Alabama NAACP

10/11/2026

Curtis Flowers, a Black man from Mississippi who was wrongfully convicted multiple times when he was tried six times for the same crime by the same prosecutor, has died. He was 56.

In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Prosecutor Doug Evans and the state of Mississippi had violated Curtis Flowers' constitutional rights and overturned his conviction yet again. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that there was a "relentless, determined effort to rid the jury of Black individuals." Six months later, Flowers was released on bail, leaving jail for the first time in 23 years.

Reporters at American Public Media's podcast "In the Dark" looked into the case. Their investigation led witnesses, including one who said Flowers had confessed, to recant their stories.

"In the Dark" reporters and producers also analyzed decades of court data that revealed Prosecutor Doug Evans had a history of excluding Black people from juries at a disproportionate rate. Across all of Flowers' trials, 61 of the 72 jurors were White. All 61 voted to convict.

SOURCE:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/curtis-flowers-mississippi-wrongful-conviction-dies/?fbclid=Iwb21leAU085ZjbGNrBTTzhWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHBkb2YBc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEejwmd0NZLK2o26fcJw028V6mXZofiOApPLcM-VXbTDakHz1SoDZyS2HzmlVE_aem_1nIHrgZyUoDGmo4m0flUOw

https://apnews.com/article/curtis-flowers-mississippi-death-row-supreme-court-4ae03aabba5750a42390d4053834d79b?utm_source=app&utm_medium=android_share&utm_campaign=more

10/11/2026

🗳️ Alabama’s General Election is November 3!

Make your voting plan, check your polling place’s accessibility, and tell us about any barriers you encounter.

♿ Take our polling accessibility survey: https://buff.ly/xlXgT3M

Voting problem? Call or text 866-OUR-VOTE.

10/11/2026

The Trump administration on Wednesday accused Wells Fargo, one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, of discriminating against home buyers by creating programs that favored minority applicants for loans.

Scott Turner (Secretary of H.U.D.), who is BLACK is the Christian nationalist former NFL player turned executive tapped by Trump to run the department, has opened an investigation of Wells Fargo over the company’s efforts to boost Black homeownership. And his remarks about the probe, the existence of which was revealed by The Wall Street Journal, underscore that this is fundamentally about conservatives’ racist assault on virtually any program they think falls under the umbrella of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, or DEI.

https://www.ms.now/opinion/hud-wells-fargo-investigation-scott-turner-black-homeownership

The allegations came in a letter from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to Wells Fargo’s chief executive, Charles Scharf.

The letter, signed by Craig W. Trainor, an assistant secretary, said the San Francisco bank was being investigated for violations of the Fair Housing Act, a civil rights-era law that barred banks and other lenders from considering race, religion, s*x and national origin, among other factors, in their underwriting.

In his letter Mr. Trainor cited “repeated public promotion of explicit race-based policies,” including offering Black homeowners lower-cost refinancing and the creation of a $150 million so-called credit program “to advance racial equity in homeownership.” He raised the specter of expanding the investigation to include the Department of Justice.

Mr. Trump said in an interview this year that he believed laws and policies dating to the 1960s, such as affirmative action, had resulted in white people being “very badly treated.”

Fair housing advocates say the Wells Fargo program was created under federal rules that expressly allowed it.

"Congress wrote Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) into federal law 50 years ago to enable lenders to adopt programs to remedy the effects of historic barriers and exclusions from the lending market based on gender, race and national origin," Nikitra Bailey, executive vice president of the National Fair Housing Alliance, said in a statement.

"Investigating a bank for following the government's own rules to create paths to address longstanding discrimination in lending is an abuse of the agency’s investigative authority and a transparent attempt to scare every lender in the nation away from their legal obligation to serve underserved communities," she said.

SOURCE:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/business/trump-hud-wells-fargo.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2026/10/08/inside-wells-fargo-housing-investigation/92153358007/

https://www.ms.now/opinion/hud-wells-fargo-investigation-scott-turner-black-homeownership

10/11/2026

Alabama’s has 14 HBCUs. More than any other state in the nation.

Historically Black tells the story of all 14 institutions in one exhibit that celebrates the history, culture, impact, and traditions that have shaped Alabama.

We’ll kick things off with an Opening Reception on Friday, October 23, from 5–8 PM. For one night, we’re activating the entire BCRI campus. You won’t want to miss it!

🖤 Historically Black Opening Reception
📅 October 23rd @ 5pm
🎟️ RSVP required; bcri.org/historically-black
📍 BCRI Campus

Space is limited, and we expect tickets to go fast! Visit bcri.org/historically-black to claim your spot.

Come explore the exhibit, rep your HBCU, and celebrate with us!

Historically Black will be on view in the Odessa Woolfolk Gallery from October 23–December 12, 2026.

10/11/2026

On this day in 1941, Jesse Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina. From marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to launching historic campaigns for the presidency, Jackson became one of the most influential Black political and civil rights leaders of his generation.

His decades of activism helped expand Black political power and push issues of racial and economic justice onto the national stage.

10/11/2026

I was proud to secure $850,000 for the Bessemer Housing Authority to support construction of the Dream Center! I’m excited that this new community center will soon bring health services, social services, and early learning opportunities to Bessemer families.

It was great to tour the facility and see the progress firsthand. I look forward to seeing this investment come to life!

10/11/2026

10/11/2026

Can’t vote on November 3rd, the Last Day to vote?
No worries, Limestone County Al NAACP will provide transportation to vote ABSENTEE 10/13 & 10/27.🚐🗣️

10/08/2026

Today, we remember Grammy-nominated R&B vocalist Freddie Jackson. Born Frederick Anthony Jackson in 1957 in Harlem, New York, he first trained as a gospel singer before joining choral groups and soul-funk acts such as the Laurence Jones Ensemble and Mystic Merlin. After embarking on a solo career, he signed with Capitol Records in 1984 and helped define the sound of contemporary R&B with his platinum-selling debut album "Rock Me Tonight" (1985). Chart-topping hits, including "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times' Sake)" and "You Are My Lady," emphasized Jackson's rich, soul-stirring voice and deep warmth, establishing him as one of America's most beloved performers. "My music is for people who like to hold hands in concert," Jackson once proclaimed in an interview with The New York Times. "If people could diminish some of their hate, the chaos and trouble in life wouldn't be so strong."

Over a career spanning more than four decades, Jackson recorded 14 albums and continued to tour for devoted fans around the world. His body of work reflects universal themes of love, memory, vulnerability, and devotion. He leaves behind a lasting legacy in African American music and a discography that will continue to resonate with generations of listeners to come.

📸 Courtesy of Raymond Boyd/Getty Images.

10/08/2026