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Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
State leaders react to President Trump's Fort Novosel name change
DALE COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — President Joe Biden changed the name of Fort Rucker in southeast Alabama to Fort Novosel during his administration. That's because Gen. Edmund W. Rucker, for whom it was originally named, served as a Confederate Officer. Now, President Donald Trump is restoring that name in honor of a different veteran, also named Rucker. The name of Fort Novosel is changing back to Fort Rucker, now after Capt. Edward Rucker, a WWI pilot. Rep. Rick Rehm (R-Dothan) said the change is a good thing. 'That doesn't mean that we need to be erasing history or forgetting,' he said. 'We need more history in the schools. We need to talk about the past. How we came to today and keep working on all working together.' But Congressman Shomari Figures (D-AL) said in a statement, in part quote, 'This is really a middle finger to black people in Alabama, and the black soldiers who have to serve at this base.' Democratic leaders on the state level had similar convictions. 'People of color, such as myself, are reminded of what black people had to go through just to get to the freedoms that we have now,' said Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham). 'Wars that were fought to keep people like me enslaved.' Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith accuses district attorney of lying about severity of charges against him 'We should be past this,' said Rep. Kenyatte Hassell (D-Montgomery). 'I think this is undermining to the Biden Administration, which is the whole purpose of this.' 'Unless the Lord intervenes, we're gonna suffer,' said Rep. Thomas Jackson (D-Thomasville). 'Some difficult days, some very difficult days ahead for our nation,' he said of the current state of affairs. But, Rep. Rehm said this is not a step backward- it's a reset. 'For veterans, and army aviators, and the soldiers that serve today, it's always been known as Fort Rucker,' said Rehm. 'And so, I think it just kind of puts that controversy back, ends that controversy. It's no longer named after a Confederate general.' In a statement, the Army said they will 'take all necessary actions to change the names of seven Army installations in honor of heroic Soldiers who served.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House approves bill making Juneteenth state holiday
Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham (left) speaks with Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 30, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Givan has sponsored legislation to make Juneteenth a state holiday in the past, but the House passed Rehm's version of the bill last week. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House of Representatives Thursday passed a bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday. HB 165, sponsored by Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan, closes state offices on June 19, which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. 'This is a bill that is constituent driven, that was brought to me by my constituents,' Rehm said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The legislation passed after years of efforts by Black Democrats in the Alabama Legislature, who either saw their proposals rejected or were effectively forced by Republicans to pair Juneteenth with Jefferson Davis' Birthday, a state holiday honoring the slaveholder and white supremacist who said that Black Americans were 'fitted expressly for human servitude.' The House last year approved a bill sponsored by Rep. Juanadalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, that would have required state employees to choose Juneteenth or Jefferson Davis' Birthday as their day off, a choice not required of any other state holiday. Several Black Democrats said during the debate on the bill last year that they struggled with whether to support the legislation with the Davis requirement. The House approved the bill, but it did not come out of the Senate. Several Black Democrats in the House Thursday expressed their frustration that Rehm's bill — which makes Juneteenth a standalone holiday not tied to Davis' birthday — won approval from the majority Republican Legislature while Givan's had to be altered before it could come to a vote. 'There's something wrong that the only way it could be a good bill is that somebody else carries it, and not the people that was affected by it in the first place,' Moore said. Rep. Napoleon Bracy, D-Mobile, echoed Moore and said he was thankful the bill would pass but was upset that it took a white Republican like Rehm to pass it. 'Sometimes we need to win for our community,' Bracy said. 'We've had people that have brought this legislation for decades, and it wasn't good enough.' The bill passed 85-4 with a floor amendment by Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, that moved the effective date up to June 1 so that state employees could reap the benefits of the legislation this year. 'It was going to be taking effect on October 1, and we wanted it to take effect prior to the actual holiday,' Rehm said, supporting the amendment. Gov. Kay Ivey has signed memos for the last four years making Juneteenth a federal holiday. Juneteenth has also been a federally recognized holiday since 2021. Alabama's official state holiday calendar puts Robert E. Lee's Birthday on the same day as Martin Luther King's Birthday. The state also marks Confederate Memorial Day on the fourth Monday in April. The bill goes to the Senate. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House committee advances Juneteenth state holiday bill
Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham (left) speaks with Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 30, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) A House committee Wednesday approved a bill making Juneteenth an Alabama state holiday after the sponsor removed a provision that would have required state employees to choose between that holiday or a Confederate one. HB 165, sponsored by Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan, originally put Juneteenth on the state holiday list but did not require offices to shut down. Instead, state employees would choose to take the holiday celebrating the end of slavery or Jefferson Davis' Birthday, a state holiday marked on the first Monday in June to honor the president of the Confederacy, a white supremacist government. Rehm revised the bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday for all employees, like Jefferson Davis' birthday. 'Last year we failed, and I didn't want to fail again, and I'm able to communicate to the Republican caucus why this is important,' said Rehm, who is white and is the only Republican in the Alabama House who represents a district that is more than 40% Black. Juneteenth has been a federal holiday since 2021. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, a member of the House Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development committee, was visibly upset and gave a tense speech before walking out of the room. Givan said that for as long as a bill making Juneteenth a holiday, it's never been carried and passed by a white man, and added, 'I got a problem with that.' 'I've been in this House 15 years. I don't think there has ever been a piece of legislation that has come before this committee that I have to wrestle with,' Givan said, adding that she wants to vote against the bill even if she supports it. Alabama Democrats have pushed over the years to make Juneteenth a state holiday. Givan has introduced a bill each year since 2023 and passed it out of the house in 2024, with the compromise that employees would have to pick between Davis's birthday or Juneteenth. During the 2023 session, Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, proposed a measure that added Juneteenth without affecting the other official holidays. Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, introduced a bill to replace Davis' birthday with Juneteenth as an official holiday. 'My ancestors are crying,' Givan said as she walked out. Evangeline Reynolds-Gunn, a Black constituent in Rehm's district present at the committee meeting, said to Givan before she walked out that her words were 'bone-chilling,' and asked the committee to 'please find a place in your heart to pardon Rep. Givan.' 'It's just different emotions for different people. Please do not hold her actions against her or this bill. It's just a passionate subject, but I believe Alabama is strong enough and courageous enough to handle an individual speaking so passionately as Rep. Givan,' she said. Reynolds-Gunn added that she also holds that Alabamians are 'courageous enough to look at little referee from down south Rick Rehm take this by the helm and say, 'I'll be the guy that can reach both sides.'' Rehm said after the meeting that he was 'sympathetic to her,' but he is carrying the bill because he believes he can better articulate the bill to those in the Republican caucus worried about the expense. According to the fiscal note, adding Juneteenth would increase the state's obligations 'by a minimal, undetermined amount.' Rehm also said that state employees have had the holiday off for the past few years, showing that the state can afford it. 'We're paying for it anyway. The governor declares it a holiday, as she should,' he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
