NFL Superstar and Super Bowl Champ Richard Sherman Pays Off School’s Cafeteria Debt

Richard Sherman was already Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl superstar but now the NFL baller is a superhero for young students who’ve had trouble paying for meals at school.

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Alabama Supreme Court ruled Birmingham cannot move nor change Confederate monuments

After almost a year-long battle, the Alabama Supreme Court proved that even with the presence of Black Lives Matter, a former Black President, and an elevated amount of Black excellence and achievement in this country, the South still has a long way to go.

On Wednesday, a ruling was passed that would keep Birmingham, which is predominately Black, from revising or removing any of the Confederate monuments in the city. According to ABC News, the ruling concluded that the city violated the 2017 Alabama Memorial Preservation Act.

The state sued Birmingham for placing wooden plywood panels that blocked the inscriptions on a 52-foot tall obelisk praising the heroism of Confederate veterans.

Knowing the history of racial violence during the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, the presence of the monument has made some in the community more than uncomfortable.

ABC News reported that when the state initially sued, a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of Birmingham, deciding that the Alabama law outlawing relocating, removing, changing or renaming buildings, streets, and memorials that had been in place for more than 40 years, actually violated free speech rights.

READ MORE: Supreme Court ruling worries blacks in Shelby County, Alabama

The Alabama Supreme Court decision now upholds the original law and reversed the decision that was made in January.

In a statement obtained by The Hill, a spokesperson for the city expressed their disappointment with the justices’ decision.

“This ruling appears to be less about the rule of law and more about politics,” Rick Journey, director of communications in Birmingham’s office of public information said.

In addition to Birmingham having to remove the adjustments made on the monument, the city has also been fined $25,000.

According to The Hill, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who had called for the repeal of the circuit judge’s decision, said the state supreme court made the “correct conclusion.”

“The Supreme Court’s ruling is a victory for the Alabama law which seeks to protect historical monuments,” Marshall said in a statement.

READ MORE: Judge rules confederate statue behind Charlottesville rally to remain standing

“The City of Birmingham acted unlawfully when it erected barriers to obstruct the view of the 114-year-old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Linn Park.”

Grio fam, what do you think? Should the monument remain out in the open or do the citizens of Birmingham have the right to obstruct the view? Sound off below. 

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Buttigieg says being gay allows him to relate to Black voters

Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg may have gotten himself in some hot water with Black voters after claiming that his experience as a gay man helps him relate to the Black community.

Buttigieg made his controversial comments during the most recent presidential debate where he admitted that he did not have to endure discrimination because of his skin, but he could relate to Black voters in another way.

“While I do not have the experience of ever having been discriminated against because of the color of my skin,” Buttigieg began, “I do have the experience of sometimes feeling like a stranger in my own country, turning on the news and seeing my own rights come up for debate, and seeing my rights expanded by a coalition of people like me and people not at all like me.”

— Probe of police shooting could revive scrutiny of Pete Buttigieg

“I welcome the challenge of connecting with Black voters in America who don’t yet know me.”

Mayor Pete Buttigieg responds to Sen. Kamala Harris’s question on “where he’s been, and what he’s going to do” for the African American community. pic.twitter.com/f30B2ltOnM

— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) November 21, 2019

There was sharp criticism almost immediately following his comments, including a critique from Sen. Kamala Harris, who called his comments “not productive” and “naive.”

The Indiana mayor has not been hugely favored among Black voters despite his recent lead in Iowa polls and New Hampshire polls. According to the Washington Post, he trails badly in South Carolina, the first primary state with a sizable African American population with less than 1 percent support among black Democrats there.

— Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign used Kenyan photo to promote Douglass Plan for Black America

Buttigieg is also not very popular among Black voters in his own constituency as mayor of South Bend, Ind. Earlier this year, Buttigieg’s concern for the Black community came into question following the police-involved killing of, Eric Logan, a Black man, as it had been revealed that Black community members had previously complained about the officer-involved, Ryan O’Neill, for whom Buttigieg had not been quick to discipline.

Oliver Davis, a black council member in South Bend, said he did not agree with Buttigieg’s comparison.

“When you see me, you would know that I’m African American from day one,” Davis said. “When someone is gay or a lesbian, unless they tell or they are seen in certain situations, then no one is going to know that. They are able to build their résumés and build their careers.”

According to the Washington Post, Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been a supporter of Buttigieg claiming him to be misunderstood, said that the young mayor has a long way to go.

2020 Presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been facing backlash recently because of his past remarks on black youth and education. I am sharing my thoughts on his statement on #MSNBCLive w/ Katy Turr. pic.twitter.com/tPI5DbtQs9

— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) November 27, 2019

“I think Kamala had a point, and I understood what she was saying,”  Sharpton said. “He’s evolving. Do I think he’s where he needs to be? No.”

Rev. William Barber II, minister of the Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, N.C, told the Washington Post that he believed it should not be about who has been discriminated the most, but about dealing with the issues.

“Let’s not get caught up in who understands discrimination the most,” Barber said. “Let’s deal with the real issue, which is that the same entities that are against gay folks are the same entities who are against black folks and that we ought to be united in fighting discrimination in any form it arises.”

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