Two well known civil rights activists will participate in separate events in Montgomery today. The Reverend Jesse Jackson of Chicago will visit Alabama State University today. Jackson will speak to students about where America needs to go to fulfill the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event will be held at the Garrick Hardy Student Center; the program is part of ASU's month long celebration of black history.
Also, Tuskegee attorney Fred Gray is the keynote speaker at a civil rights symposium at Faulkner University. Gray represented clients in several landmark civil rights cases, including Rosa Parks and protestors in the Selma to Montgomery March.
Prison Overcrowding
Recommendations to decrease overcrowding in state prisons include hiring more probation officers and creating a new felony class for low-level crimes. The Alabama Prison Reform Task Force heard the proposals Thursday from the Council of State Governments. The group estimates the recommendations would reduce the prison population by about 4,500 inmates over the next six years. Task Force Chairman, State Senator Cam Ward of Shelby County, said the state will need a combination of changes as well as new prisons at a cost more than $151 million through fiscal 2021.
Lincoln Cemetery
A new front entrance and other improvements at Lincoln Cemetery in Montgomery were dedicated in a ceremony Thursday. The Montgomery Sunrise Rotary Club and the Montgomery Cemetery Rehabilitation Authority have been restoring the cemetery for around two years now. Authority Chairman Phillip Taunton says future work at Lincoln and other cemeteries has a new funding source that became effective January 1st. Lincoln Cemetery, which faces Lincoln and Harrison Roads, has become an eyesore after decades of neglect. Besides the new front entrance, volunteers also put up new corner fencing, installed new curbs and gutters and made landscaping improvements.
Sexual Abuse Trial
A federal judge in Montgomery has scheduled a trial April 13th in Opelika for a former employee at the Veterans Administration Health Center in Tuskegee who is accused of sexual abuse of a mentally disabled volunteer. U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins will preside over the trial of Eric Allen of Auburn. He's facing two counts of sexual abuse resulting from incidents that happened in August involving a female volunteer with down Syndrome. A defense attorney says Allen has pleaded not guilty.
Veterans Seminar
Military veterans are invited to attend an informational seminar Saturday in Bullock County. Representatives from the Veterans Benefits and National Cemetery Administrations and Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System will be in attendance. American Legion Auxillary Unit 337 is sponsoring the seminar at the old National Guard building on Highway 82 in Union Springs. Saturday's informational seminar is open to all veterans and family members. The event starts at 9 a.m. and concludes at 1 p.m.