National

About 100 Set Out to Retrace Selma-to-Montgomery March

Published

10 years ago

March 10, 2015

People cross Edmund Pettus Bridge marching towards Montgomery, Monday, March 9, 2015, in Selma, Ala.to mark the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” a civil rights march in which protesters were beaten, trampled and tear-gassed by police at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

KIM CHANDLER, Associated Press

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Dozens of marchers set out across Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge Monday with plans to walk to the Alabama Capitol, saying the voting rights won by blood in Selma 50 years ago are now under threat.

The marchers are recreating the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March of 1965. The 54-mile trek is recreated every five years, but organizers say this year is particularly important.

Marchers called for the restoration of the preclearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act. The U.S Supreme Court in 2013, in a case also arising out of Alabama, struck down the formula that determined which states had to get permission from the Justice Department before changing voting laws.

“The heart of it has been taken out,” Southern Christian Leadership Conference President Charles Steele, 68, said. Steele said about 50 people will try to make the full walk to Montgomery.

Here are some stories from the current march:

A NEW MOVEMENT

Bernard Lafayette, 74, was just 20-years-old when he joined the Freedom Riders to challenge segregation across the American South. He suffered three cracked ribs when he was beaten by a mob outside a bus station in Montgomery.

Selma was considered even more dangerous, he said.

Lafayette in 1962 volunteered to come to the city as a voter registration director with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

He was beaten by an unknown assailant in 1963, the same night Medgar Evers was murdered in Mississippi.

A black and white photo stored on the smartphone stashed in his jacket pocket shows him at the front of the march in 1965, alongside Andrew Young and other fresh-faced civil rights workers.

Lafayette smiled at the children, some as young as 11, walking ahead. That makes him optimistic about the future.

“Look at those young people up there. They are middle school, high school. We were the young people in our day. Now we see ourselves,” Lafayette said.

Behind him, young marchers sang a song with lyrics about Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner — who died after being placed in a choke hold by a police officer in New York. ”

“That’s a new song. That’s how you can tell you’ve got a movement, when you’ve got new songs,” Lafayette said.

THEN AND NOW

John Rankin, 68, wearing an orange reflective vest and an “I love Jesus” button, walked past the charred and abandoned shells of homes on the now-closed Craig Air Force base on the outskirts of Selma.

The homes were turned into a low-rent housing development, but many are uninhabitable after being burned, vandalized or looted. The region remains swathed in poverty, he said, noting that the lock manufacturer where he worked as a lead man closed more than a decade ago.

“We have a long way to go. People need good jobs,” Rankin said.

Rankin was just a teen when he was cracked on the head by a club during Bloody Sunday.

“We were just expecting to go to jail we weren’t expecting to get beat up,” Rankin said.

Fifty years later, there is an African-American president and Jim Crow laws are long eradicated, but in some ways Selma is “not that much” different.

The schools are segregated again, he said, as white families pay for private school and the public schools are almost entirely black students or other minorities.

YOUNG MARCHER

Eleven-year-old Desiree Robertson carried an American flag helping lead the group of marchers down a rolling stretch of highway.

Does she think she’s up for the entire 54-mile walk? Well, yeah.

“I did it when I was 8. It was fun,” Robertson said.

Her uncles marched in 1965 and her grandmother is involved in the civil rights commemorations in Selma.

Robertson said she is missing school for the march, but learning history.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 9 – 15, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 9 – 15, 2025

Published

18 hours ago

April 12, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Harriet Tubman Scrubbed; DEI Dismantled

A photograph of Harriet Tubman has been removed from a National Park Service webpage about the Underground Railroad.

Published

5 days ago

April 7, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

A photograph of Harriet Tubman has been removed from a National Park Service webpage about the Underground Railroad. Previously, the page opened with a photo of Tubman and a description that acknowledged slavery and the efforts of enslaved African Americans to escape bondage. That language is now gone. In its place are images of postage stamps and a reworded introduction that refers to the Underground Railroad as “one of the most significant expressions of the American civil rights movement” that “bridged the divides of race.” The updated version does not mention slavery. The change follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last month directing the Smithsonian Institution to eliminate “divisive narratives.” A review by The Washington Post found that since Trump’s return to office, dozens of webpages across the National Park Service have been edited to soften or eliminate references to slavery, racial injustice, and the historical struggles of African Americans.

On the website for the Stone National Historic Site in Maryland, mentions of Declaration of Independence signer Thomas Stone owning enslaved people were removed. Elsewhere, references to “enslaved African Americans” were changed to “enslaved workers.” A page exploring Benjamin Franklin’s views on slavery and his slave ownership was taken offline. The Defense Department also removed several webpages related to diversity and minority contributions to the U.S. military, including a tribute to Jackie Robinson’s Army service and content honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo Code Talkers, and the Marines at Iwo Jima. Officials later said some content would be republished after public outcry. Nearly 400 books were removed from the library at the U.S. Naval Academy. The list includes Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Memorializing the Holocaust, Half American, and Pursuing Trayvon Martin. Officials cited Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s directive to eliminate books that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Private companies contracting with the federal government have begun rolling back language diversity and initiatives in response to federal pressure. UnitedHealth Group removed DEI language from its website. Goldman Sachs dropped its diversity requirement for companies it takes public and revised annual filings to reflect “developments in the law.” Bank of America replaced the term “diversity” with “talent” and “opportunity.” Deloitte instructed U.S.-based employees working with federal clients to remove pronouns from email signatures. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Disney, Paramount, JPMorgan Chase, Victoria’s Secret, and others have renamed or eliminated DEI programs. Some, like Paramount, cited the need to comply with Trump’s executive orders.

Target has faced financial and reputational fallout following its reversal of DEI commitments. The company has lost over $12.4 billion in revenue and faces multiple lawsuits related to its shifting policies. Rev. Jamal Bryant launched a national “Target Fast,” urging community mobilization. Separately, the NAACP and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) initiated public education and selective buying campaigns to increase pressure on the retail giant.

“Black consumers helped build Target into a retail giant, and now they are making their voices heard,” said Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the NNPA. “If corporations believe they can roll back diversity commitments without consequence, they are mistaken.”

Stacy M. Brown

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What Parents Think about Childcare Right Now

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Children’s earliest years are a critical period when the foundation is built for lifelong physical health and emotional well-being

Published

6 days ago

April 7, 2025

Oakland Post

By: RAPID, Stanford Center on Early Childhood

The RAPID Survey Project, based in the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, is a program of ongoing national and place-based surveys designed to gather essential information on the needs, health-promoting behaviors, and well-being of young children and their caregivers. Our objective is to make timely and actionable data on the experiences of parents, caregivers, and young children available in an ongoing manner to support parent- and data-informed decision-making. Children’s earliest years are a critical period when the foundation is built for lifelong physical health and emotional well-being. Research shows that consistent, responsive caregiving is conducive to healthy development during these early years. We asked parents of infants and toddlers (birth to age 3) to tell us about their childcare experiences and preferences. Using responses from parents of infants or toddlers who participated in national RAPID household surveys in January 2024 and November 2024, we aim to understand the types of childcare that families with infants and toddlers use and what is most important to parents when selecting child care.

Family, friends, and neighbor (FFN) care is the most common childcare choice for families with infants and toddlers.

We asked parents of infants and toddlers questions about how much childcare they use, as well as their experiences using center-based care, home-based care, and both paid and unpaid family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) care. More than two in three (68%) parents of infants and toddlers use childcare for five hours or more per week. Among these families, and consistent with other national data, FFN care makes up the largest share of providers of infants and toddlers.

Responses from the survey show that, on a weekly basis:

—32% of parents use center-based care

—26% of parents use unpaid FFN care

—13% of parents use paid FFN care

—12% of parents use home-based care in the childcare provider’s residence

“Sometimes it is difficult to find relatives/friends who I trust and are available as sometimes their plans change.” Parent in Wisconsin

“I’m relying on family and things arise that make them unable to help. I have looked into center-based care and considered going back to work, but it will cost me more for childcare than I can make in income to pay for it.” Parent in Ohio

“I use babysitters, mostly teenagers, so their schedules are sometimes unreliable. They do their best, but they have other commitments, too. They also can’t always work during the day, which is when I need them.” Parent in Texas

Reliable access to childcare is a particular concern for many parents of infants and toddlers.

The predictable schedules and routines that are associated with stable access to childcare support the positive well-being and development of children, families, and caregivers. In their responses to open-ended questions, parents of infants and toddlers spoke about the different challenges they experience securing childcare, including issues with affordability, hours, location, and trust in their provider. As indicated by the quotes in this fact sheet, parents mentioned concerns about providers meeting the specific and intensive caregiving needs of infants and toddlers, while at the same time families navigate high costs, low availability, and inconsistent schedules. Additionally, many parents, particularly those living in rural areas, noted the limited childcare options near their home or work. This points to the barriers to reliable childcare access that families with infants and toddlers face, and these data can inform policies and programs that support families in meeting this critical need.

“In a rural area, childcare is very hard to find, and rates are not competitive because they don’t have to be.” Parent in Montana

“I had challenges finding other part-time care closer to where we live so I drive one hour twice a week for part-time care.” Parent in Louisiana

“We had to contact this provider very early on. I was maybe five or six weeks pregnant. And she happened to have a spot. If we had waited much longer, we wouldn’t have gotten in.” Parent in South Carolina

“I am currently using backup care days offered by my employer as our primary form of childcare for our younger child. In March, I will run out of days to use, and we are struggling to find an affordable option nearby that has availability when we need it.” Parent in Virginia

Trust in their childcare provider is the most important thing to families with infants and toddlers.

To understand families’ childcare needs, we asked parents what factor matters the most when selecting childcare for their infants and toddlers. We provided a list of factors to choose from for each type of childcare used. Across all types of childcare, parents of infants and toddlers are most likely to say that trust and/or comfortability with their provider is the top factor when they select child care for their family. Parents are significantly more likely to endorse trust and/or comfortability with their provider than any other factor, including affordability, availability, location, or the hours the provider is available.

Factors for selecting childcare, in order of frequency endorsed by parents of infants and toddlers:

Trust and/or comfortability
Affordability
Availability
Location
Hours

“Finding a trustworthy and experienced caregiver who could handle our infant’s specific needs was a major concern.” Parent in New York

“Ensuring the caregiver has the necessary experience and qualifications to care for an infant adds another layer of difficulty.” Parent in Iowa

Predictable and nurturing caregiving contributes to positive early childhood development, and more work is needed to support families with infants and toddlers looking for childcare. RAPID data show that there is an unmet need among families with infants and toddlers for reliable, affordable, and trusted sources of childcare and that families are using a patchwork of childcare arrangements to find trusted sources of care for their infants and toddlers that they can afford and rely on. Parents themselves are experts in selecting the sources and settings of childcare that will best support their family and foster their child’s development, and they are placing an emphasis on selecting providers that their family trusts and feels comfortable with. These findings can inform policies and programs that address parents’ childcare concerns and experiences, so they are better supported in providing the healthy, responsive caregiving that is essential to their young children’s development.