The Birmingham Civil Rights Crossroads project will create a 3.16-mile urban trail network. (City of Birmingham)
birminghamal.gov
The City of Birmingham will host its Community Studio Week from June 10–14, as part of the Birmingham Civil Rights Crossroads Project, an initiative to reconnect neighborhoods, improve mobility, and honor Birmingham’s Civil Rights legacy.
Residents, business owners, students, and stakeholders from across the Civil Rights District, Smithfield, Graymont, and surrounding areas are invited to share ideas and feedback that will shape the project’s direction.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Crossroads Project, which is funded in part by a $21 million U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE Grant, will deliver 3.16 miles of multimodal improvements—new trails, sidewalks, mobility hubs, and culturally inspired public space enhancements.
The project aims to transform key streets in the city’s historic neighborhoods into spaces that better connect communities while honoring our city’s powerful civil rights legacy. The corridor is focused on 4th and 5th Avenues North, 16th Street North, 6th Street West, and Graymont Avenue. A first for Birmingham, this trail will connect the Red Rock Trail System, the Smithfield Community, and the Civil Rights National Monument Site to the downtown core. Building on the momentum of adding over 40 miles of bike lanes in the past six years, this initiative will introduce new sidewalks and trails to enhance transit, walkability and cycling.
“This project marks another significant step in BDOT’s ongoing transformation of our city’s transportation system into a multimodal network that prioritizes people,” said Christina Argo, deputy director for the Birmingham Department of Transportation. “This visionary project champions the City’s goals of walkable, healthy, and vibrant neighborhoods while deeply honoring our civil rights heritage.”
The Community Studio Week will take place at Legion Field, located at 400 Graymont Ave. West. The schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, June 10 | 6–7:30 p.m. Public Kick-Off Meeting Formal presentation, project overview, and interactive engagement
Wednesday, June 11 | 1–6 p.m. Open Design Studio Drop-in hours for one-on-one engagement and feedback
Thursday, June 12 | 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Open Design Studio Continued drop-in sessions and individual engagement
Saturday, June 14 | 8:30–10:30 a.m. Open Design Studio & Report Back Team shares what’s been heard so far—concept sketches, survey input, and data summaries
“This project isn’t just about infrastructure—it’s about honoring legacy, creating opportunity, and investing in communities,” said Bolaji Kukoyi, president of Dynamic Civil Solutions, the project’s lead consultant. “Community Studio Week is the public’s opportunity to directly shape what this transformation looks like.”
Residents are encouraged to take the project survey now to help guide design and programming before the studio week begins. For more information, ongoing updates and to take the survey, visit www.bhmcrossroads.com
Cameron Blankenship was chosen for the international team based on a combination of athletic ability as well as academics, leadership ability and character. (Provided)
By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times
Cameron Blankenship, of Birmingham’s Ramsay High School, has been selected by Student Athlete World to represent the United States in the Pyrenees Basketball Cup and International Sporting Competition in Barcelona, Spain on June 10.
Student-athletes are chosen for the team based on a combination of athletic ability as well as their academics ability and academics, leadership ability and character.
Cameron Blankenship was chosen for the international team based on a combination of athletic ability as well as academics, leadership ability and character. (Provided)
“This is a dream come true,” Blankenship told The Birmingham Times. “I did not know I could do something like this. I’ve watched pro athletes represent the USA and I thought that was so cool. When I was told I had made the top 50 prospects list in December I was happy, and that would have been good enough for me.”
Blankenship, 17, a rising senior at Ramsay, was named recently for the final 11-person roster with players from across the U.S. including Arizona, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
“When I received notice that I had been selected I really was happy,” he said. “But when the actual USA red, white and blue uniform arrived I knew it was real, and I was super excited and I couldn’t stop smiling. It had my name on it. How can you not be excited?”
He added, “We watch our role models and guys we look up to represent the USA. Now I get to be a part of that.”
His father, Birmingham lawyer Lucien Blankenship, said the family is understandably proud.
“We have always taught Cameron the importance of hard work and the rewards that follow,” Lucien said. “He works hard athletically and academically and this is a realization of his dedication on the court. Words can’t express how proud we are of this win because he gets to represent himself, our family, Birmingham and his country.”
BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special to the Birmingham Times
RONALD & ANNETTE WILSON
Live: Pleasant Grove
Married: March 30, 1981
Met: Early September, 1978, over the phone, through a mutual friend. Ronald was living in Detroit at the time, when his hometown friend, Denise, called him up from Birmingham and said ‘I got somebody I want you to meet’.
“I said that doesn’t make any sense, I live in Detroit, and she lives there… I was trying to figure out how the connection would work,” Ronald recalled. “And Annette was over at Denise’s house at the time so I said, ‘ok, let me talk to her.”
Annette and Ronald talked for ten minutes, exchanged numbers, and finished the conversation when she got home. “I was very interested and I went home and made that long distance phone call…,” Annette said.
Their connection grew quickly and Ronald invited her up for a visit, but Annette was not willing to go alone. “I did not want to go to Detroit because of the riots (she had seen on the news in the aftermath of the 1968 assassination Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), I thought I was going to see people laid all over the streets,” Annette laughed.
On Oct. 7, 1978, Denise accompanied Annette to Detroit to meet Ronald. Upon their arrival, Ronald’s brother and cousin were at the airport to pick them up, and when Annette saw who she thought was Ronald, “I said, ‘oh, girl, if that’s Ronald, I’m staying right here on this plane,” Annette laughed. Fortunately for Annette, it wasn’t Ronald.
Ronald said he was satisfied when he finally saw Annette. “I liked the way she looked, her smile, and her hair. She was wearing a curly natural…”
First date: During her weekend visit, Ronald took her to dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, in downtown Detroit. “We went to the Renaissance Center and had a nice time,” Ronald said.
Annette remembers, “I was really shy, and I remember Ronald really liked his food,” she said. “I was laughing at the way he was eating… and I didn’t like my dinner. I ordered this broiled fish and it was huge, coming from the South, I was used to eating fried fish, but the pina coladas were good.”
Ronald said Annette left Detroit hungry “because she wouldn’t really eat in front of me, but the next time she came back she had gotten used to me and was eating all her food and mine,” he laughed.
The turn: “Love just appeared,” Ronald said. “When we weren’t [visiting] each other we were writing love letters, and I remember her telling me she loved me and I told her I loved her, so I knew something was in the making there.” he said.
By the time Ronald visited in December 1978 for Christmas, he was in love. “For Christmas, he bought me a black onyx ring. He bought an onyx ring because he didn’t want me to think he was proposing,“ Annette laughed.
Annette said she took her relationship with Ronald seriously from the get-go, “because he was so no nonsense, and I knew if I was going to spend the rest of my life with anyone it would be him. He was real old school and so sweet. He’s still the same, he hasn’t changed.”
Ronald and Annette Wilson met in September 1978 over the phone while he lived in Detroit and she was in Birmingham. The couple married in 1981. (Provided Photos)
The proposal: March 1980, Annette said Ronald’s proposal was more like a command. “I had been laid off from my job and we were talking about it and he said, ‘you don’t need to get another job there, you need to go on and move out here because we’re getting married anyway,’” said Annette.
“It wasn’t a command I was telling her she could come out to Michigan and get a job just like that. And since we’re gonna get married anyway, she should just come on out,” Ronald said.
Annette moved to Michigan and “when we got back to his apartment I went in the bathroom to wash my hands and he just walked in there and showed me the ring and put it on my finger and hugged me, and I said ‘I’m still waiting to be proposed to,’” Annette said.
“I had called her parents and asked for her hand in marriage, and her daddy said ‘you can have her hand. And I got another daughter here and you can have her hand too,’ and I said, ‘no, that’s OK, I just want Annette’s hand,” Ronald laughed. “And her mama said to make sure I helped her find a new home church because Annette loves church.”
In similar fashion to the proposal, a year later, Ronald declared the date they would marry. “He came home from work one day and said, ‘we’re getting married on March 30 because that’s the only day I have off,” Annette laughed, “and I just said Ok.”
The wedding: At Unity Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, officiated by the late Reverend Valmon D. Stotts. “He was supposed to marry us in his study, but when he opened the door and saw it was me (I was a member of his shepherd’s class) he said, ‘oh no, we’re not going to do this here, let’s go out into the sanctuary,’” Ronald said.
Ronald’s brother, Freeman, stood as his best man, and Annette’s aunt Ruth, and sister-in-law, Dorothy, were there to witness.
“Afterward, we went out to eat at Red Lobster, that was the place to go back then,” said Ronald.
Most memorable for the bride were the butterflies in her stomach and her birthday shopping trip afterward. “We got married on my birthday, so that was a great birthday gift. That’s why we went to the mall after dinner because it was time for me to do some birthday shopping. And the very next day, I went to the secretary of state and got my name changed to Wilson,” Annette reminisced. “The only thing I wished was that my mama or one of my siblings could have been with me, but it was still an awesome day.”
Most memorable for the groom was learning of Ronald Reagan’s assassination attempt during his wedding festivities. “It was all over the TV all evening and all night. And [it was kind of eerie because] my name is Ronald Wilson, and his name was Ronald Wilson Reagan,” Ronald said.
The couple did not honeymoon “but we’re doing a lot of things now that we were not able to do then, and we still have more ‘going’ to do,” said Annette. “Also, as the kids grew up, we were able to take them on vacations too.”
Words of wisdom: “Always keep God centered, and don’t let nothing or nobody come between you and your spouse, and trust me, many have tried and failed over the years. My daddy was a Baptist minister, and when I asked him how he met my mom and how they came to be, he said ‘son, when you’re ready to get married, you pray to God and ask him to send you your wife, and he’ll tailor make one for you…’,” Ronald said. “He told me that it won’t matter [who does or doesn’t like his future wife] because God made her for me. So I’ve always looked at that and kept God in the center. You have to enjoy being with each other. You can’t just love your spouse, you got to like her too. We’re friends too, and I tell her that she always has my unspoken passion.”
“Love is shown,” said Annette. “Ronald doesn’t have to speak it every day, and I don’t either. I know he loves me and he knows I love him. I don’t have to worry about him [when he’s not in my sight], I trust him and I believe him. Treat your spouse the way that you want to be treated. Respect them, love them, and trust them, because trust and respect will take you further than ‘I love you’.”
Happily ever after: The Wilson’s attend Revelation of Faith Christian Church in Hueytown, where Ronald serves as the Chairman of the Deacon Board, and Annette, a deaconess. They have three adult children, ages 46-38: Christopher Williams, and Lauren and Ronald Wilson, and their first grandchild, a baby boy, on the way.
Annette, 67, is a Roosevelt City, Alabama, native, and Wenonah High School grad. Annette retired from PNC Bank after 9 years, and State Farm Insurance, after 15 years as a customer service coordinator and a claims service assistant, respectively. She now works part time for Jefferson County School as a bus aide for special needs children.
Ronald, 70, is a Birmingham native, attended Minor High School, and graduated from Ensley High School. He attended Henry Ford College, in Michigan where he studied business management. Ronald retired from Ford Motor Company, in Dearborn, Michigan in 2003 after 30 years. He and family relocated back to Birmingham in 2003, where he began working for Jefferson County Schools as a paraprofessional, and retired in 2017. He now substitutes for Jefferson County schools part-time.
“You Had Me at Hello’’ highlights married couples and the love that binds them. If you would like to be considered for a future “Hello’’ column, or know someone, please send nominations to Barnett Wright bwright@birminghamtimes.com. Include the couple’s name, contact number(s) and what makes their love story unique.
Lasunda Scales is a two-term Jefferson County Commissioner and former Birmingham council member. (FILE)
By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times
Weeks after signs proclaiming “Lashunda Scales for Mayor” appeared in some areas of the city and months after several candidates for Birmingham’s highest elected office declared a run, Jefferson County Commissioner Lashunda Scales on Tuesday announced her campaign for the seat.
With three months until the August 26 election Scales joins a race that already includes incumbent mayor Randall Woodfin, who defeated Scales in 2021; State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, longtime activist Kamau Afrika, pastor and non-profit executive Frank Woodson.
“I recognize that 47 percent of my commission district is Birmingham and it’s dying …,” said Scales, from the front porch of an abandoned house in Birmingham’s Collegeville neighborhood. “I know that Birmingham can be a great place, we can go back to being number one, we can go back to having a quality of life, but it’s going to require work, it’s going to require a leader who is going to lead our community in the right direction.”
Scales, a two-term county commissioner and former Birmingham council member, said she is seeking the office of mayor because the city has lost its way.
“We want to make sure that people are aware that help is on the way,” she said. “We’re not talking doom and gloom, but we are talking about facts along with solutions so we can move our city forward in the right direction.”
Scales said she chose the abandoned structure in Collegeville to announce her campaign because blight still plagues the city.
“When I talked about the blight four years ago, I am standing in front of a community that has blocks and blocks of structures that are still in blight,” she said. “I recognize that when our crime rate goes up and our people are leaving, that’s what makes you say listen, ‘I’ve got to be part of the solution and not the problem,’ but I don’t have the power. The mayor has the power. Whoever sits in the seat or office of mayor has the power to be able to fix the city’s problems … so my decision is based upon I haven’t seen any results.”
Birmingham City Schools is spearheading a research initiative to explore the link between student motivation and math performance. (File)
bhamcityschools.org
Birmingham City Schools (BCS) is spearheading an innovative research initiative to explore the critical link between student motivation and math performance. In partnership with sub-awardees WestEd and MIND Education, creators of ST Math, BCS is driving the development of real-time, data-driven insights to improve student engagement and learning outcomes. This three-year initiative is supported by a grant from the Gates Foundation.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Sullivan
“At Birmingham City Schools, we recognize that learning doesn’t just happen when students are given access to strong curriculum—it also requires students to be engaged and motivated,” said Dr. Mark Sullivan, Superintendent of Birmingham City Schools. “This partnership aligns perfectly with our district’s strategic focus on academic achievement and evidence-based strategies.”
Through this remarkable three-way partnership, BCS is taking a proactive leadership role in co-designing and co-researching new ways to measure and enhance student motivation.
By adopting ST Math’s visual, game-based learning approach, the district has the vehicle to apply cutting-edge research methodologies to understand and improve student persistence in learning. This initiative is part of the Gates Foundation’s R&D Infrastructure (RDI) strategy, which seeks to make K-12 research benefit all three co-researcher roles alike, building research capacity at districts while pursuing program improvements by developers and publishing rigorous findings to benefit the education field overall.
“By working alongside WestEd and MIND Education, we are ensuring that our students not only have access to best-in-market digital tools but that we deeply learn how to enhance the motivation that drives their success,” Dr. Sullivan said. “This project also contributes to the broader goal of improving use of any high-quality math instructional material for all students.
A Research-Forward Approach to Student Success
BCS has long been committed to evidence-based strategies, a core pillar of its strategic plan, and to fostering academic achievement through innovative approaches. By pursuing and winning this research grant, the district is not only ensuring that students receive ST Math’s engaging visual math instruction but is also leading the charge in shaping the future of how student motivation is measured and supported in K-12 education.
ST Math: A Unique Platform for Measuring Motivation
Unlike traditional math programs, ST Math, developed by MIND Education provides a game-based, mastery-driven learning environment where students must struggle to solve visual puzzles rather than only memorizing procedures. The digital platform generates rich student engagement data—offering unprecedented insight into how student persistence, effort, and challenge-seeking behaviors correlate with math performance.
“ST Math has always excelled at motivating students to persist through challenging puzzles, and this project takes that a step further by transforming motivation into a dynamic, measurable KPI [key performance indicator],” said Andrew Coulson, Chief Data Scientist at MIND Research Institute, the research arm of MIND Education. “For the first time, researchers will use ST Math’s gameplay data to create a real-time quantitative metric for motivation, identifying where and when students disengage. This ‘right-now’ student metric will empower educators to proactively support students before motivation wanes, ensuring productive learning time.”
A Model for Future Educational Research
This project goes beyond traditional district-vendor relationships. BCS, WestEd, and MIND Education are co-designing the research, ensuring that the insights generated are directly relevant and actionable for teachers and school leaders.
“Involving the partnering district in every step of the research, from developing questions to how the findings get reported, is critical if the research is to useful and meaningful to the district, and its school leaders and teachers,” said John Rice, Senior Research Director of Research Practice Partnerships at WestEd.
Addressing the Urgent Need for Effective Digital Learning
With millions nationwide using digital learning programs, ensuring that these tools are used effectively by all students is more critical than ever. Even well-proven benefits are often lost when students simply fail to engage at the necessary levels.
By leading this research, Birmingham City Schools is tackling a core challenge in digital education—ensuring that students not only have access to the best tools but are actively motivated to use them in ways that drive success. The project’s findings will inform future instructional strategies, instructional designs, and help scale the productive use of evidence- based digital learning that can benefit students in Birmingham and beyond.
“This model for conducting research considers everyone at the table (the district staff, the product developers, the research team), as bringing their own areas of expertise to the conversation while we all work towards the same goal – to improve student math achievement in BCS,” Rice said. “And, what we learn from throughout the three-year project will be disseminated to educators outside of BCS as well.”
The findings from this study will provide new models for measuring motivation, inform edtech implementation training for teachers, and shape future design improvements in digital learning programs nationwide.
Jazz guitarist Carl LeBlanc performs as the Sun Ra Arkestra returned to Birmingham, Alabama for a special performance at the Carver Theatre, celebrating what would have been Sun Ra's 111th birthday. (Marika N. Johnson, For The Birmingham Times)
Written and Photographed by Marika N. Johnson
The Sun Ra Arkestra returned to Birmingham last week for a special performance at the Carver Theatre, celebrating what would have been Sun Ra’s 111th birthday. The event was part of the Sun Ra Day Festival, honoring the legacy of the avant-garde jazz pioneer born Herman Poole Blount in Birmingham on May 22, 1914.
The Sun Ra Arkestra, typically led by 100-year-old saxophonist Marshall Allen—who was absent from the Birmingham performance as he celebrated his 101st birthday —was instead led by fellow longtime Arkestra member and saxophonist Knoel Scott, a veteran of Sun Ra’s cosmic collective.
Scott guided the ensemble through a dynamic and visually striking performance that captured the spirit of Sun Ra’s Afrofuturist vision. The evening featured swirling cosmic jazz arrangements, vibrant costumes, and theatrical stage presence, staying true to the band’s mission of using music as a transformative, otherworldly experience.
Before the concert, fans were treated to a special meet-and-greet at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, offering a rare opportunity to engage with the musicians and learn more about the legacy of Sun Ra and his legendary Arkestra.
Sun Ra (1914-1993) was recognized as a prolific and influential composer, bandleader, keyboard player and intergalactic philosopher, best known for his experimental and avant-garde works.
1 of 7
Andre Murchison performs as the Sun Ra Arkestra returned to Birmingham. (Marika N. Johnson, For The Birmingham Times)
Jazz singer Tara Middleton performs as the Sun Ra Arkestra returned to Birmingham, Alabama for a special performance at the Carver Theatre, celebrating what would have been Sun Ra's 111th birthday. (Marika N. Johnson, For The Birmingham Times)
Andre Murchison performs as the Sun Ra Arkestra returned to Birmingham, Alabama for a special performance at the Carver Theatre, celebrating what would have been Sun Ra's 111th birthday. (Marika N. Johnson, For The Birmingham Times)
Knoel Scott, a veteran of Sun Ra’s cosmic collective, entertains at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame as he guides the Sun Ra Arkestra through a dynamic and visually striking performance that captured the spirit of Sun Ra’s Afrofuturist vision. (Marika N. Johnson, For The Birmingham Times)
Knoel Scott, a veteran of Sun Ra’s cosmic collective, guided the ensemble through a dynamic and visually striking performance that captured the spirit of Sun Ra’s Afrofuturist vision. (Marika N. Johnson, For The Birmingham Times)
The Sun Ra Day Festival, held from May 21 to 24, featured a variety of events across the city—including educational panels, art exhibits, performances, after-parties at The Nick, Saturn, and House of Found Objects, and a record signing at Seasick Records—all celebrating Sun Ra’s enduring influence on music and culture. The festival showcased Birmingham’s pride in its native son, whose innovative fusion of jazz, space imagery, and Afrocentric philosophy continues to inspire artists around the world.
The events were produced by creative Lee Shook in conjunction with Earth Libraries, Energy Alabama, and Create Birmingham. “In these tumultuous times, when funding for creative endeavors are being defunded I really wanted this celebration of Sun Ra, the Arkestra, and Birmingham’s jazz legacy to focus on community,” Shook said. “I also wanted any funds generated to go back into the arts and non-profits—especially the Jazz Hall of Fame, Sidewalk Cinema, and East Village Arts, where the events took place.”
Funds raised will also support programming such as the Jazz Hall of Fame’s Saturday Jazz Greats, which provides free jazz instruction taught by jazz professionals to aspiring musicians.
Sun Ra’s legacy, rooted in Birmingham’s rich musical heritage, was commemorated through these events, reaffirming his status as a visionary artist who expanded the boundaries of jazz and imagination. This celebration ultimately led to May 22 being named the official Sun Ra Day in the city of Birmingham, a designation also recognized by the state of Alabama.
Knoel Scott, a veteran of Sun Ra’s cosmic collective, guided the ensemble through a dynamic striking performance that captured the spirit of Sun Ra’s Afrofuturist vision. (Marika N. Johnson, For The Birmingham Times)
From left: Dr. Ann Thiele, JCCDC Board Chair; Sybil Scarbrough, from Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin's office; and Dr. Earlene Reynolds, JCCDC Executive Director. (Provided)
The Birmingham Times
The Jefferson County Child Development Council (JCCDC) held its first annual Sneaker’s Ball on Saturday at Woodrow Hall, 5504 1st Avenue, North, Birmingham with a focus on celebrating the inclusion of children with disabilities.
La’Mere McIntyre speaks at the event. (Provided)
The Early Head Start Family Child Care, established in 1965, currently serves 36 eligible children and their families and has served as a pioneering institution aimed at helping low-income children achieve tremendous strides while promoting their overall early childhood development.
“JCCDC wanted to celebrate the children who have impacted our program the most, with the understanding that our students, for whom we provide high-quality services, are amazing,” said Earlene Reynolds, Executive Director of Jefferson County Child Development Council, Inc. “This year’s sneaker ball was about exceptional children with different abilities who constantly remind us that we’re all the same when we look at the heart. We celebrated each of their uniqueness and had an excellent time together.”
JCCDC focuses on six areas of learning, which include cognitive, social-emotional, physical, and language development, Reynolds said.
“Our agency provides comprehensive early childhood development services annually to about 32 families. We are committed to serving the entire family, empowering them to become self-sufficient and the primary advocates for their child’s learning and development,” she said.
“JCCDC continues to build partnerships and bridge gaps daily for the families of Jefferson County, whom we feel proud and humbled to serve. We help families achieve the very best outcomes possible,” Reynolds said.
Congressman Charlie Rangel leaves a rally for airport workers at LaGuardia Airport in the Queens Borough of New York in 2014 (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, FILE)
NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, an outspoken, gravel-voiced Harlem Democrat who spent nearly five decades on Capitol Hill and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, died Monday at age 94.
His family confirmed the death in a statement provided by City College of New York spokesperson Michelle Stent. He died at a hospital in New York, Stent said.
A veteran of the Korean War, he defeated legendary Harlem politician Adam Clayton Powell in 1970 to start his congressional career. During the next 40-plus years, he became a legend himself as dean of the New York congressional delegation and, in 2007, the first African American to chair the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
He stepped down from that committee amid an ethics cloud, and the House censured him in 2010. But he continued to serve in Congress until his retirement in 2017.
Rangel was the last surviving member of the Gang of Four — African American political figures who wielded great power in New York City and state politics. The others were David Dinkins, New York City’s first Black mayor; Percy Sutton, who was Manhattan Borough president; and Basil Paterson, a deputy mayor and New York secretary of state.
“Charlie was a true activist — we’ve marched together, been arrested together and painted crack houses together,” the Rev. Al Sharpton, leader of the National Action Network, said in a statement, noting that he met Rangel as a teenager.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement calling Rangel “a patriot, hero, statesman, leader, trailblazer, change agent and champion for justice who made his beloved Harlem, the City of New York and the United States of America a better place for all.”
Voice Was Memorable
Few could forget Rangel after hearing him talk. His distinctive gravel-toned voice and wry sense of humor were a memorable mix.
That voice — one of the most liberal in the House — was loudest in opposition to the Iraq War, which he branded a “death tax” on poor people and minorities. In 2004, he tried to end the war by offering a bill to restart the military service draft. Republicans called his bluff and brought the bill to a vote. Even Rangel voted against it.
A year later, Rangel’s fight over the war became bitterly personal with then-Vice President Dick Cheney.
Rangel said Cheney, who has a history of heart trouble, might be too sick to perform his job.
“I would like to believe he’s sick rather than just mean and evil,” Rangel said. After several such verbal jabs, Cheney hit back, saying Rangel was “losing it.”
The charismatic Harlem lawmaker rarely backed down from a fight after he first entered the House in 1971 as a dragon slayer of sorts, having unseated Powell in the Democratic congressional primary in 1970. The flamboyant elder Powell, a city political icon first elected to the House in 1944, was ill and haunted by scandal at the time.
In 1987, Congress approved what was known as the “Rangel amendment,” which denied foreign tax credits to U.S. companies investing in apartheid-era South Africa.
Censured Over Ethics Violations
Rangel became leader of the main tax-writing committee of the House, which has jurisdiction over programs including Social Security and Medicare, after the 2006 midterm elections when Democrats ended 12 years of Republican control of the chamber. But in 2010, a House ethics committee conducted a hearing on 13 counts of alleged financial and fundraising misconduct over issues surrounding financial disclosures and use of congressional resources.
He was convicted of 11 ethics violations. The House found he had failed to pay taxes on a vacation villa, filed misleading financial disclosure forms and improperly solicited donations for a college center from corporations with business before his committee.
The House followed the ethics committee’s recommendation that he be censured, the most serious punishment short of expulsion.
‘Fighting For The Little Guy’
Rangel looked after his constituents, sponsoring empowerment zones with tax credits for businesses moving into economically depressed areas and developers of low income housing.
“I have always been committed to fighting for the little guy,” Rangel said in 2012.
Rangel was born June 11, 1930. During the Korean War, he earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He would always say that he measured his days, even the troubled ones around the ethics scandal, against the time in 1950 when he survived being wounded as other soldiers didn’t make it.
It became the title of his autobiography: “And I Haven’t Had A Bad Day Since.”
A high school dropout, he went to college on the G.I. Bill, getting degrees from New York University and St. John’s University Law School.
Students must move forward despite the lack of school administration approval and resources. (Black Enterprise)
Black Enterprise
Black students and other affinity groups are finding new ways to celebrate their graduations as the Trump administration’s crackdown on DEI initiatives limits their on-campus engagement.
For years, affinity-specific graduations have highlighted the milestones for many students across universities. However, current government orders have stifled these celebrations, forcing graduates to pivot in order to keep tradition alive.
Some institutions, like Harvard University, are pushing back against certain rulings on federally-funded universities. However, these issuances have still impacted race-specific programming. Harvard decided to strip funding used for all affinity group graduations. Despite this setback, Black Harvard graduates remain determined to keep the event in place.
Like others in support of these racially-affirming events, many graduates say they celebrated the cultural traditions while acknowledging their plights. Harvard senior Elyse Martin-Smith took matters upon herself. With the support of the Black Graduate Student Alliance and the Harvard Black Alumni Society, she and fellow graduates held their ceremony off campus.
“It’s an undue burden that continues to be placed upon Black students to create the change that we want to see,” Martin-Smith said to CNN.
Students at other schools like the University of Kentucky have faced similar restrictions. A spokesperson for the university confirmed that the optional celebrations will not longer take place on campus.
“Following a number of federal and state policy changes and directives, the university will no longer host identity-based or special-interest graduation celebrations,” university spokesperson Jay Blanton said in a statement. “In the past, these were held outside of our official commencement ceremonies as optional celebrations and social events. We will continue to comply with the law, while celebrating all students and their distinctive achievements at our official commencement ceremonies.”
However, students attempting to work around the rules must take caution with naming for their newly reimagined events. Students at Kentucky also pursued a path similar to Harvard’s Black graduates, calling their version a “Senior Salute.”
“I feel it’s important to show that there are people coming from other places, underprivileged areas and many different backgrounds and struggles and still making it over to UK (University of Kentucky) and still getting their degree,” shared UK graduate, Kristopher Washington, who helped bring the new event into fruition. “It’s a tremendous achievement.”
This anti-DEI crackdown not only impacts graduates of different racial or ethnic identities. It only applies to those part of the LGBTQIA+ community as well. Queer students also found off-campus venues to celebrate their achievements for their overarching community.
Now, students must move forward despite the lack of school administration approval and resources. However, they remain committed to celebrating their new degrees in ways that specifically acknowledge their heritage and community.
Demolition of the property, The Vue on Prince at 3128 Prince Avenue, was completed earlier Wednesday by crews representing the property owners. (City of Birmingham)
birminghamal.gov
A major blighted property that was the site of multiple fires has been demolished following a lawsuit filed by the Office of the City Attorney for the City of Birmingham. Demolition of the property, The Vue on Prince at 3128 Prince Avenue, was completed last week by crews representing the property owners.
“This is another example of our focus on removing blight from our neighborhoods,” Mayor Randall L. Woodfin said. “If private property owners harbor blight in our communities, we will hold them accountable through code enforcement and in the courts. I commend City Attorney Nicole King and DNAT for their role in ridding our neighborhoods of blight.”
The Drug Nuisance Abatement Team in the Office of the City Attorney sued The Vue on Prince, LLC, and Toorak Capital Partners, LLC, in August after the property owner failed to address multiple code violations and repeated fires at the multi-building property.
“The DNAT team in the Office of the City Attorney is dedicated to addressing problem properties that create a nuisance and public safety concerns for neighborhoods,” City Attorney Nicole King said. “The city filed a lawsuit following inaction by the property owner to address multiple code violations and repeated fires at the buildings. Residents were clear about their concerns at this location, and we were committed to have this dangerous blight removed. Due to this successful effort, the property was demolished without additional cost to the city. DNAT is committed to breaking down blight one property at a time.”
In the spring of 2020, City Attorney King created DNAT, which through the courts, holds landowners accountable for keeping their properties clean and free of crime and blight. The team has successfully prevailed in multiple lawsuits and worked with property owners to generate a safer environment for the residents both on those properties and in surrounding neighborhoods. The city’s DNAT strategy has served as a model for other municipalities.
To report a nuisance property, contact the Office of the City Attorney at problemproperty@birminghamal.gov or 205.254.6450, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Crossroads Project, which is funded in part by a $21 million U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE Grant, will deliver 3.16 miles of multimodal improvements—new trails, sidewalks, mobility hubs, and culturally inspired public space enhancements.
