James Meredith

New Mississippi Civil Rights Museum Besmirched By Presence Of Donald Trump, And Absence, Therefore, Of John Lewis, Civil Rights Icon

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Today, in Jackson, Mississippi, a new Civil Rights Museum opens, to commemorate the sufferings of African Americans in the history of Mississippi discrimination and violence.

Mississippi is the state of the lynching of Emmett Till in 1955; of James Meredith needing National Guard intervention ordered by President John F. Kennedy in 1962-1963 to be able, safely, to attend the University of Mississippi; and of the three civil rights workers (Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney) murdered in 1964 by Ku Klux Klansmen, simply for the act of trying to register black voters. Also, the murder of Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963 stands out as a deplorable moment in Mississippi history.

It is the state which has the worst image of all 50 states on racism, bloodshed, and violence in the Civil Rights Era, but also of its members of Congress historically, including Theodore Bilbo, John Stennis, and James Eastland, and Governor Ross Barnett, infamous for racism and advocating prejudice and denial of equal rights to African Americans.

The opening of this new museum is a wonderful event, but is besmirched by the presence of President Donald Trump, who has a long history of promoting discrimination, racism, prejudice, and hatred in his own life experience, and his promotion of setting back civil rights during his Presidency, including his appointment of former Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions to be his Attorney General, and setting back civil rights enforcement as a policy.

Just as Donald Trump is advocating Roy Moore for the Alabama Senate seat, with his long record of racism, along with the record of Moore involved in sexual abuse of young women, including girls under the age of 18, now he is coming to an event which is pure hypocrisy on his part, and only promotes racial division ever more.

Therefore, civil rights icon John Lewis, Georgia Congressman, who was involved in the major events of the civil rights movement, and is much respected and honored by all decent people, will not be attending the opening of this museum on principle, a regrettable but understandable reaction by this great man.

Greatest Domestic Accomplishments Of Presidents Since FDR

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So much attention is usually paid to foreign policy during any President’s administration, but domestic accomplishments are something that needs much more attention.

Following is what this author regards as the greatest domestic accomplishment of each President since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Franklin D. Roosevelt—Social Security Act of 1935

Harry Truman–Integration of the military and Washington DC in 1948

Dwight D. Eisenhower–Appointment of Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1953 and Associate Justice William Brennan in 1956

John F. Kennedy—Integration of University of Mississippi by James Meredith, with federal enforcement in 1962

Lyndon B. Johnson—Civil Rights Act of 1964

Richard Nixon–Creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970

Gerald Ford—Appointment of Associate Justice John Paul Stevens in 1975

Jimmy Carter—Environmental Reform and Expansion of Public Lands 1977-1981

Ronald Reagan—Social Security Reform in tandem with Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neill in 1983

George H. W. Bush—Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990

Bill Clinton—Appointment of Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993 and Stephen Breyer in 1994

George W. Bush—Medicare Part D Prescription Law of 2003

Barack Obama—Affordable Care Act of 2010

Discussion and commentary on this list is welcome!

Mississippi: The Bottom Of The Pit In 1962, And Still In 2014!

Ronald 2 Comments

The state of Mississippi was the bottom of the pit of American society in 1962, when the National Guard had to be federalized to insure that one black college student, James Meredith, could attend the University of Mississippi. It was also the state where three civil rights workers were murdered in 1964, while attempting to register black voters.

One would think that after a half century, Mississippi would have improved its horrific status as number 50 out of 50, but sadly such is not the case!

Mississippi stands at the absolute bottom of the pile in poverty, with 34.7 percent of children being in poverty, and 19 percent in extreme poverty, a shocking set of statistics that is totally unconscionable, as children are the future!

61.9 percent of Mississippians are in dire financial straits, and the state only gives the poorest an average welfare benefit of $140 a month, by far the lowest family benefit in the nation!

And children face arrest and jailing for as little an infraction as being tardy to school, or going to the bathroom without permission.

This horrible situation demands federal intervention in the name of human rights! This disaster hurts the black population much more, but also the poor white population is also harmed greatly!

The Democratic Party was responsible for this horror in the 1960s, but now the Republican Party must be held responsible for perpetuating this mess!

Ironically, Mississippi is among the top states for church attendance, and for promotion of “Christian” values, whatever that means, since it is NOT applied in everyday life!

The Disgrace Of The University Of Mississippi Revisited—1962 And 2012

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Fifty years ago, the University of Mississippi became the center of racial confrontation, when the National Guard had to be federalized by President John F. Kennedy to have safe integration of the university, and allow the first African American, James Meredith, to attend and stay safe, as he pursued an education.

There were commemorations of this event at the end of September this year, praising how far things had improved, including the first African American Homecoming Queen. It made many people proud of how far the university had evolved.

But then, sadly, the old redneck mentality returned on Wednesday morning, as 400 students rioted after the reelection of President Barack Obama, protesting his victory in a very racist fashion.

So, while certainly it was only a few hundred hoodlums who participated in the violence, it besmirches the name of the university, and reminds us of how little change has really occurred in 50 years, as the racism of the state, which helps to keep it poor and seen as a backwater, and has led to a loss of a Congressional seat due to lack of population growth, undermines the economic growth of the state, often seen as at the bottom statistically in most categories of judgment!

50th Anniversary Of University Of Mississippi Integration By James Meredith: One Of Ugliest Moments In American History!

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Fifty years ago, one of the ugliest moments of American history occurred, when the University of Mississippi was integrated by James Meredith, its first African American student, but with a cost initially of two killed, hundreds wounded, due to a racist mob that descended on the university campus, and battled with the National Guard mobilized by order of President John F. Kennedy to enforce federal court orders allowing Meredith to be enrolled.

Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett refused to enforce the court order, requiring Kennedy to do what President Dwight D. Eisenhower did five years earlier at Little Rock Central High School, the use of the National Guard under Presidential control, taken away from the state government’s authority.

What a terrible message this violent riot sent to the world, and the propaganda given to the Soviet Union about American “democracy”!

The incident etched in the memories of millions of Americans a terrible image about Mississippi and the deep South which still has not left us, and while the situation in that state has improved somewhat, it still is seen as a backward, regressive state in the minds of many, and has led to lack of economic growth even in recent times, and the loss of a Congressional seat, rare for a “Sun Belt” state, after the Census of 2000.

Has racism nationally declined from its peak fifty years ago? The answer is YES, but the fact that we have an African American President does not mean the end of it by any means, and has actually made for a new racism. The reality that many whites refuse to see Barack Obama as a legitimate President shows just how much work we need to do to overcome it in the long term, and how much of that racism is still taught at home by parents!

Nicholas Katzenbach Dead: Major Figure In 1960s Issues Under Presidents Kennedy And Johnson

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Another veteran of the Kennedy-Johnson era, Nicholas Katzenbach, has died at the age of 90.

Not as well remembered as others, partly because he wished to avoid the spotlight, Katzenbach was actually an extremely important figure, as Under Secretary of State, Deputy Attorney General, and Attorney General.

The author has the memory of Katzenbach confronting Alabama Governor George Wallace in June 1963, at the University of Alabama, when Wallace tried to block the registration of two black students, and Katzenbach took a firm stand, and Wallace stepped aside. Few more dramatic moments have occurred in a public place, with no one sure what would happen!

But Katzenbach was also involved in the integration of the University of Mississippi by James Meredith in 1962; the defense of the Vietnam War before congressional committees; the investigation of the assassination of President Kennedy; advice during the Cuban Missile Crisis; passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and struggles with J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI, but supportive of Robert F. Kennedy, the Attorney General before him.

The 1960s era fades ever more in history with the death of Nicholas Katzenbach.