I Wholeheartedly Agree With Bowling Green Editorial On Bowling Green, Kentucky, Officer's Use Of Excessive Force.

BGPD officer should lose job

Police brutality has no place in our community. Those who break the law are guaranteed rights when they are arrested and booked

Those rights should be respected and adhered to by all law enforcement officers at all times.

In our opinion, excessive force was used by Bowling Green Police Sgt. Donitka Kay when she arrested Christy Faye Gammon for disorderly conduct on the night of April 26.

During the incident, Kay had Gammon handcuffed and punched her “multiple times” in the head with a closed fist after Gammon spit at her and it landed on her uniform. Gammon claimed she was pregnant at the time of the arrest when Kay had her handcuffed on the ground. 

A police employee hearing Tuesday before the Bowling Green City Commission lasted into the night to determine if Kay would be fired or retained. Kay faced civil charges of fourth-degree assault, unjustified use of physical force, as well as several violations of Bowling Green Police Department policy. Kay’s attorney, Alan Simpson, didn’t dispute that Kay hit Gammon but said hitting her was a last resort. Simpson also said Gammon used a racial epithet to refer to Kay, who is black. He also said Gammon was “wild” at the time of her arrest. He also argued that Gammon was kicking and trying to injure Kay.

None of the arguments Simpson raised during this hearing justify punching a handcuffed prisoner in our judgment.

Bowling Green attorney Wesley Milliken, who represented the police department, described the situation best when he said: “It’s police brutality. You can’t beat a prisoner who’s handcuffed on the ground whether she spits on you or not.”

Milliken also said that even after Kay called for medical assistance, she sent EMS services away from the scene without treating Gammon. 

However, Simpson argued that Kay had assumed Gammon refused treatment while Kay was otherwise occupied at the scene.

In a situation such as this where a prisoner is struck “multiple times” by a police officer, that officer shouldn’t assume anything. It was her job to see that the prisoner got proper medical care, not to assume that she did.

Kay didn’t do this and Milliken argued that Kay falsely reported this.

Simpson also argued that everyone who was watching the hearing, including inmates, would conclude that it’s OK to fight a police officer because they really can’t defend themselves completely.

This was a scare tactic by Simpson and is simply not true. Police have many tools and techniques they can use that follow police policy when trying to arrest and subdue a suspect, and that doesn’t involve punching them while handcuffed. If one reviews daily police reports as this newspaper does, there hasn’t been a case in recent memory where an officer punched a handcuffed suspect “multiple times.”

One would have thought this would have been an open and shut civil case before the Bowling Green City Commission. Sadly, it wasn’t.

Commissioners Bill Waltrip, Melinda Hill and Joe Denning voted to not fire Kay. Only Mayor Bruce Wilkerson and Commissioner Rick Williams dissented. Wilkerson voted against the not guilty decision on all charges and Williams joined him in his dissent on the charges involving unnecessary use of force and violation of police policies involving unsatisfactory performance, use of force and special transport of an injured prisoner.

What part of unnecessary use of force did these three commissioners not understand?

Bowling Green Police Chief Doug Hawkins said after reviewing the information gathered in the internal investigation, he determined that policy and state law had been violated and that termination was the appropriate action. Hawkins described Gammon as a “passive threat” and said that the woman handcuffed and seated or lying on the ground was “equivalent” to a 5-year-old throwing a tantrum. He also said as the arresting officer, Kay had a responsibility to ensure that Gammon received medical attention.

Hawkins, Wilkerson and Williams got it right. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the other three commissioners.

Milliken also gets it. He rightfully argued before the commission that no one likes to be spit on, but police officers are held to a higher standard than the average citizen and they have to hold themselves to that standard. He also said they can’t lose their patience and punch a handcuffed prisoner.

It’s quite obvious Kay lost her temper and, in our opinion, used excessive force by punching Gammon while handcuffed.

The ruling by the majority of this commission that found Kay not guilty is insulting to members of the Bowling Green Police Department who perform a difficult job in a professional manner.

This sets a very bad precedent.

What also raises some red flags about this vote is that two of the commissioners who voted not to fire Kay are former police officers. Wilkerson obviously put aside his former profession in reaching a decision, but it could be argued that Waltrip and Denning were in fact looking out for one of their own.

Had this case been tried in a court of law, Waltrip and Denning as well as Wilkerson wouldn’t have been picked for a jury trial because of their background in law enforcement.

It could be argued that there was an inherent conflict here.

We’re not saying Gammon is an angel. She appeared to be arrested for cause, but she didn’t deserve to be punched “multiple times” while handcuffed.

Although this hearing is over and Kay was retained, the final chapter on this unnecessary matter is still not resolved as the Federal Bureau of Investigations is on the case. Only time will tell what they will or will not do.

But thankfully, we are fortunate to have a fine police department in Bowling Green. The majority of the officers are respectful, follow policies to the letter and look out for the safety of our citizens.

This editorial is not a condemnation of them because we admire and respect the very tough and dangerous jobs they perform on a daily basis. But this is a condemnation on Kay. She abused her powers by her actions, and in our opinion should have been terminated Tuesday from her job.

This Is GREAT Welcome News: Federal Bureau Of Investigations (FBI) Is Now Investigating The Trayvon Martin Killing By George Zimmermann. Watch News Videos.

Ron Paul Said He Would Have Voted Aganist The Landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. That Is EXTREMELY TROUBLING. Watch Video.

Some In The South Are STILL Fighting The Lost Civil War. Read More.

Alabama ceremony marks anniversary of Davis inauguration
By Matt Okarmus

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — It may be 2011, but it might well have been 1861 in Montgomery on Saturday as hundreds of people marched to the state Capitol to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the swearing-in of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
By Amanda Sowards, Montgomery

A color guard leads a parade Saturday in Montgomery, Ala. The parade marked the inauguration of Jefferson Davis.

Men, women and children dressed in Civil War-era attire flocked to the Capitol to celebrate the sesquicentennial of Davis' inauguration. The event included speeches, the firing of cannons and a re-enactment of the inauguration.

Davis was sworn in Feb. 18, 1861, as president of the Confederate States of America. He was elected to lead the Southern states after secession from the union.

As the people who portrayed Davis and his vice president walked up to the Capitol, a cry of "God bless you, Mr. President!" was heard from the crowd. It would set the tone for the afternoon, as several more loud cries could be heard from those in attendance.

The biggest cheers came after speakers noted that they were there to celebrate the birth of the Confederacy, which they said was based on a government for the people and by the people. One speaker also got the crowd going with a yell of "Long live Dixie!"

"We tried to recreate it as close as we could. We wanted to give people a glimpse into history," said Charles Rand, adjutant in chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Rand said his ancestors include Civil War and Revolutionary War veterans, and events like Saturday's are meant to praise them and what they stood for.

"For me, I celebrate the right of our ancestors to have a government of our own choosing," Rand said.

The reasons for the Civil War have been widely debated, and controversy surrounded Saturday's event because of the war's connection to slavery. Kelley Barrow, lieutenant commander in chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, seemed to address those who criticized the celebration in his speech.

Barrow mentioned civil rights hero Rosa Parks, stating that while she moved from the back of the bus to the front, the "people of the Confederacy have been forced to the back of the bus."

Chuck McMichael, a past commander in chief, said the celebration of the Confederacy is a personal issue to him. He compared it to the celebrations of Independence Day, Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

McMichael ended his speech by holding up one of the many flags of the Confederacy that were on display.

"As long as there blows a Southern breeze, this flag will fly in it," McMichael said.

Lee Beasley was in town from Tuscaloosa with her husband and son when they saw the people in costume and wanted to know what was going on. After the celebration drew to a close, her son was asked to help fold a flag.

"He was careful not to let it touch the ground," Beasley said with a smile.

POTUS Barack Obama Aims To Reach Out To Moderate Talibans. Is There Any Such Thing?

Republicans Want To Remind You That Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Was A Republican. But Will He STILL Be A Republican If He Were Alive Today?

Considering that his political affiliation was in the early 50's and 60's, and considering that this is probably the first time the subject has come up -- in case if you have not noticed, Barack Obama, a Black man, is running for President -- will he?

That's the burning question, so what's your answer?

Felons should NOT have their rights to vote denied them, UNLESS they have been convicted of election related crimes. Enough said, and enough already.

Yep, enough said and enough of this nonsense already.

Read the pre-filed bill.

Justice delayed does NOT have to be justice denied!

43 years after killing two Black teenagers in Mississippi in 1964, A KKK Klansman, who feigned his own death in a cowardly attempt to avoid justice for the brutal racial killings was today found guilty by a majority White jury, in a trial that would NOT have happened if not for the positive racial attitudes that outed his kind and the dogged determination of one of the slain victim's brother.

Seale joins Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman, who was convicted last June of manslaughter in the killings of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964, Bobby Frank Cherry in Alabama, convicted in 2002 of killing four black girls in the bombing of a Birmingham church in 1963, and, Thomas Blanton, who was convicted in 2001.

71 year old James Ford Seale is expected to draw a life sentence later this month, and most likely die in prison -- and from their go straight to where his VILE kind spends AGONIZING eternity paying for doing lucifer's earthly bidding.

Justice may be slow, but in Searle's case it was NOT denied his victims. So let's ALL resolve to make them ALL come on down, where the prices for justice for their crimes are both just and right.

ALABAMA apologizes for slavery, joins four other states.

Today, Alabama Governor, REPUBLICAN Bob Riley, magnanimously signed a resolution expressing "profound regret" for Alabama's part in slavery and "its lingering effects." According to him, "Slavery was evil and is a part of American history [and] I believe all Alabamians are proud of the tremendous progress we have made and continue to make."

The resolution describes "centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices" and says "the vestiges of slavery are ever before African - American citizens."

IRONICALLY, the signing of the resolution took place in the state Capitol, which also served as the first capitol of the Confederacy in 1861 and directly across the street from where Confederate "President" Jefferson Davis took up residence -- I suggest to anyone who has NOT gone to Alabama to bear witness to the historical struggle of the Civil Rights Movement to force our country to live up to its creed, that all men are created equal ..., to do so (I did with my family).

The Capitol was also the end of the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march that led to passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Ask any Civil Rights Historian and you'll be told that the seat of Southern racism was in Alabama, figuratively and literarily.
So Alabama's resolution speaks volumes, not to diminish the other states' apologies of course.

By the adoption of this resolution, Alabama becomes the fourth Southern state to pass a slavery apology, following Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

The Right Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., I suspect, is smiling in Heaven and "thanking God Almighty" that the sons of the "vicious racists", as he described many Alabamans before his martyrdom, have FINALLY agreed with him by this apology, and his fight (and death, perhaps) did NOT occur in vain.

Update: I erroneously attributed the magnanimity solely to Alabama's Governor. I reality, the expressed magnanimity is found in the Legislators that introduced -- and approved -- the slavery apology bill, together to Alabamians who were supportive of the measure. I meant these folks NO insult by NOT recognizing them earlier in my post and I apologize to them for my oversight.

Al Sharpton and Mitt Romney feuding.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, in a debate with an Atheist, took Mitt Romney to task over the Mormon church's discrimination against Blacks. Sharpton wonders out aloud whether Romney shares any of the church's now discredited bigoted views and whether Mormons believe in God. Sharpton is now being accused of being bigoted himself for stating that "[a]s for the one Mormon running for office, those that really believe in God will defeat him anyways. So, don't worry about that, that's a temporary situation." Hear Sharpton's comments.

Romney in turn responded to Sharpton by stating: "I can only, hearing that statement, wonder whether there's not bigotry that remains in America." Listen to Romney's response.

Romney also claimed that his father marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the Civil Rights Movement.

I am not defending anyone, but with ALL the accusations about bigotry floating around, here's my take on the controversy. Though his comments may have been overboard and may have exposed some religious intolerance on his part, I think Al Sharpton's inquiry about where Romney stands on the Mormon church's bigoted past(?) is a legitimate inquiry. Romney is right to be indignant about Sharpton's veiled accusation that, as a Mormon, Romney doesn't believe in God.

And, Romney's comment that his father marched with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., demands further inquiry to ascertain its veracity and legitimacy. After all, this is the same Mitt Romney who was more liberal than Sen. Ted Kennedy and who now wants us to believe he should be the conservative flag bearer for the Republican party, and, who also claimed he was an avid hunter only to backtrack when exposed, explaining that instead, like "Looney Tunes' Elmer Fudd", he only hunted "Wabbitts" on a couple of occasions!

Now's your turn.




Talking about Al Sharpton, I found this once in a lifetime picture of Ultra Conservative Columnist, Ann Coulter, and the Ultra Liberal Rev. Al Sharpton and I thought I post it. Kinda like this picture on the left of Ronald Reagan and Ted Kennedy. Your eyes are NOT deceiving you, believe me!

An SERIOUS indictment of our system of justice.

A serious indictment of our system of justice has DNA finding, and EXONERATING, many WRONGFULLY convicted persons. According to the Innocence Project, of the 200 people whose convictions have been overturned as a result of DNA evidence since 1989, 60 percent have been black or Latino. Of those exonerated after a rape conviction, 85 percent were black men accused of assaulting a white woman.

In contrast, black men are accused in 33.6 percent of rapes or sexual assaults of white women. See, 2005 Bureau of Justice Statistics study of victims.

"What it says to me is that, ultimately, if you are a black man charged with sexually assaulting a white woman, the likelihood that you will be convicted, even if you are stone-cold innocent, is much, much higher," said Peter J. Neufeld, a co-director of the Innocence Project who asserted that the 200 exonerations that DNA have set free "are the tip of the iceberg."

So sad that our society still treats people WRONGFULLY for the "crimes" of having the "wrong" skin color.

Justice statistics STILL show it may be a crime to "Drive While Black (DWB)".

Many of you may have heard the claims/assertions that Blacks are more likely than other ethnic groups to be stopped, searched, ticketed or jailed or to complain of excessive use of force by police for the "crime" of "Driving While Black". Now the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (the recognized authority on such subject) has issued its report, which seems to confirm that if you are Black or Brown, as opposed to another skin color, you are more likely to hear "may I see your license and registration, please?"

Any thoughts out there?

U. S Supreme Court backs police in high speed chase and other cases.

The U. S. Supreme Court has ruled 8 to 1, in Scott vs. Harris, 05-1631, that a police officer, who is involved in a high speed chase -- watch the video -- and who uses his cruiser to stop the speeding vehicle in a bid to prevent "serious risks to police and bystanders", is not liable on Fourth Amendment UNREASONABLENESS grounds for a violation of the civil rights (42 U. S C., section 1983) for the injuries sustained by the driver of the speeding vehicle -- in this case, the injuries left the driver a quadriplegic.

Justice Scalia, writing for the Court's majority, stated: [W]e loath to lay down a rule requiring police to allow fleeing suspects to get away whenever they drive so recklessly that they put other people’s lives in danger. It is obvious the perverse incentives such a rule would create: Every fleeing motorist would know that escape is within his grasp, if only he accelerates to 90 miles per hour, crosses the double-yellow line a few times,and runs a few red lights. The Constitution assuredly does not impose this invitation to impunity-earned-by-recklessness. Instead, we lay down a more sensible rule: A police officer’s attempt to terminate a dangerous high-speed car chase that threatens the lives of innocent by-standers does not violate the Fourth Amendment, even when it places the fleeing motorist at risk of serious injury or death."

The lone dissenter, Justice Stevens, accused his colleagues of "set[ting] forth a per se rule that presumes its own version of the facts[] ... given that it is not clear that this chase threatened the life of any 'innocent bystande[r]'[which issue] ... jurors in Georgia should be allowed to evaluate" [in a trial].

What does all this mean? It all means that police will NOT be held liable for injuries sustained by drivers involved in high speed chases, such as was captured in the video linked above.

So give us your thoughts.

Speaking of the Supreme Court, the Court today ruled 7 to 1 in favor of Microsoft Corp. and against AT&T, 05-1056, which made it easier to challenge patents by restricting the reach of patents overseas.

What do you think?

And speaking of both the Supreme Court and overseas, the Court has agreed to decide the case of a Mexican national on death row in Texas. In the case, Medellin v. Texas, 06-984, the Court will look at executive power and the role of international law on state court proceedings. Death row inmate, Jose Ernesto Medellin and 50 others, are challenging their convictions because they were not allowed to contact their Counsels as allowed by the 1963 Vienna Convention Treaty of which the United States is a signer.

The case will likely be decided by the Court this fall, but until then what do you think? Should a foreigner be told of his rights to contact his country's Consul before certain proceedings are undertaken against him, as allowed under a treaty which the U. S. is a signer?

Florida abandons Kentucky and Virginia!

Florida has today said "Sayonara" to Kentucky and Virginia. Read why.

We mourn MLK, Jr., and Coach Eddie Robinson.

Today marks the anniversary of the assassination of Civil Rights Leader, the very right and venerable Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who is pictured on your right. (Coincidentally, on this day Martin Luther, the Reformer, was ordained a priest in Germany). You can also visit the King center to learn more and partake in his INFINITE wisdom and service to mankind. The King is STILL missed and beloved.



Also, today we mourn the passing of another civil rights leader, the legendary "soft-spoken coach" Eddie Robinson, (pictured on your left), who spent nearly 60 years at Grambling State University, where he set a standard for victories with 408 and nearly every season saw his top players -- more than 200 -- drafted by NFL teams (Doug Williams, a Super Bowl MVP quarterback was one of them). The "Vince Lombardi" of College football will be missed too.

Is Kentucky defying the U. S. Supreme Court?

In Batson V. Kentucky, a shameful case of immense constitutional proportions, the U. S. Supreme Court held that the Kentucky practice of allowing the deliberate exclusion of Blacks from juries "undermines public confidence in our system of justice and touches the entire community", and that prosecutors and defense Attorneys must offer a "race-neutral" reason for doing so if challenged by the other attorney. Now it appears that Kentucky courts may be up to their old tricks again, in an OBVIOUS violation of the U. S. Supreme Court "race-neutral" mandate, which touches upon the U. S. Constitution's SUPREMACY Clause. Sad to say how some of us are QUICK to make it to church EVERY Sabbath day, but are NOT so willing to follow the Bible's teaching about the GOLDEN RULE and loving one another!

On the march to Selma, Alabama.

Today, as we celebrate the HISTORIC Civil Rights March from Montgomery to Selma, Alabama, and back -- a march that was the defining moment in the Black Civil Rights movement -- and as some presidential candidates (Obama, Clinton and others) descend on that city to commemorate it, I give you the magnanimous and God inspired words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered before the awe-inspiring march commenced:

Text of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"How Long? Not Long"

delivered on March 25, 1965
in Montgomery, Alabama

My dear and abiding friends, Ralph Abernathy, and to all of the distinguished Americans seated here on the rostrum, my friends and co-workers of the state of Alabama, and to all of the freedom-loving people who have assembled here this afternoon from all over our nation and from all over the world: Last Sunday, more than eight thousand of us started on a mighty walk from Selma, Alabama. We have walked through desolate valleys and across the trying hills. We have walked on meandering highways and rested our bodies on rocky byways. Some of our faces are burned from the outpourings of the sweltering sun. Some have literally slept in the mud. We have been drenched by the rains. [Audience:] (Speak) Our bodies are tired and our feet are somewhat sore.

But today as I stand before you and think back over that great march, I can say, as Sister Pollard said-a seventy-year-old Negro woman who lived in this community during the bus boycott-and one day, she was asked while walking if she didn't want to ride. And when she answered, "No," the person said,

"Well, aren't you tired?" And with her ungrammatical profundity, she said, "My feets is tired, but my soul is rested." (Yes, sir. All right) And in a real sense this afternoon, we can say that our feet are tired, (Yes, sir) but our souls are rested.

They told us we wouldn't get here. And there were those who said that we would get here only over their dead bodies, (Well. Yes, sir. Talk) but all the world today knows that we are here and we are standing before the forces of power in the state of Alabama saying, "We ain't goin' let nobody turn us around." (Yes, sir. Speak) [Applause]

Now it is not an accident that one of the great marches of American history should terminate in Montgomery, Alabama. (Yes, sir) Just ten years ago, in this very city, a new philosophy was born of the Negro struggle. Montgomery was the first city in the South in which the entire Negro community united and squarely faced its age-old oppressors. (Yes, sir. Well) Out of this struggle, more than bus [de]segregation was won; a new idea, more powerful than guns or clubs was born. Negroes took it and carried it across the South in epic battles (Yes, sir. Speak) that electrified the nation (Well) and the world.

Yet, strangely, the climactic conflicts always were fought and won on Alabama soil. After Montgomery's, heroic confrontations loomed up in Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, and elsewhere. But not until the colossus of segregation was challenged in Birmingham did the conscience of America begin to bleed. White America was profoundly aroused by Birmingham because it witnessed the whole community of Negroes facing terror and brutality with majestic scorn and heroic courage. And from the wells of this democratic spirit, the nation finally forced Congress (Well) to write legislation (Yes, sir) in the hope that it would eradicate the stain of Birmingham. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave Negroes some part of their rightful dignity, (Speak, sir) but without the vote it was dignity without strength. (Yes, sir)

Once more the method of nonviolent resistance (Yes) was unsheathed from its scabbard, and once again an entire community was mobilized to confront the adversary. (Yes, sir) And again the brutality of a dying order shrieks across the land. Yet, Selma, Alabama, became a shining moment in the conscience of man. If the worst in American life lurked in its dark streets, the best of American instincts arose passionately from across the nation to overcome it. (Yes, sir. Speak) There never was a moment in American history(Yes, sir) more honorable and more inspiring than the pilgrimage of clergymen and laymen of every race and faith pouring into Selma to face danger (Yes) at the side of its embattled Negroes.

The confrontation of good and evil compressed in the tiny community of Selma (Speak, speak) generated the massive power (Yes, sir. Yes, sir) to turn the whole nation to a new course. A president born in the South (Well) had the sensitivity to feel the will of the country, (Speak, sir) and in an address that will live in history as one of the most passionate pleas for human rights ever made by a president of our nation, he pledged the might of the federal government to cast off the centuries-old blight. President Johnson rightly praised the courage of the Negro for awakening the conscience of the nation. (Yes, sir)

On our part we must pay our profound respects to the white Americans who cherish their democratic traditions over the ugly customs and privileges of generations and come forth boldly to join hands with us. (Yes, sir) From Montgomery to Birmingham, (Yes, sir) from Birmingham to Selma, (Yes, sir) from Selma back to Montgomery, (Yes) a trail wound in a circle long and often bloody, yet it has become a highway up from darkness. (Yes, sir) Alabama has tried to nurture and defend evil, but evil is choking to death in the dusty roads and streets of this state. (Yes, sir. Speak, sir) So I stand before you this afternoon (Speak, sir. Well) with the conviction that segregation is on its deathbed in Alabama, and the only thing uncertain about it is how costly the segregationists and Wallace will make the funeral. (Go ahead. Yes, sir) [Applause]

Our whole campaign in Alabama has been centered around the right to vote. In focusing the attention of the nation and the world today on the flagrant denial of the right to vote, we are exposing the very origin, the root cause, of racial segregation in the Southland. Racial segregation as a way of life did not come about as a natural result of hatred between the races immediately after the Civil War. There were no laws segregating the races then. And as the noted historian, C. Van Woodward, in his book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, clearly points out, the segregation of the races was really a political stratagem employed by the emerging Bourbon interests in the South to keep the southern masses divided and southern labor the cheapest in the land. You see, it was a simple thing to keep the poor white masses working for near-starvation wages in the years that followed the Civil War. Why, if the poor white plantation or mill worker became dissatisfied with his low wages, the plantation or mill owner would merely threaten to fire him and hire former Negro slaves and pay him even less. Thus, the southern wage level was kept almost unbearably low.

Toward the end of the Reconstruction era, something very significant happened. (Listen to him) That is what was known as the Populist Movement. (Speak, sir) The leaders of this movement began awakening the poor white masses (Yes, sir) and the former Negro slaves to the fact that they were being fleeced by the emerging Bourbon interests. Not only that, but they began uniting the Negro and white masses (Yeah) into a voting bloc that threatened to drive the Bourbon interests from the command posts of political power in the South.

To meet this threat, the southern aristocracy began immediately to engineer this development of a segregated society. (Right) I want you to follow me through here because this is very important to see the roots of racism and the denial of the right to vote. Through their control of mass media, they revised the doctrine of white supremacy. They saturated the thinking of the poor white masses with it, (Yes) thus clouding their minds to the real issue involved in the Populist Movement. They then directed the placement on the books of the South of laws that made it a crime for Negroes and whites to come together as equals at any level. (Yes, sir) And that did it. That crippled and eventually destroyed the Populist Movement of the nineteenth century.

If it may be said of the slavery era that the white man took the world and gave the Negro Jesus, then it may be said of the Reconstruction era that the southern aristocracy took the world and gave the poor white man Jim Crow. (Yes, sir) He gave him Jim Crow. (Uh huh) And when his wrinkled stomach cried out for the food that his empty pockets could not provide, (Yes, sir) he ate Jim Crow, a psychological bird that told him that no matter how bad off he was, at least he was a white man, better than the black man. (Right sir) And he ate Jim Crow. (Uh huh) And when his undernourished children cried out for the necessities that his low wages could not provide, he showed them the Jim Crow signs on the buses and in the stores, on the streets and in the public buildings. (Yes, sir) And his children, too, learned to feed upon Jim Crow, (Speak) their last outpost of psychological oblivion. (Yes, sir)

Thus, the threat of the free exercise of the ballot by the Negro and the white masses alike (Uh huh) resulted in the establishment of a segregated society. They segregated southern money from the poor whites; they segregated southern mores from the rich whites; (Yes, sir) they segregated southern churches from Christianity (Yes, sir); they segregated southern minds from honest thinking; (Yes, sir) and they segregated the Negro from everything. (Yes, sir) That's what happened when the Negro and white masses of the South threatened to unite and build a great society: a society of justice where none would pray upon the weakness of others; a society of plenty where greed and poverty would be done away; a society of brotherhood where every man would respect the dignity and worth of human personality. (Yes, sir)

We've come a long way since that travesty of justice was perpetrated upon the American mind. James Weldon Johnson put it eloquently. He said:

We have come over a way

That with tears hath been watered. (Yes, sir)

We have come treading our paths

Through the blood of the slaughtered. (Yes, sir)

Out of the gloomy past, (Yes, sir)

Till now we stand at last

Where the white gleam

Of our bright star is cast. (Speak, sir)

Today I want to tell the city of Selma, (Tell them, Doctor) today I want to say to the state of Alabama, (Yes, sir) today I want to say to the people of America and the nations of the world, that we are not about to turn around. (Yes, sir) We are on the move now. (Yes, sir)

Yes, we are on the move and no wave of racism can stop us. (Yes, sir) We are on the move now. The burning of our churches will not deter us. (Yes, sir) The bombing of our homes will not dissuade us. (Yes, sir) We are on the move now. (Yes, sir) The beating and killing of our clergymen and young people will not divert us. We are on the move now. (Yes, sir) The wanton release of their known murderers would not discourage us. We are on the move now. (Yes, sir) Like an idea whose time has come, (Yes, sir) not even the marching of mighty armies can halt us. (Yes, sir) We are moving to the land of freedom. (Yes, sir)

Let us therefore continue our triumphant march (Uh huh) to the realization of the American dream. (Yes, sir) Let us march on segregated housing (Yes, sir) until every ghetto or social and economic depression dissolves, and Negroes and whites live side by side in decent, safe, and sanitary housing. (Yes, sir) Let us march on segregated schools (Let us march, Tell it) until every vestige of segregated and inferior education becomes a thing of the past, and Negroes and whites study side-by-side in the socially-healing context of the classroom.

Let us march on poverty (Let us march) until no American parent has to skip a meal so that their children may eat. (Yes, sir) March on poverty (Let us march) until no starved man walks the streets of our cities and towns (Yes, sir) in search of jobs that do not exist. (Yes, sir) Let us march on poverty (Let us march) until wrinkled stomachs in Mississippi are filled, (That's right) and the idle industries of Appalachia are realized and revitalized, and broken lives in sweltering ghettos are mended and re-molded.

Let us march on ballot boxes, (Let's march) march on ballot boxes until race-baiters disappear from the political arena.

Let us march on ballot boxes until the salient misdeeds of bloodthirsty mobs (Yes, sir) will be transformed into the calculated good deeds of orderly citizens. (Speak, Doctor)

Let us march on ballot boxes (Let us march) until the Wallaces of our nation tremble away in silence.

Let us march on ballot boxes (Let us march) until we send to our city councils (Yes, sir), state legislatures, (Yes, sir) and the United States Congress, (Yes, sir) men who will not fear to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God.

Let us march on ballot boxes (Let us march. March) until brotherhood becomes more than a meaningless word in an opening prayer, but the order of the day on every legislative agenda.

Let us march on ballot boxes (Yes) until all over Alabama God's children will be able to walk the earth in decency and honor.

There is nothing wrong with marching in this sense. (Yes, sir) The Bible tells us that the mighty men of Joshua merely walked about the walled city of Jericho (Yes) and the barriers to freedom came tumbling down. (Yes, sir) I like that old Negro spiritual, (Yes, sir) "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho." In its simple, yet colorful, depiction (Yes, sir) of that great moment in biblical history, it tells us that:

Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, (Tell it)

Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, (Yes, sir)

And the walls come tumbling down. (Yes, sir. Tell it)

Up to the walls of Jericho they marched, spear in hand. (Yes, sir)

"Go blow them ram horns," Joshua cried,

"'Cause the battle am in my hand." (Yes, sir)

These words I have given you just as they were given us by the unknown, long-dead, dark-skinned originator. (Yes, sir) Some now long-gone black bard bequeathed to posterity these words in ungrammatical form, (Yes, sir) yet with emphatic pertinence for all of us today. (Uh huh)

The battle is in our hands. And we can answer with creative nonviolence the call to higher ground to which the new directions of our struggle summons us. (Yes, sir) The road ahead is not altogether a smooth one. (No) There are no broad highways that lead us easily and inevitably to quick solutions. But we must keep going.

In the glow of the lamplight on my desk a few nights ago, I gazed again upon the wondrous sign of our times, full of hope and promise of the future. (Uh huh) And I smiled to see in the newspaper photographs of many a decade ago, the faces so bright, so solemn, of our valiant heroes, the people of Montgomery. To this list may be added the names of all those (Yes) who have fought and, yes, died in the nonviolent army of our day: Medgar Evers, (Speak) three civil rights workers in Mississippi last summer, (Uh huh)William Moore, as has already been mentioned, (Yes, sir) the Reverend James Reeb, (Yes, sir) Jimmy Lee Jackson, (Yes, sir) and four little girls in the church of God in Birmingham on Sunday morning. (Yes, sir) But in spite of this, we must go on and be sure that they did not die in vain. (Yes, sir) The pattern of their feet as they walked through Jim Crow barriers in the great stride toward freedom is the thunder of the marching men of Joshua, (Yes, sir) and the world rocks beneath their tread. (Yes, sir)

My people, my people, listen. (Yes, sir) The battle is in our hands. (Yes, sir) The battle is in our hands in Mississippi and Alabama and all over the United States. (Yes, sir) I know there is a cry today in Alabama, (Uh huh) we see it in numerous editorials: "When will Martin Luther King, SCLC, SNCC, and all of these civil rights agitators and all of the white clergymen and labor leaders and students and others get out of our community and let Alabama return to normalcy?"

But I have a message that I would like to leave with Alabama this evening. (Tell it) That is exactly what we don't want, and we will not allow it to happen, (Yes, sir) for we know that it was normalcy in Marion (Yes, sir) that led to the brutal murder of Jimmy Lee Jackson. (Speak) It was normalcy in Birmingham (Yes) that led to the murder on Sunday morning of four beautiful, un-offending, innocent girls. It was normalcy on Highway 80 (Yes, sir) that led state troopers to use tear gas and horses and billy clubs against unarmed human beings who were simply marching for justice. (Speak, sir) It was normalcy by a cafe in Selma, Alabama, that led to the brutal beating of Reverend James Reeb.

It is normalcy all over our country (Yes, sir) which leaves the Negro perishing on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of vast ocean of material prosperity. It is normalcy all over Alabama (Yeah) that prevents the Negro from becoming a registered voter. (Yes) No, we will not allow Alabama (Go ahead) to return to normalcy. [Applause]

The only normalcy that we will settle for (Yes, sir) is the normalcy that recognizes the dignity and worth of all of God's children. The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy that allows judgment to run down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. (Yes, sir) The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy of brotherhood, the normalcy of true peace, the normalcy of justice.

And so as we go away this afternoon, let us go away more than ever before committed to this struggle and committed to nonviolence. I must admit to you that there are still some difficult days ahead. We are still in for a season of suffering in many of the black belt counties of Alabama, many areas of Mississippi, many areas of Louisiana. I must admit to you that there are still jail cells waiting for us, and dark and difficult moments. But if we will go on with the faith that nonviolence and its power can transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows, we will be able to change all of these conditions.

And so I plead with you this afternoon as we go ahead: remain committed to nonviolence. Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding. We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. And that will be a day not of the white man, not of the black man. That will be the day of man as man. (Yes)

I know you are asking today, "How long will it take?" (Speak, sir) Somebody's asking, "How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?" Somebody's asking, "When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all over the South, be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men?" Somebody's asking, "When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, (Speak, speak, speak) plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, (Speak) and truth bear it?" (Yes, sir)

I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, (Yes, sir) however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, (No sir) because "truth crushed to earth will rise again." (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (Yes, sir) because "no lie can live forever." (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (All right. How long) because "you shall reap what you sow." (Yes, sir)

How long? (How long?) Not long: (Not long)

Truth forever on the scaffold, (Speak)

Wrong forever on the throne, (Yes, sir)

Yet that scaffold sways the future, (Yes, sir)

And, behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow,

Keeping watch above his own.

How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (Not long) because:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; (Yes, sir)

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; (Yes)

He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword; (Yes, sir)

His truth is marching on. (Yes, sir)

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; (Speak, sir)

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat. (That's right)

O, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant my feet!

Our God is marching on. (Yeah)

Glory, hallelujah! (Yes, sir) Glory, hallelujah! (All right)

Glory, hallelujah! Glory, hallelujah!

His truth is marching on. [Applause]

Another non binding (and meaningless) resolution ...

... this time its New York City style.

"Black history is American history".

On this the last day of Black History Month, an elected Representative pens a column in recognition.

Kentucky's role in the Black Civil Rights experience.

Many of you may not have known that many Kentuckians played a role (both positive and negative) in the Civil Rights experience of the Black race. So in a week that gave us the movie Amazing Grace, which chronicled the story of slave abolitionists -- especially the British Commoner, William Wilberforce -- I give you Dyche's ... from Clay to Obama. Love one another, would you. And RESOLVE to judge people by the "contents of their character" and NOT their skin pigmentation.