Mattress storein Montgomery, AL

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division traveled to Selma, Alabama, over the weekend to commemorate the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and meet with local organizations about the Justice Department’s commitment to civil rights and racial justice.

This morning, Assistant Attorney General Clarke spoke at the Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast at Wallace Community College in Selma, Alabama, reflecting on the painful history of Bloody Sunday and enumerating the Justice Department’s recent enforcement work to defend the civil rights of all people.

She said, “To quote Dr. King: ‘Selma, Alabama, became a shining moment in the conscience of man. If the worst in American life lurked in its dark streets, the best of American instincts arose passionately from across the nation to overcome it.’ The Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department is driven by that same belief. We are committed to defending the civil rights of all people in our country.” Read her full remarks here.

Later that morning, she spoke at a worship service hosted by the historic Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church. She said, “John Lewis may not be with us today, but … we all know that he fought the good fight. Today, our charge – indeed our sacred mission – is to pick up the baton that he has handed us and continue the fight for justice. The commemoration of Bloody Sunday is a moment to redouble our efforts to ensure that every American has voice in our democracy…” Read her full remarks here.

In the afternoon, Assistant Attorney General Clarke crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge with a delegation of U.S Attorneys and hundreds of people, including civil rights leaders, distinguished clergy, elected officials and residents of Alabama.

On Monday, Assistant Attorney General Clarke will travel to Montgomery, Alabama, to meet with the U.S. Attorneys of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee Civil Rights Subcommittee, the Equal Justice Initiative, and other civil rights stakeholders.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke and U.S. Attorneys from across the country. Districts represented: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, South Carolina, Colorado, Nevada, Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, Western and Middle Districts of Louisiana, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, Middle District of Florida, Northern and Eastern Districts of California, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Virginia, Western District of North Carolina, Southern District of Ohio, Eastern District of New York and the Southern District of West Virginia.

Mary G. Montgomery girls basketball coach Matt Bosarge has resigned, citing a mental health issue.

Bosarge stepped down 10 days after his team’s 41-31 loss to Prattville in the South Regional in Montgomery on Feb. 18.

“It’s definitely a real thing,” Bosarge said. “I think mental health is something that is misunderstood.”

Bosarge said he has been battling dizziness and anxiety.

“I knew I wanted to coach this season,” he said. “We had such a special group returning.”

This year’s MGM team won 14 games and made the Sweet 16 for the first since 1997.

“We had such a great team,” Bosarge said. “They all played important roles, not everybody could be the scorer, and they realized that. We had defense, rebounders, unselfish players. They all made it work.”

Bosarge took the MGM job six years ago when he was right out of college.

“I was young and just wanted a chance,” he said.

The Vikings didn’t find much success in Bosarge’s first few of seasons.

“About the third season, things started to turn around and click for us as a program,” he said.

MGM won double digit games in the third and fourth years under Bosarge before winning just two games in 2021-2022.

“It was a combination of injuries and team chemistry,” he said.

The Vikings bounced back this past season, going 14-8 overall, including an eight-game win streak, and finishing 7-0 at home behind stars Ivy Klezmer and Daysha Broughton.

Bosarge plans to continue teaching at MGM.

“I love the Semmes community,” he said. “I’m thankful for the administrators here and the incredible support system I have around me.”

Returning to the court is also a possibility in the future.

“Maybe in a couple of years I’ll coach again,” he said. “Right now, I want to focus on my health and spend time with my family. My faith is something that I hold near and dear to me. I serve a mighty God, and I’m believing in great things through all this.”

Other coaches from the area have also reached out and expressed dealing with similar emotions.

“I have shared with people that getting help is not a sign of weakness,” he said. “It’s not about being tough. Just being honest and taking care of yourself is the most important thing.”

The area’s best baseball teams will be in action this week at Riverwalk Stadium and Paterson Field in the 30th annual FCA Jason Armstrong Memorial Baseball Tournament that starts on Tuesday and runs through next Monday.

The tournament, started by former Trinity coach Ken Whittle in 1994 with the idea of honoring the memory of former Trinity star Jason Armstrong, began as a tournament for the Capital City Conference schools and some of their River Region neighbors, but gradually grew to include teams in other parts of the state. This year’s tournament has a decided local flavor as 11 of the city’s 12 baseball programs are participating in the tournament.

“This area is really competitive and has been the last few years,” said Trinity’s Jarrod Cook, coach of the defending state champion Wildcats. “I think the teams outside of the Montgomery area look at the (talent in the) surrounding counties and say those guys are pretty good, let’s jump in that tournament. And all of the coaches are familiar with each other. I think it’s a no-brainer when you have as much talent in the area.”

In addition to the local teams, 7A Prattville, 6A Stanhope Elmore and Pike Road and 5A Holtville will participate along with Chilton County, Pike County, Providence Christian and Andalusia.

“It’s just about iron sharpening iron,” Cook said. “We just want to make our kids better.”

The tournament is an early gauge for teams still searching for an identity, such as Trinity.

“Honestly, I think these teams we’re going to play are some of the best teams on our schedule,” Cook said. “We play these games to go and compete against some of the best talent around the area. Hopefully, it reveals some weaknesses. The team I have this year is still in that identity phase and to be able to play teams like this in this tournament will help us move that forward. We’re still trying to shape things up. It’ll be good for us.”

30TH ANNUAL FCA

JASON ARMSTRONG MEMORIAL

BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

March 7-13

Tuesday

Greenville vs. Park Crossing, Riverwalk, 2 p.m.

Andalusia vs. Chilton County, Riverwalk, 4 p.m.

G.W. Carver vs. Pike County, Riverwalk, 6 p.m.

Wednesday

St. James vs. Prattville, Riverwalk, 2 p.m.

Alabama Christian vs. Stanhope Elmore, Paterson, 2 p.m.

Montgomery Academy vs. Elmore County, Riverwalk, 4 p.m.

Andalusia vs. Prattville Christian, Paterson, 4 p.m.

LAMP vs. Brew Tech, Riverwalk, 6 p.m.

Pike Road vs. Holtville, Paterson, 6 p.m.

Thursday

Trinity vs. Prattville, Riverwalk, 2 p.m.

Montgomery Academy vs. Brew Tech, Paterson, 2 p.m.

Stanhope Elmore vs. Andalusia, Riverwalk, 4 p.m.

St. James vs. Catholic, Paterson, 4 p.m.

Holtville vs. Alabama Christian, Riverwalk, 6 p.m.

Prattville Christian vs. LAMP, Paterson, 6 p.m.

Friday

Trinity vs. Holtville, Whittle-Armstrong Field, 2 p.m.

Prattville vs. Pike Road, Paterson, 2 p.m.

Prattville Christian vs. Catholic, Prattville Christian, 4 p.m.

Alabama Christian vs. Elmore County, Paterson, 4 p.m.

Providence Christian vs. Montgomery Academy, Bowen Field, 6 p.m.

Robert E. Lee vs. Brew Tech, Paterson, 6 p.m.

Saturday

Trinity vs. Pike Road, Riverwalk, 10 a.m.

Providence Christian vs. Prattville, Paterson, 10 a.m.

St. James vs. Holtville, Riverwalk, noon

Providence Christian vs. Catholic, Paterson, noon

Robert E. Lee vs. Greenville, Riverwalk, 2 p.m.

Elmore County vs. LAMP, Paterson, 2 p.m.

Monday

Park Crossing vs. Brew Tech, Riverwalk, 2 p.m.

Jeff Davis vs. G.W. Carver, Riverwalk, 4 p.m.

THE steps of Air Force One have continued to torment President Joe Biden as he once again stumbled while boarding the plane.

Biden's latest gaffe came on Sunday in Montgomery, Alabama, less than two weeks after his viral episode in Poland.

The president was in Selma to commemorate the 58th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march, which jumpstarted the civil rights movement and helped expand voting rights.

As he was getting ready to depart for the White House, Biden was caught on camera losing his footing while boarding Air Force One before regaining his balance and entering the plane's cabin.

On February 22, the 80-year-old president fell forward about halfway up the stairs to the plane while departing Poland after a surprise trip overseas.

Biden regained his balance as he stood back up, waved at the crowd and continued to the door.

HERE WE JOE AGAIN!

BLOW FOR JOE

The dramatic moment in Poland came hours before a White House staffer also fell down the ramp of the government plane.

The unidentified employee was captured on Polish television falling and sliding down before officials on the ground aided her.

The president's latest blunders come weeks after a physical examination, where doctors declared him "healthy and fit for duty."

"The president remains fit for duty and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations," White House physician Kevin O'Connor said in a summary of the health exam on February 16.

Biden said his physical went well. "Everything really went well. Thank God for small favors," he told NBC News.

The president's health status came months after he was seen tripping as he was heading to California after delivering a speech on the 2022 mid-term elections last June.

The trip was slight, and the president marched up the rest of the stairs before giving a salute at the top.

A more dramatic moment was filmed in March 2021, when Biden fell three times up the stairs.

At the time, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that Biden was "doing 100 percent fine" following the tumble.

Biden's age remains a hot topic among Congress members as he eyes running for a second term.

He will be 81 during the 2024 presidential election and 86 at the end of a full second term.

Biden hasn't explicitly said he plans to run for a second term. However, he is expected to make a decision and an announcement soon.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed a civil rights complaint against the State of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management on behalf of two environmental organizations.

The way the state distributes funds for infrastructure improvement discriminates against communities of color that lack proper sanitation access, the complaint alleges.

ADEM says those allegations are “factually incorrect and baseless." An ADEM spokesperson also said that disadvantaged communities in the Black Belt received funding from the agency at "three times the rate" of other areas.

The department says it has not been officially notified of a complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

What we know about the Black Belt’s sewage crisis

Thousands of homes in rural Alabama are without adequate sewage systems.

In fact, Columbia University’s international research initiative estimates that 90% of septic systems in Alabama’s Black Belt are functioning poorly or are failing due to unsuitable soil conditions in the region.

When rural families live too far away to connect to municipal sewer systems, the responsibility falls on them to dispose of their own waste.

There are two options available to most people, and only one of them is legal. The first option is to install and maintain a private septic system on their property. Installation alone costs between $10,000 and $25,000. The second — which is illegal but commonly resorted to — is “straight-piping” waste into the backyard with a PVC pipe.

Several groups are operating in the Black Belt to solve the crisis, including The Consortium for Alabama Rural Water and Wastewater Management and the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program.

These programs have received support from ADEM and other state and federal agencies. Individual towns receive funding for sewage infrastructure improvements as well.

Earlier this year, ADEM and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a $10 million repair and expansion project for Hayneville’s sewage system. This funding came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the American Rescue Plan Act, and the State Revolving Fund.

What the complaint says

SPLC is representing The Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice and the Natural Resources Defense Council in the complaint, saying that the state withholds resources from the Black communities that don’t have proper wastewater infrastructure.

Essentially, ADEM manages Alabama’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which is a low-interest loan program intended to finance public infrastructure improvements in Alabama, but the complaint alleges that ADEM policies have made it “nearly impossible for people who need help with onsite sanitation to access this money.”

The alleged ADEM practices cited in the complaint include a point system to rank project proposals, a lack of consideration for financial need in its ranking system, a limit on “the amount of loan forgiveness it offers people with financial need” and inadequate outreach to disadvantaged communities.

The Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice and the Natural Resources Defense Council say these policies disproportionately harm Alabama’s Black residents.

“This country’s neglect of wastewater infrastructure in majority Black communities — both urban and rural — is resulting in a hygienic hell for far too many people. A hell that climate change is only making worse,” activist Catherine Coleman Flowers said in a statement.

Flowers founded The Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice in 2019 before publishing her book about growing up in Lowndes County, where the sewage crisis is prevalent.

She said in a statement on Monday that she hopes this complaint will result in “corrective action.”

ADEM’s response

The state environmental management agency vehemently denied the groups’ claims that it discriminates against Black communities that lack sanitary sewage systems.

“In fact, quite the opposite is true,” ADEM spokesperson Jerome Hand told the Advertiser in a statement on Monday. “In 2022, 34% ($157 million) of the $463 million of drinking water and wastewater funding awarded by ADEM went to Black Belt counties where 10.6% of Alabama’s population resides. Disadvantaged Black Belt areas received funding at three times the rate of other areas.”

He added that federal audits of the State Revolving Fund Programs have consistently found ADEM to be in compliance with all federal requirements, including laws against discrimination and those related to loan and principal forgiveness eligibility.

Hadley Hitson covers the rural South for the Montgomery Advertiser and Report for America. She can be reached athhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser or donate to Report for America.