T.O.P.S. FOUNDERS / UNITY DAY

LAST FEW DAYS TO GET YOUR TICKETS AND ADS IN, CALL 334 671-2882
Rooms at Holiday Inn $79.95 a night, just say reserving for T.O.P.S. event, call 334-794-8711May 2ND AND PERFORMANCE BY BRYAN WILLIAMS


334-671-2882
May 2nd 12:00 Kinney Park for gathering and Bar-B-Que
UNITY DAY/FOUNDER'S DAY

PASTOR Kenneth Glasgow

On May 2, 2009 @7P.M. Tickets $50.00( Dinner)

Dothan Holiday Inn Saving Our Children
2195 Ross Clark Circle S.E. Dothan, AL Through Unity and togetherness

Special Guest Speaker Rev. Al Sharpton Jr.

Momma Tina’s Mission House , Prodigal Child Project
Rev. Al Sharpton Sr., Dr. Byron Clay- National President of S.C.L.C.,

Gabriel Sayegh-State Organizing & Policy Project Director for Drug Policy Alliance

Bryan Stevenson- Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative – May 1st touring the Empowerment Ctr.

Senator Harrie Anne Smith

Dr. Earl Jones- ADC Second Congressional District Chairman

Rev. Robert Jones St. Mary’s District Moderator- North Highland Baptist Church

Ralph Hendrix- T.A.S.C.

John Beebe WMCA1560am- Jesus Brings Hope

NAACP Alabama State President Ed Vaughn

Project South- Stephanie Guilliam and Emery Wright,

Young People Society, National Criminal Justice Coalition, National Exhoodus Council, The New Bottom Line Coalition

National, State, County, City Elected Officials, Pastors, and Leaders

Entertainment of the Night

Selmount Church Choir of Selma Alabama –Pastor Perry

Bryan Williams of the Williams Bros of the Mississippi Mass Choir

Kenyetta Rich Glasgow aka K.Y. -Zeus Entertainment, Lil Glass

Endorsed by Congressman Danny K Davis

Special Thank you to Ron Wilson and the Dothan Convention Center

JUSTICE: If We All Come Together, We Can Change It Forever
1st Time In History to have National and Local Leaders Together In Dothan Ala.

SUNDAY: T.O.P.S. Church May 3rd 11.30 a.m.@ 805 N. Lena st. Evergreen Plaza Dr. Byron Clay, Brian Williams, Church service and Gospel Fest.


334-671-2882

Make Checks Payable to T.O.P.S- Paypal@ www.wearetops,blogspot.com

Felons' voting rights back on agenda

Felons' voting rights back on agenda
By Markeshia Ricks • March 2, 2009

Two bills currently in the state Legislature could clear up the decades-old debate about whether felons should be allowed to vote, but advocates for felons' voting rights say the bills would be worse than the existing law.

The Rev. Kenneth Glasgow, founder of The Ordinary People Society, which is based in
Dothan, said the bills would roll back gains made under the current law that gives felons who haven't committed crimes of "moral turpitude" a chance to vote. Last year Glasgow, with the backing of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, sued the state Department of Corrections so he could provide voter registration information to incarcerated people who were eligible to vote.

"Until 2003 when Dr. Yvonne Kennedy brought up the restoration bill no one ever wanted to pay this issue any attention," said Glasgow, a felon who had his voting rights restored in 2004. "For 105 years it wasn't even noted, quoted or talked about and now that we have a president who wants to bring about equality and change some people in the Alabama Legislature want to set us back in time."

"It appalls me now that at this particular time in history, after we have crossed so many barriers that anyone would want to put up anything that would cause another human being to have rights taken away."

The House Constitution and Election Committee advanced a bill during the second week of the session that would define moral turpitude and which crimes involve it.

The proposed bill would increase the number of crimes that involve moral turpitude from about 15 to more than 70 and revoke the voting rights of people who commit those crimes. The same committee also will decide the fate of a bill on Attorney General Troy King's agenda that would go even further than the moral turpitude bill, revoking the voting rights of anyone who commits a felony.

State Rep. Randy Wood, R-Anniston, the House sponsor for the King bill, said it would eliminate much of the confusion over moral turpitude by returning things to the way
they were before the state Legislature changed the law in 2003. Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, is the Senate sponsor of the bill.

Wood said felons who would lose their right to vote under the King bill would truly show that they are interested in being a part of society by applying to the state Pardons and Parole Board to have their rights restored.

"I'm not saying I don't want people to have the right to vote, but losing the right to vote is part of the punishment," he said. "This way, if you serve your time and paid your debts to society, you can apply to have your voting rights restored and go vote."

Though both bills would make the question of who loses their voting rights clearer, the bills could make it more difficult for felons to vote than it is for them under existing law.
The bills likely will face stiff opposition from members of the Black Caucus and others.
State Rep. Yvonne Kennedy, D-Mobile, sponsored the legislation that made it easier for certain felons to get their voting rights back. She said she would adamantly oppose any bill that would roll back the rights that the existing law now provides.

"I think the legislation that we worked on to give ex-felons the right to vote should stand," she said.

Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, was the Senate sponsor of the 2003 Kennedy bill and said he was unaware of legislation introduced this session that would change the law. He said he is drafting a bill that would do exactly the opposite of the King bill by giving felons who have completed their sentences automatic voter restoration.

He said he would be more inclined to support the bill that would define crimes of moral turpitude and a bill in the Senate that would specify that a felon only had to pay restitution associated with the disenfranchising crime to be eligible to have his or her rights restored. Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, is sponsoring the Senate versions of both of the bills Singleton mentioned.

"I haven't seen the bill so I can't offer a lot of comment, but based on what I've heard about the attorney general's bill I can't say that I would support it," he said. "But I'd be glad to get to the table with him and work on a compromise."

Though historians have claimed that the moral turpitude clause was used to disenfranchise poor whites and blacks in the 1901 Constitution, Glasgow is an advocate of the 21st century interpretations that do not revoke the voting rights of many felons and provides an avenue of restoration for others.

Glasgow said civic participation is a part of rehabilitation and if the state wants to reduce recidivism and overcrowding in prisons, it could start by allowing felons to vote. A bill that treats all felons equally by taking voting rights away is a step in the wrong direction, he added.

"Once they have their rights as a citizen they can start acting like a citizen," Glasgow said. "If the state would adhere to giving people their rights back, they would become productive citizens."

44TH Re-enactment Selma Ala. ( please RSVP )

I want all of you to participate on Friday March 6th at our press conference and meeting/ rally ( see schedule )We also have two of T.O.P.S. members Daris Johnson and Kenyetta Rich who will be receiving awards at the banquet on Sat. March 7th at the Freedom Flame Awards.SEE SCHEDULE BELOW!!!
2009 Jubilee Schedule



Thursday, March 5, 2009

Saturday March 7, 2009




Welcome Reception

5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Selma Performing Arts Center

Special Guest: SCLC President Byron Clay

4th Annual Jubilee Golf Tournament
Breakfast and Registration: 6:30 a.m.
Sponsored by Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Contact: Dr. Leroy Maxwell or Aubrey Larkin, Sr. at 334-872-2321.
Location: Valley Grande Golf Course


Mass Meeting
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Keynote speaker: Dr. Jeremiah Wright

The Original Freedom Singers will be in attendance

Tabernacle Baptist Church

Foot Soldier's Breakfast
8 a.m.- 10 a..m.
C.H.A.T. Academy






Jubilee Parade
Departing from Selma High School
9:00 a.m.- 11:00 a.m.
Selma Ave to Edmund Pettus Bridge




Induction into Hall of Resistance
10:30 am

Location: Slavery and Civil Rights Museum



Battle of the Bands
10:45 – 11:00

Location: School of Discovery Parking Lot




Miss Jubilee Pageant

Fee: $5

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Selma Performing Arts Center

Jubilee Festival
Gospel Stage- Headliner: TBA/Local Talent

Blues Stage - Marvin Sease

Hip Hop Stage- Mike Jones

11:00 am – 6:00 pm

Fee $10 (advance) / $15 gate

Location: Water Avenue




Economic Empowerment Summit
12:00 noon – 2:00 pm
Confirmed guests: Dr. Farrah Gray(Millionare before age of 25) /Dr. Ron Daniels/ T.I. and many more

Location- Performing Arts Center





Intergenerational Hip Hop Summit
Professor Griff of Public Enemy, Latosha Brown, T.I. and other various music artists – TBA

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Location: School of Discovery




Friday March 6, 2007
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

FILM FESTIVAL
3:00 p.m.- 9 p.m.
Films: TBA

Location: Slavery and Civil War Museum




Invisible Giants Conference
Class of 64-65

9:00 am – 11:00am

Selma Performing Arts Center

Freedom Flame Award Dinner
Sponsored by the Selma Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Special Guest: Host Johnathon Slocumb

Honoring: Dr. Joseph Lowery

Location: Selma Convention Center

Tickets: $50.00



PLAY Presentation:
If Martin Luther King Jr. was alive today...What would he say?
by: Robert Haynes

12:00 noon -2:00 p.m.
Selma Performing Arts Center

Late Night Pow-Wow
Slavery Museum

10:00 pm – 12:00 am

Children’s Sojourn ($7)
Various Speakers and Presentations
9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Slavery Civil War Museum, Shiloh, Pickard Auditorium
Sunday, March 8, 2009
PRESS CONFERENCE:
American Slavery in the 20th Century: The Untold Story
11:00 a.m.
Dr. Ryan Walters-Director of African American Institute in Maryland
Antoinette Harrell-Geneologist/Peonage Reasearcher
Location: Slavery and Civil War Museum MLK Jr. & Corretta S. King Unity Breakfast - $25
Sponsored by the Selma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Wallace Community College

7:30am – 9:30 am

Special Guest: Attorney General Eric Holder

PRESS CONFERENCE:
Ex-Felons Voting Rights/Reinstatement
12:00 noon

Rev. Kenneth Glasgow, T.I., Lady Freedom
T.O.P.S. Society

The New Bottom Line Coalition

Prodigal Child Project

Location: Freedom Park/Edmund Pettus Bridge
Sunday Morning Services:

10:00 am – 1:00 pm



Attorney General Eric Holder-Brown Chapel AME Church

Rev. Al Sharpton- Tabernacle Baptist Church

Shiloh Baptist Speaker: TBA

Various Movement Speakers

Various Movement Churches

Educational Symposium

Education, The Civil Rights Issue of the 21st Century-Our Challenges and Responsibilities

12:15 pm – 2:45 pm

Panelists Include:

State Superintendent Dr. Joseph Morton

Senator Hank Sanders

Dr. Adelaide Sanford- Former President of NY BOR

Dr. Iva Carruthers-Gen. Secretary for SDP Conference

LOCATION: School Of Discovery


Pre-March Rally

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm

Guest Speakers: TBA

Brown Chapel A. M. E. Church

410 Martin Luther King Street

Criminal Justice Summit
1:00 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.
T.O.P.S. Society/The New Bottom Line Coalition/ Prodigal Child Project
"From Second Class Citizens to Second Chance Citizens"
Location: Wallace College Hank Sanders Technology Center-Meeting Room 105


Bridge Crossing Re-Enactment
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Edmund Pettus Bridge



Revealing of Bloody Sunday Exhibit

Mock Trial
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Placing Education on Trial

Presiding Judge: TBA

Dallas County Court House
Museum Hall of Fame Inductions

Bridge Crossing Speakers
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Civil Rights Memorial Park

A Public Conversation
Confirmed Guest: Rev. Al Sharpton

Other guest co-hosts to attend: TBA

Wallace College Gymnasium

7:15 pm – 9:00 pm
YES WE DID! -
Z105.3 Commemoration Banquet
5:00 p.m.

Selma Convention Center

$15

"Stomp out to Vote" Step Show($10)

Special Guest: T.I.

7:00 p.m. - 9:00

Location: Pickard Auditorium



Monday, March 9, 2009


Slow Ride from Selma to Montgomery
9:00 am - 1pm
Foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge

Montgomery Re-Enactment Rally
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Montgomery, AL