Federal Grand Jury Indicts Church Staff Member for Producing, Receiving and Possessing Child Pornography

July 9, 2015

BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury last week indicted a Shelby County man on multiple charges of producing, receiving and possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton.
A four-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Jason Michael Hankins, 34, with the production, receipt and possession of child pornography in 2013. Hankins found at least one of his victims by seeking out a single mother on a Christian dating website. Hankins worked at Shades Crest Baptist Church as part of the Family Life Center staff, assisting in the planning and coordinating of recreational activities.
The maximum penalty for producing child pornography is 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, per count. The maximum penalty for each count of receiving and possessing child pornography is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Hutzell is prosecuting.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

Black Female Activist Charged With Lynching in Controversial Case

Birmingham Times

July 9, 2015

By The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When Sacramento police arrested black activist Maile Hampton (pictured) over her role in a Black Lives Matter protest in January, they didn’t charge her with obstructing traffic, trespassing or disturbing the peace.
They charged her with felony lynching.
No one was killed or even hurt in the demonstration. But the 20-year-old woman was booked under a 1933 section of the California penal code that applies the word “lynching” to the crime of attempting to seize someone from police custody.
While the offense was later downgraded to something more conventional, the use of the lynching charge incensed many community leaders and led California lawmakers to unanimously vote to strike the term from the books. The measure won final approval last week and is now before Gov. Jerry Brown.
“To come full circle 2015 and have a woman of color charged with that crime — the irony was not lost on me,” said state Sen. Holly Mitchell of Los Angeles, the Black legislator who introduced the bill. She said that although the code was originally designed to protect African Americans in police custody, the word “lynching” should no longer be attached to the law.
Among others distressed by the charge against Hampton was Mayor Kevin Johnson, a Black man who likened the terminology to another painful vestige of the nation’s racist past: the Confederate flag, which is coming down fast around the U.S. in the aftermath of the church massacre in Charleston, South Carolina.
“When I first heard that word, I immediately start thinking about someone hanging from a tree with a rope around his neck,” Johnson said. “Is that really what this law is supposed to mean? That’s just a really painful context.”
The details of Hampton’s run-in with police are murky. But cellphone video that surfaced after the demonstration shows a police officer seizing a protester in the street. A woman is seen trying to yank the protester away when another woman, who appears to be Hampton carrying a bullhorn, grabs the man’s arm and tries to pull him from the officer’s grasp. Others soon join the effort.
The use of the word “lynching” for group interference with police only loosely matches the historical conception of lynching — the hanging of Blacks by racist mobs. Jim Crow-era mobs in the South lynched almost 4,000 Blacks between 1877 and 1950, according to some estimates. Many victims were dragged from jail or otherwise wrenched from police custody.
Mitchell and Johnson were not the only public officials to note the loaded nature of the term.
Deputy District Attorney Steve Grippi cited its “incendiary” connotation in explaining his decision to downgrade the charges originally brought against Hampton by police to misdemeanor interference with an officer.
“This violation is equally applicable to the conduct alleged in this action but does not carry with it the racially charged and inflammatory terminology,” Grippi wrote in April.
Police and the district attorney’s office would not comment on the case, and Hampton declined to be interviewed because the charges are still pending.
Another Black Lives Matter protester, 23-year-old Luz Flores, was arrested on felony lynching charges just last week, Los Angeles police confirm.

“First Lady of the Black Press” is Subject of Book Discussion

Birmingham Times

July 9, 2015

Ethel Payne was important figure in Civil Rights Era

Many people do not recognize the name Ethel Payne among the most important people in the civil rights movement. In his new biography, James McGrath Morris aims to change that.
Morris will discuss and sign “Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press” (HarperCollins, 2015) at noon on Tuesday, July 21, in the Mumford Room, located on the sixth floor of the James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. This Books & Beyond event is co-sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and the Library’s Manuscript Division. It is free and open to the public; no tickets are required.
Payne was a journalist as a reporter for the Chicago Defender. In those pages, she continually urged President Dwight D. Eisenhower to support desegregation. She continued throughout her career to report on the struggles of the civil rights era, and her work is credited with persuading many African Americans to take up the cause.
President Lyndon B. Johnson acknowledged her contributions by presenting her with one of the pens he used to sign the Civil Rights Act. When she went to work for CBS in 1972, she became the first African American woman to be a commentator for a national network.
James McGrath Morris is an author, columnist and radio show host. He writes primarily biographies and works of narrative nonfiction. He is working on a new book, “The Ambulance Drivers: Hemingway and Dos Passos – Literary Lives in War and Peace,” that will be published by Da Capo Press in 2017. His other books include “Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print and Power,” “Jailhouse Journalism: The Fourth Estate Behind Bars” and (with Kevin Stillwell) “Revolution by Murder: Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman and the Plot to Kill Henry Clay Frick.”
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs, publications and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov.
The Library’s Center for the Book, established by Congress in 1977 to “stimulate public interest in books and reading,” is a national force for reading and literacy promotion. A public-private partnership, it sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages through its affiliated state centers, collaborations with nonprofit reading promotion partners and through the Young Readers Center and the Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress. Visit read.gov.

2015 Essence Festival Reaches a Record Number of Fans Over Fourth of July Weekend

Birmingham Times

July 9, 2015

Nearly 500,000 attendees live in New Orleans joined by tens of thousands more around the world via 100 hours of live stream programming

NEW YORK – Nearly a half million attendees converged upon New Orleans the Fourth of July weekend for the 2015 Essence Festival, one of the country’s largest live events. The annual 4-day Festival, which took place July 2-5, features entertainment, empowerment, and cultural experiences during the day and the world’s best performers each night. In addition, for the first time this year, the Essence Festival touched tens of thousands of fans around the world via 100 hours of produced live-stream content. Highlights of the 2015 Essence Festival include:
● More than 80 performing artists – including some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry such as Kevin Hart, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliot, Common and Kendrick Lamar – performed at the event’s nighttime concerts.

● Over 120 speakers, authors, leaders and celebrities – including Deepak Chopra, Iyanla Vanzant, Steve Harvey, Keke Palmer, Kelly Rowland, Jussie Smollett and Rev. Al Sharpton – participated in the Festival’s free daytime experience.
Inaugural Essence Festival ‘Day of Service’ commemorated the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by refurbishing schools citywide and staging a first-time community Health & Wellness Fair.

● 100 hours of programming including 24 hours daily of streaming video garnering more than 200,000 Live Stream views covering select performances and daily talk show Essence Live.

● Over 100,000 social media posts driving over 1.5 billion impressions with trending status on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as first-time Twitter Periscope celebrity guest segments.

●Explosive growth in Festival fan mobile usage, with page views up by 80% and unique visitors growing 132% year over year – largely due to 80% increases in video consumption year over year.

It’s Time For a Real Solution to the Gambling Question

Birmingham Times

July 9, 2015

Decisions made by the government and high profile court rulings consumed the news last week. Most of the breaking news has centered on the U.S. Supreme Court decisions. But there is one court ruling that hasn’t gotten as much attention, and it’s just as important to the people of Alabama because it has such a huge impact on the future of our state.
Late last week, an Alabama circuit judge ruled that the state was wrong to “cherry-pick” the casinos it prosecuted (and I think “persecuted” would be more accurate), and that the state must return all the seized money and bingo machines. The case was brought by VictoryLand owner, Milton McGregor, and the judge’s ruling means that VictoryLand is once again free to open its doors.
With VictoryLand opening back up, state leaders can no longer afford to ignore gambling or keep kicking the can down the road. Now more than ever we must pass legislation that addresses the issues of gambling, making sure that gambling interests are competitive and pay taxes on their profits just like every other business in Alabama. We need to keep Alabama dollars in Alabama instead of sending it to Georgia, Tennessee or Florida to play their lotteries and send their kids to college.
Gov. Bentley has previously said he will not include gambling in the call for a special session. Now that the court has made this ruling, I hope the governor will reconsider his position. We can’t afford to keep putting this issue off! Furthermore, I believe a gambling bill could allow us to get out of this budget crisis without passing the Republicans’ tax package (the “RTP”). That’s why, regardless of whether the governor includes gambling in the call, I will be introducing a gambling bill in the special session.
Some legislators may argue that since Attorney General Luther Strange filed an appeal of the decision on Friday, we need to wait for the state Supreme Court to decide on the issue before the legislature takes action. But I believe we cannot sit back and wait to act! The casinos are opening back up, so sooner or later we are going to be forced to act. And at a time when tax dollars are already stretched as far as they possibly can be, I don’t believe the Attorney General should waste more tax dollars fighting the court’s ruling.
The circuit court judge was not wrong in his decision. The state has unfairly “cherry-picked,” as the judge pointed out, which casinos it wanted to prosecute. It’s time for the state to move on, and way past time for state leaders to stop wasting the taxpayers’ money prosecuting these casinos, all of which are legally operating businesses!
We all know the state is in financial trouble . If we act now, instead of waiting, a gambling bill could prevent the tax increases in the RTP. If we pass a gambling bill, casinos like VictoryLand could potentially start paying application and licensing fees, as well as taxes on profits, as soon as October. Those fees and taxes could generate hundreds of millions in revenue for the state, which would allow us to avoid raising taxes.
This isn’t just my opinion, either: Poll after poll has shown that the people of Alabama prefer bringing a gambling bill to a vote instead of the RTP. That’s why Coach Pat Dye and other prominent state business leaders have created an organization to promote casinos and a state lottery.
And even within the Republican leadership, Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, leader of the state Senate, and Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Dothan, chair of the House Ways and Means—General Fund budget committee, have sponsored and co-sponsored gambling legislation and the creation of a state lottery. The support for this type of legislation is there, across the board. Now is the time to pass a bill and let the people vote!
Sticking our heads in the sand is not working. The gambling “issue” is not going to simply go away. Alabamians gamble. Alabamians play lotteries in other states. Our state government has failed to stop gambling. So before we raise taxes and waste taxpayer money fighting to stop gambling, let’s tax gambling and save taxpayer money!
Gambling may be a poor way to fund government in some people’s minds, but the gambling interests should still have to pay their fair share, just like every other business in the state. If they do, and the state acts quickly enough, we can avoid passing the RTP that is on the horizon and legislators can honor their campaign pledges not to raise taxes.
If we don’t address gambling, gambling interests will continue to go untaxed, the state will continue to have an unbalanced budget and the hard working people of Alabama will see their taxes increased.

Rep. Craig Ford is a Democrat from Gadsden and the Minority Leader in the Alabama House of Representatives.

One Day Supplier Diversity Training to Take Place at Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

Birmingham Times

July 9, 2015

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) and Skye Connect Incorporated have partnered to present a one-day supplier diversity training entitled The Business Imperative of Economic Supplier Diversity with New Metrics and Strategies. The training will take place on Wednesday, July 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at BCRI. The training will be led by nationally recognized supplier diversity expert, Alice Gordon, CEO of Skye Connect Incorporated, along with Layle McKelvey, Supplier Diversity Manager from United Airlines.
“The training will demonstrate how supplier diversity can improve innovation, drive technology enhancements, and lower costs in both the service and manufacturing industry,” stated Ms. Gordon. Gordon formerly led the Supplier Diversity efforts at a Birmingham based utility company with nearly 2,000 diverse vendors and millions in spending with diverse companies.
The cost is $295 for the day training, $185 for the half-day afternoon event and $79 to attend the reception only. Supplier diversity managers, human resource professionals, sourcing agents, procurement managers, small and medium size business enterprises, elected leaders and business executives are encouraged to attend the one day session. Details, agenda & registration available are now at www.bcri.org.
Registered attendees will also have a chance to learn how to do business with United Airlines. United Airlines and United Express operate an average of nearly 5,000 flights a day to 373 airports across six continents. More than 84,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world.

Commissioner Jimmie Stephens Can Be Beat?

Birmingham Times

July 9, 2015

By Mahari A. McTier

According to reliable sources, political experts, and some community leaders, current Jefferson County Commissioner Jimmie Stephens can be beaten by former Jefferson County Sherriff Democratic nominee Wallace Anger if he ran for the District 3 seat. This may be shocking to hear for some, but the numbers tell a potentially different story. What’s even more surprising is that Wallace Anger is an African-American who has a high enough favorability to win in a majority white district.

Who is Wallace Anger?
Wallace Anger is a 30 year law enforcement veteran and graduate of Miles College. He currently serves as a deputy in the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Office. He also worked for the Birmingham Police Department for 20 years before becoming a deputy Sheriff.
Reliable sources say that Wallace Anger has put his exploratory committee together to look into a future run for the Jefferson County Commission (District 3) seat against incumbent Jimmie Stephens. He is actively talking with advisers and grass root community leaders to test the viability of his candidacy and the response so far, according to sources, has been overwhelmingly positive. Some have gone so far as to say that he is actively putting his political organization together.

Why some feel he can win?
If you have ever had the opportunity to engage Anger you will agree with me and with many that his presence is one of confidence and self-assurance. He exudes an indescribable sense of firmness and compassion rolled into one. His more than 30 years of law enforcement service has taught him discipline and utmost professionalism. Wallace Anger has uniquely found a way to transcend race, and I witnessed him as a candidate move amongst all socio-economic classes and races with comfort and ease.
I shared this, because the qualities, both tangible and intangible, of a candidate are important when running for public office. They are even more important when running against an incumbent.
If you understand politics, it’s all about the numbers. What has taught me in my 20 years as a student of politics, is that numbers rarely lie. Political campaigns are like heavyweight fights where any fighter can be beat on any given night by the right opponent. Case in point, Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas. Before fighting Buster Douglas, Mike Tyson was viewed as unbeatable. Buster Douglas watched film and knew how to fight Mike Tyson. He knew his weaknesses and took advantage of them. He ultimately embarrassingly defeated the champion of the world. In politics you have to study the numbers to strategize on how to win. Among the many upcoming races the experts are predicting this potential race as a heavyweight bout for the ages.
Let’s look at Anger’s race against incumbent Sherriff Mike Hale in 2014. Yes, he was defeated, but what did the numbers tell us? To have run against a relatively strong incumbent, he did surprisingly well. What the numbers revealed to the experts was that his votes came from a very diverse demographic, both race and political affiliation. According to Anger’s staff, he received as a Democrat 15 percent of the Republican vote of which were majority white. What was even more surprising is that Sheriff Mike Hale received 16 percent of the Black vote. If Mike Hale had not received the 16 percent Black vote, it would have been a much closer race.
Let’s fast forward and look at a future race between Anger and Stephens. The district is currently 45 percent Democrat, 35 percent Republican, and 20 percent Independent. After crunching all the numbers, the experts say that if Anger can get 15 percent of the Independent vote and 5 percent of the Republican vote, he could win. There is viability to their rationale, because I personally feel that Commissioner Stephens would not get any Black votes and Anger showed in his last election that he can win over some Republicans.
We must take into consideration that any viable candidate would have an opportunity to beat Commissioner Jimmie Stephens. Many feel that it’s about results and not excuses on why Jefferson County is still facing some of the same issues it faced when he was elected and they are still under a 20 plus year discrimination court order that he has not addressed.
Remember, running for office is like a heavyweight fight, you have to figure out how to fight your fight and win. I agree with the experts that say if the numbers stand true, Anger could possibly be the next District 3 Jefferson County Commissioner.

From the CAC of REV Birmingham

Birmingham Times

July 9, 2015

The Community Affairs Committee of REV Birmingham, deplores the racist terrorism at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. We send our deepest sympathy to the families of the nine victims. We stand in awe of the families’ loving response to the accused murderer. We applaud political and community leaders in Charleston and South Carolina who have taken steps to heal the grievous hurt in their home state, a hurt shared in great measure by people of conscience across America. We note with satisfaction the announced intent to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Capitol grounds. And we take special pride in that our own Governor Robert Bentley has stripped the flag from Alabama’s Capitol grounds. While our Governor’s bold action does not erase the ill will that many have used the flag to transmit, it helps make clear to the world that as a state, Alabama no longer stands allied with the forces of hate and division.
At the same time, we note with dismay recent news reports of KKK pamphleteering in parts of Jefferson and Tuscaloosa counties. These, plus reports of African American church burnings in recent days across the South, remind us that racism remains more than flag deep in the old Confederacy. Without doubt, we are a better state and region than we were only a few decades ago. Yet our work is far from done.
We call on good people of all ethnicities, creeds, and communities to voice fearless disdain for the stupidity and hatred of yesteryear. Let us reach out to build better mutual understanding, empathy, and acceptance. May the sacrifice in Charleston unite and guide us all toward a more loving and wholesome future.

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange Announces Multi-Billion Dollar Settlement with BP

Birmingham Times

July 9, 2015

MONTGOMERY – Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange announced Thursday that BP has agreed to pay the State of Alabama $1 billion in economic damages and approximately $1 billion in natural resource damages and federal penalty monies to resolve the State’s claims arising from the 2010 Gulf oil spill.
“As part of an $18.5 billion global settlement announced today, BP has agreed to pay the State of Alabama $1 billion in economic damages from the April 2010 Gulf oil spill,” Attorney General Luther Strange said. “This is a major victory for the people of Alabama who will benefit for years to come.”
Attorney General Strange joined Governor Robert Bentley in making the announcement Thursday morning. The $1 billion economic settlement funds will be deposited in the state’s general fund over the next 18 years. The precise allocation of these payments to the general fund will be determined at a future date, as will the State’s receipt of approximately $1 billion in settlement monies for natural resource damages and federal penalties.
This landmark settlement with BP may be the most significant economic damages case ever handled by the Alabama Attorney General’s office.
“Five years ago when I took over the State’s case against BP, I promised to make the State of Alabama whole and to do so without spending a penny on outside counsel,” said Attorney General Strange. “Today, I am pleased to announce that both goals have been accomplished. This is a remarkable achievement for our state and a tremendous legacy for the future.”
Attorney General Strange went out of his way to praise his team, led by Special Deputy Attorney General Corey Maze, who worked tirelessly to achieve this historic settlement.
In January 2011, General Strange was appointed by the court to serve as Coordinating Counsel for the Gulf States in this historic litigation. In March of this year, Strange announced that Alabama had been chosen to be the first State to receive a jury trial against BP for economic damages. That trial was slated to begin in the spring of 2016.

Rep. Sewell Issues Statement on the Removal of the Confederate Flag from the Alabama State Capitol Grounds

Birmingham Times

July 8, 2015

The Congresswoman says the Confederate flag is a part of the South’s past, and that is where it should remain

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Terri Sewell issued the following statement after Governor Robert Bentley removed the Confederate flag from the State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama:

“The Confederate flag is a part of the South’s past, and that is where it should remain. I applaud Governor Bentley for removing the Confederate flag from the grounds of the State Capitol. His actions demonstrate the need for us to close that chapter of our history.

“The Confederate flag represents the fight for slavery and is a symbol of hate, not heritage. Our state government should not sanction bigotry but promote unity and respect for the rights of all Alabamaians. It is time to leave behind racist vestiges of our past.

“The removal of the confederate flag by Southern states, while lauded, is not the remedy for the hatred and racism that led to the fatal church shooting of nine African-Americans in Charleston, South Carolina. There is still much work to do in this nation’s quest for racial equality.

“We must be vigilant on every level from how we educate our children, to removing discrepancies in sentencing laws, to eliminating the barriers that restrict access to voting. Lasting legal and political changes like these will lead to substantive behavioral changes.”

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