A black Al.com journalist every American should read even if I disagree with him about Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis

"Right is of no sex, truth is of no color, God is the father of us all, and we are all brethren."

--The North Star

    Today’s post features African-American Al.com columnist Roy S. Johnson every American should read. With heavy heart, though, I had to disagree today with his perspective of Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis.

Very nice column today.

However:

"If you watched with glee Fani Willis' painfully personal, defiant (and potentially life-threatening) testimony, know this: They could come after you, too. Or someone you date."

I clerked for a U.S. District Judge in Birmingham, who presided over every federal criminal prosecution in north Alabama, and then I practiced law in Birmingham.

I hoped Fani would get Donald Trump locked up for a long time. I felt God gave Fani that case. She had to know better than to get romantic with a prosecutor she had hired, and now that's the main issue in the case. Although the affair has nothing to do with Trump's deeds, she should have resigned and let someone else try to get Trump locked up. That she didn't resign says to me there is something fundamentally awry in her. 

    His today:

Alabama crumples overdue bill, threatens DEI

Roy. S. Johnson 

 

"Right is of no sex, truth is of no color, God is the father of us all, and we are all brethren." --The North Star Alabama, your HBCU bill is too long overdue, pay up! If you’re not familiar with Birmingham-Southern College, short tutorial: It’s a private liberal arts college whose roots date back to its charter as Southern University by the Alabama Legislature in 1856 that is located on a hill on Birmingham’s westside.   Back in December 2022, I dropped that BSC was a house on fire—in dire need of a $37.5 million bailout to keep it from closing, a condition created by its own doing. By bad decisions.   By good intentions gone bad.   Since then, public officials from Birmingham to Montgomery, the state capitol, have done backflips to save it.   The latest Simon Biles move by state lawmakers is SB31, essentially a mulligan of a bill they passed last year that didn’t accomplish the desired result—to “loan” BSC $30 million to keep its gates open.   I’ve been I’ve been pretty clear on my stance against utilizing public taxpayer funds to bail out the private educational institution. That said: After BSC deposits its bounty, I hope it succeeds.   I truly do.   With a caveat. The state of Alabama owes Alabama A&M, one of its plethora of HBCUs (there are more here than in any other state), oh, $527 million and change due to significant underfunding of its land grant institutions based on an agreement that dates to the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862.     Yeah, this is deep, and there are layers upon layers of history, nuance, and truths to digest.   Here’s my full column on it, or click the button below.

My column on Alabama's overdue HBCU bill Enjoy my full archive of columns here You (or someone you know) may be able to save an award-winning gospel producer's life If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t know.   You wouldn’t know by Rod Turner’s broad, bright smile each Sunday. His affable demeanor.   You wouldn’t know by his heart-lifting keyboard accompaniments during praise and worship.   You wouldn’t know by his strong, unwavering faith.   If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t know.   You wouldn’t know Turner, the musical director at my home church (Rock City) - and award-winning gospel producer - needs a new kidney.   You wouldn’t know he undergoes nine hours of dialysis every day. To stay alive.   You wouldn't know he’s among thousands on waiting lists, hoping, and praying for an organ most of us take for granted.   Please read and share my column about Turner’s hope and prayer. Rod Turner Read my column on Rod's challenging journey This Day in Our History – February 22 – Meet this dynamic 19th-century voice, first Black woman to publish a short story, and so much more I love discovering people. Even as I lament: Man, I should have known this. I should have known Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.   The Black Muse was how the poet, teacher, writer and lecturer came to be known as she rose to literary prowess during the 19th century. Rose to being, by some accounts, the preeminent Black female voice of her time.   Born free in Maryland, she was orphaned at the age of three when both parents died. Frances came to be raised by an aunt and uncle, Henrietta and Henry Watkins. Henry was a staunch abolitionist and educator, both of which shaped the young girl’s path.   She attended the school he founded and was influenced by his abolitionist views. At 13 she developed a love for books while working for a white family that owned a bookstore.   She published her first book of poems, “Forest Leaves,” at the age of 20, in 1845, and in subsequent years became a sought-after lecturer, travelling the nation to speak against slavery.   Interestingly, she could not return home after Maryland passed a law deeming any free Blacks found in the state would be arrested and sold into slavery.   She lived and worked as a teacher in Ohio and Pennsylvania while continuing to write poems and other works, and lecture. Her poetry was published in abolitionist publications, including Frederick Douglass’ Paper.   (Here’s a fascinating timeline of her life and works.)   By 1859, she published a second book of poems (“Poems in Miscellaneous Subjects”) and saw her short story, “Two Offers,” on educating Black women, published in Anglo-African Magazine. The latter, according to historians, was the first short story published by an African American woman. The very first.   Throughout her years she was a preeminent advocate for Black women, for education, jobs, and equitable rights. Among her numerous commitments she, in 1896, co-founded the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs . The org comprises, per its website, “women of color dedicated to uplifting women, children, families, the home and the community through service, community education, scholarship assistance and the promotion of racial harmony among all people, so that those we serve are better able to take their proper and rightful place in society as citizens, community leaders, parents and family members.”   Man, I should have known Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. We all should have.   On this date, February 22, 1911, in Philadelphia.     If you didn’t know, now you know.

Roy's Reads

The full breadth of the Harlem Renaissance’s influence in shaping American and European modernism yet to be assessed. A bold exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art— The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism—seeks to change that.   With ‘Gems’ From Black Collections, the Harlem Renaissance Reappears - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Courtney Mays (below, right) is a true influencer. Not merely measured in followers (though she does have almost 36,000 on IG) but in how she measures. Whom she measures. Whom she fits as among the most lauded stylists for athletes and beyond.  A Master in Fit (newyorkmag.com) Issa Rae wants  to be Oprah, and I'm rooting for her. The mountain is steep, and the climb ain't aways friendly. Issa Rae and Hollywood's Unkept Promises (time.com) Quietly and diligently, Vince Staples is growing, sharing his gifts. Sharing and always seeking to learn. And he is damn funny. Vince Staples swears he isn’t funny. (gq.com)

NBA star Chris Paul and Courtney Mays (Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Vacheron Constantin) Read something intriguing? Share! Send to me at rjohnson@al.com. The chair is open! Last cuts

If you watched with glee Fani Willis' painfully personal, defiant (and potentially life-threatening) testimony, know this: They could come after you, too. Or someone you date. BTW, per her daddy I'm carrying more cash. I fully acknowledge this is a not-nice analogy, but as U.S. House Republicans scurry for the exit, frustrated with their own party, all I can think of is Rodentia scrambling from a sinking ship.   Every elected official, whether at the city, county, state, or national level, should go to work each day with this question in their heart: How may I help the most constituents today? Not how may I help me, or my party, but the people I serve (which includes some who did not vote for me). If they can’t answer, then go home. Speaking of such, I'll have more to say soon on the stupefying anti-DEI bill (SB129) dropped in the Alabama Senate this week. In the meantime, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin's on-point rant will get the party started. “If supporting inclusion becomes illegal in this state," he posted on social media. "Hell, you might as well stand in front of the school door like Governor Wallace." Yeah, I low-keep wish I'd written that.   Please pray for any family, any woman striving to have a child in the state of Alabama - and medical professionals who seek to help them make choices. Beyonce two-stomped the country charts, while the cockamamie "story" of a small Oklahoma radio station reportedly refusing to play "Texas Hold 'Em" was overblown lunacy.

(Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP) Rest, please .... My wife and I took a few days "off" last week. We went away, to someplace with the elements that make us happy: water, good food, and cool museums.   Elements that give us peace and joy. That give us rest.   Upon our return I came across an article in TIME called "Why Rest Takes Hard Work."    "There are few things better for us than regular rest," it begins.   It chronicles the history of "rest" in our culture, how it's diminished in importance in our work-obsessed world. It offers  various tips for achieving rest, including:   "Take your vacations. Shorter, more frequent vacations are often more restorative, because they're lower-stakes than once-in-a-lifetime expeditions, and a drip-feed of anticipation, escape, and recovery is better than one big hit of happiness a year.   "The only bad vacation is the one you don't take."   So, go. Until you do, enjoy these peaceful images from our trip.

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Onward! Enjoying The Barbershop? If so, let me know what you love — or don’t love — about it. Hit me with your thoughts or suggestions at rjohnson@al.com. Until next time: Love. Learn. Laugh. Every day.

Forward to a friend, please!

Roy S. Johnson sends his newsletter every Thursday morning. Email him at rjohnson@al.com and follow him on Twitter @roysj and Instagram @roysj.

 sloanbashinsky@yahoo.com