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Georgia

School Bus Drivers Protest Inadequate COVID-19 Protection And Low Pay

On September 3, 54 school bus drivers in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System SCCSS) in Georgia began a rolling sickout and staged a protest at the school district offices over pay structure and lack of adequate protections from COVID-19. The sickouts forced the school board to scramble for drivers to transport students. The school relies on about 218 drivers to ferry more than 18,700 students to and from school; the 54 drivers who are protesting represent about 22 percent of the district’s drivers. A school district spokesperson reported that the district had been forced to call upon private coaches and other employees with commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) to make up for the deficit. The school board released a statement on Friday saying that they were already understaffed, and they were trying to hire more drivers.

Ex-Prosecutor Indicted For Misconduct In Ahmaud Arbery Death

Savannah, Ga. — A former Georgia prosecutor was indicted Thursday on misconduct charges alleging she used her position to shield the men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery from being charged with crimes immediately after the shootings. A grand jury in coastal Glynn County indicted former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson on a felony count of violating her oath of office and hindering a law enforcement officer, a misdemeanor. The indictment resulted from an investigation Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr requested last year into local prosecutors’ handling of Arbery’s slaying after a cellphone video of the shooting and a delay in charges sparked a national outcry. “While an indictment was returned today, our file is not closed, and we will continue to investigate in order to pursue justice,” Carr, a Republican, said in a statement.

Nabisco Workers In Georgia On Strike

BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton issued the following statement in support of members of BCTGM Local 42 (Atlanta, Ga.) who are on strike against Nabisco in Norcross, Ga.: “Early this morning, members of Local 42 at the Nabisco distribution center outside Atlanta joined their Brothers and Sisters in Portland, Ore., Aurora, Col., Richmond, Va. and Chicago, Ill. in striking Nabisco. Nabisco workers in all five locations are saying strong and clear: stop exporting our jobs to Mexico and end your demands for contract concessions. The BCTGM will take all appropriate action necessary in order to reach a contract settlement that treats Nabisco workers fairly and equitably.

Abby Martin Had Free Speech Rights Violated By Georgia’s Anti-BDS Law

A federal court ruled in favor of journalist Abby Martin, who was barred from speaking at Georgia Southern University after she refused to pledge she would not boycott Israel.

How A Black And Latinx Coalition Turned Utilities Back On In LaGrange

Anton Flores thought it would be simple to help someone get their water turned back on.  "I had a single mom, who was undocumentable, whose utilities had been cut off, and she came to me," Flores, an immigration activist in the small Georgia city of LaGrange, said. He helped new immigrants navigate unfamiliar systems frequently. He figured all they had to do was come up with the money—so they did. Together, they went down to the municipal utility office. But it turned out, getting utilities turned on in LaGrange was a lot more complicated than having the money to pay.  In fact, for the undocumented woman in question, it was impossible: with no social security number, the municipal clerk denied her request.

‘A Betrayal’: Georgia Voters Enraged Over Democrats Promise Of ‘$2000 Checks’

President-elect Joe Biden released his long-awaited stimulus proposal last Thursday that contained an inauspicious provision for millions of Americans expecting additional $2,000 stimulus checks. Instead of that long-promised amount, Biden’s proposal only calls for an additional $1,400 stimulus payment. Georgia voters who recently delivered the Democratic Party control of the U.S. Senate by electing Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff say they feel betrayed, let down, and outraged at what NBC Peacock host Mehdi Hasan has termed “Biden’s first broken campaign promise.” Oscar Zaro voted for the Democratic Party slate during the recent Senate runoff election.

Update: Abby Martin’s Lawsuit Over Israel Loyalty Oath Mandate In US

New developments in Abby Martin's major lawsuit challenging unconstitutional pro-Israel, anti-BDS law in the state of Georgia. Abby Martin: "In February of this year, I was supposed to give a keynote speech at Georgia Southern University. Before the event, I refused to sign a state-mandated pledge to not boycott Israel in order to speak. My invitation was rescinded and the conference canceled as a result. I decided to sue the state of Georgia because signing an anti-BDS clause in order to work in the state is a direct violation of my rights to Constitutional free speech and to participate in political boycotts."

US Deports Migrant Women Who Alleged Abuse By Georgia Doctor

The Trump administration is trying to deport several women who allege they were mistreated by a Georgia gynecologist at an immigration detention center, according to their lawyers. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has already deported six former patients who complained about Dr. Mahendra Amin, who has been accused of operating on migrant women without their consent or performing procedures that were medically unnecessary and potentially endangered their ability to have children.

Report: Georgia Wrongfully Purged 200,000 Voters

A seven-year investigation of voter suppression in Georgia has found that the state likely removed 200,000 voters from its rolls who were, in fact, eligible to vote. The voters whose registrations were removed were also overwhelmingly concentrated in the counties comprising the Atlanta Metro area, according to initial findings released on Wednesday. Conducted by the Palast Investigative Fund, which specializes in data journalism, and released by the ACLU of Georgia, the report reviewed more than 300,000 registered voters whom the state had purged from its rolls.

This Public US University Has Seen Grades Soar Despite COVID-19

If anywhere was going to take a pummeling from the coronavirus, you’d think it would be a place like Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta. Georgia State is not a glamorous flagship university – that would be the University of Georgia in Athens, the spiritual home of the Bulldogs, REM and the B-52s. It’s more of a workhorse public institution, with a large population of students who come from low-income households and have to work at least one paying job outside their studies to make ends meet.

Black Families Purchased Land To Build Their Own City

In Toomsboro, Georgia, a group of 19 Black families banded together to create what has the potential to be the next Black Wall Steet. Black people are resilient, we've had to be to thrive under systems that weren't built for us. This resiliency has created innovative solutions to impossible problems such as racial injustices, food insecurity, and a lack of secure and safe communities. Ashley Scott, a realtor living in Stonecrest, Georgia, was reaching her breaking point after watching the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in her home state.

Grad Students And Faculty ‘Die In’ To Protest Reopening

Nearly 50 demonstrators lay scattered 6 feet apart wearing face coverings on the lawn outside the school administration's building, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Some protesters held signs resembling tombstones with phrases like "R.I.P. campus safety," or "In loving memory." The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in roughly 160,000 deaths in the U.S. since the start of the outbreak in January. Older adults are typically more prone to severe coronavirus infections, although individuals with weakened immune systems are also at high risk.

Atlanta Officers Charged After Students Pulled From Car

Atlanta - Six Atlanta police officers were charged Tuesday after dramatic video showed authorities pulling two young people from a car and shooting them with stun guns while they were stuck in traffic caused by protests over George Floyd’s death. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced the charges during a news conference. “I feel a little safer now that these monsters are off of the street and no longer able to terrorize anyone else,” said 22-year-old Messiah Young, who was dragged from the vehicle along with his girlfriend, 20-year-old Taniyah Pilgrim. The Saturday night incident first gained attention from video online and on local news. Throughout, the couple can be heard screaming and asking officers what is happening.

Health Care Crisis: Future Is Up To Us

A society that is governed in such a way that it fails to protect its people from the catastrophic harm of the COVID 19 pandemic is a society ripe for revolutionary transformation. The pandemic crisis exposes capitalism’s inability to solve the problems it has created for humankind and the earth. The future depends on our class’ – the working class most impacted by the crisis – capacity to implement the visionary transformation necessary to literally save our lives and the planet. From the outset, the U.S. response to the virus illuminated the chasm between the needs of the public’s health and safety and the core corporate character of the government. It isn’t just a case of botched lab tests, or ramping up dwindling supplies. For decades the public healthcare system has been sidelined and intentionally underfunded.

Collective Demands Accountability In Ahmaud Arbery Case

Under the banner of JUST Georgia, a collective of Georgia advocates, attorneys, faith leaders, community members, and organizations have joined together to demand the first two district attorneys to handle the Ahmaud Arbery case be held accountable for their actions. They are joined in this effort by national organizations like the Working Families Party and Color of Change PAC. Building on organizing by local leaders, including Dr. John Davis Perry II, the president of the Brunswick Chapter of the Georgia NAACP, JUST Georgia is making several demands for prosecutorial accountability as well as independent investigations of potential law enforcement misconduct. Speaking with Prism, Perry framed Arbery's murder as another example of the injustice happening across the country.