud Thursday that Burks told him to erase an incorrect answer and to re-read the question, "because I may want to change it."

Another long time educator is tried and convicted in the court of public opinion.

The board upheld Burks' suspension. Board vice president Laurie McCaulley addressed school district employees afterward, asking that they all review the policies and procedures they must follow to do their jobs properly. 
"We don't want to see nothing like this come before us again," she said.

Those who make and enforce the rules, get to break the rules. (Links inserted for emphasis)

Prior to the board vote, the hearing turned ugly as Stan McDonald, Burks' lawyer, accused the board of violating its own hearing policy under the Students First Act, the law that in 2011 replaced the state's previous tenure laws for teachers. McDonald objected to McNeal's testimony because she was not a sworn witness and because he was not allowed to cross-examine her.

And who wins in the end?

Not the students and taxpayers that's for sure.

Sigh

Freedom isn't Free in AmeriBama

 

Fellow blogger Rodger Shuler, aka Legal Schnauzer, is still behind bars in the Shelby County, Alabama jail for being the kind of journalist we wish we had, instead of the kind of journalist we have.  But then again, seeing how being the kind of journalist we wish had lands them in jail, we can understand why we have the kind of journalist we have.  According to Rodgers wife Carol lots of organizations are stepping up to help so hopefully we will see and hear from Rodger Shuler again, but then again this is AmeriBama.

A glaring example of the kind of "journalist" we have in Alabama. We must dare to defend Rodger Shuler's rights, too.

Roger Shuler might be a wingnut conspiracy theorist and a crackpot. He might unfairly besmirch conservative Alabama politicians with little or no evidence to back up outlandish accusations.
But he is certainly an American. As such, he certainly has a constitutional right to free speech, and that right certainly has been trampled by a judge in an Alabama circuit court.
It is hard to feel sorry for Shuler: Earlier this year, he began writing about Rob Riley on his political blog Legal Schnauzer, accusing the attorney of scandalous behavior in his personal life. Riley, son of former Gov. Bob Riley, sued Shuler, asking a Shelby County judge for an injunction to stop Shuler from making such attacks. Shuler failed to show up for the hearing, then ignored a judge's order to make a court appearance. He even threw the court's papers out of his car window as he cursed the officers who were trying to serve them.
That's when Judge Claud Neilson lowered the boom. He ordered Shuler to remove the offending articles about Riley from the website, and forbade Shuler from writing anything further about Riley. Shuler ignored both orders, and wound up being arrested at his Shelby County home Oct. 23 for contempt of court and resisting arrest.
Shuler deserves to be punished for contempt of court.

See what I mean?  The writer had to make it about Rodger Shuler the person, and assassinate his character before he sorta kinda defended his rights. I'm going to admit as one of them there liberal bloggers in the land of darkness, I mean Dixie, I'm kind of afraid to write on this subject, and I'm kinda afraid not to write on this subject.  I know that for the grace of God go I, but what the hell, if you don't stand for something you will fall for anything, and, in the end we will not remember the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.

Despite the picture painted by some Alabama journalist, Rodger Shuler is not a bomb throwing, wingnut conspiracy theorist. If he were, he wouldn't be in jail IMHO. All you have to do is read his blog to realize he's smart and courageous.  But this isn't about Rodger Shuler, the person, it's about Rodger Shuler the American.

When you look for Roger Shuler on the state court database, Alacourt, the search results return several cases, but none of them is the defamation lawsuit in which the Shelby County blogger is being jailed for contempt of court.
If you know the case number, you can type it in, but that only yields a white screen, blank but for four words in big red letters.
"This case in confidential," it says.
As a result, basic information about the lawsuit, such as the parties involved, hearing dates and the status of the defendant are hidden from public view.
According to Marshall, sealing an entire case is rare and usually happens in cases involving minors. But in this instance, it essentially creates a secret court in Shelby County, he said.
"There is a secret docket," he said. "That is not common in American courts."

Hope for Liberty said it best:

 Shular didn't just blow off the court hearing and he wasn't evading service, he just wanted it done right IAW the law. He filed an objection to improper service which requires the judge to rule before he can take jurisdiction and set a hearing. Shular was waiting for this ruling, but instead the judge throws him in jail.

You can't be held for libel and slander when making statements against a public person. Good grief, how many people would be thrown in jail for making slanderous statements about Democrats or Republicans.

This whole case is about the violation of law by judicial officials and the power of the elite in this State.

Like Shular or hate him, you had better stand up for him, because you could be next. FYI, he was the 2nd person in October to be arrested for taking on the AL elite . Welcome to Naziland!

This is something to think about when we send our sons and daughters to fight for freedom on foreign shores.

I am for truth no matter who tells it. I'm for justice no matter who it's for, or against~ Malcolm X

Update~ 50th Anniversary March is History-Now What?

The right to childhood should be protected

TheSkeptikOne: 50th Anniversary March is History-Now What?

 It's done, we marched, we shouted, we sang, we cried, we vented, some of us shared our memories of the first march, many of whom, like me, were alive, but too young to take part. Others who took part, wanted and desperately needed to recapture the moment. We needed to feel the energy. For whatever reason, we were compelled to be there. We needed to believe we were making a difference, again, and that people were listening to us, and that great things such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act were just around the corner, maybe this time signed by a Black President. That would truly be history and fulfillment of the dream as well as a direct answer to those determined to resurrect Jim Crow and nullify the rights of all minorities once again.

Now what indeed?  Let me say right now, If President Barack Husein Obama doesn't turn talk into action after his speech at the Lincoln Memorial today I'm going to be pi$$ed.  I never expected President Obama to be the President for/of Black Folks and only Black Folks, but never did I dream he would be the President for/of everybody except black folks.  It's time for President Obama to channel his inner African/American and do something about the condition of a race of people who are under constant attack.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King was not referring to people when he made this statement, he was referring to a system of, institutional racism.

 In other words, I've seen and heard instances where the phrase "content of their character" is often used to implicitly reinforce one's prejudices and preconceived notions of a particular group. During my brief lurkings at the Free Republic, I ran into constant examples of people denigrating a certain segment of black Americans as criminal-minded and predisposed to general thuggery, only to claim that they were merely looking at "the content of their character, as Dr. King would have them do."

The Trayvon Martin case is the perfect example of when white people judge black people. George Zimmerman, his defense (sic) team,  and the all female, 0% African American jury viewed unarmed teen Travyon Martin as a threat.  Compared to Antoinette Tuffs, who viewed heavily armed Michael Brandon Hill as a human being.


We still have a long way to go to reach the American Dr. King preached about about.  The Trayvon Martin case is another reminder that black life still has no value in America. He is our generation's Emmett Till. 

I agree with these reflections of a Clark Atlanta University student posted on facebook : "We need to step it up, get out there & stand up for what we believe in....because its one thing to talk about it but we need to BE about it!"

Martin Luther King, Jr  believed that radical activism, even at the risk of arrest, was more important than moderation and compromise. Principle over popularity.

Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around,  because we have a mighty long way to go before the dream becomes a reality.

*Long Sigh*

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord"

Today's Must Reads

Personal Memories of 43 Years Ago

The content of our character

Martin Luther King, Jr. Links I Like~link inserted

Happy 81st Birthday Dr. King

"Best Country in the World?"

Can't we do better than this?

I don't celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a holiday  because it reminds me the reason he is not here on earth is because he was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee standing with striking sanitation workers.

The gop Presidential candidates chose this day to hold a debate in South Carolina of all places. I can't wait to see how many times they mention MLK, or not.

 Here is a preview.

Newt will try and tell the audience they didn't hear what they heard him say about black folks and food stamps.

Rick Santorum will deny he called black folks lazy .

Ron Paul won't be asked about the racist newsletters published in his name.

Willard "Mitt" Romney won't be asked about the curse of blackness and talk about how his father marched with Dr. King....or not.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day?

I think NOT.

It's RedEye's BlogOversary!

It's hard to believe it's been three years, 652 posts and 53,474  page views since I was forced to start RedEye's Front Page after being booted from Left in Alabama that fateful Friday, November 13th , 2009, because of the content of my comments and other post.

 It still hurts I'm no longer allowed to participate in the Informed, Involved, Progressive conversation at Left in Alabama, but I will be eternally grateful to mooncat for encouraging me to blog, and to countrycat for forcing, I mean encouraging me to get my own blog.  I assumed we were equals who could agree to disagree and still remain friends.  Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk.  It is what it is.

RedEye request the pleasure of your company on a special a stroll down memory lane on the anniversary of RedEye's Front Page, and the fifth anniversary of my first blog post, in honor of  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday.

 Those were the good old days.    My very first post at Left in Alabama, Monday November 5, 2007. (Who would have thought those days could look good?)  Who would have thought indeed?

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King, Jr. - Monday, January 21, 2008.

Celebrating the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.-, Monday January 19, 2009

RedEye's Random Thoughts - My very first post at RedEye's Front Page, Sunday, January 17, 2010

Happy 81st Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.-Monday, January 18,2010

Martin Luther King, Jr. Links I Like- Monday January 17, 2011

Become a contributor to RedEye's Front Page!  Why should I have all the fun?  Drop me a writing sample at redeyeblog.alabama@yahoo.com.

You can also follow me on twitter.

Thank you for reading, lurking and commenting.  Let us march on until victory is won.
RedEye

Today's Must Reads
Martin Luther King, Economic Equality and the 2012 Election
Why I carp and whine, and why I wish I didn't have to~a very personal diary