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1/ You often hear @aldemocrats and @DougJonesHQ shorthand a part of @SenDougJones ’s bio this way: “Sen. Jones got justice for four little girls murdered during church by the Klan.” I want to explain in detail what Doug did and why it is relevant to the current AL senate race.
2/ The bottom line up front is this: The idea that a majority of Alabamians cannot BOTH support @realDonaldTrump AND re-elect @SenDougJones is wrong. It is an idea rooted in smug superiority and oversimplified perceptions many have of Alabamians. History is proof.
3/ In 1963, a bomb went off inside a black church in Birmingham where civil rights protesters routinely met and organized. Four little girls were killed. This is the opening scene in @ava ’s brilliant film Selma. This event set the stage for the civil rights drama that followed.
4/ An FBI investigation determined that four white men, KKK members, committed the bombing. But while the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing led to waves of protests which brought legislative success for civil rights, no charges were ever brought in the bombings.
5/ J. Edgar Hoover ended the investigation in 1968 and hid the files from prosecutors. These four domestic terrorists, Robert Chambliss, Herman Cash, Bobby Frank Cherry, and Thomas Blanton, Jr., were getting away with the murder of four innocent children.
6/ Fourteen years later the State of AL charged Chambliss. His niece had told on him. She testified that her uncle had discussed the bombing beforehand and afterwards he said the bomb wasn& #39;t meant to hurt anybody and “didn& #39;t go off when it was supposed to."
7/ Fast forward 22 years to 2001. Jones is U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. He brings charges against Stanton and Cherry. Cash is already dead. Cherry wins a delay because of a claim of mental incapacity. He would be convicted a year later.
8/ At trial, a Klansman-turned-informant has tapes of Stanton bragging he won’t be caught when he bombs his “next church”. Stanton described himself on tape as liking to fish, shoot, and “go bombing.” He is convicted after 2.5 hours of jury deliberations.
9/ @SenDougJones is not a superhero, but his role in the case is relevant and important today for many reasons. It demonstrates his fitness for office. There were many reasons to think these men would never be brought to justice. He got it done. Doug also brought awareness
10/ of the history of the Civil Rights struggle to a generation of young white southerners who weren’t taught it in school. I was 20 at the time of Stanton’s trial. I had never heard of @16thstreetbham Baptist Church or the bombings until this case hit the news.
11/ The prosecutions sent a message about true law and order. Impunity is contrary to fundamental of rule of law principles. Impunity means exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action. Whether a Klansman or a “bad apple”
12/ cop, a powerful corporation, or @POTUS, no one should feel they are free from the consequences of their actions. Who you elect matters because we cannot have people who look the other way amid wrongdoing. Especially not in the Senate.
13/ @SenDougJones brought relief to the family, that church, the community, and to America. He gave black people a reason to believe justice is for them too. America was struck by an act of domestic terrorism. Four little girls gave their lives. We did not forget.
14/ Addie Mae Collins was born April 18, 1949. She would be 71 if she were alive today. Cynthia Wesley was born April 30, 1949. She would be 71 if she were alive today. Carole Robertson was born April 24, 1949. She would be 71 if she were alive today.
15/ Carol Denise McNair Was born November 17, 1951. She would be 69 if she were alive today.
#SayTheirNames!
#SayTheirNames!
16/ @SenDougJones brought credit to our state nationally by doing what at the time was politically unpopular but the right thing to do. He’s never embarrassed us. He gave us something we could hold up to show we are making progress; gave us something to build on.
17/ Why does this matter now? The conventional wisdom in this race is Jones will lose because of a single issue: Alabamians demand unconditional support for President Trump. Republicans, Democrats, inside Alabama and out. That’s what they all say.
18/ Unconditional support for @realDonaldTrump is @TTuberville& #39;s entire strategy. There is reason to believe this strategy will work. We haven’t always gotten it right and it’s true most Alabamians still support Trump. The Trump strategy worked for Tubs in the primary. However,
19/ Alabamians hate being looked down upon by outsiders. That& #39;s why we take football so seriously. It& #39;s one thing we can say we& #39;re the best at. Roll Tide! Alabamians also hate being taken for fools. Tub’s strategy is cynical and stupid but above all it is insulting.
20/ @SenDougJones has an uncommon belief in the people of Alabama to make sound judgments when presented with facts and evidence by competent authorities in a fair process. Alabama may not be ready to dump Trump, but we have already twice shown we are perfectly
21/ willing to dump a Trump-clone who brings nothing else to the table. (Hi Luther. Hi Roy.) To those who say Alabama will support a Trump-clone no matter what he does and for no other reason, and to those who say with smug superiority that Alabama is incapable of
22/ looking beyond one issue and make a wholistic judgment about who will best represent us, to them I say it won’t work. You underestimate us at your peril. Don’t take us all for gullible idiots. It won’t work.
23/ @SenDougJones didn’t get justice for four little girls murdered during church by the Klan all by himself. He believed in Alabamians.
