About The Savannah tribune. (Savannah, Ga.) 1973-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2024)
Vote in the Hay 21st Primary election! -tration Dead line for Primary flection is at https://securer VOTE in the on May 21st! Check y< s.ga.gov/$/ status! www.mvp.s0s.ga.g0v/s/ PRSRTSTD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Savannah, GA Permit No. 923 r v ) “Georgia’s Best Weekly” Che ^abannah Crtbune 1805 MLK Jr. Blvd. S»V n GA 3141S April 17, 2024 - April 23, 2024 Vol. 54 No. 16 Tel: 912-233-6128 * Fas: 911433-614* Disney On Ice Presents Frozen & Encanto The only place to see the Madrigal family live! Coming to Enmarket Arena from May 2nd-5th The Deadline Date Is April 22,2024 To Register To Vote In The May 21st Primary Election F or the first time, Disney On Ice invites families to step inside the mag ical adventures of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen, the #1 Animated feature of all time, and Disney Animation’s Encanto, the 2022 Academy Award®, BAFTA®, and Gold en Globe® Award winner for Best Animated Feature, as they come to life like never before. This adventure on ice transports fans into two of the most popular Disney films as audiences can sing-along to their favorite songs while em bracing world-class ice skat ing, aerial acrobatics and more when Disney On Ice presents Frozen & Encanto skates into Savannah playing from May 2-5, 2024 at Enmarket Arena, 620 Stiles Ave. Audiences will see Anna, Elsa, Mirabel, and the L-R: Frozen & Encanto Photos by Sallie Palmieri Rego (Feld Entertainment) Madrigal family live, as well the lovable snowman who likes as fan favorites Mickey Mouse, warm hugs and all tilings sum- Minnie Mouse, Donald, Goofy, mer. Astounding ice-skating and many more. transports families to Aren- Narrating the capti- delle to be a part of Anna’s ad- vating story of Frozen is Olaf, venture to find Elsa, whose icy powers unleashed an eternal winter. Kristoff and Sven take fans along as they encounter wintry conditions in a race to bring back summer. After a very Fro zen adventure, audiences will journey to a vibrant town in the mountains of Colombia where they will meet the Mad rigals, an extraordinary family who live in a magical casita in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. Mirabel tells the tale of her amazing family and her journey to save the casita, her enchanted fami ly home, alongside her sisters: Isabela, whose perfection ra diates with her ability to make plants grow and flowers bloom with every step, and Luisa, with the gift of super strength that she uses to help her village move buildings and reroute riv ers. Continued on Page 10 Georgia Historical Society Dedicates New Historical Marker Recognizing Complex Story of American Slavery & Freedom On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, the Georgia Histor ical Society (GHS) unveiled a new historical marker, “The Montmollin Building and Bry an School,” that recognizes an important site in the history of enslavement, emancipation, and African-American educa tion. The Montmollin Building is an antebellum commercial structure in Savannah used as a slave brokerage and later as the Bryan School, one of Georgia’s first legal Black schools. GHS dedicated the new marker in partnership with the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savan nah. “The story of the Montmollin Building and its many uses reflects the larger history of the American South in all its complexity,” said Dr. W. Todd Groce, Georgia His torical Society President and CEO. “Telling that story in a full and honest way gives us a better understanding of who we are as a nation, which in turn helps us to build a better future.” L-R: Reverend Thurmond Neill Tillman, Lillian Grant-Baptiste, Joseph A. Melder, Honorable Van R. Johnson II, Alderman Detric Leggett, Dr. W. Todd Groce, and Reverend Christopher J. Pittman Savannah was Geor gia’s largest slave trading cen ter and a hub for the regional domestic slave trade by the 1850s. Built around 1856, the Montmollin Building served as an office for John S. Mont mollin and Alexander Bryan, who held and sold enslaved Black people there for almost a decade. When the U.S. govern ment confiscated the Montmo llin Building during the Civil War, it provided the building to Savannah’s African-American community, which organized the Savannah Educational As sociation (SEA) to fund and establish schools. Opening in January 1865, Bryan School operated in the Montmollin Building and was one of SEA’s first schools. Continued on Page 10 Hungry Club Forum’s Voter Education and Information Presentation Supersedes Expectations The Board of Di rectors of the Hungry Club Forum of Savannah, Inc. (HCFS) “Harnessing the Pow er of Collaboration on the is sues of today and tomorrow,” has designated the Saturday April 6th as a prime example of representing what the or ganization’s mission and pur pose is. This forum brought together A-game presentations that generated robust dialogue among a diverse roundtable of Savannah Area residents. The popular, non-partisan breakfast forum was held at 9:30 AM, in the Multipurpose Room of the WBS YMCA, located at 1110 May Street. In anticipation of the Tuesday May 21, 2024 primary elections, the forum, co-sponsored by The Savan nah Tribune (TST), was on par with well-developed ideas and premises for community edu cation and empowerment when it comes to the U. S. democra- L-R: Roy L. Jackson, Board Member Khani B. Morgan, Shirley B. James, Diana Harvey Johnson, and Rev. C. J. Holliman cy and its system of electing are used. presentations on the qualifica- those who set the policies and Shirley B. James, tions of being a “Gatekeeper,” guidelines of governance, and publisher of The Savannah the dire consequences of voter are charged with appropriating Tribune and Rev. C. J. Holli- apathy, voter fatigue and disen- and watchdogging the ways in man, Pastor of St. Philip AME gagement. which the citizens’tax dollars Church, offered up dynamic Continued on Page 10 Check Your Voter Status: mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/ Applications For The Absentee Ballot Are Now Available! In Person At The Voter Registration Office: 1117 Eisenhower Dr., Ste E, Savannah, GA 31406; Call in the request: 912-790-1520; or Email voter@chathamcounty.org to request the application ONLINE REQUESTS at https://securemyabsenteeballot.sos.ga.gOv/s/ Georgia Legislature Rushed and Passed More Voter Bills That Obstruct The Voting Process By Shirley B. James, Publisher of The Savannah Tribune The Gold Dome AND BEYOND The League of Women Voters of Georgia Le.jij.'oiivr Perspective LWJU LEAGUE O' WOMEN VOTERS Looking at the Voter Laws passed on the last days of the 2024 Georgia Legisla tive Session, WITH NO OP PORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, it seems as if the Republican majority in the Legislature was determined to implement more obstructions to the voting process in Geor gia in the name of “Voter In tegrity.” Rather than trust the honesty and integrity of eligi ble, law-abiding Georgia vot ers coupled with the experience of voter election officials who, over the years, have proven their dedication and knowledge and their responsibility and ability to abide by all the laws, policies and procedures that were in place before the 2020 election cycle, it appears that our Republican majority have coined laws which validate misinformation, conspiracies and election denying theorists, rather than accept the factual statistics and judicial rulings about Georgia’s Elections and results in 2020. The new laws have placed more restrictions upon us as voters, but given more rights and protections to poll watches and those persons and organizations whose sole mission is to challenge the status of as many Black and Brown voters as possible in or der to have us purged from the voting lists. At the same time, these laws have added more tasks, undue burdens, and un reasonable time restraints to the required duties that voter registration/election officials and staff perform in order to report election results. Imple mentation of these new laws passed by the State Legisla ture becomes a mandate that is also a financial burden of each County in Georgia as well as to us as taxpayers because state funds are not allocated to un derwrite the additional costs involved. Please see below summaries and explanations of these laws and think about how they will impact us as Voters as well as our election directors and staff, poll Managers and poll workers - persons who diligently and courageously perform their prescribed duties in preparation for, and during every election cycle. The summaries are quotes taken from information provided by the following: Fair Fight Ac tion, “2024 Session Overview - Kemp-Jones MAGA Agen da Wins,” April 1, 2024; The League of Women Voters of Georgia, The Gold Dome and Beyond - Legislative Focus on Elections, April 15, 2024; and The Savannah Morning News (“Three elections bills that could transform voting in Georgia awaiting governor’s signature’’ by Maya Homan), April 15, 2024. The bills that passed the Georgia House and Senate were sent to Governor Kemp on April 3rd. If he does not veto or sign the bills with in 40 days from receipt, THE BILL ' AUTOMATICALLY BECOMES LAW. SB 189 According to SB 189, an individual or organization is allowed to challenge the voting status/eligibility of an unlimited number (up to thou sands) of voters for various and unfounded reasons. Once the challenge is filed, voters can be removed from the voting roll up to 45 days before an elec tion (the National Voter Regis tration Act gives 90 days). The voter must be notified of the challenge and prove their eligi bility within 10 days. SB 189 also places an unreasonable re quirement on the unhoused, or homeless voter to “...use the [County’s voter registration] office as their mailing address for all election-related mail, including absentee ballots and notices of voter challenges.” This bill also reduces the time requirement for ballots to be counted and reported, down to one hour after the polls close, including early voting and ab sentee ballots (NOTE: the final deadline to submit an absen tee ballot is 7 pm on election day).This is an unreasonable demand to place on election directors, staff and poll manag ers. Fair Fight Action catego rizes SB 189 as an “... alarm ing attempt to legislate election intimidation, mass disenfran chisement of Georgia voters, ... add additional burdens on elections staff, ... potentially subject them to harassment, ... embolden right-wing activists in their efforts to kick Black and brown voters off the rolls, and will cost the state “hun dreds of millions of dollars.” Continued on Page 9 ROBERT E. JAMES Presided since December 1971 CARVER STATE BANK «£ Teh, 23,1927 97 Years of Service, Leadership and Success! LOUIS B. TOO MER founder one) lif Presiden) MAIN OFFICE 70 i Martin Luther King. Jr. Bfvd.., Savannah, GA 3140) SKI DAW AY BRANCH 7110 SkieJaway Ref., Savannah, GA 31406
