Books, Reviews, Short Stories, Authors, Publicity, a little poetry, music to complement...and other stuff including politics, about life... "Books, Cats: Life is Sweet..."
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
What's Happening at Book Readers Heaven - I'm Running As Fast As I Can! - Plans for February and Beyond...
Yikes!!!Layout of blog was changed somehow... I am not happy... Please bear with me as I try to get back to full layout and use of right sidebar... for searches, changes to review site, etc...
Happy Black History Month! With the author's permission, I will be doing a more indepth review, by chapter, of this historical nonfiction book. Each chapter will be presented as I have completed reading. You have already been provided the Foreword as well as my personal response to it. An emphasis on Black History and what is happening right now in America is extremely important to the future of our country... A video on the firing of DEA employees is provided above. Civil Service employees are also being arbitrarily fired...I am convinced that news is not effectively being received by the people for whom actions by the Trump administration will dramatically affect them. I hope to help that situation.. Suggestions or comments appreciated!
You know folks, I had never gotten to personally know a Black person until I was in the 7th grade. My grade school was located in the small town of New Geneva and I happened to live there. In that general area surrounding the school, there were no Black families/children. It was only in junior high, I was bused to Masontown and on that bus, I met Marian Davis. I have to laugh, now, as I write this, that I've talked more about Marian since I graduated from high school, than any other student... She became one of a trio of best friends, including Carolyn who lived close to each other and, on the bus, they welcomed me as a new friend...
After the election, I have found I wanted to talk to as many Black people as I could while shopping, which is about the only place I go out these days, especially during the hardest winter we've had in many, many years... In any event, I fell in line behind a Black man yesterday as we were both checking out at Walmart... I'd been having a bad time, just getting into the store... I have a cane and even a walker, but to get groceries, I depend upon the shopping cart to also respond to physical needs in walking. Would you believe there were NO carts anywhere in 5 or 6 rows of cars!? Finally, I saw somebody unloading groceries and I pulled into a space and got out of the car to get that cart! LOL... Only thing is that it was far from one of the entries to the store... Gotta say, it's Hell to get old... BUT, for me, the lack of courtesy for customers of all things that we daily need, including the government's support, is unbelievable... So, at least two people told me that it was now Walmart's policies to clear all carts back to the store ASAP... Which, for me, with a disability, wouldn't be so bad, if all of the Handicapped spaces--were not always full--and normally are whenever I have visited... If I remember my ADA regs from working at the University, I remember that a certain percentage of spaces must be provided based upon occupation and use of facilities... Well, all I can say is that, Walmart does not have a sufficient number of handicapped parking spaces...
In any event, by the time I had walked back into the store from where I had grabbed a cart, I found myself tearing up...Does anybody care, I wondered... Well, I stopped for my prescriptions first, which is why I had gone myself... And the lovely lady at the counter was a joyful woman who exuded friendliness... Thankfully... I needed batteries because my TV was telling me to replace them and I didn't want to be without an ability to hear the news... But I decided not to even bother with all that was on my list of needs. I was already dreading leaving--I had no idea where I had parked and knew that I would have to walk around to find it, which proved to be true... On the other hand, as I was checking out, a Black man turned around and spoke as people normally do in grocery lines... Me, I was primed and immediately started talking about DEI. He knew little about what was happening. But he immediately turned to me and said that we really didn't need to worry because there would be peace and no pain in heaven... I countered with a statement that I felt that God expected us as Christians to be concerned about other people and not just wait for Heaven as our rescue... In any event, we stood there quite a while just talking about today's world... But the one thing I wanted to ask him, he knew nothing about... That was about the Musk (he knew of Musk!) takeover of the U.S. Treasury! That's why I decided to write this today... But, first, a little diversion...
I admit that I was skeptical about the Trump win... I'm adding this video here, however, as I think about Fantasy Five's information about how white people maneuvers have been historically negatively affecting Blacks in America... back from the time of slavery!
Additionally, in reading the book about Facebook (below), there is evidence that misinformation is not being monitored there and possibly or probably on many other social sites... Consider that hacking/ misinformation was proven during the 2016 election... This is not included in this analysis, in my opinion... and could be what continued into the 2024 election... Especially when we saw major social site owners and corporations as special donor guests at the Inauguration.
Musk Takeover of Government Treasury with Trump's approval!
Folks, I've been bragging (or complaining) about the fact that I've been working with computers since 1963... In case, you're subtracting, yes, I'll be 80 next month... I decided to talk more about myself because age is also being attacked (Social Security, Medicare)... Are YOU aware that Musk, who has never been voted into any kind of official position and, indeed, is not eligible to run for office, as is routinely done, NOW has total control/access of the Treasury?! If you don't know the scope of that place, think income/ payments! Of ALL monies paid out by the government, including social security, IRS and return of monies to citizens, (and I'm assuming, all of the money contributed by citizens and/or taxed by the government) plus paying the salaries of federal employees, paying the bills of the government... Get the idea? Not only the amounts of money, but also the identification of each involved individual. That Means ME! And YOU! If you are still working, Your payments into social security is housed there! If you have, like I do, retirement from the university, then that money is probably there, or at least information of that money as part payment for insurance, for example. The individual in charge refused Musk entry. He was fired... The new Secretary appointed by Trump, gave him the keys! Now, all I got to say to finish this rude announcement is that Musk brought in a group of young systems people, I am sure... BY NOW ALL OF THAT DATA HAS PROBABLY ALREADY BEEN COPIED AND STORED OUTSIDE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. I could be wrong... but, ask yourself, why would systems staff be needed? Remember why Trump was impeached the first time, it was because he threatened holding up payment to Ukraine that the House had approved... He wanted dirt on Biden, etc... in return Do your research if you need to/want to know more... Trump/Musk having access to OUR money via taxes or mandated social security required payments!
Taking a Look at the Computer Systems Controlling Our Lives!
I am now reading the above book... and will be reviewing, as well as sharing my own story about my no longer being on this site where I spent over 10 years of my life posting about books...
Additionally, I will write an extensive and comprehensive overview regarding a number of corporations--ATT, PNC, Verizon, Amazon, LinkedIn, Walmart Delivery, AOL etc-- with which I have interacted during the last 2-3 years and provide a look at what computer security actual means to the individual... ME, YOU, small businesses, perhaps, and just about anybody that has to use a telephone, email, or slow mail for business. Insofar as appropriate. I will be using my Open Memoir format to document my background in the USE of computers...
The Use of God/Jesus Within Trump's Administration
Channel: Culture, Faith and Politics
On a personal level, this has been my greatest angst! How did it come about that millions of those who believe in Jesus chose to vote for Trump? I am grateful to Kahnke and other Christians who speak out about just how wrong choosing Trump has been... My following of this man came from reading his books A Christian Case Against Donald Trump and MAGA Seduction... Thereafter he has started and plans to continue an ongoing channel talking about Trump, Johnson and other republicans working with Project 2025/MAGA's hypocritical use during his presidency "In the Name of Jesus..." I keep in my YouTube library most of the videos I've used here on my blog... Will be checking if access can be granted for view by others...
A Final Reference Note:
Do you like the new NCIS: Origins?
I Do... In many ways, it is better than the Series
Today I watched while I stopped for lunch, one of the members of the team quit
Later, we see him listening to his account of PTSD
I Could Feel the Man's trauma flashbacks and thoughts
Many times since the election I have been moved into short spirts of
regression into my own period of depression--trauma--job burnout
If I feel what I'm feeling; I know that millions of others in America
are feeling the same concern, fear, and, yes, anger
That's the time I pull out another novel, a fiction into which I can escape...
So you'll be hearing about many of those as well...
Can The American Criminal Justice System Survive? - Guest Blogger Harold Michael Harvey
President Trump’s recent pardons of individuals involved in the January 6th Capitol riot have sparked significant debate and concern regarding their impact on the American criminal justice system. These pardons, granted to over 1,500 individuals, including those convicted of violent acts against law enforcement, have profound implications for the rule of law and the perception of justice in the United States.
Undermining the Rule of Law
One of the most immediate effects of these pardons is the potential undermining of the rule of law. By pardoning individuals who participated in an attack on the Capitol, the seat of American democracy, Trump has sent a message that such actions can be excused if they align with particular political agendas. This could erode public trust in the justice system, as it appears that political loyalty can override legal accountability.
Encouraging Political Violence
The pardons may also embolden individuals to engage in political violence, believing they can act with impunity if their actions support a particular leader or cause. This sets a dangerous precedent, suggesting that violent actions can be justified and forgiven based on political motivations. Former prosecutors and legal experts have expressed concerns that this could lead to an increase in politically motivated violence, undermining the stability and safety of the nation.
Impact on Law Enforcement
For law enforcement agencies, these pardons are particularly troubling. The January 6th attack resulted in injuries to over 100 police officers, and the pardons effectively dismiss the severity of these assaults. This could demoralize law enforcement personnel, who may feel that the highest levels of government do not support their efforts to uphold the law. It also raises questions about the protection and respect afforded to those who risk their lives to maintain public order.
Legal and Ethical Implications
Legally, using presidential pardons in this manner challenges the boundaries of executive power. While the president has broad clemency powers, using them to pardon individuals convicted of attacking the democratic process raises ethical concerns. It suggests a willingness to prioritize political loyalty over justice and accountability, potentially leading to further polarization and division within the country.
Conclusion
In conclusion, President Trump’s pardons of January 6th rebels have far-reaching implications for the American criminal justice system. They undermine the rule of law, encourage political violence, impact law enforcement morale, and raise significant legal and ethical questions. As the nation grapples with these consequences, it is crucial to reaffirm the principles of justice and accountability that underpin a democratic society.
Harold Michael Harvey, JD, is the Living Now 2020 Bronze Medal winner for his memoir Freaknik Lawyer: A Memoir on the Craft of Resistance. He is also the author of a book on Negro Leagues Baseball, The Duke of 18th & Vine: Bob Kendrick Pitches Negro Leagues Baseball. He writes feature stories for Black College Nines.com. Harvey is a member of the Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, HBCU and PRO Sports Media Association, and the Legends Committee for the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.Contact Harvey athmharvey@haroldmichaelharvey.com.
For Your Information From a New (One of Many) Political Talk Sites - DEI
Shortly before 9:00 p.m. Wednesday, a U.S. Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger plane in the frigid night air above the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.
The sky lit up in a massive fireball, and all 67 people onboard both aircraft are presumed dead. (Recovery efforts are still underway.)
It is the most fatal accident in our nation’s skies in over 23 years.
So how did the President of the United States respond to this unfathomable tragedy — which happened just a few miles from the White House he now occupies?
Donald Trump blamed the disaster on “diversity.”
Some very recent history:
On January 20, Trump was inaugurated for the second time.
That same day, the former head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) resigned after intense pressure from Trump crony Elon Musk (who was upset that the FAA had fined his company SpaceX for violating rules around rocket launches).
On January 21, Trump fired the director of the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
That same day, Trump froze hiring of new air traffic controllers. (Even though there is a profound shortage of controllers nationwide, which has resulted in understaffed air traffic facilities and overworked controllers — something Public Citizen has been urging government leaders to address for years).
Also on January 21, the Trump regime essentially disbanded the federal Aviation Security Advisory Committee, which was created by Congress in 1988 after the bombing of PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Trump never bothered to appoint an acting director of the FAA until yesterday — after the tragedy that claimed 67 lives.
It will take time for the National Transportation Safety Board to identify exactly what went wrong. And while there is no indication that Trump’s actions were responsible, his moves can only make air travel less safe.
Here’s some more of what Trump had to say about efforts to bring even a modicum of diversity to our nation’s aviation workforce:
Trump alleged that the Obama administration had determined the FAA was “too white.” Of course it did no such thing.
“You have to go by brain power. You have to go by psychological quality.”
“We want somebody that’s psychologically superior.” (At the risk of stating the obvious, it’s a major red flag when politicians who are already saying patently racist things start tossing in words like “superior.”)
Trump was asked how he could determine that diversity hiring had caused the crash. He quickly — and snarkily — responded, “Because I have common sense.”
Trump and his MAGA minions are doing more than blaming “DEI” for every ill. They are weaponizing the racist, sexist proposition that white men are always and automatically “meritorious” — despite the glaringly obvious counterexample of their own administration — while anyone else is inherently unqualified.
In another era, the kind of demagoguery we find ourselves living through once again was embodied in a figurehead who came to be so detested that his name is now shorthand for unhinged prejudice and tyranny.
Joseph McCarthy’s ultimate downfall was in large part set off by an impromptu remark from a U.S. Army lawyer — Joseph N. Welch — who found himself genuinely shocked upon encountering McCarthy’s maniacal extremism in person during a televised Senate hearing.
This is what Welch famously said to McCarthy:
“Until this moment, senator, I think I have never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. ... Have you no sense of decency, sir?”
Open Memoir - I signed a Loyalty Oath to the United States - What Happened to Moving FORWARD in America? A Personal Response to the Foreword from Fantasy Five by Harold Michael Harvey!
Loyalty Oath versus Freedom of Speech - If you wanted to do a search on government records you will see that much has been done related to the use of Loyalty Oaths... In 1963 I started to work at West Virginia University in the Office of Personnel. I was hired as Records Clerk, the individual who spent time with each new non-faculty employee at WVU, working to deal with all of the proper paperwork to become a full or part-time employee at the University.
In the Foreword to his new book, the Fantasy Five, Harold Michael Harvey is talking specifically about the south, in the State of Georgia in the 1800s:
Beginning on April 1, 1867, Georgia began registering voters for the new state government emerging from the ashes of the Civil War. In Bibb County, “over 2500 Blacks took the Loyalty Oath* and registered to vote, while about 2,000 Whites agreed with the Loyalty Oath (Thompson, Reconstruction in Georgia, p. 186).
Here we learn that the Loyalty Oath was used in 1867 in order to vote... While I, in 1963, was asked to sign a Loyalty Oath in order to work at a State institution, West Virginia University. It should be noted, that, WVU is a Land Grant University and therefore has ties to the Federal Government. This is important since reporting to the Federal Government, as outlined, was an ongoing activity at that time...
However, by 1964, "Focusing on the issue of vagueness, the Supreme Court in Baggett v. Bullitt, 377 U.S. 360 (1964), struck down the 1931 and 1955 provisions of a Washington state law that mandated loyalty oaths for state employees, thereby interfering with their First Amendment rights of association. For me, that only meant one thing, since I had no problem supporting the United States in a loyal fashion, but, that, I no longer had to explain to the many diverse individuals who had begun to work at the University, as to what and why the Loyalty Oath was required... I remember it was a simple oath on an normal typed paper with, maybe, 10 lines which included signatures.
While I worked at the University, I noticed at the Mountainlair, the Student Union, that there would always be a small section where Black students would congregate. It was an open area, anybody could have joined them, but there were no white or other non-Black students who ever sat in the area for lunch... Frankly I didn't think too much about it until...now... At that time, there were separate Black churches, but those churches normally joined with other churches to celebrate special events... Since, I had met my first Black girlfriend in the 7th grade, I had already been involved emotionally with the Black community. I worked with many Black employes, met with them for events, and so on...
The evolution from the 1800s for our Black citizens has been forward... Now it is going backwards! When, in Georgia the Black citizens began to see a major need to become involved in the political actions in Georgia, there were many whites who were not happy and were, in fact, openly hostile for the forward advancement of Black citizens. They'd had to fight to even get the right to vote, but at that time, the white people still refused to allow them to hold office... All done by the voting apparatus which had been denied for centuries...
You know, when white people bought Black people and made them slaves, with no pay, no rights, and, often, with white men raping the Black girls and women (to provide more slaves)... You know, their biggest source of money was...slaves! Real estate holdings were valued at $4,777,551. Personal property, most of which was enslaved labor, was valued at $10,279,574.00.* Could you ever imagine trying to tell your child that you are worth only 2/3 of the value of your white neighbor? That was bad enough! But when Blacks started to try to find work for which they were paid, it was at a much lower rate that was paid to white people! AT THE SAME JOB!
This was my response to the video above...
You know, I am sure I am older than any of you who agree with this nonsense... I DO NOT. Let's look back at the fact that Black people were slaves owned by white people for hundreds of years. Trying to think that means nothing is just what those who "don't think" about other people say...Yes, I'm addressing those who claim they are Christian--those who Jesus asked that we love ALL People. Those who think that they deserve a job just because they are a white man! Believe me, there are many Black men and women who are just as qualified as YOU could be... but many of you are not qualified because for whatever reason you chose not to prepare yourself to QUALIFY! That's the simple part! But, let's consider the fact that many carry over historical values taught by those who were in the KKK or some other cult-like family who were angry at those who were not like them, just because they were not like them... Now the claim by evangelical christians and the lie that God intended America to be White...Get Real!!! Jesus WAS NOT WHITE! I was hired because I was qualified... I had two white men to work with at first... Later under Affirmative Action, I would have Black people with whom to work. I can guarantee you they were qualified... And, because of that I chose the Black person over a white person. It is the Law! Equal Rights for All People...It is NOT about race unless you are yourself prejudice and biased... That's the bottom line for me...Affirmative Action should work until statistics show by percentage of Americans that we are all equally treated under the law... ALL people NOT just white people! If you disagree, that's why you voted for Trump...and that, itself, is your problem even if you don't see it...yet... By the way...Trump has already declared that food prices going down may not be possible... See what I mean? You listened to lies and you bought it... NOW all of us will pay for your opinions and lies!
Think about it, their slave labor, for which no wages were given, was valued for over $10M in those early years! And, then the government got involved to provide more "benefits" to Black people, even though White people considered them their Rights. We've already heard this administration/republicans referring to Social Security as a benefit program... How many times do we have to explain that WE ALL WERE REQUIRED TO CONTRIBUTE PART OF OUR SALARY TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY PLAN! IT IS OUR OWN MONEY, EVEN IF A MANDATED PROGRAM CREATED BY THE GOVERNMENT. THIS PROGRAM IS NOT A BENEFIT...IT IS A RETIREMENT PROGRAM JUST LIKE THE STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS AND UNVIERSITIES have...
My point in bringing this into this conversation is that some republicans say that this fund is no longer able to support the program. I say that it has then been mismanagement! That does not change the fact that it is our money and the Federal Government/Congress - And The Executive Branch - was responsible for ensuring that fund was always responsive to the needs of all American citizens!
Finally, all of the rest of those issues highlighted in red in the previous post relate to prejudice, bias, and downright white supremacy.
The fact is that Black people in America (and also women) have been fighting for hundreds of years to move forward once they were no longer slaves... Indigenous people barely can live without support from the outside due to what white people have done to them. Jews, Muslims, other non-white people have traditionally been abused in one way or another by the white people who once came to America to escape abuses that, then, they used on all other people other than themselves... Frankly, at this point in my life, I am sooooo disgusted with the white citizens of America!
Despite the ongoing efforts of each individual, of each community, of each race to attempt to move forward to become, as our Constitution says, that we are all equal and shall enjoy equal benefits as do all other people! Yet, no, many white people cannot deal with it! Can They?!
So, where are we in looking at history, what happened, how it improved because of the many DEI who chose to speak out about their position of authority to do so under the United States Constitution? We will be learning specifically what happened in Macon Georgia in Fantasy Five, and I'll be sharing about that book by my friend Michael Harvey... Yes, the author is my friend, my neighbor. How do I know that? Because when I was in distress, I asked this man of God to pray for me. And, immediately, he began responding, praying words that I may not remember, but I know helped me through my distress at that time... Michael Harvey has done nothing throughout his life but work to serve people... Yes, those DEI people who needed his help as a lawyer, a man who saw the need for legal action and worked to ensure that his work was on behalf of those who needed his help, in one way or another...
So, let's take a step back now... In 1963, I signed a loyalty oath to the United States of America. Since then, legally, it was eliminated by the 1964 actions by the Federal Government, based upon analysis that we needed to move forward, not backward, like many of the white slave owners wanted to have happen. They wanted to enslave Black people. People who knew God more than any white slave owner and they prayed to God for help when, at the beginning, no white man would help them... And, even after slavery was abolished by the Federal Government, many white people remained in their hatreds sown by men who wanted to use them as their main source of manpower and their ability to become rich off the backs of those who were Black...
I never knew any Black people until I was in the 7th grade and rode the bus to junior high in another town from where I lived. Marian Davis became one of my best friends through graduation from high school... At the same time, in my hometown, I used to take walks, which were about the only entertainment we had at that time... We passed a house one day and the individual with whom I was walking said that the residents were members of the KKK. I was shocked...I knew about that group and I was surprised that they were still in existence. Later, I was even more shocked when I learned that he was married to one of my friends with whom I had gone to school... It was then I began to wonder just how we could have grown up that would make such a difference in our views. One of the ways I was affected during my childhood was by music... Steal Away was one of the songs that became a favorite...
You see, I was born into life without a father, who was killed in a mine accident. My mother worked all of the time to provide food and shelter. But she also made sure we were in church whenever those doors opened. My Mom was a quiet woman; when my Dad died, she determined that she would never marry again in order to ensure that her children would never be abused in any way by another man who was not their father. Fatherless, with little male interaction in early life, I turned to Jesus... I would sing songs about Jesus and when I was lonely, often, Steal Away would come to my mind and I would sing this spiritual song of the Black slaves... I would Steal Away to Jesus... As I grew older, feeling like I had nobody with whom to talk, I started thinking of Jesus as my friend...
As I grew in faith, I began to look for a father figure and realized that I already had One... Who I have learned would always take care of ME...
And when I started singing solos, I would sing a special song, very much like Whitney, slow and precious, knowing that God was Watching ME... There was never a time in my life, when I have felt I was totally alone. And when I was invited to a Full Gospel meeting in Morgantown and went, I was baptized in His Holy Spirit and realized and accepted His total Trinity that He willingly gave to ME...
Most people in my family don't believe that last statement. Inside, I have an answer. I know that I know that I know our God and He Loves and Protects ME...
Just like He LOVES ALL of His PEOPLE! Ethel Waters knew that and she also sang, along with a full choir! So let's sing it again!
Readers, I want you to know that I know what is going on right now in America... And I hope you know as well... If not, I advise you to begin by studying the videos I've shared today... And start listening to TRUTH about the actions which led to a presidential election that has already become just as bad as we knew it would be as we voted for Kamala Harris!
I want to proceed by sharing my thoughts, and opinions, some of which MAY be wrong...time will tell, and I'll work on the premise that I am always seeking Truth... God's Truth... Not what is being claimed these days...
IF the election was NOT hacked in some way, then I must assume that a large percentage of America--White People--are racist and/or sexist. If Joe Biden won the majority vote, even though Trump and his followers still lie about it, then race or sex IS/WAS a factor in choosing a criminal over a Black Woman who had the legal and experiential background to become the President of America, Land of the Free... Instead a lying criminal was selected. And is now choosing individuals with criminal backgrounds or anti-American ideals to reign at his side.
Trump has already declared by Executive Action that DEI programs are to be eliminated. Legally he does not have the authority to do this. However, YOU ALL elected all republicans and, supposedly, nonpartisan people into Congress... And the republican-led Supreme Court has already declared all Trump's actions in Office as legal... then this criminal can do anything he pleases all because of Racist and/or/both Sexist opinions...
Trump has already started gathering up immigrants who had not yet been able to meet with courts on asylum due to lack of judges. But ICE is openly not only gathering those who are criminals, but ANY undocumented immigrants they find, no matter if they had been seeking asylum...
Trump has put All government DEI people on leave. Who and how it will be determined that they will be permitted to stay is not known. Let me guess...republicans who pledge "loyalty" to Trump will retain their jobs. All those who voted against him will be fired, based upon NO justification other than they do not support Trump.
Trump has removed all legally approved programs such as Affirmative Action, ADA, and any other program that does not fit with HIS AGENDA...NOT, based upon the needs of Americans...
Trump remains a liar... Blaming Obama, Biden, the DEI employees who might have been flight operators for the latest catastrophe in the United States... The deaths of hundreds...While he gave a preliminary statement which he fully read because it was not His words, his true opinions and coverup lies quickly followed...
Now, I am now going to be a feminist in saying that white and/or black or any other race male who voted for Trump have seen what women can do when they are in charge...And they are afraid of US.
In E. Jean Carrol's book, the woman who won an ultimate $5M after two different trials, for defamation as well as sexual assault by Donald Trump, she asked the question, "What Do We Need Men For" or something along those lines (do a search if interested) Since I have never chosen to depend upon a man to live my life, I was somewhat shocked that, as she traveled across the country, many and even most, if I remember right, said "Absolutely Nothing!" Women have learned that they are equal, just like the Constitution of the United States says...
But, like the White slave owners who not only used slaves for farming their crop, they also used their women sexually and/or for acquiring new, free slaves... I don't speak against all men... In my experience, you don't see this kind of man in the democratic party, normally... Some will be pinpointed, like Mendez who is now in jail.
I've had 3 men for whom I worked at West Virginia University who were good men who cared about the University. Trouble started, for me and other women in high-level positions, when the president changed and men were hired to work to get rid of women in those higher level positions. I was one of them, having worked myself up through ranks until I was Acting Director of the last office I directed. Soon, military leaders (3) were in that office, a reorganization occurred. NOT ONE OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS EVER CAME TO ME, AS ACTING DIRECTOR, TO LEARN EXACTLY WHAT THE OFFICE WAS DOING... I have to assume they didn't care...or they had their own goals, just like Trump, to do what they damn well pleased, regardless of anybody who might get hurt.
And, because of these power-prone men who didn't think they needed to know what their subordinates did in order to direct the departments programs, they concentrated only on what they wanted...and covered themselves via lies...
I became a whistleblower... I went directly to the Academic VP to whom I had dual responsibility for all academic issues. I was told by the new Asst VP that he was now in charge and I would not need to interact with anybody else... What a Fool! Just Like Trump! He had NO idea what or how much work it takes to run a major office, little on the entire country's federal government.
And I know republicans are to blame as well. When a family member "shamed" her granddaughter for voting against Trump, that confirmed what I already knew. These republicans have NO idea what they do, what the government is responsible for, and apparently don't care. They were told maybe 100 years ago that republicans are "the" party to support... And haven't bothered to ever change an opinion based upon a real study, research, or even an understanding of what a politician is saying... That's what we are dealing with! I was told by that same individual that if I were a Christian, I had to register as a republican??? Well, that did not happen! I had heard the statement he made about being able to do anything when he was a star...including grabbing women...
Many have talked about dumbing down America. That may be true, but I don't think that is the problem of the majority who voted for the republican party. They have been trained through their parents, their religion, possibly, by the opinions of their peers, and most of all by their lack of interest in details of exactly what is going on in the republican party (and the democratic one)
Books have been banned by complaints of a few republican members... The word Woke, used by Blacks, to indicate that we have moved forward, woke up to all the garbage being thrown at non-whites and white women... I am proud to be WOKE. I have devoted my last 10 years to ensuring I read the books that are important at this point in America. And I am fighting BACK.
I was once a member of the National Secretaries Association, which no longer exists, because women's positions have evolved to be more than typists or appointment makers... But during that time I helped to sponsor classes to improve the skills of secretaries, in communication issues of all kind, including non-verbal...
And I continued to participate in the non-academic program to recognize through CEUs of classes taken that were geared toward professional development. That program is still in existence... I had hundreds awarded, the exact count is no longer relevant to my memory...
I enrolled in a experience-based Board of Regents program which gave credit for classes which taught what I already knew or learned on the job, but learned through experience... I earned credits that gave me the equivalency of expertise expected at completion of the junior year of college.
I moved into a non-clerical profession based upon the new Director of a new Office who asked me to apply, based upon his coming to know me in my work in the President's Office, having worked for two Provosts (second in command of the University) as their personal assistants. The Provost for Instruction, Jay Barton, was later still my boss, as the organization of this new office directly supported the academic programs of the University. Which was later changed, even though I didn't act on orders... just like Trump is hiring his cronies to do what he wants to do rather than what the academic program required of me.
During that entire time, my successful completion of my job was prevented by only one thing. A white superior(s) who had no interest in what I was doing, didn't bother to find out, and yet wanted me to only report to him, do his bidding... Claiming he knew everything about the office's responsibilities. NOT!
I am loyal to the United States at an advocate for its Constitution. I cannot and will not be loyal to a man who requires non-disclosure agreements for any actions that he wants me to do... I hope you recognize what and why I am saying this... Rich men have used Non-disclosure agreements in place of a loyalty agreement. The purpose of NDA is to prevent the ability of a "wronged" individual to gain legal restitution for grievances they have suffered...
As I was contemplating leaving the University, I made one final attempt and hired a lawyer, to attend a meeting with a Board of Regents representative, which was the last level for WVU appeals. The representative took my side completely. I was offered a job description that was for a lower level position which was already held by another individual. I looked at it and asked what is Paul going to do, this is his job. The Assistant Vice-President, one of the bosses who had not bothered to acquire knowledge of what I was doing...nor, obviously as to what that job description I was being offered covered...
Yet Americans have voted in such a man... Condemned by his brother's children for stealing their inheritance from their dead father... A man whose charitable organization was being used for personal things, like a portrait of himself. The New York state forced that to be closed and the entire family was forbidden to ever again run a charitable organization--or participate in other ones!
You may recognize a similar situation for the man who is now the Secretary of Defense, which has one of the biggest budgets in the government... My opinion, Trump will be selling arms to foreign dictators from the Defense Budget, but the money will not be deposited in the Defense Budget... Get the idea... Why else would you hire a totally incompetent man with such a shady background, including abuse of his second wife...
Have YOU listened to any of the Senate hearings on his proposed cabinet? NONE of them will respond to questions that may personally affect their president/cult leader. If you haven't, I suggest you find videos and listen to them, especially the questions and responses asked and responded to by Senate Democrats. A couple here... And, if you don't know who is asking pertinent questions, then, in my opinion, you have voted for Trump and are NOT Woke!
God Help Us All... I believe firmly that God is Watching. There may be retribution for Trump for his lying judgments of people who do not support him. And we may never see America's retribution of this man. But God knows the difference between Trust and Lies. Those who claim to be Christian yet vote for a leader who is unqualified, a liar, and was, as one big example, totally unprepared to deal with our Covid Pandemic where over 100M were killed just in America and people are still dying from it... But Trump now wants to place a man who has preached anti-vaccines philosophy, and got paid for it, and put HIM in charge!
My Truth is that there is NO man that is above God. Those who are using God's or Jesus' name to try to lie their way into the Federal government may have only one long-term judgment... By God Himself. You know, I read a book called The Light of the World by Tim Spiess. What he has done was to provide with commentary, ONLY the words spoken by Jesus... Think about it, if you are willing. Jesus came to die for all of us... Even his disciples talked of his kingdom on earth and, when he was betrayed and moved through the government officials, those who had condemned and paid for his capture did not speak again. Some of the crowd thinking of his possible death, chose Barabbas, a criminal to save instead... Others cried and wept at the loss of their beloved Savior. During the time I was reading (do a search to the right if you did not read my review of this book), for the first time ever, I was able to read His Bible, His Words alone--not those who differed in opinion, or changed it based upon their own experiences, such as Saul who became Paul... What I am saying is that, by the time I had finished this book, I had learned more about Jesus, ALONE, the Son of God, in One Person who had died for ME, for US... Through thousands of years, many had used words by other than Jesus to guide them in their condemnations of those they thought as evil or against God. Yet Jesus taught that God is a God of Love and Truth... And that He wanted US to Love All of His Children, be they black, yellow, red or white!
There are many videos by Frank Schaeffer...He left a Christian religion but still worked to speak out against extremists/MAGA supporting the God He was Crazy About... I joined with him and follow his videos and have used them here when appropriate... E.g., here he leads up to speaking about the present House of Representatives, who has claimed his Biblical references are in control of his actions... He supports and has "a direct line" to Trump as he openly proclaimed as we all thought about the separation of each of the parts of Washington's Government: Executive Branch, Congress, Attorney General as a separate agency...Yet this leader of the House of Representatives has a direct line to the president, according to him?
Note that he refers to history, just as Harold Michael Harvey is presenting to America about what occurred and continues to, hate and violence against our Black Brothers and Sisters! People have talked about just how far Trump/MAGA wants to move back... Frank tells us based upon his early involvement of those who depend upon the Old Testament to justify their hate and prejudice.
Why oh Why when, God Himself, sent His Son, to be born to then die for US dID WE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE OLD TESTAMENT TEACHINGS OTHER THAN FOLLOWING GOD HIMSELF Who spoke through Christ, rather than anybody else, that we were to LOVE Our Neighbors... He had shown us, for instance, when a woman was on the point of being stoned to death, Jesus interceded and said to the men who stood there in judgment and quietly spoke to them...until they turned and left...
Folks, I think Frank Shaeffer is saying all that I or anybody else who oppose what is happening under the direction of those who do not support the Constitution and Indeed, hearken back to before there ever was a man named Jesus... the use of religion of all kinds was used to support their lives as they wanted to live them, ignoring God as He watched and tried, again, to bring Peace, Love and Truth to Planet Earth... Recall that many used "created" idols just like we have seen of Trump as created by his followers.
I'll be talking more about Harvey's book as I read... Right Now, are you working to fight against this new generation of religious fanatics who want to go back to when men controlled everything and anything... Do you want to go back to a time when all things that have been fought for or developed through those who were given the talent and skills to want to become doctors, scientists or even service people like myself, who took positions to support those leaders who were working for improvement to students and the communities around us... Do you want to go back where childbirth often meant the death of both the baby and the mother through lack of knowledge and access to medical care... and, with the actions of republican supreme court members, have moved women's medical rights back over 25 years!? Think about it... do you live the best life you can in support of America, land of the free, or have you chosen to turn away from God's love and work for power, greed, through the use of violence in every possible way and to every person who has chosen to support the Constitution of America...in Truth? Rather than a fanatical cult of republicans who have made a deal with the devil?
Right now, I have no loyalty to the United States Government, although I continue to support the Constitution and those who fight for freedom for all peoples... For me, there have been too many God Incidents for me NOT to KNOW that God is in control... Is He speaking to you, just as he has to Harold Michael Harvey and so many other writers who have spoken out against all that is happening? If not, there are only 4 chapters in the Bible that provide direct messages from Jesus... ONLY four!!! If you at least know the name of Jesus, then I have one final message...
God Bless
Gabby
One Final Note
Isabella Strahan is a college student, age 19...They discovered a large brain tumor which had to be removed immediately.
This is her story... I just learned about on The View
Folks, I, too had a brain tumor which had to be removed
That's now 5 years ago...
My doctor could be called a DEI according to Trump
He saved my life through his hands and his concern for me, his patient
I had no qualms about placing myself in his hands.
Both because I knew that God was with me...
But I had no prejudice against this man who was not white...
This is a story about a Black daughter who was just at the beginning of her life, while I am closer to sometime soon being with my Father in Heaven...
Can you imagine what will happen when all DEI's will be fired in the white supremacy of what is happening, claiming that America is meant for only white people?!
Yes, I am white, but I love all who work to serve others...no matter what race or religion...
That is what I am expected to do by the
God of Love
God of Truth
Are You Listening?
Are you Speaking the love of Jesus, of God
We cannot allow the attack on all peoples who are chosen by extremists to destroy in one way or another.
Presenting Harold Michael Harvey's Latest - Fantasy Five: An Unimaginable History - The Election of Macon's First Black Council Memberson's First Black Councilmembers - Foreword
“When the roots are deep, there is no need to fear the wind.” African Proverb
“It’s impossible to lie when the truth is carved in stone.” African Proverb
“In Spight of all
Endeavours to disguise this Point, it is clear as Light itself that Negroes are
as essentially necessary to the Cultivation of Georgia as Axes, Hoes, or any
other utensil of agriculture.” --W. B. Stevens - The History of Georgia, 1847
I was overwhelmed by the Foreword from Michael's book and asked him if I could share it here in its entirety... For me it certainly set the stage for reading the following history of Macon, Georgia...
Foreword
W
hen
Georgia was organized as a colony in 1732 in honor of the British Monarch, King
George; enslavement did not exist in the new colony. The founding Board of Trustees
believed that a prohibition on slavery would encourage the settlement of
Georgia by Englishmen and Christians and not, God forbid, the Spaniards,
Catholics, or Irish.
Soon,
Africans were brought in from the Carolinas and “hired for life,” according to
W. B. Stevens, so much for the niceties of the rule outlawing enslavement in
the Georgia colony. The authorities looked the other way, and by 1749, the
slave trade was wide open in Georgia, albeit with restrictions that historians
agree, like the rule prohibiting enslaving other human beings, were not
strictly enforced.
Like all land in this country, the site
of Macon, Georgia, was originally land owned by natives who were indigenous to
the region—by 1823, Andrew Jackson had successfully weakened the native
community with superior weaponry, causing natives in Middle Georgia to
negotiate the sale of their homeland at bargain rates.
On
December 8, 1823, the Georgia legislature issued a charter for Macon, Georgia. Eleven
months later, merchants moved to establish Macon as a solid mercantile center.
An announcement for an Administrator’s Sale in the Georgia Journal and Messenger,
Bibb County’s first legal organ, on November 17, 1824, by Charles
Bullock, Administrator, and Martha B. Dawson, Administratrix, pitched the
William W. Dawson estate “…a few miles below the Reserve, on the Ocmulgee
River,” as a place “… persons wishing to establish a permanent interest
in the town of Macon, would do well to attend the sale.”
In
that same edition of the Georgia Journal and Messenger, William Bivins
caused to be published a notice that he had taken over the Mansion House, “that
new and commodious building, in Macon belonging to Capt. Charles Bullock,
fronting the public square where he will entertain travelers and others with
everything that can be offered in the line of his business.”
By
the end of 1824, Macon had a population of three thousand, primarily northern
transplants who migrated from New York, New England, and the northeast region.
They brought with them their Yankee “stiff upper lip” and penchant for
business.
Only
White men ran the government, and no White women or Negroes of any sex were allowed
in governance. As Stevens pointed out
in his history of the state, Blacks were essential as a farm instrument,
nothing more, nothing less.
On
September 19, 1826, L. Thompson, D. S., advertised the following in the Georgia
Journal and Messenger:
“Will
be sold on the first Tuesday in October next, at the courthouse in the town of
Macon, Bibb County, the following property. One Negro man named Sam levied on
as the property of William Robinson to satisfy a fi fa. In favor of Wm.
Bressie.”
Ten
years after Macon received its charter from the State of Georgia, Great Britain
outlawed the slave trade in the British Empire with the passage of the Slavery
Abolition Act of 1833. The Slavery Abolition Act took effect in England on August
1, 1834. Meanwhile, the United States of America, teetering on the brink of a
grave civil war, continued to import human cargo for sell on auction blocks
throughout the agricultural south. In many communities throughout the southern
states, Macon, Georgia included, the number of enslaved people was more
significant than the planter community that kept them in bondage. The fact that
the enslaved outnumbered the enslavers would become a sore spot for Southerners
when troops representing the United States of American moved south to enforce
President Abraham Lincoln’s Executive Order freeing men and women held in
bondage within the several states.
According
to census data, in 1860, Macon had three thousand people. Another 15,952 people
lived in Bibb County. Real estate holdings were valued at $4,777,551, and
personal property, most of which was enslaved labor, was valued at
$10,279,574.00.*
Despite
this enormous valuation in enslaved labor, the
value of Black lives had not improved much within the next 40 years,
according to this advertisement for Life Insurance by Aetna Insurance Company,
Hartford, Connecticut, in the Georgia Journal and Messenger on July 27,
1863:
“The
undersigned, Agent, will receive applications for Insurance on lives of White
persons. Also, risks on Negroes are taken on two-thirds of their cash
valuation.”*
Against this backdrop, Black Maconites
saw a brief period where they exercised political power on the state and
federal levels but none in the local governmental entities. Beginning on April
1, 1867, Georgia began registering voters for the new state government emerging
from the ashes of the Civil War. In Bibb County, “over 2500 Blacks took the Loyalty
Oath* and registered to vote, while about 2,000 Whites agreed with the Loyalty
Oath (Thompson, Reconstruction in Georgia, p. 186).
The
first vote Blacks took in Bibb County after the Civil War was to determine whether
to hold a state Constitutional Convention. Voting began on October 29, 1867,
and ran through November 2, 1867. Over 100,000 people voted statewide on this
measure. In Bibb County, Blacks cast 1,845 votes in favor of the State Constitutional
Convention.
Eight
White Bibb County residents voted in this first election. The percentage of eligible
White men was deficient in 1867, as few were ready to swear allegiance again to
the United States of America. These Georgia rebels were undoubtedly waiting for
the South to rise again quickly following General Robert E. Lee’s surrender.
Georgians, led by a strong contingent of
Blacks formerly held in bondage, overwhelmingly approved holding a Constitutional
Convention, which was the State’s pathway back into the United States of
America. From the start of efforts to reconstitute the country after the Civil
War, former enslaved Black men were ready to govern.
Based
on reporting by The Macon Telegraph, the five-day period to vote on the Constitutional
Convention saw Black leadership casting the majority of the votes passed
without any peace disturbance (Macon Telegraph, November 8, 1867).
According
to the Black Scholar, W. E. B. DuBois in his research, Black Reconstruction
in America, An Essay Toward a History of the Part Which Black Folk Played in
the Attempt to Reconstruct democracy in America, 1860-1880, Atheneum,
Kingsport, Tennessee, Kingsport Press, Inc., p. 498), the Constitutional
Convention originally scheduled for Milledgeville, Georgia had to be moved to
Atlanta because of “White hostility.”
Rev.
Henry McNeal Turner, a Black man born of free parentage near Newberry
Courthouse, South Carolina, represented Bibb County at the Constitutional
Convention. Turner is recognized as the most prominent and influential Black person
in Georgia during the early days of Reconstruction. Ordained by the Methodist
Episcopal Church South, Turner came to Macon around 1858 to preach in the
city’s African Methodist Episcopal Church.
According
to Mungo M. Ponton in his book, The Life and Times of Henry M. Turner (Atlanta,
A. D. Cardwell Publishing Co., 1917, p. 4), “Turner’s eloquence has moved many
Whites to attend his sermons.”*
During
the Civil War, Turner received a commission as a Chaplain by President Abraham
Lincoln, and at the end of the war, Turner was sent to Macon to work with the Freedmen’s
Bureau. Soon after that, Turner left his work at the Freedman’s Bureau and
dedicated his days to organizing the African Methodist Episcopal Church in
Georgia and to organizing political power for the Black community.
As
a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention during Reconstruction, Turner
introduced and passed two resolutions to preserve former enslavers’ economic
interests in their real property. Turner’s resolution to allow White planters
to keep their real property was a benevolent act and an olive branch to Whites
who had just felt the sting of a humiliating defeat on the battlefield.
White
Georgians were not as benevolent when the delegates considered a resolution
establishing one citizenship classification for all Georgians the right to vote
for all males over twenty-one who had lived in the State for six months, and
the right of all voters to hold public office. The majority White delegation
struck the last provision granting Blacks the right to hold public office. While
this version presented to the Georgia Constitutional Convention granted the
vote to Black men, it denied them the right to hold elective office.
In
the latter proviso, a Black male registered voter could vote for any candidate
of his choice as long as that candidate did not have one drop of Black blood
flowing through his veins. Codifying this provision would have made it against
state law to deny a Black male the right to serve in an elective office. Whites
fought against this amendment, and the amendment failed.
Within
four years, prohibition against holding public office gave White state
legislators the basis to remove Turner and 38 other Blacks from the Georgia
House of Representatives and three Blacks from the State Senate.*
Turner
responded by convening a Colored State Convention in Macon, Georgia, on October
6-8, 1868. Of Georgia’s 159 counties, 82 sent delegates. Enslaved Black men had
been holding Colored Conventions throughout the United States since September
20, 1830, when Bishop Richard Allen, Senior Bishop of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church, convened a Colored Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
at the Mother Bethel A. M. E. Church, following the “Cincinnati Race Riot” of
1829.
Nine
states sent 40 free Black men to the first “Colored State Convention” to discuss issues facing free Black Americans
in the antebellum north. Eighteen delegates registered from Pennsylvania, six
from Maryland, four from New York, three from Delaware, two from Rhode Island,
two from New Jersey, and one from Ohio and Connecticut.
The
local law in Cincinnati cut with a double-edge sword. While the law outlawed
enslavement, it also made Black citizenship illegal.*
Turner,
trained in the African Methodist Episcopal Church tradition, was keenly aware
of Allen’s “Colored State Convention” and utilized this concept when it seemed
that the interest of newly freed enslaved people in Georgia was about to be
overrun by the defeated traitors who wanted back into the United States under
terms favorable to their sense of racial superiority.
In
fact, as Bishop, Turner returned to Georgia in 1893 and organized one of the
last Colored State Conventions. He gave the keynote address at the Colored
State Convention, arguing for mass emigration to Canada.
The
1868 Colored State Convention elected Turner as President. The Colored
Convention convened in Macon City Hall to the chagrin of Whites, who were
offended by the strong mistrust of Whites expressed by Turner and other
delegates.* The editors of The Telegraph urged White leaders to stop the Blacks
from using city hall* for what The Telegraph described as the Blacks slandering
the name of “…the good White people of Macon…” (The Macon Telegraph, October 16,
1868).
During
the Congressional Reconstruction from 1867-1876. Henry McNeal Turner, a cleric
in the African Methodist Episcopal Church Connection, ran and won a seat in the
Georgia State Legislature from Macon and Bibb County. Turner ran for
re-election and won and served until he and other Black State Representatives left
the state legislature at the point of guns drawn by white legislators who
disliked free Black men debating the issues of the day.*
On
the federal level, Jefferson Franklin Long won a seat in the United States
Congress from Bibb County by 900 votes over Democrat W. J. Lawton. He served in
the House for three months, From December 1870 until March 1871, and spoke in
the well of the House against allowing members of the Confederacy to serve in
the United States Congress.
“On
election day in 1872, he [Jefferson Long] rallied Black voters and marched with
them to the polls in Macon, where they were met by a group of armed Whites. In
the ensuing riot, at least three people were killed, and most Black voters fled
before casting a ballot”*(Hardwick, Grace,
Jefferson Franklin Long, New Georgia Encyclopedia).
Thus,
violence at the ballot box was the state of affairs for the next 152 years,
filled with unfulfilled dreams of participating in the democratic process.*
Henry
McNeal Turner was the most consequential Black leader in Macon’s first
forty-nine years. After numerous battles with White leaders, Turner spoke
during an Emancipation Day service on January 1, 1872. He urged Congress to
pass a Civil Rights Bill, and then Turner left Macon, leaving a void in Black
political leadership.
This
void remained until the mid-1940s when Austin Walden returned home from
military duty, which included service in France during World War I, and set up
the first Black law practice in Macon, Georgia. In 1946, Walden left Macon for
Atlanta, where he helped establish the Gate City Bar Association, Georgia’s
oldest Black Bar Association.
Not until December 9,
1975, did a Black man, a Black woman, or a White woman take the oath of office
to serve on the Macon City Council.* This book is about the fantasy coming true
for four Black men and one Black woman with their 1975 election to the Macon,
Georgia City Council.
A fantasy for most Black
people living in Macon, Georgia, before 1975 was imagining that a Black person
won an elective office. Post Reconstruction, the earliest account of a Black
person running for public office was Andrew Fields, who ran for Coroner of Bibb
County around 1964.
Fields had a degree in
mortuary science, contracted himself out as an embalmer for local funeral
homes, and worked as a teacher in the public school system. Next up was an
unsuccessful 1968 run for State Representative in the old House District 94 by
Macon’s second Black Attorney, Tom Jackson.
Winning an elective city office
was a pleasant thing to think about, but it was not likely to happen. Reality
is what dreams are, nothing more and nothing less. Black people in Macon,
Georgia, continued to fantasize about holding political power within the limits
of the city government until one November day in 1975, they were standing smack
in the middle of an improbable dream.
During the summer of 1975,
this writer worked as the pollster for the Committee to Elect Reverend Julius
Caesar Hope, Mayor of Macon. Hope was the first Black person to seek the office
of mayor. The Hope campaign events often overlapped with the campaigns of the
Blacks seeking to become the first Black members of the Macon City Council.
Practically every night,
a couple of churches in the city would host a candidate forum. I attended these
events with Rev. Hope and had the opportunity to watch the Black candidates’ historic
run for city council while simultaneously charting the landmark course for the
first Black candidate for mayor of Macon. Hope stepped into the void left in
1872 by the departure of Henry McNeal Turner. Like Turner, Hope was a Southerner.
He was born in Mobile, Alabama. He attended Alabama State College (University)
and lettered in baseball.
After college, Hope
joined the United States Air Force, where he developed into a champion boxer. Hope
became an ordained Baptist preacher, and in the 1960s, he was called to pastor
the Zion Baptist Church of Brunswick, Georgia.
In 1965, Hope became the
first Black person to run for mayor of Brunswick, Georgia.
“I was in fifth grade
when Hope ran for mayor of Brunswick,” Cornell Harvey (no known relation) said.
“I went to bed that night thinking Hope had won, only to wake up the next
morning and the news said there would have to be a run-off. I didn’t understand
what happened. Everybody was disappointed. In the run-off, Hope didn’t have a
chance. People came out of the woodwork to vote for the White candidate,”* Harvey said one night as he followed in Hope’s
footsteps in 2014, campaigning for the Brunswick Mayor’s office. He won the
race, becoming that coastal city’s first Black mayor forty-nine years after
Hope gave it the good old college try.
Ten years after Hope’s
maiden run for mayor of Brunswick, Georgia, he qualified to seek the mayor’s
office in Macon, Georgia. By this time, Hope was the President of the Georgia
chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP).
Like Turner, Hope was
conservative in his political views. As with Turner, the White leadership, led
by The Macon Telegraph, feared Hope and painted him as a Black radical
primarily because Hope’s political style* did not align with that of Bill
Randall, a Black leader who “carried the White man’s water” in times of Black
political activism. Through our polling, we identified where Hope, a relative
newcomer to the city, was weak among Black voters. Gauging Hope’s relative
strength in the Black community was a critical assessment because, in a field
of five candidates, three were White men
with strong ties to the Black community. These three White mayoral candidates held
expectations of getting their share of Black votes.
The Black electorate was
accustomed to voting for White candidates because there had not been many Black
candidates on the ballot to vote for, and the conventional wisdom, according to
Christopher Bonner, Political Writer for The Macon Telegraph, “…the
other [White] candidates in the race were expected to take their share of Black
votes,” (The Macon Telegraph, Thursday, September 1975).
Of those candidates two were
Attorney James I. Wood, who served as Sheriff of Bibb County in the 1950s and
got to know the Black community well. Also in the race was City Councilman
Major David Carter, who had served as Senior Army Instructor at the Junior Reserve
Officers Training Corp (ROTC) program at Lanier Senior High School. By 1975,
Carter had over a decade of getting to know Black young men in his ROTC program
and their parents. Lanier alums widely respected him.
However, the other reason
Bonner and other White political pundits believed that Hope would not fare well
among Black voters was that, as Bonner put it, “Hope was considered no
better than a fourth-place finisher in the primary election because one-time
Black Macon kingpin William P. Randall was backing [Buckner] Melton.” Ibid.
Bonner wrote, “Many
observers expected Hope to receive a few thousand Black votes and a handful of
votes from White liberals” Ibid. In the end, Hope polled 6,321 votes and
finished second in the race, setting up a run-off race with Attorney Buckner
Melton, who received 9,043 votes, most of them from White voters. Hope brought
me aboard in April 1975 after he addressed a small gathering at Unionville
Baptist Church at 1660 Pio Nono Avenue. We met the following day for breakfast
at the famed H & H Restaurant on Forsyth Street. We would meet every
morning at 7:00 am at H & H throughout the campaign to plan our day and
plot strategy to address the different groups on Hope’s schedule.
Hope showed me a napkin he
had received from Dr. Neil Cullinan, a history professor at Fort Valley State
College (University), which laid out the number of votes it would take to win
the election. Then, he tasked me with materializing those numbers in the ballot
box. Professor Cullinan later endorsed Hope as mayor.
I suggested we hit Bonner’s
Black kingpin, Bill Randall, square between the eyes. While I was away in
college in the early 1970s, Hope and Randall clashed over leadership in the
Black community, so my idea went over well with Hope. Randall’s message to the
Black community was that the time was not suitable for a Black person to be
Mayor of Macon and that Hope’s candidacy would hurt race relations and cause a
backlash against Blacks running for the first time for seats on the city
council.
I witnessed Randall take
the same approach to civil rights issues for fifteen years. He urged bus
boycotters in 1960 to go slow. If the Ministerial Alliance, led by Rev. James
Lorenza Key, had not called for mass meetings and encouraged the public to
boycott the city bus line, those cream and green buses would still divide the
races today. We painted Randall as an “Uncle Tom” whose leadership was no
longer relevant to the Black community. We wanted to give Black voters a reason
to break with Randall’s leadership when they entered the ballot box. We wanted
to create enough discussion on Cotton Avenue and at the Beer House on Pio Nono Avenue
that would provoke the question:
Why not vote for a Black
man?*
Hope came out swinging,
without mentioning Randall by name; Hope blasted the notion that the time was
not suitable for a Black person to participate in government and politics.
Randall hit Hope under
the belt by leaking a letter to the media that he wrote to Hope dated June 4,
1975. In the letter, Randall accused Hope of jeopardizing the chances of Blacks
running for seats on the city council and declaring Hope would run so poorly
that he would not force a run-off in the race.
We decided to respond to
Randall’s letter, but not directly to Randall. We prepared a media advisory for
Hope. In it, Hope blistered Randall, stating that he would not be forced out of
the campaign because he did not have Randall’s support. “A majority of the
people are with me,” Hope wrote (The Macon Telegraph, Wednesday, June 11,
1975).
While Hope’s campaign
promoted funding that supported the least of Macon’s citizens, he purposely did
not bill his candidacy as a Black mayor for Macon. His pecan tan skin tone made
that case loud and clear. His campaign theme was “Elect Julius C. Hope – Macon’s
Only Hope.” His was a true statement. A look in the Macon telephone directory
for 1975 and Rev. Hope is the only Hope listed.
Hope retorted, “Only
one reference has been made racially in this campaign, and Mr. Randall has made
it. The campaign will not be decided on racial issues, to the dismay of many,
including Mr. Randall.” Ibid.*
By Independence Day 1975,
tensions mounted between the Randall faction and the Hope team. Herbert Dennard,
community activist and President of The Concerned Citizens League’s Political
Action Committee, scheduled a mass meeting at Allen Chapel African Methodist
Episcopal Church on Pursley Street in the Pleasant Hill community where Bill
Randall had his home.
Sherry Howard, a Macon
Telegraph Staff Writer, summarized the meeting as “…an effort to achieve
unity in the Black community, and not to influence persons in one direction or
another. She quoted Dennard as saying, “There are many brewing rumors
and controversies. Ours is an attempt to seek ways to prevent the pot from
boiling over and burning us all” (The Macon Telegraph, Saturday,
July 12, 1975).
Also, to counter Randall’s
slow walk on Black empowerment, we brought Congressman Andrew Young to speak to
a banquet of about 200 people at the Macon Hilton the week before the election.
Young addressed the timeliness of Black participation in governance. He told
Bonner, “I don’t know whether that’s the question. The time is right to do
right. I hope the majority (of voters) have moved beyond simple racism” (The
Macon Telegraph, Saturday, September 6, 1975). Later, Young added, “When
you have been down as long as we’ve been down, there is only one way to go,”*
Ibid.
Despite Bill Randall’s prediction,
we had engineered our way into a run-off
with Randall’s candidate, Attorney Buckner Melton, when the dust had cleared.
As I had predicted, the dark horse in the race was James Wood. He ran a solid
third, and with our substantial numbers, Melton did not reach fifty percent
plus one to win outright.
The beauty of that September
night in 1975 is that the Black community had stood together on the precipice
of history, one step away from the mayor’s office. Five Blacks won the Macon
City Council election, swallowing up one hundred and fifty-two years of history.
When we drove Rev. Hope
home that night, Willie C. Hill and his brother-in-law Bill Barnes met us in
the driveway. Hill was one of four out of five Black candidates who were
assured of a seat on the next Macon City Council because he had no opposition
in the General Election. Hill and Barnes were strangers to the Hope Campaign
during the heat of battle.
They concentrated their
efforts on getting Hill elected to the council. Hill’s and Barnes’ late-night Nicodemus-like
visit caused Hope to shake his head and muse out loud, “Where have they been
all summer.” The four other Black candidates for city council posts won their Democratic
Primary, but Delores Ann Brooks faced opposition in the General Election. The
results of the Democratic Primary that night proved the lie to Bill Randall’s forecast.
Not only did Rev. Hope win the Black vote, but he also forced the well-financed
Melton Campaign into the run-off Randall said would never happen. Neither did Hope’s
improbable fantasy harm the Black candidates for city council. Every Black
candidate who ran against a White candidate won over the White opposition.
The night before the
run-off, Hope brought James Brown to town. Brown did not sing any of his patented
songs.* He spoke for several hours at First Baptist Church on New Street. Brown
preached that Black folk only wanted the system to open the door to opportunity.
Before Brown had finished speaking, we began to receive threats that a group of
disgruntled White men planned to harm Rev. Hope.
Robert Brown, Director of
the American Friends Service Committee in Macon, volunteered to post security
outside the church edifice. No bombs turned up, and without notifying the
public, Hope motioned for James Brown to wrap up his remarks, and we got
everybody out of the building and home to their families without a panic. True
to Hope’s promise, he did not run a race-based campaign. His message was to
represent every section of Macon fairly.
Afterward, no one could
say that Hope caused a division between the races. However, in the mayoral
run-off, the Hope Campaign did galvanize White voters who feared a Black person
as mayor. There is no doubt that Hope, a Black man, disturbed the sensitivities
of certain folk in Macon, but it is equally valid that Hope ran a non-offensive
campaign, a campaign every member of the Black community could be proud to know
that Hope gave his best.
A Black mayor was inconceivable
in 1823 when the founding fathers organized Macon. Macon’s White voters, in
1975, like their counterparts in Brunswick a decade earlier, came out in droves
to support Melton and maintain the 1823 status quo bolstered by the 1868 Georgia
Constitutional Convention stipulation prohibiting Black public office holders.
Nearly a year after the
election of the “Macon Black Five,” I was a journalist working for The Macon
Courier. I sat down with each Black City Council member to gauge their
pulse and determine their standing on issues confronting the Black community.
My reporting ran in a copyrighted story in the December 1, 1976 edition of The
Macon Courier under theheadline, Black Impact Upon Local
Government.
As a twenty-five-year-old
African living in Macon, Georgia, I believed that the readership of the Black
newspaper should review how the first year of governance went for the Black
city council members. Now, nearly fifty years later, as a seventy-three-year-old
journalist still working in the writer’s trade, I believe it is appropriate to
honor the memory of the “Black Macon Five.”
Before beginning this
book, I discussed my idea with my former publisher at The Macon Courier. I
wasaghast when he asked who the first Black city council members were. A
lot has transpired in the last fifty years. You can forget history, but the “Macon
Black Five” memory should live as long as the city-county government lives.
Understandably, one may
take for granted the pioneers when Black people in Macon went from having no
representation in city government to consistently seeing Blacks in leadership
positions in government and business.
Should we ever forget
Christopher Attucks, Jackie Robinson, or Barack Obama?
I dutifully rattled off
their names: Willie C. Hill, Vernon Colbert, Julius Vinson, Rev. Eddie D.
Smith, and Delores Ann Brooks, who not only was one of the first Blacks on the
city council but one of two women elected that year. The other woman, Dr. Mary
Wilder, was the first White woman elected to the city council.
Society tends not to give
Whites credit for their accomplishments, as Whites, it presumes, have always
been achievers. White women in 1732 were about as valuable as “axes, hoes, and any
other utensils of agriculture,” like Negroes.*
My former publisher left
me disheartened. How could a leading person in business in the Middle Georgia
area have forgotten these local history-makers?
If a leading businessman
who interacted with the original “Five” a great deal fifty years ago does not
have their names on the top of his mind, one shudders to think whether the members
of Macon Black Five have crossed the minds of any other citizen, for God only
knows how many years.
It crossed my mind to
abandon this project and chalk it up to a bad idea with no public interest,
another book filled with information that few would bother to read. According
to Dr. Duval, it is an unnecessary project upon which to devote time and energy.
No one seems to care about the past. After all, the past is yesterday’s happenings.
But Dr. W. E. B. DuBois told us, “The past is the present, that without what
was, nothing is, that, but for the infinite dead, the living are but
unimportant bits.”
What has the past to do
with the present?
Who cares about the past?
Those courageous first Black
members of the Macon City Council are all but forgotten in the annals of Macon
history. There is a city building named for Delores Brooks but no markers for
Hill, Colbert, Vinson, or Smith; except for Smith, the history-making council
members transitioned long ago. I began attempts to interview Rev. Smith for
this book in 2019 but did not receive a reply to any of a half dozen inquiries
over the last five years.
Nevertheless, we should
tell this story. Those, like this writer who remember and are still in charge
of their faculties must share this history with new generations of students,
scholars, and community leaders. The current generation should not repeat
mistakes made by previous generations, errors which should never happen in the
future. Lessons learned must be passed on and utilized by the current historical
Age.*
I will depend, with a few
poetic license exceptions for grammar and clarity, on several pieces I wrote in
The Macon Courier and my recollection of history during the summer of
1975 when a pipe dream fantasy manifested into a physical reality for Five of
Macon’s most improbable Black citizens. It was unlikely because, from the city’s
incorporation, it denied public service to Black people within the city limits.
Beginning on December 9,
1975, people with no experience in public governance because they had never
been allowed to participate in the political process volunteered to make
decisions for the fifth largest city in the state. The “Fantasy Five” cut their
teeth singing “We Shall Overcome” in civil disobedience marches. They came into
their new leadership role as the order of the day turned to chants of “Black
Power,” the fear of every White Maconite who had never contemplated Black men
and women making laws that regulated their daily affairs.
In my 1976 copyrighted
story in The Macon Courier, I recapped the previous year as follows:
“9 December 1976
is recorded in Central Georgia history as the day Jim Crowism died in city
government. The election of five Blacks to the city council brought the death
blow to an archaic era in Central Georgia politics. This feat occurred due to
the election of current Black State Representatives David E. Lucas and William
C. Randall. Their election, incidentally, was a first for Bibb County since
Reconstruction.
Immediately upon
their election, the two began working on a bill to create ward lines for city
council members. They researched, introduced, fought, compromised, and passed a
ward-by-district plan.
By not forgetting
their reason for being in the General Assembly, Lucas and Randall paved the way
for council persons Willie C. Hill, Delores Brooks, Vernon Colbert, Julius
Vinson, and Eddie Smith.
Hill, Brooks,
Colbert, Vinson, and Smith campaigned through some of this writer’s hottest-known
dog days. They walked streets, knocked on doors, shook hands, made promises,
and appeared before public forums to answer tough questions about their
background, wealth - and commitment to Black uplift and progress.
This group, a
teacher, a librarian, a retired postmaster, an insurance agent, and a preacher
prevailed against the opposition.
Willie C. Hill,
the teacher, had the ideal race. Pitted against two White opponents who fought
over the White votes in the District, Hill won by a comfortable margin. Delores
Brooks had the toughest test of all; not only is she a beautiful woman, but she
is also Black. A double negative in heretofore Macon politics, by a slim margin,
she won. Vernon Colbert, the former postal worker, pitted against A. C.
Postell, a Black intellectual, won by a nose. Julius Vinson, the insurance
agent with a spellbinding baritone singing voice disavowing any connection with
the machine and Eddie Smith, won amidst cries about Church and politics and in
open opposition to the machine.
With Judge J.
Taylor Phillips presiding, they took the oath of office. History, unfathomable
history, made!
But all this was
nearly a year ago. What impact have Black council members had on city
government?
This is
undoubtedly a good question that demands our careful attention. For the answer,
we turn to the council members to see how they feel about their role and what
the future scope of the council might become as a result of Black people
actively participating in the day-to-day affairs of city government” (The Macon
Courier Wednesday, December 1, 1975).
What follows within the
pages of this essay is how the City of Macon, Georgia, went from an all-White
male-ruled government from 8 December 1823 to 9 December 1975.
Once answered
satisfactorily, this postulation begs the lingering and persistent question: What
has been the Black impact upon local government from 1975 to 2025?*
Has the White fear of
Black rule been justified, or has it been alleviated by the passage of time and
the quality of Black leaders sent to the council by the Black community?
I leave this critical
assessment to another generation, to other researchers, to other writers with inquiring
minds. My task is to document for prosperity the improbable historical journey
of chattel property, viewed as less than human, who persisted for over a
century and rose to take an oath to protect and serve the city government for
the benefit of all Maconites.
This essay is not without
controversy and criticism of the first five Black members of the Macon, Georgia
City Council. Back in the 1970s, it was blasphemous to utter a public
disagreement with the leadership of the Black community, especially when Blacks
were talking to members of the media, who in that day were practically
all-White, except for the staff employed by Alex C. Habersham to bring the news
to the Black community.
Habersham was so
successful each week in bringing positive news of the Black experience in Macon
to the Black community through the pages of The Macon Courier that it
caused Billy Watson, the editor of the daily White paper (The Macon
Telegraph), to accuse Habersham of trying to create a market for a Black
paper. Watson attempted to disassociate the current MaconTelegraph
from the hostile light in which the paper had painted members of the Black
community. This essay includes some of the raw views the White papers in Macon
expressed from the city's inception in 1823.
In a special heritage
section of The Macon Telegraph published in the Sunday edition of the newspaper
on February 17, 1979, Watson stated, “Alex Habersham is trying hard to create a
market for an all-black newspaper.”
In the early 1970s, when Habersham established
The Macon Courier, he stated that he had done so to fill a void in
presenting news of interest to Blacks in Macon. Habersham took offense to
Watson’s comment and fired a retort in the Wednesday, February 21, 1979 edition
of The Macon Courier. “Alex Habersham is not trying to create a market for
an all-Black newspaper; I am serving one and will continue to do so as long as
the people whom I am serving continue to support The Macon Courier and all for
which it stands,” Habersham editorialized.
Also, this tome will
delve into the public fight between William P. “Bill” Randall and Rev. Julius
C. Hope. Randall came to Macon, Georgia, in the early 1950s. He established a
profitable construction company on his way to becoming recognized as a Black
leader and kingpin in politics related to the Black community.
Rev. Hope, younger and
with a glib tongue, came to Macon twenty years later with a different approach
to addressing the problems of the Black community. He quickly rallied the “young
Turks” to his cause—people like Herbert Dennard, Robert Brown, Henry C. Flickin,
and Elaine Huckabee Lucas.
However, the passage of
time has given us a unique perspective on the times fifty years in our review
mirror. In keeping with the adage that if subsequent generations do not learn
from history, they are bound to repeat it, this essay will address as
delicately as possible some of the mistakes and faulty thinking of the first
class of Black City Council members in the history of Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, segregated by
race ab initio.
“Not everything
that is faced can be changed,” James Baldwin once wrote, “but nothing can be
changed until it is faced.”
History, that sweet truth-teller,
will be my judge.
Harold Michael Harvey
Unionville -Macon, Georgia
July 3, 2024
*As I read this Foreword again, and highlighted all of the issues that came to mind that I wanted to talk about further, I realized that I would need to start a new article... Look for it next...
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