For the first time in history, Alabama sends two Black representatives to the House of Representatives at the same time.

According to the so-called a feat that was not achieved even during Reconstructionthe post-Civil War era when black political power in the South was expanded as the United States attempted to include newly emancipated former slaves from the former Confederacy into full participation as American residents.

Shomari Figurs will represent Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District once he wins the seat in the November 2024 election.

This was made possible by court-ordered redistricting, which allowed the district’s black residents to elect their representatives.

On November 8, Numbers released an announcement saying it understood the importance of the case that allowed him and Republican Terri Sewell to concurrently represent Alabama in the House of Representatives.

“The opportunity for fair representation is an essential element of democracy because it gives people from different backgrounds the opportunity to make sure their voices are heard and their interests are represented,” Figura said.

Rep. Sewell, who represents Alabama’s seventh Congressional District, said the election results reflect the power of “having people in office who will fight for the issues that are important to us and the values ​​that we share.”

She continued: “The power of too many black voters in Alabama has been diluted by unfair congressional maps. By sending Shomari data to Washington, these voters finally have a chance to have a seat at the decision-making table. I look forward to having him as my partner in Congress and working on behalf of all Alabamians, especially those whose voices have not yet been fully heard.”

During Reconstruction, when the state’s population was much different than today, Alabama sent three Black men to the House of Representatives, but none of their terms overlapped.

Today, Alabama’s population is roughly 64% white and 27% black, and voter suppression that occurred shortly after the last of the three men, Rep. Jeremiah Haralson, left office in 1877 shapes black political representation in Alabama .

It wasn’t until 1992, greater than a century after Haralson left office, that Alabama sent its next black representative to Congress, Earl Hilliard, who represented Alabama’s majority-black seventh District.

For many years, the seventh District was Alabama’s only probability district, but after a federal court ordered Alabama to redraw the 2nd Congressional District, it became the state’s second-chance district.

This v case remains to be pending. Evan Milligan, the lead plaintiff in the case, told the website he remains to be unsure whether the lawsuit could lead to greater representation of Black Alabamians.

“At no point was it a foregone conclusion. I will say this, but it is still not the case because it is a topical issue. The only reason the law needs to say this is because of the decades of resistance the state of Alabama has had to uniformly enforce civil rights and voting rights protections in every branch and at every stage of the democratic process,” Milligan said.

He continued: “I think that in every generation we have a chance to keep our state and keep our nation with the values ​​enshrined in our Constitution, because freedom, justice and fairness are words of action.”

Bernard Simelton, president of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, can also be a plaintiff in the lawsuit and shares Milligan’s concerns, but hopes the court will uphold the lawsuit’s results.

“I think the courts can’t help but recognize that the state of Alabama has acted in such a way as to create confusion in the district and that they will rule in favor of keeping the district as it is,” Simelton told the Journal.

He continued: “It showed that once again, when Black people are given the opportunity to get elected and go to the polls, they will do it and choose the person they want to represent them.”

A caller identifying himself as Rick, a Republican from Indiana, called C-Span Sunday to remind viewers what people in power looked like 70 years ago.

Or perhaps it was all a joke. Or a challenge. Or the results of one too many moonshines.

Or perhaps it serves as a reminder that Donald Trump’s re-election has empowered racists to say the silent part out loud.

Rick, from Crawfordville, Indiana, was clearly wanting to be noticed, telling the show’s black host, Kimberly Adams, that in keeping with the Bible, “men should rule the home” and girls should “just clean.”

“But anyway, sidebar, you know, ever since Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed, boy, chaos has gone to hell, it’s gone hand in hand with the Democrats.” Rick said. “And what really annoys me, Kimberly, is that these people of color are always saying Trump is so bad.”

Rick’s use of the word “colourful”, a derogatory term utilized by more polite racists as an alternative choice to the N-word, tells you all the pieces it’s good to learn about his standpoint.

But if there was any doubt, Rick didn’t back down from his own Bull Connor-inspired conversation topics (Connor was Birmingham, police commissioner in Alabama for 24 years, famous for using fire hoses and police attack dogs against civil rights demonstrators).

“Can’t they think back to the time of their ancestors when the British came to them and things like that?” he asked. “I don’t understand why the hell people of color, Republicans, were the ones who released them. The Democrats held them there for slavery. I just don’t understand it.”

For those wondering why Adams didn’t chime in, well, that is not how it works for a C-Span host. Company policy requires them to maintain their opinions to themselves.

But Adams needed to quietly have a good time when Rick’s line began to creak.

“Rick, your line is breaking a little,” she said hopefully.

Unfortunately, Rick’s line got here back in time to lecture Black people on why they needs to be more grateful.

“If it weren’t for Abraham Lincoln, these guys wouldn’t have had a basketball game or a football game,” he said, before concluding with a warning from the Bible, issue of Revenge.

“Seriously, weather-wise, it’s going to be bad in the south,” Rick said. “So all you people, Democrats in the South, you better repent now because the storm is coming your way.”

It’s unclear whether Rick is an actual person or an actual parody, but commenters on Raw Story, which published the story on Monday, mostly took him literally.

“He’s just some idiot who probably still lives in his mother’s basement (basements are a thing in rural Indiana),” one viewer said. “Don’t shit yourself here. Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania are full of people who know nothing about anything outside their local inbreeding bubble.”

Another said that Rick is just not only a throwback, but in addition a glance into America’s Trumpian future:

“MAGA rats are getting closer to using the n-word in national media. Good luck with kindness, America, if they can pull it off. Where does the GOP find these simpletons?”

Another commenter, borrowing a page from Trump, questioned Rick’s roots:

“I bet he graduated from a school in Florida.”

Activists and education experts are sharply criticizing President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal for “reparations” for so-called “victims” who’re discriminated against in diversity, equity and inclusion teaching programs, also known as DEI.

Trump and Republicans’ goal in eliminating DEI from public education, Johns said, is to “prevent students and censored individuals from engaging in critical thinking in a way that makes it easier to maintain this regime.”

In the video, Trump promised to make use of the Justice Department’s authority to “pursue federal civil rights cases” against schools that “racially discriminate and schools that persist in overt, unlawful discrimination under the guise of equity.”

The president-elect announced that grants from schools promoting racial equality could be taxed and fined. He proposed that “part of the confiscated funds should then be used to compensate the victims of these illegal and unjust policies… that have hurt our country so much.”

While some online have described Trump’s proposal as “reparations” for white people, racial justice advocates explain that the term is misleading.

“It’s really necessary that we do not loosen up with the word ‘compensation.’ He himself didn’t use the word ‘reparations,’ and I feel it is vital that we do not start overusing that term, especially as we proceed to try to coach people on what it means,” said Dr. Marcus Anthony Hunter, author of Radical Reparations: Healing the Soul of a Nation “.

Dr. Johns said Trump’s “restitution” proposal might be higher described as “grievance subsidies” for white people. The scholar and activist said Trump’s renewed attacks on DEI are nothing latest.

“What he did is consistent with what the Daughters of the Confederacy did after the Civil War,” Johns said, referring to the group’s promotion of a false “Lost Cause” ideology that minimized the role of slavery as a reason behind the Civil War and portrayed the Confederacy in a more positive light.

No federal law currently prohibits educational programs deemed DEI, except the ban on race-based admissions, also known as affirmative motion, invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023. However, several governors have attempted to ban DEI programs through state-level laws. It’s also unclear whether Trump can actually impose a penalty on school funds as he claims.

Dr. Hunter said Trump’s claim for “restitution” in equity reminded him of a 2023 racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a white student attending Howard University Law School. Although the coed’s claim of being “treated differently” due to his race was the identical released A federal judge allowed his case to be heard under the guise of losing his scholarship on “racial grounds.”

“For a lot of these things, you have to be able to prove verifiable damages,” Hunter said. “So a few of what (Trump) says will occur isn’t possible because people cannot really prove the damage. “It’s also a rhetorical conversation that’s just very dangerous.”

“When it comes to redress for victims, I’m really not sure where they go from there,” James said. “I have not heard of students who have concerns that DEI programs on campuses or at their institutions are discriminatory against them.” She added: “I would like to know more about where they get arguments like victimization.”

Ultimately, advocates warn that eliminating DEI from classrooms will undo what little progress has been made in diversifying schools and raising multicultural knowledge.

“DEI is truly part of how we ensure an inclusive society that prioritizes belonging and allows everyone to thrive safely,” Dr. James said. “So the idea that we are eliminating DEI teachings and principles in schools means that we are trying to divide our society as a whole.”

She continued: “Removing these programs means that we are going to see a scarcity of culturally responsive teaching on the a part of teachers, which implies they’ll not recognize or use instructional materials that teach different histories that reflect different cultures and different identities. “

NBCJC’s Dr. Johns warns that the implications of attacks on DEI and Trump’s proposal to eliminate the Department of Education can have more serious consequences for Black, Brown and LGBTQ students and teachers.

“I even have witnessed and are available into contact with children who experience political persecution that limits their access to care, their access to affirming and supportive educators, their ability to seek out after-school groups and programs where they will be affirmed and know that they’re brilliantly and splendidly done thoroughly as they’re,” Johns said.

He continued: “They have few lifelines that prevent them from having fun, let alone pursuing the option of suicide, which continues to increase in numbers when we think about black youth in general, and then racial and ethnic minority youth who are also members of sexual groups, minority communities.”

“Where do teachers go when they are wrongfully targeted by white actors? Where do we tell people to complain?” Johns asked.

However, Dr. Johns reminds us that public education and the “prison industrial complex” “were never intended to affirm the benefits or otherwise ensure the well-being of black people, which is why we have a long tradition of creating institutions that do this work.”

He added: “I hope that churches, communities, associations and organizations, many of which we show up in ministry, will understand the need to fill this gap in a radically inclusive and loving way.”