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Fred Richardson might not go down as the most influential politician to have come through Mobiles Government Plaza. His run for mayor this year came far short of giving incumbent Mayor Sandy Stimpson serious concerns.

But for the past quarter century, few politicians in Alabama can claim to be as quotable or who had such an outsized personality as the former post office worker and author who once wrote and published his own autobiography and who once convinced state officials to erect an interstate exit sign to his hometown of Nymph.

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Mention Richardson by name, and a memorable quote will come to mind. You ring, I spring, or The only race is the human race.

His unique pursuit of a New Years Eve event for Mobile will forever be commemorated in the form of a giant Moon Pie.

The things he said were the most memorable, said Mobile-based radio personality Uncle Henry, a longtime follower of Mobile city politics who often replayed Richardsons council commentary during his radio broadcasts on NewsRadio710. No one made quite the impression he did through force of personality and speech.

Richardson, who represented the largest Black district on the council since 1997, retired from public life this week after serving nearly 25 years on the Mobile City Council. He joined longtime Council members Bess Rich and John Williams in bidding adieu on Tuesday. Collectively, the three council members had 58 years of experience (Rich with 19 years and Williams with 14 years).

Richardson, 82, was the councils longest-serving member and trailed only Reggie Copeland, who served 28 years from 1985-2013, for serving the most consecutive years on the council.

At 10 a.m. on Monday, a new group of council members will be sworn into office.

I will miss it, said Richardson, who plans on writing and traveling in the months to come. I dont go to bed most nights until 1 oclock in the morning. I have 100 or more emails to answer. People ask me all kinds of questions that are near and dear to them.

Race card

Richardson will also be remembered as a polarizing figure who never shied from talking about injustices and his viewpoints on sensitive political issues like annexation that would spark outrage among critics.

Get rid of Fred Richardson was the title of one Facebook page, luring mostly white conservatives in Mobile together against a common enemy.

The Mardi Gras group, Comic Cowboys rarely goes a year without a parade that doesnt lampoon the lively councilman.

Artistic panels from the Comic Cowboys are seen near the Mardi Gras organization's den on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in downtown Mobile. In lieu of their traditional parade, the group opted to host a virtual parade.

Richardson has been fighting back allegations that hes racist since his first year in office, when a chapter of a civil rights history book he wrote in the 1970s The Genesis and Exodus of NOW became fodder for critics who claimed the councilman called whites cursed people. Richardson was a ranking member of the Neighborhood Organized Workers during the civil rights movement, and the group often sparred with white segregationists of the time including then-city Commissioner Lambert Mims.

The only reason they put the race card out there was to slow me down, Richardson said. That was something to stop me. My answer has always been that humans are the same species and in the same race. You cannot procreate with anyone but those in your own race.

On Tuesday, Richardson said he was leaving office with a clear conscience.

I got criticized a lot because I didnt follow the mold of council members prior to me, Richardson recently told AL.com. I wasnt trying to figure out what other council members do. I went on and did what I think were the things to benefit the folks in my district in the city of Mobile. I didnt ask for permission. No one at City Hall was in charge of me.

But sometimes Richardsons controversial viewpoints were met with approval, even in front of audiences that might not align to his politics.

I remember a conflict with the Sons of the Confederacy and he went with me to their meeting, said Mike Dow, mayor of Mobile from 1989-2005. Fred got up and gave his feelings on things. They all gave him a standing ovation. I thought, Wow, isnt this interesting?

I thought he was crazy

ity Councilman Fred Richardson tosses MoonPies to the crowd as the MAMGA Mammoth Parade rolls along Route B in Mobile, Ala., on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. (Mike Kittrell/AL.com)

Unique in style and approach, Richardson will be remembered for a creative zeal toward public office.

His lively oratorical skills were often on display at the end of each weekly council meeting. Richardsons delivery style combined the energy of a civil rights-era preacher with the promotional zest of a professional wrestler the Rev. Al Sharpton meets the American Dream Dusty Rhodes. He became to Mobile what the late state Rep. Alvin Holmes was to the State House in Montgomery: An outgoing and sometimes humorous voice with spirited takes on race relations, governance, and society.

The brash public statements sparked made-for-media moments, a few laughs, some groans, and plenty of headaches for mayoral administrations.

We knew as reporters that Fred would give you something fun, quotable and outrageous, said Councilwoman Gina Gregory, a former TV reporter. And they still do today.

Councilman C.J. Small said he can remember, before he was elected to office, watching Richardsons antics on TV. Small recalled that during one interview, Richardson grabbed a shovel under the council dais and told reporter Renee Dials that he was going to get to the bottom of this regarding a budget issue.

I thought he was crazy there was no telling what would come out of his mouth, said Small. He was like the character of the hour.

Said Uncle Henry, He was outstanding radio. I loved it when he would talk at length on any topic. I knew I could play it on air and get a reaction.

Colorful personality

Richardsons flair for the dramatic came across mostly during the council meetings, where Government Plaza would become his personal theatrical stage.

Sometimes the performances would be talked about more than the controversy at hand.

Fred used the council meetings to raise issues he thought needed to be addressed throughout the city as well as in his district, said former Mobile Mayor Sam Jones, a current member of the Alabama House. Thats what council members are for. They are not to just sit there on Tuesdays.

One moment occurred in 2014, the year after Stimpson was first elected mayor. He defeated Jones after a divisive campaign.

Richardson nominated Jones to serve as his District 1 representative to the Mobile Area Water and Sewer Systems board of commissioners. But the council, with a 4-3 vote along racial lines, denied Richardsons appointment. The decision stirred reactions throughout the city and sparked the first major controversy of the Stimpson era.

Richardson showed up to a May 2014 meeting dressed in a black suit. Acting as if he was attending a funeral, the councilman read a proclamation of mourning as he eulogized his council district. He said he felt the district was disenfranchised by the councils actions because Jones his selection to the water board was not voted on.

The three Black council members then voted to abstain on several other council agenda items, prompting the Stimpson administration to walk out of the meeting before it was over.

A few weeks later, Stimpson came out with a statement that he would support the Jones appointment. Richardson then praised the mayor for showing leadership.

I cannot think of anyone to compare him to, said Uncle Henry. I can think of other colorful figures who are great at making speeches and doing big things, but no one quite like him.

MoonPie Over Mobile

Councilman Fred Richardson at the "Moon Pie Over Mobile" New Year's celebration at Cooper Riverside Park Friday Jan 1, 2010 in Mobile, Ala.

Richardson is most associated with his support of MoonPie Over Mobile, the New Years Eve event he founded in 2008. The event started as a local oddity but generated some national media attention after a large papier-mache MoonPie was dropped during a street party as the public counted down to celebrate the New Year.

It has grown ever since into an annual Alabama attraction. Anywhere from 40,000 to 60,000 people depending on the weather gather in downtown Mobile to watch a massive 600-pound lit MoonPie lowered from the RSA Trustmark Building in downtown Mobile. A fireworks show follows. The event has injected economic boost into downtown Mobile during a post-holiday season that is typically quiet.

Richardson dedicated $9,000 of his councils discretionary money to pay for the inaugural event.

I remember Fred coming into the office as he had contacted the Chattanooga Bakery at the time, said Carol Hunter, past president of Events Mobile, Inc., which sponsors the annual event. He got me on a conference call with the marketing director of the company. Fred wanted to do it. Chattanooga Bakery wanted to do it. It seems pretty unlikely it would have happened (without Richardsons efforts).

Richardson was criticized for using city tax money to pay for the event during the Great Recession.

Uncle Henry recalls the initial event occurring at a time when the city was also not spending tax money on infrastructure or other basic city services.

They were having trouble keeping the lights on at Government Plaza, he said. There was no money and he wanted to spend a few thousands on what he called a giant electric MoonPie with fireworks coming out of it. It sounded like an insane idea at a time when you couldnt get potholes fixed.

Said Uncle Henry, Whenever a TV reporter asked him about the taxpayers, he would say, I pay taxes. Those are my tax dollars, too.

Richardson said its difficult to find anyone critical of the event today. He said the event is recognized on national TV every year when reporters span the U.S. for unique New Years Eve events.

It was fair for them to criticize me (at the time the event was created), Richardson said. Either I had something, or I didnt, but it shows you that if you stopped every time someone criticized you, you would never accomplish anything.

Said Uncle Henry, Thats how Ill always remember him. Hell tell you his legacy is the (Capital Improvement Plan) and that penny tax (increase in 2014), and those things that he has taken care of. But for me, as far as what Ill remember him for, its all of that rhetoric and through the force of his personality that he created (the MoonPie Over Mobile) and turned it into an event that still draws people to downtown Mobile.

Take care of the people

District 1 candidate Fred Richardson greets voters on Tuesday Aug. 25. 2009, as they leave Michael A. Figures Community Center. (File photo)

Jones credited Richardsons long tenure to his fierce loyalty to his district that stretches through northwest Mobile and includes neighborhoods like Crichton and Toulminville. He was rewarded with easy re-elections since he first took office.

I think that Fred is probably one of the hardest working council members we had on the City Council, said Jones. He had a lot of contact with people in his district. He was at every function he could be at.

Jones added, I think that is one of the things he and Bess Rich had in common, they served their districts. A lot of people may not have agreed on his position on issues, but the bottom line is he could always find a way to do the very best he could to represent his constituents.

Constituency services also made an impression on Small when he first took office in November 2012.

He always said, if you take care of the people, the people will take care of you during election time, Small said.

Dow, the former mayor, said Richardson often aligned with his administrations focus on doing what is best for your district and the city.

When you sat down with him and got serious about doing something to help people, he was always on the right side of things, Dow said.

Off the chains

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, left, Alabama Bicentennial Commission Executive Jay Lamar and Mobile City Councilman Fred Richardson, right, make the first cut in "The World's Largest Edible MoonPie" before it's served up at the MoonPie Over Mobile festivities ringing in 2019 in Mobile, Ala.Lawrence Specker| LSpecker@AL.com

Richardson, in recent years, was among the sharpest of Stimpsons critics and was considered the mayors chief antagonist on the city council. Despite that, each year, the two got together and cut a giant MoonPie cake on New Years Eve.

They also, apparently, have made peace following a contentious year featuring a sometimes-bitter mayoral race.

The two politicians, about a month or so ago, met for a three-hour dinner at a local restaurant.

We were having nothing but fun and enjoying each others company, Richardson said. The (mayors) gatekeepers were not there. It was just us. It was off the chain. It was a moment in my life Ill remember for a long time. We had a chance to talk about everything.

Said Richardson, Mayor Stimpson is a nice man, especially away from Government Plaza. Hes mild-mannered and kind, soft-spoken.

The same can be said of Richardson, according to Uncle Henry.

Even with all the rhetoric that can sound very heated on racial justice, hes the kind of guy that almost anyone can enjoy having a conversation with and a dinner with, he said. Hes a very personable person. When you get one-one-one with him, hes a great guy to spend time with.

Originally posted here:
You rang, he sprang: Fred Richardsons memorable run in Mobile comes to an end - AL.com

Detroit Charles Jones,whose role in ahigh school student's 2010 slayinghelped spark thepolice raid that ended with the officer-involved shooting death of his 7-year-old daughter Aiyana Stanley-Jones, has been granted parole.

Jones wasgiven a "contingency parole" after completing required prison programs, Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz said Monday. Jones does not have a release date identified, although he could be freed as early as Thursday, Gautz said.

"(Jones') parole guideline score placed him in the high probability of parole range," Gautz said in an email. "He has completed various programming and is active in vocational training. The prisoner has not incurred any serious misconducts while in prison."

The mother of Jones' victim, Lyvonne Cargill, said: "I'm stressed thinking about that man coming home." But she added: "I hope he does the right thing when he gets outand triesto help these other young Black males out here;tell them about lifeand tell them what he did."

On May 14, 2010, Jones handed a .357 magnum pistol to his friend Chauncey Owens, who gunned down Cargill's son, 17-year-old Je'Rean Blake, outside the Motor City Marketplace on Mack at St. Jean on Detroit's east side.

Owens didn't like the way the Southeastern High School teen had looked at him, according to court testimony.

Two days later, a crew from the Detroit Police Special Response Team raided Jones' house on Lillibridge Street, blocks from the store. The team, which had received intelligence that at least one rifle was in the house,wasaccompanied by a crew from the cable TV show, "First 48."

Officers deployeda "flash bang" grenadeand kicked in the front door, and raid team leader Joseph Weekley led the crewinto the house. Within seconds, Weekleyfired hisMP5 rifle, killingAiyana, who was sleeping on the living room couch with her grandmother Mertilla Jones.

Aiyanas death garnered national attention, including sharp criticism from the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

Weekley, who retired from the police department in 2019,claimed Mertilla Jones grabbed his rifle, causing it to discharge. He was charged twice with involuntary manslaughter, but both cases ended in mistrials. In 2019, Jones' family agreed to an $8.5 million wrongful death lawsuit settlement against the city of Detroit in connection with the raid.

Owens was convicted of first-degree murderand sentenced to life in prison. Jones pleaded guilty tosecond-degree murder and was sentenced to40-60 years, although in 2017 the Michigan Court of Appeals granted him a new trial.

The appellatecourt ruledthe presiding judge in Jones'case hadn'tadequately answered jurors' questionsduring deliberations. Joneswas retried in 2019 for manslaughter and for being a habitual offender, and was sentenced to 10-20 years, with2,841 days credit for time served.

Cargill said because of COVID-19 restrictions, she was unable to attend Jones' parole hearings to contest his release.

"We had to do it by paperwork, and they read the letters from my side of the family (during the parole hearing)," Cargill said. "They said he'll be on parole until 2030, and he or his family can't be around my family.

"It's irking me so bad," Cargill said. "My sugar is going up from stress. It's hurting me. I forgive him, but I don't forget what he did."

Cargill said her two surviving children, a 30-year-old daughter and son, 22, took the news of Jones' pending release hard.

"It bothers them," she said. "(Jones is) the one who gave (Owens) the gun to kill their brother. If he didn't give him the gun, they feel like their brother would still be alive, and Aiyana would still be alive."

ghunter@detroitnews.com

(313) 222-2134

Twitter: @GeorgeHunter_DN

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Father of Aiyana Stanley-Jones gets paroled in killing of teen - The Detroit News

As the world burns, it becomes easier to find joy in more innocuous moments. A niche literary dispute about a donated kidney. Cats hanging out in bodegas. Or a two-second clip of Ray Romano introducing the short-lived Billy Corgan side-project Zwan on a 2003 episode of Saturday Night Live.

The latter is part of a treasure trove of quick-bite clips going up on the relatively new account, SNL Hosts Introducing the Musical Guest. Launched last month with Nathan Lane channeling the middle ground between theater kid and metalhead while introducing Metallica the account does exactly what its name promises. The result is a living archive that thrills at the bizarre host/musical guest pairings that have populated SNLs 47 years while unearthing the hidden humor in the shows most mundane moment.

SNL Hosts Introducing the Musical Guest was started by a 30-something man in Los Angeles who requested anonymity, but was happy to answer a few email questions about the account and its sudden viral success. A longtime SNL fan, he says he and a group of obsessive comedy nerd friends have long been fascinated by the strange combinations of host and musical guests, and the formal nature of the introductions.

Like, they always have to say Ladies and gentlemen so it has the gravitas of introducing the Von Trapp children or something, but no, its just Third Eye Blind,, he cracks. The account was made mostly for those guys so we could actually see these moments we vaguely remember.

While nostalgia of all kinds can reign supreme online, Twitter was primed for this thanks to the ongoing success of the account that, every Friday, tweets Daniel Craigs introduction of the Weeknd. (When asked about the account in a recent interview with The New York Times, Craig replied, I dont know what that is, but thank you. Thats lovely, I suppose Id have to have social media to know what that was all about.)

Despite its specificity, the creator of SNL Hosts Introducing the Musical Guest says the Craig account made him think theres an appetite for 47 seasons worth of even-stranger introductions. In my head, I was kinda like, Oh if the internet enjoys this, wait till they see George Foreman introducing Hole.

The account got off to a modest start, with just one or two clips going up each day. The creator says he followed a few SNL fan accounts, thinking they might pick up on what he was doing, but he jokes that they seemed way more interested in things like fantasizing about new cast member Aristotle Athari stepping on them. Unsurprisingly, the clip that went viral is old footage of an extremely famous person doing something outrageously problematic. In this case Adrien Brody fresh off his Best Actor Oscar win in 2003 for the Holocaust drama The Pianist donning fake dreads and doing a woeful Jamaican patois while introducing Sean Paul.

That was shared by the account for this neat SNL history podcast That Week in SNL and then suddenly it was everywhere, the creator says. That clip is such a train wreck that I think when people see it, they have to share it. You cant just watch that and go, Huh. and move on with your life. Your brain will explode unless youre able to reach out to someone else and go PLEASE LOOK AT THIS, TOO. WHAT THE HELL. I could talk about that clip for hours, but man its so embarrassing and offensive, goes on for almost a minute, and then he messes up the name? The only thing he had to do?!

While Brodys masterclass in cringe helped launched the account, the less over-the-top clips made it stick. Actress Roma Downey, in her tender Derry brogue, welcoming Missy Misdemeanor Elliott, Timbaland and Magoo to the stage in 1998 (its the upswing in her voice on Magoo that sells it). The indomitable Christine Baranski hailing the arrival of the Cure with a flourish of her hand in 1996. Or late Arizona Senator John McCain mustering all the enthusiasm hes got as he proclaims, Ladies and gentlemen, lets give it up for the White Stripes!

(The creator says he hasnt heard from anyone at SNL legal department or otherwise about the account, though he did note that he saw former producer Mike Shoemaker like a few. New cast member James Austin Johnson also retweeted the McCain/White Stripes clip, and the creator says, That was cool because I know my SNL history very well and that guy had easily the most promising, impressive first episode of any featured player ever.)

While showy or awkward deliveries like these are part of the appeal, the accounts creator argues that an even greater allure is simply Whos saying it and who theyre introducing. Take for instance Al Gores introduction of Phish in 2002: Al Gore doesnt do anything particularly interesting with his introduction of Phish, but its great because its a guy who was nearly president introducing a stoner jam band that has a song called Wolfmans Brother.

To that end, for no particular reason, this writers humble favorite remains late SNL legend Phil Hartman introducing British butt rock greats Bush with an unexpected gravity in his voice. And for the accounts creator, its the aforementioned clip of Romano welcoming Zwan that towers above all the others: Even if you remember Zwan, its so unexpected to hear their name now, especially in the context of them somehow being on SNL in the brief time they were together. The name Zwan is also just very stupid. Anyone saying it is funny, but when its famously goofy-voiced Ray Romano? Get out of here!

SNL Hosts Introducing the Musical Guest is definitely an exercise in nostalgia, but these clips arent about fawning over bygone eras theyre evocative, but so short they feel more like ephemera pulled from a time capsule. As the creator notes, theres also something disorienting about them. Saturday Night Live is probably the only cultural institution of its kind, a stalwart entertainment behemoth thats constantly in flux, vacuuming up the culture to present it as parody but also reflecting it back to us exactly as it is (though maybe not exactly as we thought it to be). Because Pam Anderson and the Rollins Band were contemporaries, so were Harry Dean Stanton and the Replacements, Laura Leighton and Rancid, Christopher Walken and Foo Fighters, Al Sharpton and P!nk, Tom Hanks and Sade, Bernie Mac and Good Charlotte, little Fred Savage and Technotronic. Where else but SNL would they have have ever crossed paths?

More than nostalgia though, SNL Hosts Introducing the Musical Guest has proven to be a perfect internet time warp. As the account took off, certain clips immediately spawned their own contemporary memes that functioned the same way as the Daniel Craig/Weeknd clip. As the creator notes: What tweet about the Covid vaccine is gonna be better than just posting Christine Baranski giving a little theater flair while she proclaims Ladies and gentlemen, the Cure!

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The Unexpected Appeal of Ray Romano Saying Zwan, and Other SNL Musical Guest Intros - Rolling Stone

(RNS) For many Americans, Pat Robertson, the Christian television pioneer and onetime presidential candidate, will always be remembered for his wacky pronouncements made at inflection points of American history.

I dont think Id be waving those flags in Gods face if I were you, he warned Orlando, Florida, city leaders in 1998 when they flew rainbow flags downtown in honor of Gay Days at Disney World. This is not a message of hate this is a message of redemption. But a condition like this will bring about the destruction of your nation. Itll bring about terrorist bombs; itll bring earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the twin towers, Robertson said he agreed with Jerry Falwell, his guest on his signature talkshow, The 700 Club, that responsibility for the attacks on the United States fell to pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, and lesbians.

In this Feb. 24, 2016, file photo, Rev. Pat Robertson listens as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. (Steve Helber/Associated Press)

Moments like these embarrassed his fellow Christians and marginalized the once-estimable political power Robertson wielded, consigning Robertson to the role of what one megachurch pastor called the crazy uncle in the evangelical attic.

But the right-wing conservative could also surprise his viewers. Once, he invited the Rev. Al Sharpton to the couch on The 700 Club to discuss climate change, agreeing that the issue is one that might bring the right and left together. In 2012, Robertson said that marijuana should be legalized.

Yet, any recollection of Robertson, who announced Friday his intention to retire as daily host of The 700 Club, must include his transformation of televangelism from hot, pulpit-pounding sermons to a cool format. With his avuncular, upbeat personality, Robertson, 91, changed the picture of what televangelism could be. His Tonight show-like The 700 Club featured conversational talk and couch interviews, interspersed with entertainment.The model was later adopted by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker on their PTL (Praise the Lord) network and Paul and Jan Crouch on their Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Over the years, five presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, appeared on the show, along with numerous world leaders and musical artists.

After, I think, 54 years of hosting the program, I thank God for everyone thats been involved and I want to thank all of you, he told viewers on Friday, adding, Its been a great run.

His son, Gordon Robertson, who will replace him on the flagship program, released a statement saying, Good and faithful doesnt even begin to describe my fathers service to CBN for 60 years. His legacy and the example of his prayer life will continue to lead The 700 Club in the years to come.

But his CBN platform was much more than good television. Founding the Christian Broadcasting Network in 1961, the first Christian network in the United States, he shepherded his flock of white evangelicals to a position of unprecedented political influence within the Republican Party.

In 1987, Robertson, a Yale-educated lawyer, a Marine officer veteran and the son of a U.S. senator from Virginia, leveraged his fame into direct political action, something earlier Christian fundamentalists had shunned. That year heformed the Christian Coalition, later joined by Ralph Reed, the telegenic political strategist. Soon, other evangelical leaders, like the Rev. Jerry Falwell, jumped on their own electoral bandwagons.

Robertsons personal political high point came in 1988, when he ran for the Republican nomination for president, finishing third in the Iowa primary, behind Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush. In the campaign he claimed, without proof, that the Soviets were hiding missiles in Cuba.

Two years later, in 1990, the Christian coalition introduced ostensibly nonpartisan Christian voter guides, also called Christian score cards, handed out at conservative churches or placed on windshields in church parking lots.

He was very smart, said Frances Fitzgerald, author of The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America. He turned his presidential campaign into this notion of organizing from the community base up. Its what people have been doing ever since. You cant always do it from a religion platform.

He also wrote 20 books and founded Regent University, located across the street from CBN studios and headquarters in Virginia Beach, and the American Center for Law and Justice, a Christian activist organization led by sometime Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow.

Robertsons firm support of former President Trump may well be the last memorable moment of his on-air career. After insisting for weeks that Trump had won, only to be cheated out of office by fraud, Robertson endorsed the Jan. 6 pro-Trump gathering at the Capitol in the run-up to the rally. After it proved to be a riotous attempted insurrection, Robertson stayed off The 700 Club for a week. When he returned, he acknowledged Bidens victory.

But Robertsons staying power which necessarily included overcoming embarrassing moments is an essential part of his legacy.

When other well-known ministries fizzled for a variety of reasons, he maintained a ministry that was respected because of his moral and spiritual consistency, said the Rev. Jim Henry of Orlando, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, in an interview with RNS. He finished well. He finished strong, and I join with a host of others in saluting this man of faith.

But other prominent evangelical voices said his legacy was tainted by his more outlandish comments.

Pat Robersons ministry should not be judged by a single quote that offends, said Richard Cizik, president of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good. The problem is the sum of the parts. After putting televangelism on the map, Robertson devolved to an enfant terrible on progressive social movements, from the environment to womens rights and race relations. In doing so he became more of a target for humor than any preacher would want.

Some of his critics go beyond his ability to gaffe his way into the headlines. One group dubbed him the Apostle of Hate for his longtime opposition to LGBTQ rights.

Pat Robertson contributed greatly to some of the worst trends in American Christianity over the last forty years, said the Rev. David P. Gushee, distinguished university professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University. These included the fusion of conservative white Protestantism with the Republican Party, the use and abuse of supernaturalist Christianity to offer spurious and unhelpful interpretations of historical events and the development of a conservative Christian media empire that made money and gained power in the process of making everyday Christians less thoughtful contributors to American life.

Lisa Sharon Harper, president and founder of Freedom Road and author of the forthcoming Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World And How to Repair It All, said Robertson had to answer for his racial message. He has been a dreamer and a builder, said Harper. Unfortunately, for people of color and for the post-colonizing majority church in the world, Robertsons dreams were awash with the protection and retention of white male domination; in church life, in public space and in pink-knuckled politics.

In the end history will likely tip its hat to Robertsons skill at drawing the attention of the country to the views of White evangelicals. What he did with that attention will be judged more harshly.

Pat Robertson had enough religious savvy to get on a national stage and enough outrageous proclamations to keep blowing up his chances for success outside his religious realm, said the Rev. Joel C. Hunter, a former megachurch pastor who now heads the Parable Foundation.From his failed attempt to become president, to claiming to divert Hurricane Gloria with prayer from his TV studio couch protecting his headquarters but causing millions of damages and eight deaths up the coast Robertson had a talent for gaining power, resulting in social good through his ministry, but also in political divisiveness and cynicism outside his spiritual audience.

Said Fitzgerald: He was pretty much always a crazy uncle, except when he was running for president.

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Pat Robertson Turned Christian TV into Political Power & Blew it up with Wacky Prophecy - Word and Way

A former Arkansas sheriffs deputy has been charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a white teenager whose death has drawn the attention of civil rights activists nationally

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press

September 17, 2021, 8:48 PM

3 min read

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. -- A former Arkansas sheriff's deputy was charged Friday with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a white teenager whose death has drawn the attention of national civil rights activists.

A special prosecutor announced the felony charge against Michael Davis, a former sergeant with the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office, in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Hunter Brittain. Davis faces between three and 10 years in prison if convicted.

Davis shot Brittain during a June 23 traffic stop outside an auto repair shop along Arkansas Highway 89 south of Cabot, a city of about 26,000 people roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock.

Davis told investigators he shot Brittain once in the neck after the teen reached into the back of his truck and did not comply with his commands to show his hands, according to the arrest affidavit. Brittain was holding a container which his family members have said held antifreeze and no evidence of firearms were found in or near the truck, the affidavit said.

A passenger with Brittain said he and the teen had been working on the transmission for Brittain's truck. The passenger told investigators he never heard Davis tell the teen to show his hands.

Davis, who is white, was fired by Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley in July for not turning on his body camera until after the shooting occurred. Staley said theres no footage from the shooting, only the aftermath.

Several members of Brittains family and friends shouted, Thank you Jesus! as Phillips announced the charge. Arkansas State Police said Davis surrendered Friday after the warrant was issued, and Phillips said a bond hearing would be held on Monday.

Jesse Brittain, the teens uncle, said he was glad to see Davis charged with something, though he would have preferred a more serious charge.

This is something, he told reporters after the announcement. Were going to take this and see what else (Phillips) has got to say and hopefully this will stick. He wont be an officer no more and he cant kill no more kids.

An attorney for Davis said the former deputy would plead not guilty.

While he has said all along it was a tragic event, there's no criminal act on his part," attorney Robert Newcomb said.

Brittain was eulogized by the Rev. Al Sharpton and two attorneys who represented George Floyd's family. They said the teens death highlighted the need for interracial support for changes in policing. Brittain's family and friends have regularly demonstrated outside the Lonoke County sheriff's office, demanding more details on the shooting.

Floyd died in May last year when a white Minneapolis police officer used his knee to pin the handcuffed Black mans neck to the ground. His death sparked nationwide protests over policing and racial inequality.

Attorneys Ben Crump and Devon Jacob, who represent Floyd's family, joined with Brittain's family in calling the charge the first step in the pursuit of justice for Hunter Brittain. And Brittain's family repeated its call for the Arkansas Legislature to require officers to wear body cameras that would be turned on as soon as their shift begins.

Nothing will bring Hunter back, but we can honor his memory and legacy by calling for justice and change in his name," the attorneys and family said in a statement.

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Ex-deputy charged with manslaughter in white teen's death - ABC News