By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on July 17, 2019 Kyle Whitmire hates the Watkins family and what it has achieved in America. Whitmire is a reporter/columnist for AL.com and The Birmingham News who suffers from a huge journalist credibility problem. He’s also a closet bigot. The Birmingham News has provided statewide PR coverage for the Department of Justice in the criminal case against my son, Donald Watkins, Jr. and me. Thanks to the Internet, this coverage is also global. Kyle Whitmire has been tasked with portraying Donald, Jr. and me in the most negative light possible. In law, they call this activity “poisoning the well.” It is well-documented that the News has been a willing participant in J. Edgar Hoover’s infamous COINTELPRO program since 1956. Even when the formal COINTELPRO activities ceased in 1972, the News soldiered on with its job of race baiting and trashing black and white civil rights activists. Last year, a former prosecutor explained to me how they routinely used Birmingham News reporters Kyle Whitmire and John Archibald to demonize high-profile criminal defendants. In my case, Kyle Whitmire gleefully performed this vital COINTEPRO role. In fact, Whitmire knew about my indictment before I did. Today, Whitmire published an article that said I should have pled guilty in order to save Donald, Jr. from prosecution. Here is Whitmire’s exact quote: “This is the thing you won’t find in any court record, in any grand jury testimony or any deposition, but rest assured it’s true: Watkins Sr. could have made a deal. He could have gone to the U.S. Attorney’s office and made a plea for less time, and he could have negotiated an important condition — you don’t touch my son.” Donald, Jr. wasted no time in smacking down Whitmire, who knows nothing about the Watkins family or its five-generation legacy in America. Here is my son’s response: "This morning, Kyle Whitmire of al.com wrote an opinion column entitled 'Sins of the father: Donald Watkins failed no one more than his son.' In his column, he basically skewers my father for, among other things, not cutting a deal to keep me out of this trial. Let me set the record straight. Kyle could not be more wrong about Donald V. Watkins. Dad did not fail me; in fact, he is my hero. Here's why: 1. Our relationship and our involvement together in this case go far beyond loyalty. The sum of my Dad's good deeds--for his community, his family and especially for me--far outweigh any missteps he has made throughout his life. To fully understand and be able to speak intelligently or factually on my relationship with Dad, Kyle would have had to have grown up in the Watkins household and be a part of the Watkins family. But Kyle was not so lucky. 2. I do not blame my disposition in this case on my Dad's decision to not "cut a deal." I could've cut my own deal and exited this case relatively unscathed long ago. But there were two things I decided a while back would never happen: (1) I would not testify against my own father, or any of my family members for that matter, and (2) I will not let my father go through this ordeal on his own. Dad has done more for me over the years than any father I know has done for his child. He has been there for me in more ways than I can imagine or count. If I were dying and needed a heart transplant, I have no doubt that he would offer his to save me. He even would've gladly had his brother, my late uncle Dr. Levi Watkins Jr. perform the surgery. 3. Dad did not use me as a ”human shield”--instead, it was me who used him as cover under enemy fire. Last year, I made a conscious decision to fight these charges, alongside my father, with the expectation that we would both clear our names and walk out of that courthouse, together. And once I made that decision, I knew I would need to rely heavily on his extensive experience, expansive knowledge of the law and unmatched skillset while navigating a case of this magnitude. And despite the outcome as it currently stands, it is much easier for me to sleep at night knowing I did not sell my own father out, disown him, or leave him out in the cold when he needed me the most. You just don't do that. And we especially don't do that in this family. Even when people were in my ear and thoughts of going a different route tried to creep into my head, my own wife shut it all the way down, saying emphatically 'we all are going to stand with your dad, no matter what happens. Because he's not just your dad, he's family.' And yes, my father did leave the courthouse before my hearing. And I don't blame him for wanting to go eat. It had been a long day and he was starving, and frankly, I was starving too. But in all actuality, he didn’t stay for my hearing because earlier that morning--while he and I were working together at my house preparing for his hearing--we mutually decided to skip each other's hearing to avoid being an unnecessary distraction. That's why no one, including Kyle Whitmire, saw me inside during Dad's hearing either. Just like in our case, Kyle Whitmire's opinion column is yet another unfortunate example of the assumptions, a slanted narrative and the resulting judgments people make when they don't have, or simply ignore, all the relevant facts. When that happens, some people feel victimized while others are cast as villains. Throughout the trial, Kyle, in his articles, has been relentless in his casting of Donald V. Watkins as the villain of this incredible saga. And he is entitled to his opinion. But Kyle, you're going to have to find another victim for your movie, because it's not going to be me. I have personally witnessed too much goodwill spread throughout our family, the community and the world by this one man. And I stand with him, still. He's my dad and he's still my hero." Kyle Whitmire is not qualified or fit to comment on the father-son relationship between Donald, Jr. and me. Whitmire did not grow up in a family where the dad’s landmark civil rights work in Alabama produced threats of death and bodily harm to his children on a regular basis. No one has ever threatened to throw acid in the faces of Whitmire’s children. My children were often subjected to these frightening threats, and my former wife and I dutifully protected them from physical harm. Would Whitmire’s parents have done the same for him? Whitmire is a two-bit hustler. The last time I wrote about him, Whitmire was peddling an unauthorized biography about my life. Apparently, Whitmire’s life is not worthy of a book deal. Now, I understand why. Finally, I am extremely proud of Donald V. Watkins, Jr. He is a great man, a wonderful father to his daughter Demi, and a devoted husband to Chay Watkins. I will love him, always and forever. No person or force on earth can destroy our father-son bond. PHOTO: Donald V. Watkins, Sr. (left), and Donald V. Watkins, Jr., in front of their Montgomery, Alabama home during Donald, Jr.’s teenage years.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on May 28, 2019 On May 29, 1966, The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee) published an article announcing the acceptance of the “first Negro ever accepted by Vanderbilt University’s school of medicine.” His name was Levi Watkins, Jr. He was my brother. This is his incredible story. In 1962, Levi was the co-valedictorian of his class at Alabama State Laboratory High School (an honor he shared with his best friend for life, Dr. Norman W. Walton, III, a distinguished dermatologist). In 1966, Levi graduated from Tennessee State University with a 3.7 GPA on a 4.0 grading system. He was also the student government president at TSU. An April 1, 1966 letter from Dr. Randolph Batson, director of medical affairs, to Dr. F. Tremaine Billings, dean of the medical school, described Levi this way: “I think we will not have a better opportunity to get a better qualified Negro student in a long time." When publicly announcing Levi’s acceptance, Vanderbilt stressed that the university accepted students “purely on qualifications.” Even though Levi was accepted at other prestigious medical schools around the nation, he was denied admission to The University of Alabama at Birmingham's medical school in 1966. Levi’s experience at Vanderbilt was challenging. While he mastered the academic course of study fairly quickly, Levi caught pure hell from fellow students who resented his presence at the medical school. Levi’s worst experience came when he exited his dormitory one day, and a fellow student emptied a full can of garbage on him from a second-floor window. Levi returned to his room, quickly cleaned himself up, and hurried to class. Nothing these students did to Levi broke his spirit or distracted him from graduating with honors. After graduation, Levi began his medical residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. There, he became chief resident of cardiac surgery, acting as the first African American chief resident at the university. Levi eventually became a world-famous heart surgeon and associate dean at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Levi left Johns Hopkins in 1973 for Harvard University where he researched the use of angiotensin blockers in cases of congestive heart failure. Angiotensin blockers were created in order to avoid the side effects of ACE inhibitors, which were previously the drug of choice for lowering blood pressure and treating congestive heart failure. Levi’s research work at Harvard contributed to the safety and efficiency of the drug. Levi returned to Johns Hopkins in 1975 to continue the pioneering medical research on the implantable defibrillator that had been started by Drs. Michel Mirowski, Morton Mower, and William Staewen. In February 1980, Levi implanted the first defibrillator at a time when many white Johns Hopkins University Hospital cardiac patients did not want a black heart surgeon, who had been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine (twice), to perform life-saving surgery on them. Levi overlooked their bigotry, loved them as human beings, and saved their lives anyway. In 1993, my 82-year-old father, Dr. Levi Watkins Sr., had a stroke and required vascular surgery. My siblings and I requested that Levi perform the surgery, as we knew he was the best cardiac surgeon in America. Levi prayed before the surgery, did his job, and performed successful surgery on my dad. He promised us an extra year of life for our father and he delivered on that promise. Today, more than 3 million people worldwide are walking around with implantable defibrillators that were developed by the pioneering medical research of Drs. Michel Mirowski, Morton Mower, William Staewen, and Levi Watkins, Jr. The device, which detects arrhythmia in the heart and emits an electric charge to correct it, prevents sudden death from an irregular heartbeat. In 1982, Levi personally recruited a young, gifted black Alabama native named Selwyn M. Vickers to Johns Hopkins as a medical student. Levi mentored Vickers daily on the rigors of medical school and life. Levi’s long and close friendship and mentorship with Vickers paid off when, in 2013, Dr. Vickers was selected as the first African-American dean of The University of Alabama at Birmingham school of medicine, the very school that refused to admit Levi as a medical student in 1966 because of his race. On April 8, 1993, PBS’ “New Explorers” series aired a documentary on Levi’s life and his innovative medical research. Titled, “A Dream Fulfilled,” the documentary chronicled the intersection of Levi’s civil rights advocacy with his experiences as a pioneer in medical research. Levi’s mantra in life was, “Loves sees no color.” Levi died on April 11, 2015. He was 70-years-old. He embodied a six-generation Watkins family tradition – standing up for what is right, even when it is unpopular to do so. The Watkins family is proud of "UV Med School's 1st Negro." He lives on in every patient who has an implantable defibrillator keeping him/her alive. PHOTO: May 29, 1966 article in The Tennessean titled, "VU Med School Gets 1st Negro."

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on May 10, 2019 Lillian Bernice Varnado Watkins, the matriarch of the Watkins Family, was the epitome of motherhood, love for humanity, respect for mankind, dignity, and the acceptance of personal responsibility for one's actions. She and my father, Levi Watkins, Sr., were my real-life heroes. Together, they formed the yardstick by which I have measured the character and class of everyone I have met in life. I am the fifth of six Watkins children. Lillian and Levi instilled in each of their children a burning desire to elevate humanity and make a positive difference in the world. They taught us to believe in each other and in the triumph of the human spirit. To them, unconditional love for mankind was the universal food of life, and all things were possible through God’s grace. Lillian was the granddaughter of a beautiful “mulatto” girl in Mississippi named Olivia Williamson, who was born on April 20, 1847. Olivia met and fell in love with William Carmichael, who was born on December 5, 1838. William was one of five sons of Dougald Carmichael and his wife Katheryn. The Carmichaels, who were white, migrated from Scotland to America in the early 1800s. Olivia and William married in Crawford Station, Mississippi, on March 25, 1865 – about two weeks before General Robert E. Lee surrendered his 28,000 confederate troops to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox. This young interracial couple began a family of twelve children. One of these children was Lillian’s mother, Oda Etta Carmichael, who was born on January 12, 1890. As a young adult, Etta met an astonishing young minister named Willie L. Varnado, whom she married on February 21, 1912. Etta became a mother to his young daughter (Pearl), who was born during Willie Varnado’s marriage to his first wife. Etta and Willie also became the parents of four children of their own. One of those children was my mother Lillian, who was born on March 13, 1917. Lillian’s childhood years were spent in Canton with her siblings. Later, the family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where Reverend Varnado secured a bigger and more prestigious ministry. It was there that Lillian and her siblings finished high school at the laboratory school associated with Jackson State College. Lillian and her siblings went on to receive their college educations at either Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee, or Jackson State College in Jackson, Mississippi. All five of the Varnado children enjoyed highly successful careers in education, government, and business. All of them cherished and practiced the highest moral, ethical and professional standards, which they passed down to their children. In 1939, Lillian met and fell in love with Levi Watkins, Sr., while teaching at Burt High School in Clarksville, Tennessee. Levi was also a teacher at the high school. The couple married in 1940 and had six children. Levi and Lillian moved to Parsons, Kansas, where Levi became the principal of Douglas Junior High School for “colored” students and Lillian went about the business of raising the Watkins children. All of their children, except for my younger brother James, were born in Parsons. In 1949, Levi and Lillian moved our family to Montgomery, Alabama, where Levi took a job as the administrative assistant to the president at Alabama State College for Negroes (ASC). Lillian worked hard to make our tiny home a warm and pleasant place to live. Our family struggled financially, but thrived in other ways as Lillian molded her six children on the path to becoming successful adults. She learned quickly how to stretch a dollar, create delicious inexpensive meals, make our clothes, and teach us from second-hand books. In 1954, Levi and Lillian moved our family to Memphis, Tennessee, where Levi became the founder and president of S.A. Owen Junior College. Through much sacrifice and perseverance by Levi, Lillian and their children, Levi able to get this start-up junior college accredited in four years. He was also able to quietly assemble a racially integrated faculty and staff for the college’s all-black student body in a city where racial segregation was strictly enforced. In 1959, Levi and Lillian moved our family back to Montgomery where Levi worked first as a veteran affairs administrator and later as the business manager at ASC. The family lived in a small three-bedroom home on Faculty Circle. Lillian was once again determined to make this home comfortable and life as easy as possible for her husband and children. When the longtime president of ASC fell ill, Levi was offered the permanent position and became the next ASC president in 1962. He served as president for 19 years. Again, Levi took an unaccredited and neglected college for “Negroes” to a fully accredited status in record time. Next, he elevated ASC from a small segregated teachers college to the major, racially integrated, to the doctoral degree granting university known today as Alabama State University (ASU). The ASU years were very difficult for Lillian and Levi. There was professional jealous and hatred from fellow ASU colleagues, a full-blown civil rights movement in Montgomery, student unrest on campus, friendships lost, life-threatening situations, and the never-ending battle for equitable funding dollars for ASU. Lillian gave Levi all of her love and strength, while at the same time quietly raising six children. Her faith and belief in God carried the family through these dark and difficult days. Lillian was Levi’s rock, his sounding board, a shoulder upon which to lean, and he loved her so. For his entire presidency, Lillian was solidly behind Levi, quietly being his biggest cheerleader. As was the case with Kathryn and Dougald Carmichael, Olivia and William Carmichael, and Etta and Willie Varnado, Lillian and Levi Watkins stressed educational excellence and leadership with courage as core family values. Lillian and Levi sent all six of their children to college and saw each of them earn postgraduate degrees. Four of the six children earned terminal degrees in their respective fields of study. My oldest sister Marie has a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California at Berkley. Her pioneering mathematical algorithms and inventions for Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies paved the way for the modern era of telecommunications and the electronic transmission of data around the world. My sister Pearl, who died in 2009, became a nationally known concert pianist and popular music teacher. My brother Levi, Jr., who died in 2015, became a world-renowned heart surgeon whose implantable cardioverter defibrillator keeps more than 3 million hearts worldwide beating in a regular rhythm. My sister Doristine became a highly successful educator and public school principal. My brother James became a well-respected surgeon/wound care physician in Charlotte. I became a lawyer, banker, entrepreneur, and investigative journalist. On this Mother’s Day, my surviving siblings and I have chosen to pay a tribute the family history and legacy of Lillian and Levi Watkins. Both of them are in Heaven now. We salute them on this special occasion for Lillian. God could not have given us greater parents. What Lillian and Levi accomplished in their lifetime with so few resources and so many odds stacked against them was simply amazing. As their surviving children, we did not realize the magnitude of their personal history and legacy until we looked back at their lives after Lillian departed for Heaven in 2013. All of it was nothing short of a miracle. Throughout the course of life, one document has guided us on our journey. It means more to us than anything else in our possession. It is titled “Certificate of Birth” and it lists Lillian and Levi Watkins as our parents. There are only six of these certificates in the world and I hold one of them. No matter where I go or what I do in life, I will always be Lillian and Levi Watkins’ ambassador to the larger world, and I will always strive to represent them well. PHOTO: My mother, the late Lillian Bernice Varnado Watkins.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on March 16, 2019 My federal court trial on ten counts of conspiracy, bank fraud, and wire fraud charges commenced on February 13, 2019 and ended on March 8, 2019 when a jury convicted me on all counts. The same jury also convicted my son, Donald, Jr., of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud. Our sentencing is scheduled for July 16, 2019. While I was on trial, I did not write or publish any articles about the developments in the courtroom. The media organization that provided the principal coverage of my trial on a daily basis was AL.com, my media competitor in Birmingham and real-world nemesis. In the months leading up to my trial, AL.com columnists and reporters did everything within their power to poison the well of public opinion against me. For example, columnist John Archibald and Reckon at AL.com Managing Editor John Hammontree fabricated a racist quotation and attributed it to me in two AL.com articles that were published after my indictment. This fake racist quotation was retracted only after I launched a six-week, unrelenting media campaign against AL.com to correct this blatant abuse of journalistic power. AL.com columnist Kyle Whitmire tweeted his spin on the trial testimony each day. Whitmire's coverage of my trial started a month after I published a January 16, 2019 article that was highly critical of his undisclosed conflict of interest in covering the trial of Joel Gilbert, a Balch & Bingham attorney, and David Roberson, a Drummond Company Vice President of Government Affairs, who were found guilty in Birmingham federal court last July on all charges involving the bribery of former Alabama State Representative Oliver Robinson. As a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (“SPJ”), I am well aware of the SPJ’s Code of Ethics for journalists. AL.com repeatedly failed to adhere to these ethical principles during its coverage of my trial. For all practical purposes, AL.com functions much like the state-run media organizations found in authoritarian countries. It is easy to understand how and why AL.com’s three newspapers in Alabama continue to fulfill the historical role they played during the infamous COINTELPRO era of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. AL.com’s biggest problem with me grows out of my role as one of three arbitrators who awarded a $20 million judgment against The Birmingham News on December 30, 2002 for defrauding Sherry Horn, Hugh Stewart, Kameron Hyde, Jesse Glass, and James and Teresa McLendon, all of whom were distributors of its newspapers under long-standing “dealer agreements.”  The News appealed this judgment to the Alabama Supreme Court, which reduced the amount to $16 million on June 11, 2004 but otherwise affirmed the arbitration panel’s finding that the News committed serial acts of fraud against these six distributors. The Birmingham News has privately, repeatedly, and often blamed me for this costly loss because I was the principal author of the 49-page arbitration panel ruling that was upheld by the Supreme Court. After losing in the Supreme Court, the News paid the $16 million court judgment won by the plaintiffs. The Birmingham News has never publicly acknowledged its fraudulent conduct, or its payment of the $16 million court judgment. Instead, the News publicly and maliciously trashed me every chance it got. Fast-forward to my criminal trial. While dripping with conflicts of interest that directly involved me, AL.com took the lead in covering my trial for Alabama’s mainstream media. Was this coverage fair, objective, and unbiased? Of course not. AL.com made an extraordinary effort to poison the well of public opinion against me. However, the lingering stench from the Birmingham News’ documented fraudulent conduct kept it from achieving complete success in this regard. My devoted and loyal block of 20,000 readers stayed the course with me throughout the trial, and remains intact today. They know who I am and fully understand my ordeal. Additionally, my ability to tell the full story of what really happened in this case is gradually emerging. For sure, my case has established two truisms: First, AL.com is too compromised by a lack of journalist integrity and too obligated to corporate advertisers to investigate, write, and publish hard news stories in a fair, objective, and balanced way. Second, AL.com is incapable of being anything other than a “media whore” for special interest groups and anonymous commenters who use this dying media platform to hurl venomous spitballs and mindless insults at the subjects of AL.com's tabloid-like “click-bait” articles. PHOTO: AL.com columnist Kyle Whitmire, a case study in undisclosed conflicts of interest.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on January 13, 2019; Updated at 2:30 p.m. EST Today, AL.com retracted and apologized for a racist quotation columnist/reporter John Archibald fabricated and attributed to me in a November 29, 2018 editorial he wrote and published. In the editorial, Archibald stated that my job as Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr.’s special counsel in 1991 was to "kick white people’s ass.” I never made this racist statement, on or off the record. Archibald, the 2018 Pulitzer Prize winner for Commentary, did not fact-check this statement before he published it. The “kick white people’s ass” statement was repeated in a December 25, 2018 article written by Reckon Managing Editor John Hammontree titled, “25 people to watch in 2019.” Like Archibald, Hammontree did not fact-check this statement. Archibald's fake racist quotation portrayed me in a false light to: (a) the white and biracial members of my family, (b) my business partners and associates around the world, (c) people of interracial goodwill in the United States and abroad who have contributed to my success in life, and (d) members of the general public. This quote also dishonored all that my family has worked for in America since the 1830s. The Retraction Here is the full text of AL.com’s statement of regret and retraction, as it appears in the Opinion section of today's print edition of The Birmingham News: “In an opinion column published on Nov. 29, 2018, columnist John Archibald wrote about the upcoming trial of Donald Watkins.  In that piece, Archibald quoted Watkins as saying in 1991 that his job was to 'kick white people’s ass.'  Archibald based the quotation on his memory from interviewing Watkins for a story he wrote in 1991. That quotation was republished in a Dec. 25 Reckon article about 25 people to watch in 2019.  Watkins contacted AL.com after the column and article were published and said he did not make the statement that was attributed to him.  We have reviewed Archibald’s 1991 story and it does not contain this quote from Watkins.   We regret our publication attributing this quotation to Watkins and retract it.” In exchange for issuing the retraction in the News and on AL.com, I agreed to release all defamation claims I had against AL.com, The Birmingham News, and their affiliated entities relating to the two articles.  The "retraction" on AL.com was posted as an "update"at the beginning of Archibald's November 29th article. For me, this legal fight was never about money; it was all about honor, integrity in journalism, and protecting my family’s good name. Archibald Defamed Me Twice in Two Years The November article was the second time John Archibald has defamed me in two years. The first time occurred on December 9, 2016 when Archibald published an article reviving and recycling decades-old allegations that I engaged in public corruption activities while serving as Mayor Arrington’s special counsel in the early 1990s. Birmingham contractor Chris Woods supposedly made these baseless allegations while running against Arrington for mayor in 1995. Archibald’s revived allegations of corruption sprinted across town like a “lie with legs” running in an Olympic track event. Even though Woods had publicly recanted and retracted these allegations, orally and in writing, on multiple occasions since 1995, Archibald resurrected them one more time in his article. On December 11, 2016, I wrote and published a rebuttal article titled, “Archibald’s Drive-By Character Assassination.” After this article was published, Archibald came onto my Facebook page and apologized for defaming me. He did not apologize on his AL.com editorial page where the defamation occurred. I quickly accepted Archibald’s apology and moved on. Archibald Has Gone Out of His Way to Paint Me as a “Crook” and “Racist” For nearly three decades, John Archibald and some of his colleagues at The Birmingham News have gone out of their way to paint me as a “crook” and “racist” who does not like white people. These portrayals are patently false. They also feed the negative racial stereotypes held by many of the News’ anonymous commenters towards me. Furthermore, The Birmingham News has never reported that, while serving as Mayor Arrington’s special counsel, I investigated and stopped: (a) the theft of drug informant money by Birmingham narcotics officers, (b) the theft of cash from the City’s Parole and Probation Office, (c) the theft of property from the police department’s property room, and (d) the theft of cash from various Boutwell Auditorium financial accounts. At the time, my aggressive anti-corruption activities targeted all wrongdoers, regardless of their race. Likewise, The Birmingham News has never run a story about my voluntarily appearance before a Detroit federal grand jury in 2008 to report “pay-to-play” demands made to me by top public officials inside Detroit City Hall. I repeatedly rejected these demands and reported them to federal law enforcement officials. After my testimony was given, a special public corruption grand jury was convened in Detroit and more than 35 local public officials in the metro-Detroit area were charged, tried, convicted or pleaded guilty, and jailed. Included among this group was Ron Zajac, the former general counsel of the Detroit Pension Funds. Additionally, The Birmingham News has never reported anything about my spotless 12-year record of compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) that governs the conduct of American companies operating in foreign countries. This is a remarkable feat for any American company that works in over 40 international markets. In contrast, Walmart has been under a six-year federal investigation concerning allegations that the global retailer bribed government officials in Mexico, India and China over the course of a decade to fast-track store openings. Last year, Walmart set aside $300 million to resolve the bribery claims in its FCPA case. Epilogue This morning, AL.com retracted the “racist” comment John Archibald attributed to me in November and apologized for its publication. This was the right thing to do, even though the retraction was not prominently placed in The Birmingham News (as required by our agreement). I take extreme pride in the Watkins family’s good name. It has been unblemished for five generations. Additionally, the black, white, and biracial members of the Watkins family have been “Bridge Builders” in America since the 1830s. They did not deserve to be dishonored by John Archibald. We are not “crooks” or “racists.” We give to society, not take from it. For example, more than 3 million people worldwide are walking around today with implantable defibrillators that were developed by the pioneering medical research of Drs. Michel Mirowski, Morton Mower, William Staewen, and Levi Watkins, Jr. The device, which detects arrhythmia in the heart and emits an electric charge to correct it, prevents sudden death from an irregular heartbeat. Levi, who is my deceased brother, implanted the first defibrillator in February 1980 at a time when many white Johns Hopkins University Hospital cardiac patients did not want a black heart surgeon, who had been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine, to perform life-saving surgery on them. Levi overlooked their bigotry, loved them as human beings, and saved their lives anyway. Yet, Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr., is among the innocent Watkins family members John Archibald gratuitously disparaged with the publication of his fabricated "kick white people's ass" racist comment. Finally, every member of the Watkins family has been taught that a man/woman who will NOT fight for himself/herself, will NOT fight for others. It is a longstanding family tradition that Watkins family members will always: (a) stand up for deserving men and women who are not able to stand up for themselves and do so without fear or favor, (b) serve the cause of justice without any expectation of reward or recognition, and (c) aggressively defend the Watkins name against all false accusations, without exception. Honor, integrity, and principled stands on public policy issues that promote interracial goodwill are core Watkins family values that we cherish and protect. PHOTO: Olivia and William Carmichael with their children. Olivia, seated second from the left, was a “mulatto” or biracial woman. William, seated second from the right, was white. Olivia and William were married in Crawford Station, Mississippi, on March 25, 1865. My maternal grandmother is the little girl standing next to her mother Olivia. We have never allowed any person or entity to disparage the Carmichael/Varnado/Watkins family name or stain its five-generation legacy of bridge-building in America without one hell of a fight.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on January 3, 2019 From September 25 through October 9, 2002, I headed a three-person arbitration panel in Birmingham, Alabama consisting of attorneys Milton Davis, Mark White, and myself. The panel convened to hear the case of Sherry Horn, Hugh Stewart, Kameron Hyde, Jesse Glass, and James and Teresa McLendon against The Birmingham News Company. These plaintiffs are individuals who at one time had “dealer agreements” with the News to sell and distribute its newspapers to the public. The plaintiffs claimed the News wrongfully and illegally terminated those agreements. After hearing testimony from a host of witnesses, reviewing numerous depositions, and receiving more than 400 exhibits into evidence, the arbitration panel issued a 49-page decision on December 30, 2002 finding that: (a) the plaintiffs' dealerships were franchises that the News had wrongfully and intentionally terminated and converted to the media organization's own economic benefit, (b) the News breached its fiduciary duties to the plaintiffs as franchisees, (c) the News defrauded the plaintiffs by intentionally and falsely representing to them that their dealership franchises would be renewed so long as they performed their work satisfactorily. The panel awarded the plaintiffs $20 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Arbitrators Milton Davis and I wrote the majority opinion, while Arbitrator Mark White wrote a separate opinion, concurring in part and dissenting in part from the $20 million award. The Birmingham News appealed the panel’s decision to the Alabama Supreme Court. On June 11, 2004, the Court issued a ruling which reduced the $20 million award to $16 million. After adjusting the aggregate amount of the award, the Court affirmed the panel’s findings of fact and reduced awards to each plaintiff. More importantly, the Supreme Court affirmed all of the compensatory and punitive damages awarded against the News under the fraud claims. This was a stunning defeat for The Birmingham News. It was also embarrassing for the state's largest newspaper because the Supreme Court affirmed the panel’s finding that the News committed multiple acts of fraud against the plaintiffs. The News privately blamed me for this Court loss because I authored the 49-page panel ruling that was upheld by the Supreme Court (with only a $4 million downward adjustment due to the Court’s removal of one element of damages). After losing in the Supreme Court, the News paid off the court judgment won by the plaintiffs. The Birmingham News never published an article about its fraudulent conduct or the payment of the $16 million court judgment in this case. Instead, the News publicly and maliciously started bashing me every chance it got. This event constitutes The Birmingham News’ $16 million undisclosed conflict of interest with me. It has never gone away. Fast-forward to November 29 and December 25, 2018. On these dates, The Birmingham News, operating under the trade name AL.com, published a fabricated racist comment that the media organization attributed to me in a 1991 interview. The News reported as a statement of fact that my job as an attorney for a former Birmingham mayor was to “kick white people’s ass.” The comment originated with reporter/columnist John Archibald and was first published in his November 29, 2018 article. Reckon at AL.com Managing Editor John Hammontree republished this fake racist comment in his Christmas Day article. Of course, I never made the racist comment Archibald and Hammontree attributed to me. Archibald readily admits he cannot prove I made this racist comment. In an article published on New Year’s Eve, Archibald said, “I sure hope he did say it, because I put those words in his mouth and if they’re wrong I did him a profound disservice.” Archibald’s retreat from attributing the “kick white people’s ass” comment to me as a statement of fact, to “I can’t prove [Watkins] said it,” to “I sure hope he did say it,” is damning. His attempt to paint me as a racist who hates white people has collapsed. Yet, Archibald has steadfastly refused to retract this fake quote or publicly apologize to me for publishing it. All of this brings me back to Sherry Horn, Hugh Stewart, Kameron Hyde, Jesse Glass, and James and Teresa McLendon. The Birmingham News Company defrauded each one of these plaintiffs. My diligent work as an arbitrator brought justice in their case. All of these plaintiffs were strangers to me. The News’ fraudulent conduct in illegally terminating their distributorships caused each plaintiff tremendous mental anguish and financial hardship. These plaintiffs happen to be white and I literally saved each one from a grave injustice in his/her personal and business life. The culprit that “kicked white people's ass” in this case was The Birmingham News, not me. PHOTO: The Birmingham News logo.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on March 9, 2019 Yesterday, a federal jury in Birmingham, Alabama convicted me on all ten counts of conspiracy, bank fraud, and wire fraud charges following a three-week trial. The jury also convicted my son, Donald, Jr., of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud. Our sentencing is scheduled for July 16, 2019. Throughout this ordeal, we have felt a tremendous outpouring of love and respect from our friends and supporters. For this, we are deeply appreciative. As a lawyer who has tried cases for 46 years, I have the highest regard for the jury system in civil and criminal trials. However, I disagree with the jury’s verdict in this case. One day I will be able to tell the full story of what really happened in this case, but this is not the time or place to do it. This ordeal provided me with a meaningful opportunity to learn who my true friends are. It also exposed the host of “sunshine” friends who have occupied so much of my time and energy in life. As a result, I no longer have to waste time nurturing my “sunshine” friendships. Two of my true friends saw me under fire in this trial and came to my aid by serving as defense witnesses. They are Ralph Malone, a member of the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame for Engineering and a vice president at Masada Resource Group, LLC, and David Minkin, an Atlanta “Super Lawyer” who serves as Masada’s General Counsel. I shall never forget their loyalty, bravery, and courage when it counted the most. My former wife, DeAndra Watkins, did the same thing. Her love for my son and me was tested during this ordeal and it was unwavering. She, too, was a defense witness. Thank you, DeAndra! You have so much class and character. I also want to publicly thank my siblings, children, extended family members, girlfriend, and thousands of devoted supporters for helping us get through this ordeal with your daily acts of kindness and constant prayers. You gave us the strength to endure a very difficult experience. We are strong because of you. We feel your love. You know the true portrait of who we are and what we stand for. My spirit is not broken. I have always known that the privilege of standing up for those who have no voice in society comes with a heavy price. I have always been willing to pay this price. Sometimes this price is a physical assassination, as was the case with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sometimes it is character assassination and imprisonment as a means to silence our voices. In my case, the cost of my advocacy for transparency and accountability in government and respect for humanity has been character assassination and may include imprisonment. My visit in 2012 to the small prison cell on Robben Island in South Africa where Nelson Mandela spent 27 years of his life in isolation has prepared me psychologically for this moment. My haters and adversaries have labeled me as a “con artist” and “criminal.” Those who have been uplifted during my 46-year legal career have labeled me as a “freedom fighter.” I label myself as a man who truly cares about the “least of these.” Finally, “truth” is a destination. The journey towards truth in my criminal case has begun. It will be a long and difficult one, but we will eventually reach our destination. Stay strong and remain committed to the cause of truth and justice. My son and I will be okay. God has never left our side. PHOTO: Donald V. Watkins, Sr. and Donald V. Watkins, Jr.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on December 31, 2018 In 2003, John Archibald, a Birmingham News reporter, declared personal bankruptcy. The bankruptcy petition required Archibald’s signature in several places. Archibald lied about his bankruptcy filing in 2011after an anonymous commenter on one of his articles bashing Jefferson County, Alabama’s bankruptcy filing outed Archibald on his personal bankruptcy. Archibald excused this lie by blaming the bankruptcy filing on his wife, who did not keep him in the loop. On April 2, 2011, Archibald explained the situation this way: “Let me deal with my own issues, first. Because I have been an idiot. I've been intentionally detached from my family's finances for a long time. I left that chore to others and am guilty, frankly, of not wanting to know. There's no excuse for that.” Archibald further stated: “These anonymous people, these people who want me fired, dug deep into my past and set up a website to post their findings. They've gone door to door in mostly black Birmingham neighborhoods, leaving fliers that portray me as a liar and racist.” I stood with John Archibald publicly because his positive contributions to Alabama society far outweighed this personal blunder and he was a friend who was under attack for his journalism. Then, in December of 2016, Archibald published an article that revived and recycled decades-old allegations that I engaged in public corruption activities while serving as Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington’s special counsel in the early 1990s. Birmingham contractor Chris Woods reportedly made these allegations while running against Arrington for Mayor in 1995. Woods recanted and retracted these allegations, orally and in writing, on multiple occasions. Yet, Archibald resurrected them again in his 2016 article. After I published a rebuttal article that chronicled my long and well-documented record of anti-public corruption initiatives, Archibald came on my Facebook page and wrote: “I did not intend to imply that you did wrong, Mr. Watkins. What was relevant was Mr. Woods' history of making similar allegations. I should have pointed out that nothing came of those claims. I took it for a given, and for that I apologize.” Archibald did not issue this apology on his AL.com media platform so that his “click bait” readers could see that he made a mistake and apologized for it. I forgave Archibald and moved on. Next, I watched John Archibald take my exclusive series of investigative reports about the secret love affair between Governor Robert Bentley and Rebekah Mason titled “Forbidden Love” and “Executive Betrayal” (which were published in September and October of 2015) and win a Pulitzer Prize with this copyrighted material, even though he became aware of Bentley's sex scandal when I did and refused to write about it until it was safe to do so six months later. Archibald simply repackaged my articles and took credit for them on national TV. In a secretly recorded phone call with Legislator Johnny Mack Morrow, Bentley gave me full credit for outing Rebekah and him. Using his powers as “Chief Magistrate of Alabama,” Bentley later asked various state and federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies to investigate me. They obliged him. I lost John Archibald as a friend on November 29, 2018 when he made up a fake quotation about “kicking white people’s ass” and attributed this quote to me in order to help prosecutors in a bogus federal wire and bank fraud case sway whites in the jury pool against me. There is no excuse for writing and publishing this lie. It constitutes a reckless disregard for the truth. Rather than reviewing his May 12, 1991 article where I talked about “kicking ass” to retrieve the exact quotation from 27 years ago and present it in the proper context, John Archibald simply relied on his faulty memory of the quote. His recollection proved to be incorrect and is not backed up by any reporter's notes taken at the time. The quotation at issue referred to an aggressive litigation style, which is specifically mentioned in Archibald's 1991 article. This “laser litigation” tactic was applied to all of my opponents across-the-board, whether black or white, and produced a stunning record of success in 73 cases during my career as an attorney for the City of Birmingham. Archibald changed my original "kick ass" quotation to “kicking white people’s ass,” which was not what I said. His fabricated quotation is racist and was never used by me, on or off the record. In “AL.com Love The COINTELPRO Lifestyle Too Much To Leave It,” I published the relevant excerpt from Archibald’s 1991 article to show the exact quotation and the proper context in which it was used. To this day, Archibald has not admitted fabricating this racist quotation, nor has he apologized for doing so. Like he did with the story about his bankruptcy filing, Archibald simply provided another lie and "Bullsh-t" excuse for his latest blunder. In essence, he is now saying the public cannot rely on the content of the article he wrote and published in 1991. No one can be my friend if he/she is not capable of telling the truth. Furthermore, I hold my fellow journalists to a higher standard for telling the truth because the public relies on what we report. This is why I research my facts before publishing them. Finally, my good name and character mean everything to me. I will never tolerate an attack on my good name or character by any person, media organization, or government agency. I will fight any and all smear campaigns and attempts to assassinate my character, using all lawful means necessary, until I have crushed the perpetrator. PHOTO: John Archibald. PHOTO: The original quotations at issue appear in this May 12, 1991 Birmingham News article.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on January 29, 2019 Brigadier General Royal Hatch was a retired Air Force officer. A native of Wellesley, Mass., General Hatch had a long and very distinguished Air Force career. In 1994, General Hatch served as Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr.’s liaison to the business community. This is where I first met him. At the time, I was serving as Mayor Arrington’s special counsel. One day General Hatch asked me to accompany him to a private meeting with Mr. Henry C. Goodrich, a Birmingham business icon. Goodrich, a native of Fayetteville, Tennessee, was chairman and chief executive officer of Inland Container Corporation headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., where he worked from 1968-1979.  He also was chairman and chief executive officer of Sonat, Inc., headquartered in Birmingham, where he worked from 1979-1985. During his career, Henry Goodrich was a director of 35 different companies, including nine New York Stock Exchange listed companies – Time, Inc., Ball Corporation, Stokely-Van Camp, Inland Steel, Cousins Properties, Protective Life Corporation, Indiana Bell and Indiana National Bank, as well as the companies of which he was an executive. It was well known in Alabama that Henry Goodrich, William Houston Blount (former CEO of Vulcan Materials), and Elton B. Stephens (founder of EBSCO Industries) were the titans of business in Birmingham during the 1980s and early 1990s. They were rich and powerful men. As a bridge-builder myself, I was excited to meet Henry Goodrich. I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to learn from a living legend in business and to establish an open dialogue about my legal work for the city. General Hatch picked me up from my office and we headed to Goodrich’s private suite of offices on Highland Avenue in a building that is literally next door to my office today. When General Hatch and I entered Goodrich’s office, I extended my hand to shake his. Goodrich did not shake my hand. At that moment, I knew this was not going to be the kind of meeting that I was expecting. Henry Goodrich’s refusal to shake my hand stunned and embarrassed General Hatch, but he did not say a word about it. Goodrich, of course, shook Hatch’s hand. Once we sat down, Goodrich started talking to me without looking at me. He informed me that “they” had chosen him to talk to me, without defining who was included in the term “they.” In a 30-minute uninterrupted and demeaning scolding, Henry Goodrich told me in brutally frank language that: (a) I was a troublemaker in Birmingham who was disturbing the business community’s “good relations with the colored community”, (b) I was responsible for Birmingham City Council hearings on discriminatory lending practices, or “redlining,” by area banks, (c) I was the force behind the City’s efforts to increase the volume of city contracts awarded to women and minorities for the procurement of goods and services, (d) I was leading Mayor Arrington astray with my legal work on achieving greater equality in employment opportunities within City Hall, (e) I was making unnecessary waves by suggesting that the City leverage its hundreds of millions of dollars in banking deposits as a tool for encouraging corporate reinvestment in the city’s underserved neighborhoods and communities, and (f) I needed to leave town, immediately. For the entire time Henry Goodrich was scolding me, I had to force myself to remain calm and respectful. I was unsure about the nature and scope of Mayor Arrington’s relationship with Goodrich, so I took the non-stop barrage of insults from him because I did not want to damage Arrington’s relationship with Goodrich. After Goodrich was finished scolding me, I responded to each one of his talking points in a civil and respectful tone. Naturally, I disagreed with his assessment of my work as Mayor Arrington’s special counsel. I thought my nine years of services (as of 1994) had (a) brought accountability and transparency to city government, (b) promoted equal employment opportunities within the executive ranks of city government, (c) made it possible for blacks and women to participate equitably in city contracts for goods and services, (d) sensitized local banks to the unfairness of “redlining” practices, and (e) helped Arrington to move Birmingham forward. I viewed myself as a partner-in-progress with the City and its business community. I even bragged about my solid personal and professional relationship with Emory Folmar, Montgomery’s ultra-conservative, white Republican mayor. None of this moved Henry Goodrich, who still would not look at me. He ended the meeting by telling me, “I see that talking to you has been a waste of my time. You are Arrington’s “Rasputin.” For students of history, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Tsar Nicholas II, the last monarch of Russia, and gained considerable influence in late imperial Russia. With this final insult, General Hatch and I left the meeting. On the drive back to my office, I was too angry and filled with hurt to engage General Hatch in any kind of conversation. I had never let anyone talk to me in that way. Mayor Arrington was out of the country when my meeting with Goodrich occurred. I told him about it upon his return to Birmingham. Arrington was not surprised by the substance or nasty tone of the scolding. In fact, Arrington showed me a handwritten letter from another prominent white business leader calling upon him to fire me. This person acted friendly to my face, but talked about me in very derogatory terms behind my back. After I read the letter, Arrington balled it up, throw the letter in his trash basket, and told me to focus on my work. Arrington and I made a pact that day. Going forward, I would be the gladiator who fought in the arena. He would serve in the role of a statesman and “peacemaker.” I did not have the intestinal fortitude to sit through another meeting like the one I had with Henry C. Goodrich, who I never saw again. Every time I look out my office window at the building next door, I think about Henry Goodrich and that awful meeting. Goodrich died on December 11, 2011 at the age of 91. General Hatch died on August 6, 2006. As for me, I am still speaking up for those who have no voice and fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. Everything has changed, but nothing has changed. The names of the individuals who oppose economic and social progress for all Americans are different today, but the fight is the same. PHOTO: Henry C. Goodrich, circa 1973.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on January 30, 2019 “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” is a DreamWorks animated movie that follows the adventures of a wild and rambunctious mustang stallion as he journeys through the untamed American frontier. Encountering man for the first time, Spirit defies being broken, even as he develops a remarkable friendship with a young Lakota brave. The courageous young stallion also finds love with a beautiful paint mare named Rain on his way to becoming one of the greatest unsung heroes of the Old West. The movie was released on May 24, 2002 and has made more than $122 million at the box-office. The featured song is, "Here I Am." My daughter Claudia was 7-years-old when Spirit hit the theaters. Claudia and I watched this movie dozens of times. I wanted her to fully understand that we live in a world where the free spirit of good people is often broken like the domesticated horses in the movie. I preached to Claudia how extremely important it was that she never allow anyone to break her free spirit. I repeated this message every time we watched Spirit. By the time Claudia was 12, I could tell she understood the importance of maintaining and enjoying her free spirit. I told Claudia to never change who she was so that people would like her. If she stayed true to herself, the right people would love her. I am proud to say that Claudia and her four brothers have an unbroken free spirit today, as do their mothers and father. This state of being makes the trip through life an enjoyable experience, even when it is raining and storming in our lives. Without rain, nothing grows. This is why we must learn to embrace the storms in our lives and navigate a course around or through them. Meanwhile, I highly recommend that my readers watch “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.” It will make a big difference in how you view your own life. PHOTO: Movie Poster for “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.”

By: Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on September 8, 2018 Lillian Bernice Varnado Watkins and her husband, Levi Watkins, Sr., brought me into the world 70 years ago today in Parsons, Kansas. My father was the principal of Parson's Douglas Junior High School for "colored" students in 1948. Many decades ago, my mother wrote this commentary about me (the fifth of her six children) in her family scrapbook: "To The Middle Child I've always loved you best because you drew a dumb spot in the family and it made you stronger for it. You cried less, had more patience, wore faded clothes, and never in your life did anything "first", but it only made you more special. You are the one we relaxed with and realized a dog could kiss you and you would not get sick. You could cross a street by yourself long before you were old enough to get married, and the world wouldn't come to an end if you went to bed with dirty feet. You were the child of our busy, ambitious years. Without you, we would never have survived the job changes, the houses we couldn't afford and the tedium and the routine that is marriage. You were the continuance." Over the course of my life, I discovered that Lillian Bernice Varnado Watkins was right about everything. This is why I have so much admiration and respect for my mother and the women of the world. PHOTO: Lillian Bernice Varnado Watkins with 18-month-old Donald, her fifth child and second son. PHOTO: Levi Watkins, Sr., with two-year-old Donald.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on August 18, 2018 America’s midterm elections will be held in November of this year. Many commentators think the elections will boil down to a referendum on Donald Trump and his pit bull style of presidential politics.  After nearly two years in office, the Trump presidency looks more like an endless series of bizarre Jerry Springer TV shows than an exercise in leadership we can trust and respect.  The constant name-calling, non-stop lying, utter display of gutter politics, unabated backstabbing among White House staffers, and early morning presidential twitter tantrums have left all Americans exhausted from drama fatigue. As a result of this drama fatigue, a lot of voters across the nation seem to be disengaging from the political process.  They think the outcome of the midterm elections will not favorably impact the quality of their lives, no matter who wins the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and the 34 Senate seats that are up for grabs.  They are sadly mistaken. Of course, I will be voting in the November midterm elections for the federal, state, and local candidates of my choice.  My African-American ancestors paid an unimaginable price in blood, beatings, and death to secure my right to vote in America.  To me, the right to vote is sacred. As an independent voter, I will be voting for the candidates whose core values are closest to mine.  I have written on many occasions that my personal value system was passed down from: (a) my paternal grandparents, Adam and Sallie Watkins; (b) my maternal grandparents, Reverend Willie Varnado and his wife Etta: (c) my parents, Levi and Lillian Watkins; (d) my siblings, Marie, Pearl, Levi, Jr., Doristine, and James; (e) and my family’s close friends and frequent overnight guests, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, and Mrs. Rosa Parks. I live by the Watkins family value system everyday, and I have passed it down to my five children. They are passing it down to my six grandchildren.  Hopefully, our family value system will be passed on to every successive generation in the Watkins family. Our core family values are these: 1. We believe in God. 2. We believe that all men and women are created equal. 3. We believe that we should live our lives in a way that sets a good example for others to follow. 4. We believe that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their ethnicity, age, sex, religion, nationality, or socio-economic station in life. 5. We believe that we should always honor our fathers and mothers, as well as the many sacrifices they have made for the benefit of our families and communities. 6. We believe that a great education is the most important building block for success in life because superior knowledge is the strongest form of power on the planet. 7. We believe in public service as a civic duty, and it should be given without any expectation of a financial reward or public recognition. 8. We believe in setting personal and professional goals and working hard every day toward reaching these goals. 9. We believe that all citizens are entitled to equal rights under the law, an equal opportunity to compete on a level playing field for a successful future, and equal government services that are rendered free of corruption. 10. We believe in truth, honesty, and ethics in government and life. 11. We believe that government service should be a sacrifice, not a pathway to personal enrichment. 12. We believe in making the American system of governance and the administration of justice work for everybody. 13. We believe in freedom of speech, without fear of retaliation or reprisals. 14. We believe in standing up for deserving individuals who are not in a position to stand up to government or private sector tyrants. 15. We believe in participatory democracy, as opposed to the oligarchies that are spreading across America. 16. We believe in superior American military might and using it to keep our nation safe from foreign enemies. 17. We believe that constructive criticism is the most sincere form of loyalty. 18. We believe in apologizing when we make errors in judgment or mistakes that hurt innocent people. 19. We believe in learning something positive from our setbacks in life. 20. We believe in standing up for what is right, even if we have to stand alone. My political independence cannot be bought, or bossed.  Those blacks who came to America in the hellholes of slave ships, who were denigrated, separated, and dehumanized during slavery, who were burned alive and lynched during the 100 years of Jim Crow, who were beaten, tortured and murdered by segregationists during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s, and who protected my life during the most dangerous years of my career as a civil rights lawyer in Alabama paid the price in full for my political independence. I will never surrender this independence to anyone at any time for any reason. I do not live on any political party’s plantation.  I left plantation politics in 2001, and never looked back.  I love the freedom of thought and expression that comes with being a political independent. I am not a political hustler. I do not take money from any political candidate, party, or political action committee. The views expressed in my library of online articles are my own, and not those of any candidate or party. My political heroes are Fannie Lou Hamer, Maggie Bozeman, and Julia Wilder.  I have yet to meet any politician or officeholder with the courage and dedication to participatory democracy that these women have exhibited. Yes, I will be voting in the midterm elections. I know all too well the "evil" that emerges from the dark shadows of complacency when we do not exercise our right to vote. PHOTO: Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) was an American voting and women's rights activist, community organizer, and a leader in the civil rights movement. She is a true American hero.