Government

Lee Ignores Last Minute Appeal and Signs Voucher Bill

THE TENNESSEE TRIBUNE — Governor Bill Lee signed his controversial school voucher bill into law.

Published

6 years ago

May 29, 2019

NASHVILLE,TN – Governor Bill Lee signed his controversial school voucher bill into law Friday, May 24. He ignored a letter from Democratic lawmakers who asked him to wait for the FBI to complete an investigation into the voucher vote. Shelby County Representative Joe Towns, Jr., G.A. Hardaway, Chair of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators, Representative Barbara Cooper (D-Memphis) and Representative Mike Stewart (D- Nashville), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, signed the letter to Lee.

They noted in their letter that the bill was tied 49-49 in the house on April 23 but the voting was held open by now disgraced Speaker Glenn Casada. Knox County Representative Jason Zachary switched his “No” vote to ”Yes” and broke the tie after a 40-minute delay. Zachary reportedly received assurances from Casada that Knox County could withdraw from the voucher program at some later time.

Democrats cried foul although such manipulations of close votes are not unheard of in the Tennessee Legislature. In 2002 Former House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, (D-Covington) kept a vote open for two hours but ultimately failed to convince lawmakers to approve a state income tax. The FBI is investigating if improper incentives were offered to gain passage of the voucher bill in the House.

Here is the letter sent by Democratic lawmakers to Governor Bill Lee Friday, May 25.

Peter White

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

4 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.