A Time of Hope, a Time of Despair

The following are two headlines from DemocracyNow! The first shows that some people still have a backbone,. The second shows how empty our system is. 30 years of falsely imprisoning a man who would only strive to make his community a better place.

Career NC Civil Servant Refuses to Honor Helms

In North Carolina, a career government official has been forced to take early retirement for refusing to honor the late Senator Jesse Helms. The official, L.F. Eason, spent twenty-nine years at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. On Monday, Eason instructed staffers at his laboratory to ignore a statewide directive to fly the US and state flags at half-staff in honor of Helms’ death last week. Eason was told he could obey the directive or retire early. Eason chose the latter, writing, “I simply do not feel it is appropriate to honor a person whose epitaph of government service was to have voted against or blocked every civil rights issue that came before the US Congress. His doctrine of negativity, hate, and prejudice cost North Carolina and our Nation much that we may never regain.”

Conviction Overturned for Jailed Black Panther in “Angola 3” Case

And a federal judge has overturned a murder conviction for an ex-Black Panther who spent more than three decades in solitary confinement. Albert Woodfox and two other former Black Panthers are known as the Angola Three. Many believe they were framed for their political activism. A judge ruled this week Woodfox’s lawyer failed to properly challenge the credibility of witnesses who later admitted they were coerced into falsely testifying.