DeKalb Ethics Board: Is this construction—or demolition? Update: Turns out the referendum gets some love–from the DeKalb NAACP, which has issued a limited edition statement urging a “yes” vote (posted below, at end of this article). This shouldn’t be surprising, since the local civil rights organization has had an antithetical relationship with the board. Check out chapter President Teresa Hardy’s comments in this AJC article on the Supreme Court ruling against the Board’s appointment process, which ends with this sentence: “The NAACP had initially asked to be one of the outside groups that made appointments to the board.” Interesting. By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman After observing three town halls, I’ve seen no public support for DeKalb’s ethics referendum. Here’s why: It’s a sausage…
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Lynching in post-Reconstruction Georgia: State-sanctioned terrorism
The following passage is an excerpt from The Way It Was in the South: The Black Experience in Georgia, by Donald L. Grant (Jonathan L. Grant, ed.) Published by University of Georgia Press, 2001. All rights reserved. Book webpage. Lynching in the New South: Georgia After the Ku Klux Klan won its battle to maintain white supremacy, the lynch mob of the New South assumed a major role in maintaining blacks as a caste of peasants and serfs. Between 1889 and 1918, Georgia had more lynchings than any other state, and 94 percent of the victims were black. By no coincidence, Georgia had the South’s lowest cotton-field wages during this time. The post-Reconstruction reign of terror was nearly totally demoralizing. With good…
Update: Trump backers denounce Deep State conspiracy after rally buses cancelled for nonpayment
UPDATE: Trump supporters denounce Deep State Conspiracy after “Women for America First” DC rally buses (including one from Atlanta) cancelled for nonpayment. From The Daily Beast: A couple hundred Donald Trump fans rallied outside Congress on Thursday for the “March for Trump,” an event meant to oppose House Democrats’ impeachment investigation. According to organizers, though, there would have been hundreds more people shouting “stop the coup” in Washington’s streets if not for a liberal plot against their buses. That’s because, as would-be rally attendees gathered across the East Coast for the US Coachways buses that the organizer had promised would take them to Washington, those buses never showed. The no-shows provoked a wave of anger, accusations that the “deep state” had colluded to…
Stand with Lucy vs. Fall for Anything — It’s an impeachment thing
UPDATE: Trump supporters denounce Deep State Conspiracy after “Women for America First” DC rally buses cancelled — for nonpayment. Read story. By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Several dozen people with signs lined Glenridge Drive on both sides of the driveway leading to Sixth District Rep. Lucy McBath’s Sandy Springs office Thursday at noon. With a honk, but not paying attention to the signs, I pulled into the lot, and walked up to join the crowd, only to stumble into the Trump camp. Which surprised me, because I had hoped Lucy’s supporters would have the sidewalk to themselves. Atlanta’s MAGA folks–Women for Trump–were supposed to hop on a bus at the Norcross Cracker Barrel for a trip to Washington D.C. to attend the “Women…
DeKalb ethics referendum: Town hall reveals lack of consensus among legislators
Advance voting is now under way. Check early voting sites and times. By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman On Nov. 5, DeKalb County voters will decide one countywide issue: “Shall the Act be approved which revises the Board of Ethics for DeKalb County?” It’s the exact same question they were asked in November 2015. But it’s not the same issue at all. In 2015, DeKalb County voters decided to police corruption more effectively by setting up an independent Board of Ethics with investigatory powers over DeKalb County government officials. Think of it as voting to buy a shiny new police car. Now, they’re being asked to strip off the tires and siphon the gas from the tank, many people are saying. Legislators divided Many…
Stand with Lucy Thurday, Oct. 17! It’s an impeachment thing
Event: 11;30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 17 outside Rep. McBath’s Sandy Springs office, 5775 Glenridge Drive. Sponsor: 6th District Task Force. All Lucy McBath supporters welcome. Bring a sign! Sign up here Update: I irritate some Trumpers during the rally face-off By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman About 100 Pro-Trump protesters showed up last week at Rep. Lucy McBath’s district office to call for the end of the impeachment inquiry. The MAGA crowd is angry at McBath for voting to move the the process along. She’s said she’ll make a decision based on the evidence. Meanwhile, evidence of the president’s corruption piles up, with more testimony coming this week that President Trump’s aides see as “problematic.” There will be more evidence, with or without obstruction.…