Canceled.2014.1
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Don was a crook, no doubt of that.
But Alabama also had Bill Baxley. Plenty of racist crimes of the 50s & 60s went unprosecuted. The state didn't go after the KKK and neither did the feds. But Baxley did.
He was in law school at the Univ of Alabama when the Birmingham church bombing happened. 7 years later he was sworn in as the attorney general of Alabama. Within a few months of being sworn in he reopened the investigation into the bombing. Of course, everyone wants to point fingers at Alabama for the racism. But none of those people can explain why the FBI refused to release the tapes of interviews and evidence in the case. Baxley had to basically start from scratch. The FBI had evidence on several men, but Hoover kept it locked away. Baxley convicted Robert Chambliss of the crime and the bastard died in prison. But he had been able to walk free for 14 years after murdering those girls. And the bulk of the blame lies at the feet of the FBI, not the state of Alabama.
During this investigation the KKK threatened Baxley and his family. They also sent him a letter calling him an "honorary nigger" and threatening him again. Somewhere in the Alabama state archives is a letter Baxley sent in response. On official letterhead, he wrote "My response to your letter of February 19, 1976 is - kiss my ass." And the letter is signed, "Bill Baxley, Attorney Genera"l.
Yeah, there have been crooked politicians in Alabama. I doubt you could find a state that didn't have them. But we have also had good people like Baxley in office. And good people standing up for what is right. My parents were involved in parts of the march from Selma to Montgomery. My dad was threatened and his business threatened when he spoke out against Gov. Wallace's stand on the steps of the UA to stop the enrollment of the first black student there. I was a kid, but I remember both my parents being scared when strange cars drove by our house. And my parents were not alone. Not by any stretch of the imagination. I have a slight bend in my nose from a fight in Eutaw AL with two "klansmen". These two "brave" assholes were chasing a 9 or 10 year old black boy down the street. Not only was it two grown men after one little boy, but one of the men had a piece of a 2x4 with him.
So spare me this "all alabamians are racist retards" and nonsense like that. If you want to demean those cowards who attacked in the night under sheets, I am right there with you. But when you want to deny the existence of the good people who fought the good fight and stood up for what is right, I will call you on it every time. I have seen too many people in Alabama stand side by side, regardless of race. I have seen too many examples of southern gentility and hospitality that crossed lines of race, religion and generation. I have also seen too many examples of racial violence in too many other places. In Alabama you have a few rednecks making noise about race, but they have friends who are black, co-workers who are black, and don't actually do anything. But let a black kid walk thru the wrong neighborhood in NY or NJ and the residents will beat him to death.
But Alabama also had Bill Baxley. Plenty of racist crimes of the 50s & 60s went unprosecuted. The state didn't go after the KKK and neither did the feds. But Baxley did.
He was in law school at the Univ of Alabama when the Birmingham church bombing happened. 7 years later he was sworn in as the attorney general of Alabama. Within a few months of being sworn in he reopened the investigation into the bombing. Of course, everyone wants to point fingers at Alabama for the racism. But none of those people can explain why the FBI refused to release the tapes of interviews and evidence in the case. Baxley had to basically start from scratch. The FBI had evidence on several men, but Hoover kept it locked away. Baxley convicted Robert Chambliss of the crime and the bastard died in prison. But he had been able to walk free for 14 years after murdering those girls. And the bulk of the blame lies at the feet of the FBI, not the state of Alabama.
During this investigation the KKK threatened Baxley and his family. They also sent him a letter calling him an "honorary nigger" and threatening him again. Somewhere in the Alabama state archives is a letter Baxley sent in response. On official letterhead, he wrote "My response to your letter of February 19, 1976 is - kiss my ass." And the letter is signed, "Bill Baxley, Attorney Genera"l.
Yeah, there have been crooked politicians in Alabama. I doubt you could find a state that didn't have them. But we have also had good people like Baxley in office. And good people standing up for what is right. My parents were involved in parts of the march from Selma to Montgomery. My dad was threatened and his business threatened when he spoke out against Gov. Wallace's stand on the steps of the UA to stop the enrollment of the first black student there. I was a kid, but I remember both my parents being scared when strange cars drove by our house. And my parents were not alone. Not by any stretch of the imagination. I have a slight bend in my nose from a fight in Eutaw AL with two "klansmen". These two "brave" assholes were chasing a 9 or 10 year old black boy down the street. Not only was it two grown men after one little boy, but one of the men had a piece of a 2x4 with him.
So spare me this "all alabamians are racist retards" and nonsense like that. If you want to demean those cowards who attacked in the night under sheets, I am right there with you. But when you want to deny the existence of the good people who fought the good fight and stood up for what is right, I will call you on it every time. I have seen too many people in Alabama stand side by side, regardless of race. I have seen too many examples of southern gentility and hospitality that crossed lines of race, religion and generation. I have also seen too many examples of racial violence in too many other places. In Alabama you have a few rednecks making noise about race, but they have friends who are black, co-workers who are black, and don't actually do anything. But let a black kid walk thru the wrong neighborhood in NY or NJ and the residents will beat him to death.
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