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Why America Needs the National Memorial for Peace and Justice

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So… about the lynching museum being built in Montgomery, Alabama and featured recently during CBS’ 60 Minutes. I am just as surprised as many African Americans to learn that a memorial honoring the  thousands of African Americans who were lynched will open on April 26th in Montgomery, a hotbed of racism and protests during the 1960s.

Oprah, in her role as a correspondent for the veritable newsmagazine, focused on the civil rights attorney behind the memorial, Bryan Stevenson. Stevenson and his team have helped clear more than 100 death row inmates through the Equal Justice Initiative, and he has argued successfully before the Supreme Court. After watching the interview with Oprah and Stevenson, I was torn.

On the one hand, I was proud of this man who chose to educate the community and the nation about the horrific brutality against black bodies during slavery and the Jim Crow era by building the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, largely with private donations. But, I also recognized a feeling of déjà vu.  Our ongoing trauma as black people in this country is most often marginalized and seen as a horror from the past as the report created a backlash from those upset by the nature of the

The pictures shown during this report were horrific. Mobs of white faces dressed in their Sunday best, some looking onward, some smiling into the camera and others with eyes lifted upward at the black life they’d just ended. Scores of eyes witnessing the torture of another human hit me in my core.

Stevenson made a point to express that the lynching of thousands of African American men, women and children were public crimes that were witnessed and celebrated. Newspapers often advertised the lynching as “events.”  And, it wasn’t just enough to kill black people, the bodies of victims were often burned, mangled, castrated and dragged through towns as examples of what would happen to blacks if dared challenge the status quo.

I believe the public needs to be educated on horrific acts like these. It is a part of American history and if we don’t discuss and learn from it, then we are toying with the possibility that history will repeat itself. Although the Jim Crow era is a time and a mindset we’d like to forget, we must remember that ideology and energy are rarely destroyed, they merely change forms.

Today’s America is still plagued by the modern-day lynching of black men, women and children. The only difference is many of these murders don’t occur only on Sunday. They are happening throughout the week during routine traffic stops, and the perpetrators are wearing blue and carrying badges. Many innocent black lives have been taken and are taken by police officers in America, only to have the video documentation of these murders circulated on social media for public consumption.

The lynch mobs haven’t gone anywhere. They’ve only changed positions and functions. I know this is a depressing concept, but as Bryan Stevenson stated in his interview, “truth and reconciliation are sequential. We cannot have the latter without the former.” Racial trauma and disparity affect the oppressed and the oppressor. We need to heal and to do that, we must address the truth of today so that we can work together for peace and reconciliation for tomorrow.

Kambrya Bailey is a native to Beaumont, CA. She’s a Mass Communications student, studying Broadcast Journalism at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Visit https://backyardinternet.com to read more of her work.

Black History

Trump Signs Executive Orders That Will Impact HBCUs and Black Schoolchildren

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and establish a White House Initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.”

According to the White House, the Initiative will help develop private-sector partnerships, institutional development and workforce preparation in technology, health care, manufacturing and finance. 

The president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry L. Williams said, “Today’s executive order serves as strong reaffirmation of President Trump’s support of investment of historically Black colleges and universities. This executive order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations, members of Congress and state lawmakers to redouble their efforts to support HBCUs and their students. TMCF looks forward to continued engagement with the administration and Congress to deliver results for HBCUs and the students they serve via appropriations and other legislative actions.”

On the same day, Trump signed another executive order that removes safeguards for African American schoolchildren by eliminating an Obama-era initiative to protect Black schoolchildren from excessive disciplinary action.

During the Obama administration, the first Black president’s administration created guidelines that sought to prevent school discipline from having a disproportionate effect on minority students. Trump revoked the civil rights initiative during his first term and Biden did not formally restore it. 

At his signing today, Trump said his decision was especially important to the current Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who held the signed order.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”

She added, “Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.

Studies show that Black students are punished more often than their white counterparts.

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Black History

President Jimmy Carter Appointed the First Black Woman to Lead a Federal Agency

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President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life,
advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his
death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of
Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White
House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that
changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.


Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose
Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in
1977.


Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not
considered before.”


Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.


The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.


Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.


“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”


President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty,
compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice

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Black History

The Congressional Black Caucus Prepares for “Important” Work

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The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.

“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.

Photo Credit: Ron Busby, U.S. Black Chambers Inc.

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