Alabama
Alabama Democratic Party chairman claims DNC didn’t OK his convention delegates because he’s Black
Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Randy Kelley on Monday night released a letter he sent to the head of the Democratic National Committee, claiming racism was to blame for why his preferred convention delegates weren’t approved by the national organization.
In the letter, Kelley also claimed former Sen. Doug Jones “orchestrated” a “plot to prevent Blacks from electing delegates of their choosing to the DNC.”
Jones could not immediately be reached for comment.
Jones earlier told AL.com he wasn’t involved in Biden’s initial decision to deny a number of delegates but helped the campaign decide who should serve as replacement delegates.
“The Alabama Democratic Party (ADP) brings this petition only because it has no choice. Its existence and future progress are at stake. This is a race case,” Kelley wrote in an Aug. 2 letter to Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison, who like Kelley is Black.
The letter, Kelley wrote, served as a challenge to the DNC’s refusal to seat the 36 party convention delegates chosen by Kelley and other members of the state party’s executive committee.
Efforts to reach the DNC for comment were not immediately successful.
Before President Biden dropped out of the race, his campaign approved a list of delegates that was markedly different from the list elected by the state’s democratic party.
Of the 34 district delegates, the Biden campaign only approved 13 names.
The campaign also approved five of the nine Party Leaders and Elected Officials (PLEO) positions on the state party’s list, two of the 11 at-large delegates, and one of four alternates, according to lists provided by the Alabama Democratic Party.
The state party was supposed to elect PLEO, at-large and alternate delegates on June 8. However, the party failed to reach a quorum on their meeting that day, so the state’s delegation selected those positions, according to a statement by the DNC.
In the event a delegate was not approved, the Biden campaign selected a replacement. District-level delegates selected by the campaign were on the primary ballots and voted on in March.
Kelley said he brought the challenge because the DNC “enabled private individuals to deny Blacks in Alabama the right to vote in the Democratic primary” on March 5.
Kelley was referring to Jones, who he claimed was among the Democrats “who do not want Blacks to elect delegates of their choosing” and alleged Jones appointed the DNC-approved delegates.
Meanwhile, Harrison told Kelley in a letter this month that the state party missed the deadline to challenge the delegates or to select its delegates after the party’s executive committee failed to reach a quorum.
In the letter, obtained by AL.com, the DNC chairman urged Kelley to “[r]efrain from any further miscommunication or misinformation to convention participants.”
Friction between the Alabama Democratic Party and the national party is not new. Five years ago, Jones, then in the Senate and backed by the DNC, joined with a faction of the state party to approve new by-laws and replace longtime Chairman Nancy Worley, a Reed ally, with state Rep. Chris England.
Control flipped back in 2022 when the State Democratic Executive Committee elected Kelley as chairman with the backing of Reed and the Alabama Democratic Conference.
Undeterred by Harrison’s letter, Kelley issued a news release and text of his challenge to the DNC on Monday night.
He claimed the Alabama party’s choices are being neglected because the state party and state executive committee are majority black.
“Alabama asks .. that it be respected and treated right — with the same rights and respect as you would want for your state,” Kelley wrote. “Because we have a Black chair and a Black majority in the state of Alabama, we still expect to be treated fairly. Alabama has ENDURED [emphasis original] enough!”
Alabama
Woodrow Lowe, Alabama Star Linebacker and 11-Year Chargers Defender, Dies at 71
Woodrow Lowe, a three-time All-American linebacker at Alabama and an 11-year starter for the NFL’s San Diego Chargers, has died. He was 71.
Lowe died at his home in Collierville, Tennessee, on Thursday, according to the National Football Foundation.
Lowe was a 2009 National Football Foundation Hall of Fame inductee. He starred at Alabama (1972-75) and was the second player in program history to make the first-team All-America list three times. He helped the Crimson Tide make the Sugar Bowl in 1973, losing to eventual national champion Notre Dame, and was a consensus All-America selection the following year.
“Woodrow Lowe was one of the finest linebackers ever to play the game, and we are deeply saddened to learn of his passing,” NFF Chairman Archie Manning said. “A three-time All-American and one of the most decorated linebackers in college football history, he defined excellence at one of the top programs in the country.
“After his playing days, he dedicated himself to shaping young lives as a coach and mentor, carrying forward the lessons of excellence and dedication that defined his own career. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the entire Alabama football community.”
Born June 9, 1954, in Columbus, Georgia, Lowe got his football start at Phenix City Central High in Alabama. He stayed in state for college and set a single-season record at Alabama with 134 tackles in 1973. The Tide went 43-5 during his four seasons in Tuscaloosa, and his 315 career tackles still rank fourth in school history.
A fifth-round draft pick by the Chargers in 1976, Lowe played in 164 of 165 possible games during his NFL career and tallied 21 interceptions, including four returned for touchdowns.
He coached at the high school, college, and professional levels before retiring in Tennessee. Lowe also was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame and the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
Alabama
Quilts of Valor brings comfort to Alabama veterans
Alabama
Alabama Trending Towards Securing Commitment from Elite Recruit
Nothing is set in stone just yet, but it’s looking like Alabama is going to build on its trenches.
According to On3 / Rivals’ National Recruiting Reporter Sam Spiegelman, the Crimson Tide are trending toward receiving a commitment from four-star 2027 interior offensive lineman Ismael Camara.
Should Alabama nab the talented recruit out of Gilmer, TX, it would be the second high-ranked interior lineman of the 2027 class.
Earlier this season, the Crimson Tide had secured a commitment from Jatori Williams, the four-star lineman out of Phenix City, AL, and one who is the fifth ranked player at his position in the country.
Camara spoke with Spiegelman and revealed that he, along with 20 other recruits will be in Tuscaloosa for the LSU game – a game that holds such importance.
Not only that, he spoke on the relationship that he holds with offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic, and how that relationship resonates with him.
“Coach Kap told me two things when we first talked — he has the best job in the world and that all the things he wants from his players are passion, a good attitude, maximum effort, being a good teammate, being prepared and available, and being coachable. That requires zero talent.”
He then went on to say how much the persistence in maintaining that relationship is something that he will always hold onto.
“I appreciate him investing in me like that, and I am trying to get better to live up to the standard at ‘Bama.”
The “Standard” is a real thing, and it’s not something that the brass take lightly. Nick Saban spent 17 seasons implementing a culture of greatness and players that have the dog in them to be great.
So Kalen DeBoer and his staff don’t want to lose sight of it. It may have been in question for a little, but for the time being, what you’re seeing is what you’re getting.
But the “Standard” is something that means a lot to Camara too, and it’s what has set apart Alabama from other schools.
“When we got into the facility and saw all the nattys, the SEC championships and Heisman Trophies, I really had the butterflies,” Camara said. “The way they treated each other and the way they treated me — it was not just an honor for me to be there, it was an honor for them to be there. They practiced like that. They operated like that. They hung together like that. That was when I really started to understand what makes Alabama ‘Bama,’”
Aside from it being a big game on the schedule, it’s a big game for the coaches take make sure the people they’re bringing in for the future know that the staff’s future is just the beginning for these young men.
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