BW Recommends
BW Recommends | March 9, 2025
BW Recommends is a rundown of stories you might have missed this week. It offers insight into issues important to our area and sometimes tickles your curiosity.
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‘Bloody Sunday’ 60th Anniversary Marked in Selma With Remembrances and Concerns About the Future (Associated Press)
Selma on Sunday marked the 60th anniversary of the clash on the Edmund Pettus Bridge that became known as Bloody Sunday and galvanized support for the U.S. Voting Rights Act of 1965. Speakers pointed to an erosion in voting rights in recent years and noted Trump’s push to end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the 60th anniversary comes at a time when there is “trouble all around” and some “want to whitewash our history.”
2025 Superintendent of the Year (Jefferson County’s Walter Gonsoulin) Honored for Building Career-Focused Academies (Education Week)
Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin last week was named National Superintendent of the Year by the School Superintendents Association. Gonsoulin, superintendent since 2019, had led development of more than 20 “signature academies” at elementary and high schools that expose more students to potential careers, as well as offering the chance for high school students to work on college degrees.
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Protesters who work, study and get treatment at UAB rallied in Railroad Park and said they’re already seeing effects from Trump’s planned cuts. Some research studies have paused recruitment and planning work because of the threat of cuts in NIH funding or funding streams through other programs that help pay for their work, students and researchers said. Workers also said they aren’t sure whether they’ll have jobs tomorrow.
1963 Birmingham Church Bombing Survivor Still Waiting for Restitution From Alabama (Alabama Reflector)
Sarah Collins Rudolph, a survivor of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, said during an MLK event in Auburn that the governor in a letter apologized for the bombing and said she’d ask her attorney to begin discussions on restitution. Five years later, Rudolph is still waiting.
Alabama Minor Is Jailed With Adults Pre-Trial in Violation of Federal Law (Associated Press)
A now-17-year-old boy charged with robbery and second-degree assault has been held among adults in a Marshall County jail for almost six months while he awaits trial. Advocates for the Black teen of Haitian descent fear racism in his hometown of Albertville was a factor in placing him in an adult jail, which they say violates state and federal law prohibiting the confinement of minors “where they may have sight, sound, or physical contact with adult inmates.” He is one of thousands of juveniles in America being held in adult jails.
Alabama has gained $3.7 billion off U.S. aid to Ukraine. Then Trump hit ‘pause’ (AL.com)
Contractors in Alabama have been awarded $3.7 billion in obligations to support direct military aid to Ukraine and to replenish stockpiles drawn down to support Kyiv’s defense, Pentagon data shows. President Trump’s halt of aid to Ukraine could shut off that flow of lucrative defense contracts to the state.
Alabama House Approves Ban on Glock Switches (Alabama Reflector)
The House approved a bill banning a firearm modification known as a “Glock switch” that converts semi-automatic handguns into fully automatic weapons. During debate, the bill was changed to make it effective immediately. It must go back to the Senate, which previously approved it, for concurrence with the amendment, or it will go to a conference committee to work out differences.
Veterans Affairs Reform Bill Passes Legislature (Alabama Daily News)
The Legislature gave final approval to a bill that reorganizes the Veterans Affairs Department, and the governor said she looks forward to signing it. The commissioner of veterans affairs will become a cabinet-level position appointed by the governor, and the State Board of Veterans Affairs will become more of an advisory body.
