vlcoffman
07-08-2003, 12:58 AM
I STRONGLY URGE EVERYONE TO ATTEND THIS MARCH. ESPECIALLY IF YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS CAN GET PAROLE ONE DAY, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY WE WILL BE ABLE TO CHANGE THINGS. I PERSONALLY WILL BE THERE WITH MY WALKING SHOES ON, ITS NOT A BAD WALK I HAVE DONE IT BEFORE, ITS ONLY A COUPLE OF BLOCKS. LET'S SHOW ALABAMA ITS NOT A BLACK THING IT IS CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE, AND THE GOVERNOR WAS WRONG FOR VETOING THIS BILL.
Groups to protest Riley on felon bill
07/04/03
PATRICIA DEDRICK
News staff writer
MONTGOMERY Civil rights and human rights groups are calling supporters to Montgomery July 18 to protest Gov. Bob Riley's veto of a bill that would have made it easier for some felons to regain their voting rights.
The Alabama Legislative Black Caucus, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Family Members of Inmates and NAACP plan a march on the Alabama Capitol.
"This is not a temporary concern of the caucus," said Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus. "This is a permanent concern of the caucus, and we will stay on it until the bill is signed into law."
Riley killed the bill June 26, but signed into law a companion bill that requires some form of voter identification at the polls. The bills moved together through the Legislature and were passed after Republicans and black lawmakers agreed to let them through.
Black lawmakers said they felt double-crossed by Riley and Republican legislators who urged the governor to kill the felony-voting bill.
The felony-voting bill would have required the state Board of Pardons and Paroles to give non-violent felons a certificate of voter registration eligibility upon completion of sentence and probation and payment of restitution.
State Rep. Alvin Holmes said the Rev. Jesse Jackson and SCLC national board member Greg Mathis will speak at the rally. Mathis is star of the Judge Mathis syndicated television show.
The march and rally are scheduled for the day after the NAACP national convention ends in Miami. Jerome Gray, NAACP state officer, said he will ask the national civil rights group to call for a boycott of the state until the felony voting issue is resolved.
Smitherman said the Legislative Black Caucus has taken no position on the boycott. "If they call for a boycott, we would honor it. We wouldn't cross it. That wouldn't be the thing to do," he said.
Roberta Franklin, co-founder of Family Members of Inmates, wants a boycott. "You have to talk to Alabama in the language it understands votes and money," Franklin said.
Franklin said she and members of her prisoner advocacy group are disappointed in Riley because they supported his campaign. "It was the first time many in our group had ever voted Republican," she said.
Her group is working with the majority-Democratic groups, but only after she and Holmes came to terms about the tenor of the rally.
"We didn't want him to play the race card," Franklin said. "This is not a black issue; it's a human rights issue. The people in our organization are black and white."
As of April, 62 percent of state prisoners were black.
Groups to protest Riley on felon bill
07/04/03
PATRICIA DEDRICK
News staff writer
MONTGOMERY Civil rights and human rights groups are calling supporters to Montgomery July 18 to protest Gov. Bob Riley's veto of a bill that would have made it easier for some felons to regain their voting rights.
The Alabama Legislative Black Caucus, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Family Members of Inmates and NAACP plan a march on the Alabama Capitol.
"This is not a temporary concern of the caucus," said Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus. "This is a permanent concern of the caucus, and we will stay on it until the bill is signed into law."
Riley killed the bill June 26, but signed into law a companion bill that requires some form of voter identification at the polls. The bills moved together through the Legislature and were passed after Republicans and black lawmakers agreed to let them through.
Black lawmakers said they felt double-crossed by Riley and Republican legislators who urged the governor to kill the felony-voting bill.
The felony-voting bill would have required the state Board of Pardons and Paroles to give non-violent felons a certificate of voter registration eligibility upon completion of sentence and probation and payment of restitution.
State Rep. Alvin Holmes said the Rev. Jesse Jackson and SCLC national board member Greg Mathis will speak at the rally. Mathis is star of the Judge Mathis syndicated television show.
The march and rally are scheduled for the day after the NAACP national convention ends in Miami. Jerome Gray, NAACP state officer, said he will ask the national civil rights group to call for a boycott of the state until the felony voting issue is resolved.
Smitherman said the Legislative Black Caucus has taken no position on the boycott. "If they call for a boycott, we would honor it. We wouldn't cross it. That wouldn't be the thing to do," he said.
Roberta Franklin, co-founder of Family Members of Inmates, wants a boycott. "You have to talk to Alabama in the language it understands votes and money," Franklin said.
Franklin said she and members of her prisoner advocacy group are disappointed in Riley because they supported his campaign. "It was the first time many in our group had ever voted Republican," she said.
Her group is working with the majority-Democratic groups, but only after she and Holmes came to terms about the tenor of the rally.
"We didn't want him to play the race card," Franklin said. "This is not a black issue; it's a human rights issue. The people in our organization are black and white."
As of April, 62 percent of state prisoners were black.