Alabama

Letter: Mr. Lyman’s wish list for Alabama’s Legislature

Published

11 months ago

January 13, 2025

Letter: Mr. Lyman’s wish list for Alabama’s Legislature

Guy V. Martin Jr.
| Special to the Advertiser

Kudos to Mr. Lyman. It takes chutzpah to ask our legislators to consider his 2025 wish list after having called them soul-less barbarians for years. Yet, legislators would agree wholeheartedly with his final wish, under his “DEI” label: for our teachers “to share the true history of the state, without any vague and mealy language intended to scare people from basic principles of truth and respect.”

Amen to that. Mr. Lyman being a woke advocate, let’s take a snapshot of that history as it relates to Blacks, the largest class of victims in woke theology. The 1960s and before was the era of invidious discrimination. Blacks were like the Israelites in Egypt. Merit didn’t count. Black welders, for example, with decades of talent and families to feed, some fresh from two wars welding tanks and airplanes, had to watch less qualified white apprentices walking through factory gates throughout America, taking the jobs the Blacks desperately needed and could perform better.

Then came Dr. Martin Luther King. Their Moses, who led them from bondage. Followed by brave white Alabamians like our legislators in the 1960s who (in several cases had to ignore death threats) changed Birmingham’s form of government to remove its racist Police Commissioner Bull Connor. Since then, white-majority governments have passed all sorts of laws, spent trillions of dollars, and seen millions of white people help blacks all over, even here in Alabama. Merit started counting and Blacks began flourishing in this Promised Land of ours–climbing ladders everywhere, heading Top Ten lists, from actors and athletes to scholars and entrepreneurs. There’s been magic in that rise of Blacks, and in all fairness, those of us Baby Boomers who’ve served in the trenches to end employment discrimination and know what a Bull Connor Billy Club can do to a man’s skull and emotions, can feel that magic far better than younger generations like Mr. Lyman’s.

But, then came wokeism, which has become the established faith in the legal and regulatory framework of the American political system, elite corporate culture and academia. Central to its creed is CRT, which tells precious black children they’ll be fighting an uphill battle against a society controlled by white people who hate them. CRT pollinated DEI, which tells those children that merit doesn’t count: without DEI’s brand of preferential treatment, they’ll be denied opportunities. As a result, children become poisoned with hate and fear. Thinking, don’t fight the system. Forget studying hard to follow your dreams. Many opt for rebellion and crime.

So yes, we need true history. To demonstrate that while our society has certainly not reached the ideal of being color-blind, we are light years better than yesteryear. We’d have never elected a black president and vice president if we were white supremacists. Our children need the confidence that came over with the Mayflower that, with hard work and ambition, the American dream is theirs. So long as they don’t drink the poisoned Kool-aide of CRT and DEI.

Guy V. Martin Jr., Montgomery

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Alabama

Roll Tide: Lilly selects Alabama site as location for $6B API facility

Published

1 day ago

December 9, 2025

Press Room

Roll Tide: Lilly selects Alabama site as location for B API facility

Eli Lilly has unveiled the location of the third of its four large-scale manufacturing facilities that it plans to build in the U.S. | Eli Lilly has unveiled the location of the third of its four large-scale manufacturing facilities that it plans to build in the U.S. The drugmaker has selected Huntsville, Alabama, as the site of a $6 billion plant that will produce APIs for small molecule and peptide medicines.

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Alabama

Alabama named in Paul Finebaum’s head-turning CFP prediction

Published

2 days ago

December 9, 2025

Press Room

Alabama named in Paul Finebaum’s head-turning CFP prediction

The Alabama Crimson Tide had a lot of nerves awaiting the committee’s decision on their College Football Playoff fate, but they ended up getting into the field as the No. 9 seed and will face off against No. 8 Oklahoma.

Kalen DeBoer and company did not have a good showing against the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC championship game. They lost that matchup by a final score of 28-7. However, they’ll have a chance to prove that they belong.

While many have already written Alabama off as a potential national championship contender, there is one notable analyst who believes that the Crimson Tide still have a path to winning it all.

Read more: Texas, Arch Manning Dealt More Bad News After Missing CFP

Paul Finebaum still believes that there’s a chance Alabama could make a stunning run to a title.

During an appearance on “Get Up” on Monday morning, Finebaum revealed the pathway that he sees for Alabama to win a championship.

“The pairings could have been a lot worse. I, frankly, think if Alabama can get past Oklahoma, at least on paper, they have a path. It may not be that great for anybody who watched Indiana play on Saturday night,” Finebaum said. “But I think a lot of Alabama people would feel pretty good about it.”

Beating Oklahoma will be no easy task. The Sooners have had an up-and-down season at times, but they are loaded with talent on both sides of the football. Should the Crimson Tide pull off a win over Oklahoma, a much tougher test would await.

As Finebaum mentioned, Alabama would then have to take on the No. 1-seeded Indiana Hoosiers. Led by head coach Curt Cignetti, Indiana is fresh off of beating the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship game by a score of 13-10. They’re legit and they have arguably the best quarterback in the nation with Fernando Mendoza.

No one can count out any top-tier team at this point in time. There is a chance that the Crimson Tide could make a shocking run to a national championship win. That being said, DeBoer and company will have to fix a lot of weaknesses to do that.

Read more: Ohio State’s Ryan Day Sends Warning Ahead of College Football Playoff

One weakness that Finebaum sees has been the recent play of quarterback Ty Simpson and Alabama’s running game.

“Anything I say about Ty Simpson, it will be articulated 1000 times more,” Finebaum said. “But something is wrong. Is it the lack of running game? Is it problems up front? But he just doesn’t seem to be the same quarterback he was eight weeks ago. I think that has to be a major concern going into Norman.”

The Crimson Tide will face off against the Sooners on December 19. Fans can only wait and hope that the team can fix the issues that were clearly present against Georgia.

For more on the Alabama Crimson Tide and college football news, head to Newsweek Sports.

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Alabama

University of Alabama alumni launch fundraiser to save student magazines

Published

2 days ago

December 8, 2025

Press Room

University of Alabama alumni launch fundraiser to save student magazines

University of Alabama alumni have launched a fundraising campaign for two print magazines that were shut down.

Masthead, a nonprofit dedicated to “diverse, anti-racist and equitable student media at the University of Alabama,” opened a $25,000 fundraising campaign for Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six, two student-led print magazines focused on women’s lifestyle and Black culture.

The university shuttered the magazines after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives may violate federal anti-discrimination laws.

The alumni group said it doesn’t think the magazines violated federal regulations.

“Even if their subject matter is specific, Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six have always been by anyone, for everyone,” Masthead said in a news release. “The editors-in-chief of both magazines said their staff are ready to continue their work, with or without UA.”

The nonprofit the university’s decision silences viewpoints “disfavored by the government because they dared to write about those topics at all.”

The fundraiser will go towards printing costs, equipment and student salaries. Masthead president Victor Luckerson told AL.com it costs about $7,500 to print 1,000 copies.

“This fundraising drive is the first step in ensuring the staff at Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six receive the mentorship, advice and support they need during this tumultuous time,” Masthead said.

Masthead will post updates about the campaign in their newsletter.

“Even if the university says that Nineteen Fifty-Six is suspended, this proves that there is no suspension of the stories that we’re going to tell,” Nineteen Fifty-Six editor-in-chief Kendal Wright said. “It takes away a space for us to be able to tell our own stories and for everyone to read our stories. But I think this experience has taught our community and our staff that there is always another way. We will always have a space to tell our stories, and we will always make one. We cannot be silenced.”

The University of Alabama has not responded to requests for comment.

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