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CBC
21 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
What happened the last time a U.S. president overrode a state to deploy the National Guard
On an unseasonably chilly but sunny day, March 20, 1965, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson stood on the porch of his Texas ranch and read a telegram he had just sent to Alabama Gov. George Wallace. "I am calling into federal service selected units of the Alabama National Guard… to help you meet your state responsibilities," Johnson said. For more than a week, Johnson and Wallace had been going back and forth about the president's concerns for the safety of Black Alabamians trying to exercise their right to vote and peacefully protest police brutality. Wallace, a segregationist, refused to call in his state's National Guard to protect the Black protesters — who had planned a march from Selma to Montgomery — so Johnson did it in his place. To do so, Johnson invoked the Insurrection Act, an 18th century law that allows the president to deploy military forces inside the U.S. It's what many legal scholars and democracy watchers believed U.S. President Donald Trump might one day use to clamp down on dissent against his administration's policies. For the first time since Johnson, Trump on Saturday overrode a state's authority and called up its National Guard to quell protests in Los Angeles over recent raids by federal immigration authorities. He sent 2,000 members of the California National Guard into the city on Saturday. But Trump used a more obscure law, Title 10 of the U.S. Code, which allows the president to federalize National Guard units in case of an invasion, rebellion, or when police are unable to enforce the country's laws. "It was a bit of a surprise attack," said Kim Lane Scheppele, a professor at Princeton University who specializes in new autocracies. "I think it was something for which Trump's opposition was less well prepared legally." Another law, 1878's Posse Comitatus Act, generally forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. Title 10 does not override that prohibition, but allows the troops to protect federal agents who are carrying out law enforcement activity and to protect federal property. For example, National Guard troops cannot arrest protesters, but they could protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who are carrying out arrests. 'Unmistakable step toward authoritarianism' What has worried legal scholars in Scheppele's circles even more, though, is that Trump's proclamation deploying the National Guard made no mention of California or a specific time period. "There's nothing to prevent him from calling out the National Guard … anywhere else that [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has been active or where public protests have arisen against it." Newsom sued the Trump administration on Monday, calling Trump's move "an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism." The biggest difference "between now and 1965 is the degree to which this is basically a manufactured conflict," said Barry Eidlin, an assistant professor of sociology at McGill University, who researches social change in the U.S. and Canada. Sixty years ago, Johnson wanted National Guard troops to "quell a reactionary segregationist counterinsurgency against dissolving federal policy in favour of civil rights for all," he said, newly returned to Montreal from L.A., where his family lives and where he splits his time. "Whereas the current administration is basically trying to rollback civil rights for all." John Carey, a professor of government at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and the co-founder of Bright Line Watch, a group monitoring threats to American democracy, also says Trump is trying to provoke violence. "I think what's actually going on is the president and his administration are trying to bait California state officials and the protesters," he said, adding that immigration is one of the issues on which Trump has the broadest support. "I worry tremendously about the implications of this for American democracy." The idea, Carey and Eidlin say, is that National Guard troops' presence could escalate violence — which already appears to be the case — further justifying federal intervention. Eidlin said Trump wants to create "a rationale for further Draconian crackdowns." The day after Johnson deployed Alabama's National Guard, more than 3,000 marchers began their 87-kilometre walk from Selma to Montgomery along Route 80. They walked for four days without interference from white supremacists, law enforcement or vigilantes. By the time they arrived, the march had swelled to around 25,000 people. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "How long, not long" speech on the steps of the State Capitol, calling for racial justice. Later that year, the Voting Rights Act was passed, outlawing voter suppression practices, such as literacy tests and poll taxes.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Do your kids know who Trump is? Do you talk about politics at home? Tell us.
A request from a parent of two boys to our country's leaders: Please stop monkey wrenching my every attempt to get these kids to resemble presentable, civil, empathetic human beings. I've got some things going for me. Like PBS (which teaches kids great things – but maybe won't be around much anymore). And grandparents – who were raised in an era when presidential candidates didn't publicly insult each other's penis sizes. And schools where teachers condemn bullying and emphasize acceptance. But then you go and pick on some of the most vulnerable people, saying that a transgender kid is horrible for wanting to be included on a sports team or that immigrants are mostly criminals, rather than people who are upending their lives because they want a better situation for themselves and their families. Send us an email: What do you want to tell your mom? Ahead of Mother's Day, we want your letters. | Opinion Forum So, how do I counteract the nasty political rhetoric that, if uttered by my boys, would land them (and me) in the principal's office facing an alarmed-looking school administrator? I guess I'm using a "better angels" strategy, trying to point to leaders who said and did the right thing, sometimes reaching back in history. Like when once-virulent racist and former Alabama Gov. George Wallace flipped his script, admitted he was wrong and sought the forgiveness of Black people he oppressed, saying the segregation he supported "was wrong" and "will never come back again.' Or when the late Sen. John McCain, who in his unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid pushed back against the conspiracy theories and boos of supporters, telling them that his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, was a "decent family man (and) citizen." But I've hardly got all the answers here. How should we talk to children about politics? What are your strategies and what do you think is important for kids to know in order to be good participants in this (hopefully) ongoing democratic experiment? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Send them to us by filling out the form below or emailing us at forum@ with the subject line "Forum kids and politics." We'll feature several of your submissions in our upcoming Forum roundup. Joel Burgess is a Voices editor for the USA TODAY Network. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where he worked as a reporter for more than two decades. Do you want to take part in our next Forum? Join the conversation by emailing forum@ can also follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and sign up for our Opinion newsletter to stay updated on future Forum posts. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How do you talk to kids about politics? Share your advice | Opinion
CNN
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Alyssa Farah Griffin and George Wallace - Have I Got News For You - Podcast on CNN Audio
Alyssa Farah Griffin and George Wallace Have I Got News For You 47 mins A comedic weekly news quiz, hosted by Roy Wood Jr. and featuring Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black. Join us this week with our special guests Alyssa Farah Griffin and George Wallace.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Clean Slate' canceled at Amazon
HOLLYWOOD, Ca. (WSAV) — According to Variety, Amazon has canceled 'Clean Slate,' the comedy series shot in and around Savannah. Starring Laverne Cox and George Wallace, the show followed 'Harry Slate (Wallace), an old-school and outspoken Alabama car wash owner, who has a lot of soul searching to do when the estranged child he thought was a son returns home to Mobile as a proud, trans woman, Desiree (Cox).' Clean Slate was one of the last productions to be shot on location in the Coastal Empire. It was the last completed series produced by Hollywood legend Norman Lear before his death in 2023. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
America's Path to Equality: The March for Voting Rights
The Brief America's civil rights leaders completed their 54-mile march from Selma, Alabama to the state capitol in Montgomery 60 years ago. It marked a turning point in history that inspired the Voting Rights Act. It also followed the horrific beating in Selma commonly known as "Bloody Sunday." SELMA, Ala. - March 25, 1965, marked a turning point in history. America's civil rights leaders completed their 54-mile march from Selma, Alabama to the state capitol in Montgomery 60 years ago. It inspired the Voting Rights Act and changed the course of history. It also followed the horrific beating in Selma commonly known as "Bloody Sunday." RELATED: America's Path to Equality: Bloody Sunday The backstory On March 7th, 1965, African Americans peacefully marched for the right to vote and were beaten near Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge by the forces of segregationist Governor George Wallace. "It is difficult to talk about without getting a little emotional because I had never seen that much hatred. I had never seen anything like that before in all my life," said Jeff Drew, a student activist from Birmingham who joined the Selma movement. For background, the federal government gave blacks the right to vote after the civil war. Then, after Reconstruction, southern states effectively took it away through intimidation, poll taxes and difficult tests called poll exams or literacy tests. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube "On occasion, they were asked to count the number of bubbles on a bar of soap, the number of jellybeans in a jar," said former Congressman John Lewis, before dying in 2020. Two days after Bloody Sunday, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a second march and suspended it when he saw armed troopers blocking their path. That night, a mob found and murdered James Reeb, a white minister who had joined the march. Dr. King sought and received help from federal court. A judge ordered state troopers to stand aside for the march to resume. Meanwhile, President Lyndon B. Johnson federalized the national guard to protect the marchers. It took bi-partisan support from a Democratic U.S. president and a Republican judge to proceed. PREVIOUS: America's Path to Equality: Selma and the Tampa Connection "I always point out to my Republican friends that all the people who decided in our favor were Republicans," said Dr. King's right-hand man, Andrew Young. "Every case we won across the south, it was a Republican judge." Dig deeper Al Lingo had marched through Florida, and was in this St. Augustine pool with black friends, when the motel owner attacked them with acid. His parents wanted him to stop, but he and thousands of others are drawn to Selma after Bloody Sunday, because it is dangerous and needs to change. "There were young people who were making something go, and kind of defeating the notion that everything is really okay here," said Lingo. White supremacists arrived as spectators along the curb. Some spit at marchers and journalists as they passed. Jeff Drew was one of the march runners around the Edmund Pettus Bridge — meaning he ran along the edge of the road. READ:America's Path to Equality: The Selma Movement "My job and other kids my age. We were commissioned to run from the back of the bridge all the way to the front and back to keep the marchers from accidentally stepping on the curb," he said. Andrew Young managed the pace, and Former Florida Governor LeRoy Collins helped him keep people safe. As governor, Collins denounced segregation, killed his career in state politics, and found a higher calling in the cause of civil rights. A parade of nuns, ministers and students swelled to more than 30,000 people. They walked through cold rain and stopped at farms that invited them to eat and sleep. "We lived in tents," said Richard Smiley, a march participant and retired Tampa professor. "On the road they had farmers. Some of the farmers would let us put up a tent." Newsreels depicted them as foot soldiers for freedom, while segregationist propaganda claimed they were communists. It's a narrative of triumph, versus fear tactics that worked back then throughout much of the south. That's why peaceful marchers call it the "Battle of Selma." "The real struggle is a struggle for what's true," Lingo said. Tampa's Path to Equality: Part 1: The First Steps Part 2: The Awakening Part 3: 'Election of the Century' Part 4: The Sit-ins Part 5: The Breakthrough Part 6: The 'Tampa Technique' Part 7: Live on Stage They knew they could prevail the farther they marched and the harder they pushed. "There was a white guy named Jim. He had one leg and was on crutches. I knew him personally. He walked that whole 50 miles," said Smiley. "When he got to Montgomery, he had calluses as big as my hand." The march inspired Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act, which President Johnson signed on August 6, 1965. It banned the difficult tests and other tactics that disenfranchised black voters for generations. It empowered voter registration drives, expanded the electorate, produced a new generation of African American leaders, and it serves as one of our greatest strides on America's Path to Equality. The Source The information in this story was gathered through research and interviews conducted by Craig Patrick. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app:Apple |Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
