By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on October 19, 2020 Nobel Prize An Editorial Opinion As my readers know, I first wrote about the Navier-Stokes Equation in “Knowledge Fuels Success” , published on August 28, 2020. I further discussed this topic in “Breakthrough on the Navier-Stokes Equation” , published on September 24, 2020. My advanced math/physics team’s work on the Navier-Stokes Equation may change how white America views African-Americans at a time when our nation is deeply divided over the issue of systemic racism. The Navier-Stokes Equation is one of the six unsolved math problems published by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Boston. In the Fall of 2019, I formed an advanced math/physics team to pick one of these six math problems and solve it. Our team consists of Johann Jordan from Orangeburg, South Carolina, Dr. Donatus O. Mbanefo from Columbus, Georgia , Isaac Culver from Macon, Georgia , and myself. All of us are African-Americans. We selected the Navier-Stokes Equation because we deemed the phenomena defined in the math equation to involve applied physics more than advanced mathematics. Our team has extensive academic and applied research in advanced mathematics, physics, chemistry, electromagnetism, calculus, motion, heat, kinetic energy, process engineering, and information technology. We attacked the phenomena from a multidisciplinary approach. Reference materials for the Navier-Stokes Equation were provided by my sister, Marie, who holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley, and my sister, Doristine, who was a distinguished educator and middle school principal in Montgomery, Alabama. Our work on Navier-Stokes began in November 2019. My team converted a small library at the Talladega Federal Prison Camp from a social hangout into a center for academic excellence. Math calculations had to be performed by hand or on small, low-capacity, handheld calculators that were used for GED classes. The more powerful HP-95 or greater calculators were deemed by prison officials as “contraband”. Teammate Johann Jordan transformed himself into a “human” computer like the black mathematicians showcased in the blockbuster movie, “Hidden Figures”. Jordan is a naturally gifted mathematical genius and a wonderful human being. In May 2020, I was removed from the Camp and placed in the “Hole” at the Talladega medium security prison after a prison guard “planted” a cellphone charger in my dormitory cubicle. This was done to block my transfer to home confinement due to my age (72) and my risk of developing fatal complications from the contraction of COVID-19. I have been working on the Navier-Stokes Equation every day since May 12th. I have organized all of my team’s technical data and work product on the equation. The task of writing our team’s formal presentation fell to me, as I have extensive experience in (a) preparing international patents for intellectual properties and (b) developing paradigm-shifting technologies, via sponsored research with Auburn University, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. My company’s technological development with Auburn is published in the Journal of Industrial Engineering. Reshaping White America’s View of Black America In the age of “Shut Up and Dribble” , I believe my team’s work on the Navier-Stokes Equation will demonstrate, once and for all, that African-Americans have the intellectual acumen and work ethic to achieve and demonstrate a level of knowledge in applied math and physics that is unparalleled globally. Scientists around the world have been trying to explain the phenomena defined in Navier-Stokes with precision and predictability for decades, without success. I believe my team has broken through the barriers to success and have identified credible scientific explanations for these phenomena. Here is what I hope we can accomplish after our formal presentation is published and subjected to critical review by qualified third parties: 1. We can become eligible for a nomination for the Nobel Prize in physics. This is important to me personally because my brother, Levi, Jr., was nominated twice for the Nobel Prize in medicine for his pioneering work on the Automatic Implantable Defibrillator that is keeping 3 million hearts beating in rhythm today. 2. Because inmates in U.S. prisons are legally and technically designated as “slaves” under the express language of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, my teammates and I can become the first “slaves” to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in physics for work performed while we are held in the captivity of our designated slave master (i.e., the U.S. Bureau of Prisons). 3. While African-Americans, Ralph Bunch, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack Obama have won the Nobel Prize for Peace, no African-American has won a Nobel Prize in the scientific category. 4. We can become the first non-scientists to win the Nobel Prize for physics since Guglielmo Marconi won one in December 1909 for his wireless transatlantic telegraphy. 5. We can conclusively demonstrate to white America that “knowledge” knows no color and that it cannot be suppressed by modern-day slave masters. 6. We can give a pro-Western U.S. ally technical superiority in Naval warfare. We would be hard pressed to give our slave master this technologically superior information. After all, no slave ever willingly empowered his abusive master. 7. We can redefine Black America through the lens of intellectual prowess, rather than athleticism and musical ability. 8. We can undermine the ability of closet bigots in the Deep South to challenge the scientific achievements of Blacks. 9. We can inspire other imprisoned “slaves” to aspire to something that is greater than themselves. 10. We can leave a positive legacy for our families and all African-Americans. Epilogue Other than the Black athletes and entertainers who perform for them, white America really does not know Black America. The two worlds intersect in the most casual ways. We hope Navier-Stokes helps to change that paradigm. The journey from modern-day “slave” to Nobel Prize winner would be one hell of a ride. We will make it happen for all of us. All articles are posted on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to follow Donald Watkins, please click on these links and hit the follow button: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins © Copyrighted and Published on January 22, 2020 Dr. Donatus O. Mbanefo, M.D. Dr. Donatus O. Mbanefo: A Case Study in Xenophobia Dr. Donatus O. Mbanefo, M.D., is a native of Onitsha, Nigeria. He is also a U.S. citizen from Columbus, Georgia. Dr. Mbanefo is married and has six children. Most Americans stereotype Nigerians as African "scam artists" who are perpetually trying to scam people out of money through fraudulent email schemes. Many white Americans view them as untrustworthy and/or crooks. President Donald J. Trump, who loves to fan the flames of xenophobia in America, refers to Nigeria as one of those "shithole" African nations. In truth, if all of the losses from Nigerian email scams were added up, they would be a drop in the bucket when compared to the $13 trillion Americans lost during the Great Recession of 2008 that was created by greedy Wall Street bankers who crashed the global economy. To put things in a proper perspective for Americans, Nigeria, a British colony until the nation obtained its independence in 1960, has a population of 180 million people. Its economy is diverse and is led by oil production and mining industries. The country has its own stock exchange, which allows publicly traded Nigerian companies to co-list on the London Stock Exchange. Nigeria also has its own version of a federal reserve bank. Three decades ago, Nigeria embarked upon the largest construction project in the history of mankind. The country created a brand-new national capitol city called Abuja in the middle of a 30 square mile jungle area. Abuja, which is an ultra-modern city with six-star hotels, beautiful high-rise buildings, state-of-the-art infrastructure, modern homes and a new international airport, is home to 4 million Nigerians today. The creation of Abuja was the greatest construction project since the Great Pyramids in Egypt. The size and scope of the project dwarfs any structure Donald Trump constructed in New York City, or elsewhere. Mbanefo's Life Since Childhood Has Been Stellar In Nigeria, parents place a premium on education for their children. Dr. Mbanefo's parents honored this tradition. Dr. Mbanefo attended the prestigious Hope Waddell Training School in Calabar, Nigeria. From 1975 to 1977, Dr. Mbanefo attended Willesden College of Technology in London where he received an Advanced Level General Certificate of Education with a concentration in physics, chemistry, biology, electromagnetism, calculus, advanced algebra, and motion, heat, light and sound. He also received a certification in optometry from City College in London, England in 1977. In 1982, Dr. Mbanefo obtained a Bachelor of Medicine Degree from the College of Medicine in Ibadan, Nigeria. He received his medical license in Nigeria after his housemanship the following year. Between 1995 and 1997, he completed his residency at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia while in the U.S. on a visitor's visa. License to Practice Medicine in the U.S. Dr. Mbanefo returned to the U.S. in 2008 to complete the requirements for obtaining his U.S. medical license. In December of 2012, Dr. Mbanefo received his medical license in Georgia. At this point, he held valid medical licenses in Georgia and Nigeria (in 1982). In January of 2013, Dr. Mbanefo received a license from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to prescribe narcotics like Oxycodone, Percocet, Lorcet, Zanax and other controlled substances. Dr. Mbanefo studied for and passed his licensing examinations while he was a resident of California. After being licensed to practice medicine in the State of Georgia, he registered with several professional job sites and was matched by one of them, DocCafe.com,to the Relief Institute of Columbus. This medical center was one of three privately-owned pain medicine clinics operated by a Jamaican family consisting of Alexander Biggs, Nilaija Biggs, and Carol Biggs. The family operated these clinics from 2011 to 2014. After discussions with the Biggs family, Dr. Mbanefo accepted a position at the Relief Institute of Columbus. In March of 2013, Dr. Mbanefo was hired as an independent contractor to perform medical services within the scope of his licensed areas of expertise. He was paid a flat rate of $1,200 per day, regardless of the number of patients he treated. There were no bonuses in his contract that were associated with the volume of business he serviced or generated. Dr. Mbanefo worked as the sole physician at the Relief Institute from Monday through Thursday. A DEA investigation into the Biggs Family's Pain Clinics What Dr. Mbanefo did not know at the time he was hired at the Relief Institute was the fact that the pain management clinics operated by the Biggs family were under investigation by the DEA and Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) for operating a suspected pill mill for prescription narcotics. The vacancy Dr. Mbanefo filled was created when a doctor of Indian descent left the clinic after he was visited there by DEA agents. Dr. Mbanefo had been told by the Biggs that this doctor quit his job because he was suffering from Parkinson's disease. Within a matter of weeks Dr. Mbanefo began to have concerns about the operations of the Relief Institute. He found out from an ex-staffer that the Indian doctor actually left the clinic under questionable circumstances. This prompted Dr. Mbanefo to contact the DEA to discuss his concerns about working conditions and other aspects of the clinic's operations. He also sought DEA guidelines relating to the administration of prescription narcotics. The first discussion Dr. Mbanefo had with the DEA was by telephone and it was cordial. However, it did not yield the guidance Dr. Mbanefo was seeking on prescriptions for narcotics. The DEA agent arranged for a follow-up meeting with another DEA agent. When Dr. Mbanefo arrived at this meeting, he was met by the DEA agent, as well as agents from the GBI. These agents, all of whom were white, were hostile towards Dr. Mbanefo. The federal and state agents provided no guidance to Dr. Mbanefo on administering prescription drugs, they demanded that he sign a document agreeing to surrender his medical license (which he refused), and asked him to call Alexander Biggs in their presence to ask certain pre-prepared questions about the clinic's operations. Dr. Mbanefo agreed to make this call because he shared some of the same concerns (i.e., Why the clinic accepted cash payment only?; Why patients who spent the largest amount of money with the clinic were seen first?; Why the name of the business had been changed?; Why there was a continuing influx of out-of-state patients?; etc.). Dr. Mbanefo quit his job at the Relief Institute on June 13, 2013, approximately one week after his in-person meeting with the DEA and GBI agents. Dr. Mbanefo did not know at the time that DEA agents sent an undercover agent posing as a patient with back pain to the clinic on two occasions within three weeks of his employment with the Relief Institute. The undercover agent was treated by Dr. Mbanefo on each occasion. The treatment sessions were recorded on video. During the undercover agent's first visit with Dr. Mbanefo, she provided him with a fake MRI from an actual MRI provider and a fake pharmacy profile from a real pharmacy. Dr. Mbanefo verified the MRI reading by calling the MRI provider to confirm the cause of her back pain. He also called the pharmacy to confirm the pharmacy profile she had given him. Both medical providers confirmed the accuracy of the documents, even though they were false documents. Dr. Mbanefo was shocked that this undercover agent had been prescribed 450 narcotic pills per month. He immediately slashed the prescription to 150 pills, or five per day for one month. He also decreased the strength of the pills. On each occasion, Dr. Mbanefo reviewed the undercover agent's diagnostic chart and treatment history before subjecting her to a physical examination in conformity with the acceptable standards of medical treatment for pain management in Georgia. Georgia Board of Medicine Clears Dr. Mbanefo After the DEA and GBI wrapped up their investigation of the pain clinics operated by the Biggs family, they sent a report to the Georgia Board of Medicine regarding Dr. Mbanefo's pain treatment practices. In 2014, the Board held a hearing regarding Dr. Mbanefo's work at the Relief Institute. The Board reviewed the evidence submitted by the DEA and GBI agents and found it insufficient to revoke or suspend Dr. Mbanefo's medical license. Dr. Mbanfeo found other medical work with QCT, a medical provider for the U.S. Army, and GEO, a medical provider for the Department of Corrections for the state of Georgia. In 2015, the DEA refused to renew Dr. Mbanefo's DEA license to prescribe controlled substances. Selective Prosecution Based on Race In February of 2016, federal prosecutors indicted the Biggs family members who are Jamaicans, Dr. Mbanefo, who is Nigerian, an African-American doctor in his 80s, and the Indian doctor referenced earlier. They were charged with two counts of conspiracy -- operating a pill mill and money laundering. Dr. Mbanefo was also charged with two counts of prescribing narcotics to the undercover agent. Dr. Mbanefo pleaded "Not Guilty" to the charges. He proceeded to trial in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Hugh Lawson in Valdosta, Georgia. As expected, none of the 18 to 20 white doctors who worked at the three Biggs-owned clinics from 2011 to 2014 were charged with a crime, even though some of them prescribed far more controlled substances than Dr. Mbanefo and, unlike Mbanefo, they had provisions in their contracts for the payment of bonuses based upon an increase in the volume of patients they treated. In essence, federal prosecutors gave the clinics' white doctors a prosecutorial pass while targeting and charging the people of color -- the three Jamaican owners, an African doctor (Dr. Mbanefo), an Indian doctor, and an African-American doctor -- with operating the clinics in violation of federal laws. The African-American doctor charged in this case is Dr. William Bacon, who was 80-years-old and a highly respected orthopaedic surgeon with an immaculate professional reputation when he was targeted by prosecutors. Dr. Bacon is a former consultant/surgeon for the U.S. Army with a distinguished record of service to America. Dr. Bacon, who is married, has four adult children. Two of them are attorneys, one is an accountant, and one is a robotic surgeon. Two of the clinics' white doctors testified for the prosecution about their work experiences at the clinics. Their concerns about the clinics' operations were similar in nature to the ones Dr. Mbanefo voiced to the DEA and GBI agents. Neither one of these doctors implicated Dr. Mbanefo in any wrongdoing. Like Mbanefo, both of these doctors quit their jobs once they discovered what was going on. A jury of 9 whites and 3 blacks found Dr. Mbanefo guilty on one count of conspiracy and two counts of prescribing controlled substances to the undercover agent who presented with a fake MRI and a fake pharmacy profile. Dr. Bacon was convicted, as well. At the sentencing hearing, Judge Lawson observed that other doctors at the Biggs family's three pain clinics were equally culpable as Dr. Mbanefo, but they were not charged. Prosecutors had no response to this observation regarding the preferential treatment accorded to the white physicians. Despite this obvious disparate treatment of Dr. Mbanefo (and Dr. Bacon), Judge Lawson refused to set aside the jury verdict in Dr. Mbanefo's case based upon his personal observation of selective prosecution. He had the power to render fair and impartial justice in his courtroom, but he chose to rubber-stamp the prosecutors' selective prosecution based upon race, national origin, and xenophobia. Judge Lawson sentenced Dr. Mbanefo to 96 months in prison. In the aftermath of this ordeal, Dr. Mbanefo lost his job, his medical license in Georgia, his home, and his physical freedom. No adverse action was taken against the white doctors who worked for the clinics, or the DEA and GBI agents or white prosecutors who engaged in selective prosecution and practiced blatant xenophobia and racism against Dr. Mbanefo. Tomorrow, we will present the "Conclusion" of "God Wears a Robe" - Part 5. [ Author's Note: Dr. Danotus Mbanefo died on April 7, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. The federal government never corrected its intentional infliction of a miscarriage of justice in Dr. Mbanefo's case before he died. The author will push for a posthumous presidential pardon for Dr. Mbanefo based upon his innocence.]

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on May 29, 2025 Attorney Nathaniel S. Colley (1918-1992), Sacramento, California. An Editorial Opinion   Tuesday night, I attended a sculpture fundraiser celebrating Attorney Nathaniel Colley (1918-1992), a civil rights icon in California.  Mr. Colley, an Alabama native, is widely known across America as "Mr. Civil Rights of California." Colley was the NAACP's principal civil rights lawyer in California for more than four decades.   I never had the privilege of meeting Nathaniel Colley while he was alive, but I studied his life story and incredible body of landmark civil rights cases while I was attending and desegregating the University of Alabama's (UA) law school from 1970 to 1973.  Nathaniel Colley, who was a captain in the U.S. Army, tried to enroll in UA's law school following the end of World War II. He was denied admission solely because of his race. UA officials did not care that Colley graduated No.1 in his class at Tuskegee University in 1941 or that he served his nation with honor and distinction during the war. In lieu of admitting Colley to UA's law school, the state of Alabama paid for Colley to attend Yale University's law school, where he graduated with honors. After law school, Colley relocated to California, passed his state Bar exams, and began practicing civil rights law. Nathaniel Colley became one of the most effective and respected civil rights lawyers of the Twentieth Century.  Colley joined the ranks of Charles Houston, Thurgood Marshall, Arthur Shores, Fred Gray, Solomon Seay, Constance Baker Motley, U.W. Clemon, and J.L. Chestnut as one of the elite civil rights lawyers in America.   My Alabama State College Laboratory High School buddy O. Alfred Brown, Sr. , invited me to the event.   Alfred is a Professor Emeritus, a graduate of Tuskegee University, and President of Sacramento County Board of Education. Alfred is married to Ola Marie Colley Brown , who is one of Nathaniel Colley's and wife Jerlean Colley’s four daughters. Ola, who is a teacher by profession and a wonderful human being, is also a Tuskegee University graduate.  Jerlean Colley, who died in 1998, was a Tuskegee graduate, as well. In addition to their four daughters, the Colley's had one son, Nathaniel Colley, Jr. Ola Marie Colley Brown In the Sacramento metro area, Alfred and Ola Brown are “movers and shakers.” They know everybody, and everybody knows them. They make positive things happen to uplift humanity.   A Moving Video Tribute to Mr. Civil Rights of California   Over the course of my life, I have attended many banquets and ceremonial events that honored society’s most important people.  This event, however, was one of the best ones I have ever attended. Nathaniel Colley's life touched me in profound ways that very few people will ever understand or appreciate. Colley was turned away from UA's law school in the 1940s. The National NAACP made it possible for me to desegregate this law school in the 1970s. After graduating from law school, Nathaniel Colley and his family caught pure hell from many local Whites as he battled widespread racial discrimination in California during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. In Alabama, my family and I caught pure hell from many local Whites as I battled the most vicious and entrenched forms of racism in the state during the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.   The powerful 26-minute PBS video below highlights Attorney Colley's remarkable life and career.  Excerpts from this video were played at the fundraiser.  Nathaniel Colley is an inspirational American hero.  Enjoy this video, as I did. Dr. Ronald McDowell is One of America's Best Sculptors   During the fundraiser, I reunited with famed Birmingham, Alabama sculptor, Dr. Ronald McDowell, who has been commissioned to create Nathaniel Colley’s statue.  Dr. McDowell brought a model of the Colley statue (shown in the photo below) to the well-attended event. Alfred Brown (left), with Dr. Ronald McDowell (center) and Donald V. Watkins. Dr. McDowell is a gifted and accomplished artist and sculptor.  He has ascended to the elite class of American sculptors that is led by Dr. Isaac Scott Hathaway . The Sacramento Historical Society wants to have Nathaniel Colley’s statue permanently and prominently displayed in the California State Capitol Building in Sacramento. Epilogue   In a world filled with weak and timid men and women who occupy positions of leadership today, it was refreshing Tuesday night to see, remember, and celebrate the life and landmark work of a brave, pioneering, and bona fide civil rights icon -- Attorney Nathaniel S. Colley. If we do not tell, write, and preserve our history in America, who will?

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on May 26, 2025 Levi Seth Watkins: Eyeing the world as his opportunity zone. Tomorrow, Levi Seth Watkins will graduate from Princeton University. He will be the first Watkins family member to graduate from Princeton. Other family members who are current Princeton students will be graduating in the near future. Seth is also the first family member who took courses at universities in Nanjing, China and Prague, Czechoslovakia.     Seth, who is fluent in Mandarin, Czech, and several other foreign languages, plans to attend graduate school in Europe. Since childhood, Seth has eyed the world as his opportunity zone. He joins the newest generation of Watkins family members who are truly global in every sense of the word. Seth's Academic Gifts Emerged Early   In November 2017, Seth was the Second Place Winner last November at the Jiansu Cup Chinese Speech Contest held at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.  Seth, who was a 10th grade student at the time, won a full scholarship for three weeks of summer study at various universities in Jiansu Province, China.   Seth Watkins (right) was the Second Place Winner in November 2017 at the Jiansu Cup Chinese Speech Contest held at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Seth's mother, Quan Watkins (left) attended the contest with him. When Seth was in Middle School, he and his team of academic scholars won the Alabama Academic Bowl Championship , Middle School Division, on April 2, 2016. Seth and his Alabama Academic Bowl Championship Team, Middle School Division, April 2, 2016. Seth is the second son of Dustin Watkins and Quan Watkins .  All four of their wonderful children – Dustin, Jr., Seth, Kelie, and Rian -- are academically "gifted" and each one is a loving, respectful, and caring human being.  Since childhood, all of them have exhibited tremendous class, character, and humility. From left to right: Dustin, Jr., Seth, Kelie, and Rian Watkins, as children. Seth’s brother, Dustin Watkins, Jr., graduated from Georgia State University in 2022. His sister Kelie graduated from Georgia State in 2024 and is now attending graduate school. Their baby sister Rian has one year of college to go before she graduates from Georgia State.  A Treasure Trove of "Earned" College Degrees     With Seth’s college degree from Princeton, Carmichael/Varnado/ Watkins family members have accumulated a treasure trove of "earned" college degrees from the following institutions of higher education since the end of the Civil War in 1865: Tennessee State University, Northwestern University, Owen College, Lane College, Jackson State University, Rust College, Labette Community College, Alabama State University, Alcorn State University, Drake University, the University of California at Berkley, Temple University, Vanderbilt University, Harvard University, Harvard University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Morgan State University, Western Michigan University, Southern Illinois University, University of Alabama, University of Alabama School of Law, Meharry Medical College, Knoxville College, Tougaloo College, Clark Atlanta University, Gallaudet University, Saint Augustine College , Spelman College, Atlanta University, Emory University, Hampton Institute, Memphis State University, Wellesley College, Brown University, UCLA School of Medicine, Duke University, University of Miami, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Exeter (London), Illinois State University, Faulkner University, Huntingdon College, Morehouse College, Louisiana State University School of Banking, Troy State University, Morris Brown College, Auburn University at Montgomery, Howard University, Temple University, Eastern Virginia University School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Chicago, Georgia State University, Columbia University, McGill University (Montreal), Miami of Ohio University, University of Tennessee, Oregon State University, Southern University, and Virginia State University. Expanding Boundaries Members of the fifth and sixth generation of the Watkins family live and work around the world. They are international bridge builders whose lives cross cultural boundaries and language barriers. The bridges they build allow them to experience new worlds and different learning environments. Their friendships know no color or borders. As a result, they are growing in knowledge and wisdom at an accelerated pace. The seventh generation of Watkins family members in America started with two-year-old Azayah Jordan Deese. Azayah is Rian's daughter and she is attending Seth's graduation ceremonies at Princeton. Azayah is already reading with comprehension.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on May 18, 2025 President Donald Trump granted political asylum to White Afrikaners in South Africa, whom he falsely claimed were the "victims" of genocide. An Editorial Opinion Every statement Donald Trump makes as president must be fact-checked because his reputation for truth and veracity is extremely poor.   Fact-checking has debunked 100 false claims from Trump’s first 100 days in office during his second term.  During his first term in office, Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president. Trump's Claims About Wrongful Land Confiscations and Genocide Against White South Africans are False.   Starting on February 7, 2025, Trump has claimed that white South Africans farmers were the "victims" of wrongful land confiscations and genocide in their country.  Both claims are false. Yet, Trump used these false claims to usher a group of white South Africans (Afrikaners) to the front of the line of all refugees who were/are seeking entry into the U.S. and an award of citizenship. The New York Times reported  225 people were killed on South African farms over a four-year period ending in 2024. These killing occurred during the commission of ordinary crimes. Of those deaths, 101 were Black current or former workers living on farms, and 53 were farmers, who are usually white . Trump has characterized the deaths of these 53 white Afrikaners as " genocide. " Contrary to Trump's claims, the South African government has not confiscated any land from Afrikaners.   According to a May 16, 2025, report issued by FactCheck.org , Trump’s claims that Afrikaners are the "victims" of wrongful land confiscations and genocide are false.  The findings below, which have been independently verified by our news media team, are taken from the FactCheck report.   Trump Has Prioritized the Entry of Afrikaner Refugees into the U.S.   On his first day in office, President Donald Trump  suspended  all refugee admissions to the U.S. until such time as bringing in new refugees “ aligns with the interests of the United States .”   Then, on Feb. 7, 2025, Trump issued an Executive Order making an exception for Afrikaner refugees. The Order called Afrikaners “victims of unjust racial discrimination” and  said  “ the United States shall promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation. ”   The “property confiscation” part refers to  a law  signed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in January that will allow the government to confiscate land, in some cases without compensation.  While “just and equitable” compensation must be paid to owners whose land is confiscated in most cases, under the law, there are limited circumstances under which confiscation could take place without compensation.  Those circumstances include cases “where the land is not being used and the owner’s main purpose is not to develop the land or use it to generate income, but to benefit from appreciation of its market value”; when land is not being used “for its core functions”; and “where an owner has abandoned the land by failing to exercise control over it despite being reasonably capable of doing so.”   Ramaphosa defended the law  on X , saying, “ South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality. The South African government has not confiscated any land. The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution. ”   On X , billionaire Elon Musk, whose family reaped huge financial benefits from South Africa’s brutally enforced system of racial apartheid and who is a close Trump adviser, condemned the policy as “ openly racist ownership laws .”  On Truth Social, Trump concurred,   saying , “ South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY. ”   Trump Revels in Serving as the Global Champion for White Privilege.   On May 12, the   first   59 Afrikaner  refugees arrived in Americaand were openly welcomed into the U.S. Unlike true refugees who must escape dangerous conditions and endure perilous journeys to reach America, the Afrikaners departed South Africa without any hassle aboard a comfortable chartered flight. Under President Donald Trump's February 7, 2025, Executive Order, the first group of Afrikaner refugees arrived in the U.S. last week. They were granted political asylum and will be given preferential treatment for U.S. citizenship. When Trump was asked by a reporter during a May 12, 2025, press conference why he was welcoming Afrikaners to the U.S. as refugees, he said there was “ a genocide that’s taking place ” against white farmers in South Africa.  " Because they’re being killed and we don’t want to see people be killed ,”  Trump said .   During the  press conference , Trump was also asked why the U.S. had expedited Afrikaner refugee admissions, “ as you’ve halted virtually all refugee admissions for people fleeing famine and war from countries like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo .”   Trump said the Afrikaners were being accepted as refugees on an expedited basis “ because they’re being killed .” He said the U.S. “ essentially extended citizenship to those people to escape from that violence and come here .”   “ It’s a genocide that’s taking place that you people don’t want to write about ,” Trump continued. “ But it’s a terrible thing that’s taking place. And farmers are being killed. They happen to be white, but whether they’re white or Black, it makes no difference to me, but white farmers are being brutally killed and their land is being confiscated in South Africa and the newspapers and the media, television media doesn’t even talk about it. If it were the other way around, they’d talk about it. That would be the only story they’d talk about .”   In stark contrast to his profound concern for perceived "genocide" against Afrikaners, Trump has NEVER acknowledged or condemned Israel's campaign of genocide and war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza. This genocide, which has killed over 53,200 innocent Palestinian men, women, and children, is documented in a U.S. Department of State report and arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court . Likewise, Trump has NEVER expedited asylum requests and refugee status for migrants of color fleeing gang violence and death in South American countries or war in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.   Epilogue   Based upon the record established by FactCheck.org , Trump's claim of genocide against white Afrikaners is false . Trump's claim of wrongful confiscations of land owned by white Afrikaners is false .  Lastly, Trump’s Refugee Plan for white South Africans constitutes a deliberate, overt, and purposeful presidential act of conferring white privilege upon Afrikaner refugees, based upon their white skin-color and ethnicity.   For what it is worth, there is no record of Donald Trump, as a private citizen and businessman during the apartheid years, ever opposing South African apartheid during its existence (1948-1994).

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on June 22, 2018 Stephen Miller, Senior Policial Advisor to President Donald Trump. An Editorial Opinion Stephen Miller is a far-right political activist who serves as a senior advisor for policy for President Donald Trump. Miller is the architect of Trump’s policy of separating the children of asylum-seeking immigrants from their parents at the U.S. border. After an outcry from human rights and religious groups around the world, President Trump abruptly reversed course and abandoned Miller’s cruel and insensitive Nazi-era family separation policy this week. Miller previously served as the communications director for former Senator Jeff Sessions. He was also a press secretary to Republican Representatives Michele Bachmann and John Shadegg. All of these officials are flaming right-wing conservatives. Sessions, who is now U.S. Attorney General, embraced and defended Miller’s controversial parent-child separation policy, even going so far as to quote Biblical scripture in his attempt to justify it. Sessions’ own church later distanced itself from his warped interpretation of the Bible on this matter. According to Wikipedia, Stephen Miller grew up in a liberal-leaning Jewish family in Santa Monica, California. He is the second of three children born to Michael D. Miller, a real estate investor, and Miriam (Glosser) Miller. His mother's family immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s from Belarus escaping the anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire (1903-1906). When his family arrived in the United States, his great-grandmother only spoke Yiddish, the historical language of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe. However, in spite of their poverty, as did most poor immigrants, most of the family learned English, worked hard and opened successful businesses in Pennsylvania -- "the classic immigration success story". For reasons known only to Stephen Miller, he would deny to other immigrants the very sanctuary his mother’s family found in America after they fled the persecution of Jews within the Russian Empire. Miller exhibits the same traits that were exhibited by the Jewish Ghetto Police who aligned themselves with Adolf Hitler and other fascists during the rise of Nazism in Germany. Jewish Ghetto Police (German: Jüdische Ghetto-Polizei , Jüdischer Ordnungsdienst ), also known as the Jewish Police Service and referred to by the Jews as the Jewish Police, were the auxiliary police units organized in the Jewish ghettos of Europe by local Judenrat councils under orders of occupying German Nazis. They were used by the Germans primarily for securing the deportation of other Jews to the concentration camps. The Jüdischer Ordnungsdienst were Jews who usually had little prior association with the communities they oversaw (especially after the roundups and deportations to extermination camps began), and who could be relied upon to follow German orders. The cruelty of the ghetto police was at times greater than that of the Nazis. The fate of the Jewish Policemen was eventually the same as all other ghetto Jews. Upon the liquidation of the ghettos in 1942-1943, they were either murdered on site or sent to the extermination camps. During his years of government service, Stephen Miller’s open hostility toward (a) undocumented immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S., (b) Americans of Hispanic descent, and (c) African Americans has been greater than anything we have witnessed in America since the rise of Jim Crow in the South following the end go the Civil War in 1865. Thankfully, President Trump renounced Miller’s latest insane act of political persecution and abuse of power. The question most right-thinking Americans are asking today is this: Why is a man like Stephen Miller working for Donald Trump in the first place?

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on May 14, 2025 Donald V. Watkins, 10th grade school photo. In May 1966, I graduated from the Alabama State College Laboratory School in Montgomery, Alabama.  From the 9th to 12th grades, I took college courses in Industrial Arts.  I was preparing for a career as a residential architect.  My Industrial Arts courses focused on residential designs, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical systems, layouts for homes, furniture making, and exterior finishes.  I loved these courses, especially the ones in which we designed and built fully functional, small-scale model homes.   In September 1966, I entered Southern Illinois University (SIU) as a freshman student. SIU was the professorial home of R. Buckminster Fuller , one of the leading architects of the 20th century.  I wanted to be taught architecture by the "best of the best."     During my sophomore year, I read a book in the SIU library that changed my life plan and career path, forever.  The book was about the Scottsboro Boys case.  I remembered my parents talking to my brothers and me about the Scottsboro Boys’ ordeal when we were growing up in Montgomery, Alabama during the 1950s. The book provided the ugly details regarding the Boys' experience in the openly racist Alabama criminal justice system of the 1930s.   From that day forward, I began to prepare for a career as a civil rights advocate.  My journey down that road started by desegregating the University of Alabama’s law school in 1970 , along with George Jones and three Black students who were in the class ahead of us.   After graduating from law school in 1973, I passed the Alabama Bar exam on my first attempt.  For the next 46 years, I had the honor of meeting and representing thousands of the bravest and most inspirational men, women, and children in America's growing civil rights movement. Throughout my legal career, I fought with and for these remarkable clients in their quest to advance and protect the civil and human rights of marginalized Americans in the face of massive resistance to positive change in society.   In 1996, the world of business emerged as my primary opportunity zone.  By 2007, my businesses were international in scope and focused in the clean energy sector.  Today, I enjoy exciting professional and personal relationships that span the globe. Donald V. Watkins attends the 9th Annual World Bio Markets Conference in Amsterdam. My business travels outside the U.S. afforded me a unique opportunity to escape the gravitational pull of Alabama-style " cradle to the grave " racism.  They also caused me to pay close attention to geopolitical events and human rights issues in countries around the globe.   Looking back on everything today, I realize how incredibly blessed I have been to experience a trailblazing and rewarding legal career, as well as an inspirational and energizing career in international business.  My career journey has been amazing, and the opportunity zones afforded to me have been fascinating.   At heart, I am still that young man who loves building things, tackling hard assignments, overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds, and preparing for the next generation of business opportunities.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on May 15, 2025 Former President Joe Biden was weak and senile in office. An Editorial Opinion   On March 29, 2020, I informed my readers that Joe Biden was entering the early stages of senility .  In the article, I stated:   “We all know by now that front-runner Joe Biden is poised to become the Democratic Party's nominee for president. Those of us who are honest with ourselves and candid with members of the public realize that Biden is in the early stages of senility. His condition is getting increasingly worse.”   On January 16, 2022, I urged Democrats to dump Biden in 2024 because he was weak and senile.   On June 5, 2022, I pleaded with Democrats to pick a new presidential nominee in 2024 because “ Biden is suffering from senility, which worsens with the passage of time . ”   On January 23, 2024, I again urged Democrats to dump Biden and pick another presidential nominee.   On February 10, 2024, I reported that the Department of Justice officially declared Biden to be senile.   On April 30, 2024, I announced that I would not support a senile Joe Biden for president .   On July 4, 2024, I reported that Joe Biden would be dropping out of the presidential race later that month due to his senility. When he did, it was too late for the Democratic Party's replacement nominee (Kamala Harris) to defeat Republican Party nominee (Donald Trump) in November.   In their new book titled, “ Original Sin; President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again ,” Jake Tapper (an anchor for CNN) and Alex Thompson (a national political correspondent for Axios) affirmed my four years of exclusive reporting that Joe Biden was weak and senile during his entire presidency. The Coverup and Its Impact I do not trust any politician who knew from his/her personal and direct interaction with then-President Joe Biden that he was weak and senile. Those politicians used their power and authority to coverup Biden's debilitating mental and physical condition. The American public was entitled to know the full truth about Joe Biden’s mental and physical condition during his one term in the presidency.  Biden’s handpicked Vice President (Kamala Harris), White House staffers, Cabinet members, and inner circle of friends and supporters deceived and failed the American public on this critically important matter.   This catastrophic breach of trust is one of the reasons why Democrats are nearing extinction as a national political party .  As for me, I do not consort with any politician I cannot trust to tell me the truth about matters of significant public interest. The President's mental and physical health is one of these matters.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on March 29, 2020 Democratic candidate for U.S. President, Joe Biden. An Editorial Opinion I have been a declared independent voter since 2001. I have supported Democratic and Republican political candidates of my choosing since that time. I have contributed over $1 million to candidates from both parties. I do not normally get involved in a political party's selection of its nominee for any office. For humanitarian reasons, I am injecting myself into the Democratic Party's selection of its nominee for president. We all know by now that front-runner Joe Biden is poised to become the Democratic Party's nominee for president. Those of us who are honest with ourselves and candid with members of the public realize that Biden is in the early stages of senility. His condition is getting increasingly worse. Saturday night, I watched a compilation of Biden's TV interviews, including podcasts from his home while he is honoring a "shelter in place" directive in Delaware. It was painful to watch Biden drift in and out of his lucid moments. At times, Biden was clearly lost in his own mind. Sadly, Biden is a man whose time for the presidency has come and gone. Nobody wants another senile president. Those of us who are old enough to remember President Ronald Reagan know what it is like to be governed by a senile president. Reagan, who had an affable personality, was senile during the latter part of his second term in office. Senile presidents are essentially figurehead office holders. White House aides and cabinet members run the country for senile presidents. The political situation for Democrats is dire. Bernie Sanders is Biden's last opponent in the Democratic primaries. Unfortunately, Sanders is a socialist Democrat. America is not ready for a socialist president. President Donald Trump is dominating the news cycles, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and America's response to it. His approval rating has increased since the outbreak of the coronavirus. More than 60% of Americans approved of the way he is handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress structured and passed a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus package in a way that allows Trump to reap the benefit of an estimated $1.1 billion in corporate money to regular and super political action committees that support his candidacy. Trump will be a formidable opponent with a war chest unlike any other presidential candidate in American history. If Biden is the Democratic nominee, the 2020 election is going to be a bloodbath for Biden and down-ticket Democratic office seekers. There is still time to prevent this bloodbath, but Democrats must act quickly to find a suitable replacement nominee prior to their July convention. This will require a brokered convention, which is controversial but necessary for selecting a viable nominee. Some of my readers are suggesting New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as the Party's nominee because of the way he is leading his state through the COVID-19 crisis. I do not want to suggest a nominee. I just know Joe Biden is not suitable for the presidency because of his senility, which will only get worse with time.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on April 22, 2025 An Editorial Opinion My high school classmate and lifelong friend, Alonza Gamble , sent me a copy of our Alabama State College Laboratory School “Gopher” Yearbook for 1966.   I had not seen the yearbook since we graduated from Lab High in May 1966. Today, it is a window into my past.   Click here to view the 16-page Yearbook .  When you do, you will enter the world as I knew it in 1966. The yearbook staff in 1966 is pictured below. They were young, gifted, and so talented. The Laboratory School was an Unparalleled Success in Ediucational Excellence.   I have often written about my remarkable experience in this small all-black school during Gov. George C. Wallace's heyday and the height of the Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery, Alabama.  The Laboratory School was an unparalleled success in education excellence .   The school had only one class of about 30 students for each grade. What the school lacked in size and financial resources, it made up for in the heart, intellectual acumen, dignity, and high moral fiber of its teachers and students.   The educational preparation we received at the Laboratory School was intense, practical, and very forward-looking. These teachers produced an academic “dream team” every year. We never felt inferior to any ethnic group or competitor. The overt racism in Alabama at the time was never viewed as an acceptable excuse for failing to reach our goals in life. We were taught to treat racism like turbulent weather. It was real and pervasive, but we were trained to find a way around, under, over, or through racism to reach our destination in life. Our dedicated and caring teachers, together with our loving parents, synchronized our developing minds, growing bodies, and unconquerable spirit.  They prepared us to become agents for the positive changes we sought in the world.   When you look at the faces of Principal Moses Clark and our teachers in the 1966 Gopher Yearbook, you are looking at the faces of greatness in education. We learned Latin, French and Spanish before we could drink from “Whites-Only” water fountains.  We learned how to communicate orally and in writing from the best English teachers in America.  Our math and science teachers contributed greatly to the success of those students whose algorithms would later transform the global telecommunications and information technology industries.  Our biology teachers produced the best doctors in America. We learned the countries and cultures of the world from brilliant geography teachers who rarely traveled beyond the state of Alabama.  We were constantly reminded that the world is connected by common cultural values and a history of human exploration. By the time we graduated from the Laboratory School, these teachers had molded our will to win and had given us all of the confidence we needed to achieve success against all odds.  We were unstoppable in our quest to succeed in life. The Laboratory School had a 100% graduation rate throughout its 49-year history, and every student progressed to a post-secondary education. The students who graduated from this small Montgomery school produced a favorably and lasting impact in every aspect of American society, including law, medicine, engineering, civil and criminal justice, science and technology, mathematics, education, business and finance, aerospace, energy, diplomatic services, and international relations. No K-12 school in America today has matched the cumulative achievements and positive impact on the world that the graduates of the Alabama State College Laboratory School accomplished throughout their careers.   Looking back on it today, our teachers were visionaries and unsung heroes.  What they achieved in the field of education with limited segregation-era resources and unlimited creative genius was nothing short of a miracle.   The Laboratory School is now featured in the University of South Carolina of Museum of Education . The school was also recognized by the Alabama Department of Archives and History in " Laboratory of Learning: Alabama State College Lab High School, a Model Education , " presented by Sharon Gay Pierson at the Department's Farley Auditorium on September 17, 2015. Dr. Pierson also published a doctoral dissertation at Columbia University about the Laboratory School in 2012 titled, " A 'Laboratory of Learning': A Case Study of Alabama State College Laboratory High School in Historical Context, 1920-1960 ."

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on March 30, 2014 ; Updated on June 15, 2016 , Republished on December 9, 2016 and September 21, 2024 In December 2016, Del Wilber, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times , sent me an October 25, 1956, Anniston Star article on Mr. Ramus Rhodes . Wilber was writing a story on Donald Trump's nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions for U.S. Attorney General. During the course of his background research on Sessions, Wilber came across my “ elegant ” June 15, 2016, Facebook article on Mr. Rhodes. Titled, “ Colored Janitor at U. of A. slated to Play Organ at Homecoming ," the Anniston Star article discussed Mr. Rhodes from a point of view that is very different from the one I wrote about in my original article titled, “ Mr. Ramus Rhodes: A Giant Among Men ." After I read the Anniston Star article, I realized that Mr. Rhodes was a much bigger man in history than I ever knew. "A Quietly Dignified Colored Janitor" In 1934, Mr. Rhodes became the janitor at Farrah Hall, the building that housed the old law school at the University of Alabama. When I arrived in September 1970, white law students routinely called him “Ramus." I called him, "Mr. Rhodes." I met Mr. Rhodes on my first day at the law school. He was a tall, dark, handsome, and stately black man who took pride in himself and his job. The Anniston Star article described him as “ a quietly dignified colored janitor ." Mr. Rhodes’ hands were big and strong, but full of calluses from the decades of sweeping and mopping. His janitor’s uniform was always crisp and clean. He rode his bicycle to work every day. Ramus Rhodes leaving work at Farrah Hall. While Mr. Rhodes never discussed his formal education with me, it quickly became apparent that his brilliance knew no bounds. To this day, Mr. Rhodes is one of the smartest men I have ever met. He was the very definition of “class and character”. I learned from the Anniston Star article that Mr. Rhodes graduated from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa with a degree in teacher education. Because the state of Alabama had no money to pay for teachers designated for “Colored” schools in 1934, Mr. Rhodes took the janitor’s job at Farrah Hall. Mr. Rhodes was no stranger to the University of Alabama. When he was a young child, Mr. Rhodes “ hoed corn in the fields of the old University farms ” and helped his mother clean one of the athletic buildings. In 1970, many of the white law students merely saw Mr. Rhodes as the janitor who played the organ on the law school’s float during the homecoming parade while they drunkenly cheered for the all-white Crimson Tide football team. In Charles Shield’s 2007 book titled, “ Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee ," Mr. Rhodes was described as the “ official mascot ” of the law school who played “ popular tunes on an organ ” as he was “ surrounded by four law school cheerleaders throwing candy to the crowd ”. By 1970, I knew plenty of well known, highly intelligent, and powerful men. I saw Mr. Rhodes as a giant among them. When he was not cleaning toilets and mopping the floors at Farrah Hall, Mr. Rhodes was always reading books in the mop closet that served as his “office” . He possessed in-depth subject-matter knowledge on a wide variety of topics. Now I know why -- Mr. Rhodes was a formally educated teacher and the mop closet was his classroom. I never knew that Mr. Rhodes was a teacher because he never focused any attention on himself; he only focused on the students. Mentoring the First Black Law Students I was one of two Black law students who arrived on UA’s campus in 1970. George Jones , a distinguished Miles College graduate, was the other Black freshman law student. Donald V. Watkins (center) and George Jones (right) at UA Law School. The first three Black students to desegregate the law school -- Michael Figures, Booker T. Forte, and Ronald Jackson -- arrived the year before George and me. They were brave, smart, and valiant trialblazers. They withstood pure hell for three years. Miles College President Lucius Pitts personally recruited and vetted each one of us for the purpose of desegregating the law school. He also arranged scholarships for us from out-of-state civil rights organizations. This man was a real college president. Dr. Lucius Pitts, former president of Miles College. Mr. Rhodes personally greeted each one of us upon our arrival at Farrah Hall. He made sure we knew that he was there to help us get through what turned out to be the longest and loneliest three years of my life. Mr. Rhodes taught me how to buy my law books so that my preparation for class would be the most effective in an environment of isolation. He became my unofficial "study group" partner. He profiled all of my professors for me. He showed me how to use the library and how to research published cases. He was my counselor when things seemed unbearable. In essence, Mr. Rhodes was my real professor; nobody else was even close in his knowledge of law. All of this coaching, teaching, and mentoring had to be done quietly and discreetly. After all, Mr. Rhodes’s purpose on campus was to clean the building, not to mentor us through the rigors of law school. Looking back on it now, Mr. Rhodes possessed all of the skills and intellectual acumen needed to be a law student or professor, and a successful one at that. Because of a mere circumstance of birth and the belated social and racial progress of Alabama, Mr. Rhodes was the janitor and I was the law student. "Please Do Not Forget About Us" Then came that beautiful sunny day in May 1973. I had just finished all of my law school exams. One week later, I would be graduating as the fifth black law student in the school’s history. As I sat out on the front steps of Farrah Hall, reflecting on my ordeal and praising God for delivering me from this place, Mr. Rhodes came out to join me. He congratulated me on my achievements. He described his 38 years of pure hell as a janitor on campus and the historic events he had witnessed -- from the riots over Autherine Lucy’s 1956 admission to UA as the first black student, to Vivian Malone and James Hood’s admission in 1963. He watched in sadness as Governor George C. Wallace tried unsuccessfully to block Malone and Hood from registering as students, and as National Guard troops later on escorted them to their classes. Just a few years later, he also watched each one of us arrive on campus to desegregate the law school. With tears streaming down his face, he took my hand and would not let it go. Then, he asked me for one favor as his grip tightened on my hand and he looked me squarely in the eyes. “ Please do not forget about us ," was his request. The “ us ” he was referring to were all of the Blacks who paved the way for our attendance as law students – all of the janitors and maids, all of the ditch-diggers and laborers, all of the lunchroom workers and housekeepers, all of the civil rights marchers who had been beaten and killed, all of the teachers who had taught us the basics of formal education, and all of “invisible” Black men and women who built this great nation and were never recognized for their personal sacrifices and professional contributions. The man who sent his own children to college at Tuskegee and Stillman on a janitor’s salary and who personally delivered me to “freedom” after my three years of pure hell at the law school, was asking me to remember the suffering, sacrifices, and positive contributions of all of the Black men and women who made this day possible for me. I looked into Mr. Rhodes’s eyes and squeezed his hand as I replied with tears in my eyes, “ I will never forget you or them ." When he released my hand, a sudden calmness came over Mr. Rhodes that I had never seen before. He knew that the message he was sending had been received; that his sacrifices and contributions had paid off; that his life’s work had real meaning; and that his legacy would live on through me and the other Black law students who embraced the love and knowledge he gave us and used it as our “ bridge over troubled waters ." As I began a 46-year legal career that would, in time, be marked by numerous landmark civil rights cases and four unbroken national records in American jurisprudence, I always knew that a piece of Mr. Rhodes was living within me. My name was on the law degree, the law license, and the multitude of cases that would reshape Alabama’s educational, political, economic, judicial, and healthcare landscape for decades, but Mr. Rhodes’s fighting spirit was with me every step of the way. I never forgot Mr. Rhodes and the multitude of courageous Black leaders and footsoldiers who empowered me to fight for an improved quality of life for our people. [Author's Note: Mr. Ramus Rhodes is discussed at length in this hyperlinked video of my law school desegregation experience at the University of Alabama.]

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on May 9, 2025 U.S. Courthouse, Birmingham, Alabama An Editorial Opinion   In a well-documented and masterfully written 571-page opinion, dated May 8, 2025, a three-judge federal court in Birmingham, Alabama unanimously affirmed what Black voters in Alabama have known since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 -- the state of Alabama intentionally discriminates against its Black voters on the basis of their race and for the purpose of diluting their votes in congressional elections. The judicial panel consisted of two Alabama-based district court judges appointed by President Donald Trump and one Florida-based appellate court judge appointed by former President Ronald Reagan (for his district court judgeship) and former President Bill Clinton (for his appellate court judgeship).   Click here to read the Court’s full opinion .   The Court issued a permanent injunction in the litigation that eventually resulted in the creation of two "opportunity districts" for Black voters to elect candidates of their choice in the state’s 2024 congressional races.  On June 8, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court in Allen v. Milligan affirmed the three-judge court's issuance of a preliminary injunction. For 60 years, the state of Alabama, which has a 26% Black population, had only one Black House member in its nine-person congressional delegation of two Senators and seven House members. Last November, two Black candidates were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives under a court-ordered remedial congressional redistricting plan. The Three-Judge Court's Key Findings of Fact   Ignoring the mindless wave of “anti-DEI” rhetoric spewing from the White House and "Red State" capitals, the Court used an extensive trial record of (a) 2,600 pages of transcripts, (b) live testimony from 23 witnesses (including 13 experts), (c) reports and rebuttal expert reports, (d) written testimony from 28 additional witnesses (from depositions in the case and live testimony in the state Senate redistricting trial that occurred before U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco in November 2024, (e) 39 pages of stipulated facts, and (f) more than 790 putative exhibits to make the following key findings of fact regarding the state of Alabama’s intentional, purposeful, racial discrimination against its Black voters:   “[U]nder all the circumstances in Alabama today, Black Alabamians have less opportunity than other Alabamians to elect representatives of their choice.” “[W]e cannot understand the 2023 [Congressional Redistricting] Plan as anything other than an intentional effort to dilute Black Alabamians’ voting strength and evade the unambiguous requirements of [earlier] court orders standing in the way.” “This record thus leaves us in no doubt that the purpose of the design of the 2023 Plan [passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey after the Supreme Court ruling in Allen v. Milligan] was to crack Black voters across congressional districts in a manner that makes it impossible to create two districts in which they have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice, and thereby intentionally perpetuate the discriminatory effects of the [unlawful] 2021 Plan.” “This is not the first time the Alabama Legislature has purposefully refused to satisfy a federal court order about redistricting even after the Supreme Court affirmed that order. . . .We hope it will be the last time.” “We do not diminish the argument that race-based redistricting under Section Two cannot last forever. But it seems painfully obvious to us that the State’s decision to purposefully dilute the votes of Black Alabamians, particularly after exhausting its appellate rights for a preliminary injunction entered under Section Two, flies in the face of its position that Section Two has outlived the purpose Congress intended.” “[W]e do not diminish the substantial improvements Alabama has made in its official treatment of Black Alabamians in recent decades.  Yet we cannot reconcile the State’s intentional decision to discriminate in drawing its congressional districts with its position that Alabama has finally closed out its repugnant history of official discrimination involving voting rights.” “The 2020 redistricting cycle in Alabama — the first cycle in 50 years that Alabama has been free of the strictures of federal preclearance — did not have to turn out this way. We wish it had not, but we have eyes to see the veritable mountain of evidence that it did.” “The Legislature knew what federal law required and purposefully refused to provide it, in a strategic attempt to checkmate the [preliminary injunction] that ordered it.” “And it would be unthinkable for us to hold that a state legislature that purposefully took calculated steps to make a court-required remedy impossible to provide, for the purpose of entrenching minority vote dilution, acted in good faith.” “[W]e observe that although the success of the Milligan Plaintiffs’ claim of intentional discrimination is unusual, we also do not regard it as a particularly close call.”   Despite a mountain of evidence of racial discrimination against Black voters in Alabama, the Trump White House and Department of Justice have failed to issue press statements about any plan they have to punish those state officials who conceived, orchestrated, and implemented a blatant, purposeful, and intentional scheme of racial discrimination against Black voters in federal elections, in violation of their rights under Section Two of the Voting Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection guarantee.   Considering the racial polarization in America today, it is important for Americans of interracial goodwill to recognize one key fact of life from this litigation -- with the exception of a handful of cases during the last 60 years, Blacks are the ones who have been the adjudicated "victims" of non-stop, hurtful, purposeful racial discrimination in Alabama in the thousands of civil rights cases litigated in the state since the Civil War ended in 1865. Finally, since the 1950s, numerous federal courts have found that the state of Alabama discriminates against its Black citizens in every aspect of life, from the “ cradle to the grave. ”