Voting rights have been sacrosanct. Since 1968, many progressive laws and voter suppression laws have existed in American Society. By April 11, 1968, Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Indian Civil Rights Act into law. This law gave federal courts the power to intervene in intra-tribal disputes. This was controversial. Republican President George W. Bush signed legislation on July 27, 2006 to extend the Voting Rights Act for an additional 25 years. He said that, "the right of ordinary men and women to determine their own political future lies at the heart of the American experiment." Previously, the Voting Rights Act was extended in 1970, 1975, and 1982. Even in the 2000s, many far right people tried to suppress the vote in many means. After the Supreme Court 2013 Shelby bad decision (The Shelby County v. Holder case gutted parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act), many states in the South, the Midwest, etc. started to make election changes in order ot take advantage the Court's erosion of the Voting Rights protections. These new laws post-Shelby county decision either made it harder for people to vote or stripped voting rights in other ways. The Shelby County v. Holder June 25, 2013 decision banned jurisdictions with histories of racial discrimination in voting from having to gain federal approval (this is called preclearance) before changing their election laws. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg opposed this policy. Restrictive voting laws increased after 2013. Texas soon made one of the most stringent voting laws in the nation with a voter ID law. The Democratic led House passed HR 4 in December 6, 2019 (to revise parts of the VRA that was gutted after the 2013 Supreme COurt decision), but it has not been introduced formally in the current Congress. When Joe Biden won the Presidency on November 7, 2020, Donald Trump and many of his supporters made the lie that mass voter fraud happened in Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh (ironically, these cities have a high percentage of African American people in them). After the failed coup d'etat on the U.S. Capitol by insurrectionists on January 6, 2021, voter suppression efforts continued to grow. The Democratic failed to pass HR 1 in the Senate because of the filibuster. HR 1 is the For the People Act that would expand voting via policies like automatic and same day voter registration. On March 25, 2021, Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed an anti-voting rights bill into law. It is called SB 202. This law imposes new voter ID requirements for absentee ballots, allows state officials to take over local election boards, cuts the use of ballot drop boxes, and make it a crime for people who aren't poll workers to approach voters in line to give them food and water (that is cruel). Democrat Stacey Abrams opposed this law. By May 6, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a restrictive voting bill into law. This was SB 90 making stricter voter ID requirements by mail, limits who can pick up and return a voter's ballot, and bans private funding for elections and other things. This policy was sued by the League of Women Voters of Florida and the Black Voters Matters Fund. The Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling in Bronovich v. Democratic National Committee promotes racially discriminatory policies. By March 2020, it was reported that Texas leads the South in closing down voting places, making more difficult for African Americans and Latinos to vote. By March 2021, the Republican John Kavanaugh of the Arizona House of Representatives came out to say that everybody shouldn't be voting trying to justifying restrictions on voting.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on September 7, 2021 signed SB1 to restrict not only how people vote but when. The law banned overnight early voting hours and drive thru voting. This is popular among people of color. This SB1 is so evil that the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Texas. The DOJ on December 6, 2021 sued Texas over GOP-approved redistricting maps. The New York University Law School's Brennan Center for Justice documented the voter suppression efforts in Texas and North Carolina. Senators Joe Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema refused to change Senate rules, even to safeguard voting rights on January 19, 2022. In North Carolina, elected officials eliminated same day registration, scaled back the early voting period, and had a photo ID requirement. A U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs issued an order banning the photo ID requirement. By February 7, 2022, the Supreme Court restored a Congressional map drawn by Alabama Republicans. Justice Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor opposed this decision as a disservice to black Alabamians. In late September 2023, ahead of the November election, 26,000 voter registrations were quietly cancelled. Republican Secretary of State was criticism for possible voter suppression by not following the norm of alerting voter groups and by performing the cancellation so close to an election.
After 50 years, the legacy of the Selma Voting Rights movement is still among us. We have witness in the past five decades, an unprecedented amount of black excellence achieved in our society from Michael Jordan to Mae Jemison. We, as African Americans, are not only talented. We build culture by our existence and work. Therefore, the Selma Movement represents a crossroads in the American Civil Rights Movement. By 1965, America saw the growth of the black freedom struggle made up of diverse people among difference socioeconomic backgrounds. It was the time of the start of the end of Jim Crow apartheid and a growth of a consciousness to see immediate change, not tokenism. Many men, women, and children sacrificed their lives to fight for the right of black human beings to vote. Many people were murdered for just fighting for this human right. The events of Bloody Sunday and other occurrences inspired the general public to increasingly support freedom for black people. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed by President Lyndon Baines Johnson into law by August 1965. This bill being made into law was done by the sacrifice of members of DCVL, the SCLC, SNCC, and other unsung black activists (including activists of all colors) who resisted injustice. There were nonviolent protests and legitimate self defense shown by the activists too. After the Selma movement, there was a diversity of people deciding to go into further activism in the South, the anti-war movement, The Poor People's Campaign, and other civil rights movement in other places of America (in the North, the Midwest, the West, etc.). After 50 years, we have new voter suppression laws, the gutting of the Voting Rights Act (by the Supreme Court in 2013), economic inequality, climate change, and other issues that we must confront. At the end of the day, good will triumph over evil. We have to do our parts to see that better day.
From Akron, Ohio to Los Angeles, California, LeBron James changed history forever. From him playing basketball in high school shown on ESPN to him being defeated by the Minnesota Timberwolves by 2025 (with people like the new generation's Anthony Edwards), we have seen his career evolve into massive greatness. Some call him the greatest of all time, and you can't hate on people with that assumption. The reason is that they are entitled to their view. Me personally, I believe that Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time because of many reasons. LeBron James has been one of the most scrutinized, loved, and hated athletes in history. His spotlight as the Chosen One was filled with hype and prestige. LeBron James not only exceed the hype. He brought a whole new generation of basketball players after him who has been great from Giannis to Joker. As a man, James has a sense of humor, is a people person, and defends his family. He has been outspoken on many political issues and invested in education in his own communities for years now. James has broken NBA records and became an icon of sports. He is easily the greatest NBA player of the 21st century based on impact, statistics, longevity, and endurance. Likewise, all people have to go to the rain. LeBron James has been through the rain, and he survived. That is what legacy is all about. Legacy is not just about being great. It's about overcoming challenges to solidify your contributions to the world. LeBron James will continue to be among the icons of sports.
Hard work pays off. Carmelita Jeter was born in the West Coast in California. Carmelita Jeter played basketball in high school at first. Later, she participated in track and field. Track and field gave her joy, discipline, more power in her life, and more accomplishments. Her relatives and friends have inspired Carmelita Jeter to be the best in her athletic career. She won many gold medals in World Championships and won many medals in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, United Kingdom. In one of the greatest track and field races in history, Carmelita Jeter won gold in London in the 4 X 100m relay women's race. Her teammates of Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, and Bianca Knight made history as having the world record of 40.82 seconds. When Carmelita Jeter used the baton to point it at the record, then you knew that it is real. For over a decade, from 2009 to 2021, Carmelita Jeter would be the fastest woman alive. She was courageous to overcome a hamstring injury to win bronze in the 100m in the 2013 Moscow Track and Field Championships. She won silver in the World Relay Championships in 2015 at Nassau, Bahamas in the 4 X 100m women's relay. After retiring from track and field, she started to coach and inspire track and field athletes in California and now in Nevada. Today, we have a newer generation of track and field stars like Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha Terry, Gabby Thomas, Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek, Kishane Thompson, Fred Kerley, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Masai Russell, Sha'Carri Richardson, Dina Asher-Smith, Julian Alfred, Jacious Sears, Celera Barnes, and other human beings. Therefore, Carmelita Jeter is a track and field icon, a mother, a coach, and motivates people in the world over.
To understand the legacy of Malcolm X, you have to realize that the torch has been passed from Malcolm X to her daughters. He and Betty Shabbazz had six daughters who are Attallah, Qubilah, Ilyasah, Gamilah Lumumba, Malikah, and Malaak. Ilyasah Shabazz is one daughter of Malcolm X who has been an author, community organizer, social activist, and motivational speaker for decades. She was born on July 22, 1962. She is known to have written the memoir titled Growing Up X. She earned her own BA from State University at New Paltz (BA) and Fordham University (MA). She was born in Brooklyn, New York. Later, she was raised in Mount Vernon, New York which is a suburb of New York City (north of the Bronx. Many of my cousins live in Mount Vernon, New York). She lived a fairly middle class and later was part of the Black Student Union in college. She is a devout Muslim who made the pilgrimage to Mecca or the hajj, in 2006 as her father did in 1964 and her mother did in 1965. She is the trustee for the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, the Malcolm X Foundation, and the Harlem Symphony Orchestra. As of 2017, she is an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She lives in New Rochelle, New York. Betty Shabazz was a great social activist in her own right. Tons of activists today carry on the torch from Malcolm X by being against imperialism, opposing genocide, being leaders, standing up against injustice, and supporting human rights. Life is an interesting road, and it is important to reject distractions. We will focus on real issues like education, literacy, climate change, tariffs, infrastructure, medicine, government relations, foreign policy, inventions, tackling poverty, etc.
This year is the 25th anniversary of the 2000 Summer Olympics. I remember watching the Sydney 2000 Olympics when I was almost 17 years old. It took place from September 15 to October 1, 2000. It took place in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was the second time when the Summer Olympics were held in Australia and in the Southern Hemisphere, the first being in Melbourne, in 1956. Teams from 199 countries participated in the 2000 Games, which were the first to feature at least 300 events in its official sports program. The Games were estimated to have cost A$6.6 billion. These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch before the arrival of his successor Jacques Rogge.
The final medal tally at the 2000 Summer Olympics was led by the United States, followed by Russia and China with host Australia in fourth place overall. Cameroon, Colombia, Latvia, Mozambique, and Slovenia won a gold medal for the first time in their Olympic histories, while Barbados, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam won their first-ever Olympic medals.
The 2000 Games received universal acclaim, with the organisation, volunteers, sportsmanship, and Australian public being lauded in the international media. Bill Bryson of The Times called the Sydney Games "one of the most successful events on the world stage", saying that they "couldn't be better." James Mossop of the Electronic Telegraph called the Games "such a success that any city considering bidding for future Olympics must be wondering how it can reach the standards set by Sydney", while Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette suggested that the "IOC should quit while it's ahead. Admit there can never be a better Olympic Games, and be done with it," as "Sydney was both exceptional and the best." These games would provide the inspiration for London's winning bid for the 2012 Olympic Games in 2005; in preparing for the 2012 Games, Lord Coe declared the 2000 Games the "benchmark for the spirit of the Games, unquestionably", admitting that the London organizing committee "attempted in several ways to emulate what the Sydney Organising Committee did."
Australia will host the Summer Olympics in Brisbane in 2032, making it the first Asia-Pacific country to host the Summer Olympics three times and also the second time Australia will host the Summer Olympics after the United States hosting it with how Brisbane will come after Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics. Sydney won the right to host the Games on September 24, 1993.
The opening ceremony began with a tribute to the pastoral heritage of the Australian stockmen and the importance of the stock horse in Australia's heritage. It was produced and filmed by the Sydney Olympic Broadcasting Organisation and the home nation broadcaster Seven Network. This was introduced by lone rider Steve Jefferys and his rearing Australian Stock Horse Ammo. At the cracking of Jefferys' stockwhip, a further 120 riders entered the stadium, their stock horses performing intricate steps, including forming the five Olympic Rings, sounded by a new version of the song that Bruce Rowland had previously composed for the 1982 film The Man from Snowy River.
The Australian National Anthem was sung in the first verse by Human Nature and the second by Julie Anthony.
The cultural segments of the event take place with many aspects of the land and its people: the affinity of the mainly coastal-dwelling Australians with the sea that surrounds the Island Continent. The Indigenous inhabitation of the land, the coming of the First Fleet, the continued immigration from many nations, and the rural industry on which the economy of the nation was built, including a display representing the harshness of rural life based on the paintings of Sir Sidney Nolan. Two memorable scenes were the representation of the heart of the country by 200 Aboriginal women from Central Australia who danced up "the mighty spirit of God to protect the Games" and the overwhelmingly noisy representation of the construction industry by hundreds of tap-dancing teenagers.
Because the wife of then-IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch was seriously ill and unable to accompany her husband to the Olympics, Dawn Fraser, former Australian Olympic Champion swimmer and member of the Parliament of New South Wales, accompanied Samaranch during the Australian cultural segments, explaining to him some of the cultural references that are unfamiliar for the people from outside Australia. The Olympic Flag was carried around the arena by eight former Australian Olympic champions: Bill Roycroft, Murray Rose, Liane Tooth, Gillian Rolton, Marjorie Jackson, Lorraine Crapp, Michael Wenden and Nick Green. During the raising of the Olympics Flag, the Olympic Hymn was sung by the Millennium Choir of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia in Greek. Following this, Tina Arena sang a purpose-written pop song, The Flame. The opening ceremony concluded with the lighting of the Olympic Flame, which was brought into the stadium by former Australian Olympic champion Herb Elliott. Then, celebrating 100 years of women's participation in the Olympic Games, former Australian women Olympic medalists Betty Cuthbert and Raelene Boyle, Dawn Fraser, Shirley Strickland (later Shirley Strickland de la Hunty), Shane Gould and Debbie Flintoff-King brought the torch through the stadium, handing it over to Cathy Freeman, who lit the flame in the cauldron within a circle of fire. The choice of Freeman, an Aboriginal woman, to light the flame was notable given the history of human rights abuses against Aboriginal people in Australia. Some Australians used racial abuse against Freeman, but Freeman courageous stood up for her dignity as a human being.
The first medals of the Games were awarded in the women's 10 metre air rifle competition, which was won by Nancy Johnson of the United States.
The Triathlon made its Olympic debut with the women's race. Set in the surroundings of the Sydney Opera House, Brigitte McMahon representing Switzerland swam, cycled and ran to the first gold medal in the sport, beating the favoured home athletes such as Michelie Jones who won silver. McMahon only passed Jones in sight of the finish line.
The first star of the Games was 17-year-old Australian Ian Thorpe, who first set a new world record in the 400-metre freestyle final before competing in an exciting 4 × 100 m freestyle final. Swimming the last leg, Thorpe passed the leading American team and arrived in a new world record time, two-tenths of a second ahead of the Americans. In the same event for women, the Americans also broke the world record, finishing ahead of the Netherlands and Sweden. Samaranch had to leave for home, as his wife was severely ill. Upon arrival, his wife had already died. Samaranch returned to Sydney four days later. The Olympic flag was flown at half-staff during the period as a sign of respect to Samaranch's wife. The great Aboriginal Australian Olympic champion Catherine Freeman won gold in the 400m in Sydney, Australia. It was a great testament to her hard work. She is an Aboriginal human being. She would go on to win gold in the 4 x 400m relay in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, UK.
The Cathy Freeman Foundation to this day helps Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian children to attend school and promote education in general for Australian people. The USA basketball men's and women's teams won gold. Vince Carter made one of the most famous dunks in basketball history too dunking over Frederic Weiss (who is over seven feet tall).
The Canadian flag at the athletes' village was lowered to half-mast as Canadian athletes paid tribute to the former prime minister Pierre Trudeau after hearing of his death in Montreal (because of the time zone difference, it was 29 September in Sydney when Trudeau died). The Canadian flag was flown at half-mast for the remainder of the Olympics, on orders from both IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy, and as the state funeral did not take place until October 3, two days after the closing ceremony, so they have enough time to head back to Canada after the Games and attending his funeral. Cameroon won a historic gold medal over Spain in the Men's Olympic Football Final at the Olympic Stadium. The game went to a penalty shootout, which was won by Cameroon 5–3.
By Timothy
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