American schools teach students that slavery ended with Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. A PBS documentary explores the forced labor by newly freed black slaves between the Civil War and World War II.
“Slavery by Another Name,” based on the book by the same title, tells the story of the South through research into documents and interviews with scholars. The 90-minute film also features interviews with descendants of victims of forced labor.
Filming took place in Birmingham and Atlanta. It first aired on PBS in February 2012, a month after screening at Sundance.
Author Douglas A. Blackmon won the Pulitzer Prize for his book [Amazon aff. link] in 2009. Birmingham and Shelby County are featured prominently as centers for virtual re-enslavement of black citizens.
A look at today’s newspapers, with front pages showing Alabama’s win over Notre Dame for the BCS National Championship on Monday in Miami.
The second-ranked Tide (13-1) beat the top-ranked Irish (12-1) 42-14 to claim its third title in 4 years. For those who like streaks, the victory marked the state’s fourth national championship and the SEC’s seventh title.
Alabama
The Anniston Star
The Birmingham News
The Dothan Eagle
The (Florence) Times Daily
The (Fort Payne) Times-Journal
The Gadsden Times
The Huntsville Times
The Montgomery Advertiser
The Opelika-Auburn News
The Selma Times-Journal
The Tuscaloosa News
Indiana
The (Bloomington) Herald-Times
The Evansville Courier and Press
The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette
The (Fort Wayne) News-Sentinel
The Indianapolis Star
The (Jasper) Herald
(Lafayette) Journal and Courier
The (Munster) Times
The (Richmond) Palladium-Item
The South Bend Tribune
Florida
The Miami Herald
Pensacola News Journal
South Florida SunSentinel
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Video: The official BCS rankings putting Alabama
and Notre Dame in the top game.
For those who enjoy the comforts of seeing the same teams again and again, this football post-season is for you …
• No. 2 Alabama capped another stellar season with an 11-1 record, a win over Georgia Saturday night for the SEC Championship and a BCS title fight against undefeated No. 1 Notre Dame next month.
The two storied programs haven’t faced each other in 25 years. Notre Dame leads the series 5-1, going back to New Year’s Eve 1973.
This marks the Tide’s third trip in 4 years, and the fourth consecutive year the state is represented in the national championship. The game takes place Jan. 7 in Miami and airs at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
• It wouldn’t be the BBVA Compass Bowl without Pitt. Literally.
Since the bank took over title sponsorship in late 2010, the 2011 and 2012 games invited Big East-but-soon-to-be-ACC member Pittsburgh to Birmingham’s bowl game.
Pitt (6-6) returns Jan. 5 to face the SEC’s representative, Ole Miss (6-6), making its first appearance in the game.
Kickoff is at noon at Legion Field, airing on ESPN. Tickets are $30 and $50 and can be purchased online or by calling (877) 464-9529.
• Hoover will play for the 6A state high school championship Friday. If that sounds familiar, it might be because this represents the Bucs’ 12th trip in the past 13 years. Dynasty much?
Undefeated Hoover plays Opelika (10-4) at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, McAdory (14-0) makes its first trip to the big game on Thursday. The Yellow Jackets face Spanish Fort for the 5A title at 7 p.m.
All Super Six games take place Thursday and Friday at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, airing on My68. Tickets are $10 and available online.
To aid your trip to the polls, we have the sample ballots for Jefferson and Shelby Counties for the general election. (The 180-page Jefferson County ballot has a version for every district.)
Know the candidates. Study the 11 state amendments. Be an informed voter.
Also, check out the Alabama Voter Guide, with voting procedures and frequently asked questions.
For easier viewing, you can print, download or zoom to full screen with each ballot.
Danielle Murphree exits the “Big Brother” house in third place.
So close …
Danielle Murphree of Tuscaloosa finished third in the live season finale of “Big Brother.” She was evicted by Ian Terry, who then faced Dan Gheesling for the $500,000 grand prize. The 14th season of the CBS reality competition ended tonight.
Terry beat Gheesling in the final jury vote 6-1, with Murphree casting the lone vote for the latter.
Though she had a chance to win the final Head of Household, Murphree threw part one and lost to Terry in part two, putting her up for nomination against Gheesling.
Murphree lived with 15 other players in the “house,” a special two-story studio with cameras and microphones everywhere. What didn’t make it to broadcast was shown online to subscribers.
She was the only female contestant to win the weekly Head of Household competition, and did so twice during the season. Murphree provided several of the more memorable moments of the show, though not always intentionally.
Viewers will remember her for her relentless romantic pursuit of Shane Meaney, who didn’t warm up to her advances. Her other standout moments all revolved around Gheesling, who started the season as her coach but ended up lying to her and betraying her several times.
Video: Dan Gheesling shocks Danielle Murphree
by evicting her friend Shane Meaney.
Video: The aftermath
Murphree started out lying about her occupation, telling others she worked as a kindergarten teacher instead of a nurse. She found help in two alliances that got her to the final three.
She fared better than most previous Alabamians on the show, save for Jason Guy of Mobile who finished third in season 3.
A select handful of Alabamians will go to the polls Tuesday to cast but a single vote.
The Legislature has a special election on Tuesday to allow voters to decide whether $437 million dollars should be transferred from the Alabama Trust Fund to the General Fund during the next 3 years. The money would cover a shortfall in the state’s operating budget for services such as prisons, courts and Medicaid.
The special election will cost $3 million. Voter turnout is expected to be extremely low.
Should the measure fail, Gov. Bentley has vowed to stand by his no taxes pledge, meaning severe cuts — up to 10 percent — across the board. The trust fund manages royalties from natural gas wells off the coast of Alabama. Its board has not taken a position on the vote.
After 70 days, only three of the 16 contestants on “Big Brother” remain, including Danielle Murphree of Tuscaloosa. She had faced eviction as early as Day 1′s competition, but has coasted into the final three on the 14th season of the CBS reality show.
Her two competitors are Dan Gheesling, a high school teacher from West Bloomfield, Mich., and Ian Terry, an engineering student from New Orleans. Danielle, Dan and Ian had been members of the Quack Pack and Silent Six alliances, which helped them survive the weekly challenges and evictions. One of them will win the grand prize of $500,000 on Wednesday’s live finale.
Dan returned this season as a coach to three players — including Danielle — after winning “Big Brother” in 2008. In a surprise twist, the coaches (all previous contestants) entered the game as players on Day 27, and Dan is the only former coach to go the distance.
Ian, a fan favorite, has used his extensive knowledge of past seasons to build alliances and to strategically eliminate major players.
Danielle has gone along with her alliances’ plans for the most part. She’s the only female player this season to win Head of Household, twice, and happened to win the Golden Power of Veto those same weeks.
Her most recent reign concluded in disaster on Thursday’s live eviction show. Having nominated fellow alliance members Ian and Dan for eviction, she would have let her “showmance” Shane Meaney pick the evictee. Dan, who has outfoxed most of his housemates this season, convinced Danielle to use her Veto to remove his nomination and put Shane up instead. She did, and Dan voted out Shane to everyone’s surprise.
Dan has made and broken promises to both Danielle and Ian several times. Thursday’s betrayal might put them both on guard.
Danielle may likely be going to the final two, but only as the eventual runnerup. This week’s final Head of Household competition winner will select the sole competitor to face off in the grand prize vote among the seven jury members (the most recent evictees). Dan would pick Danielle as a weaker competitor, though Ian might still take Dan as they vowed to do so earlier, despite Ian’s misgivings.
The jury would likely reward Dan or Ian’s aggressive gameplay more than Danielle’s coasting strategy. But $50,000 for second place and 75 days in captivity ain’t bad.
The show returns at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on CBS 42, followed by the 90-minute season finale at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Zingbot 3000 returns, and saves a real zing for Danielle.
Video: Danielle Murphree talks about her plans for “Big Brother.”
It’s been nearly a decade since Alabama banished one of its own to the “Big Brother” compound.
Danielle Murphree, a 23-year-old nurse from Tuscaloosa, will be among the contestants in the 14th season of “Big Brother.” The Alabama student works at Glen Haven Health and Rehabilitation in Northport; she expects to graduate in December with a bachelor of science degree in health services.
Murphree was born in Grant, pop. just under 900, in northeast Alabama. Should she last the season, she’ll win $500,000 on the CBS reality show.
In an interview with Big Brother Network, Murphree said her strategy would be to “lay low. I don’t want to seem a threat. I know I’m smart and competitive like athletic.
“I’m not playing my cards too soon. Not till weeks 10 or 9, and then I’m going to start coming out and winning.”
Cast members live in a house on the Los Angeles TV studio lot, captured 24 hours a day with cameras and microphones. Each week, two are selected for possible eviction, with cast votes deciding who will leave.
In addition to the 12 contestants, four past contestants — Dan Gheesling, Mike “Boogie” Malin, Janelle Pierzina and Rachel Reilly — will return. They’re rumored to be mentors but not players, picking and advising proteges for a chance at $100,000.
The other “Big Brother” contestants from Alabama are Jason Guy (season 3) of Mobile who finished third, Jack Owens Jr. (season 4) of Birmingham who finished sixth, and identical twins Natalie (Montgomery) Carroll and Adria (Montgomery) Klein (season 5) of Birmingham who finished eighth and seventh respectively.
From Danielle Murphree’s portfolio on Explore Talent
Three adjectives that describe you: Loving, outgoing and passionate.
Favorite activities: I love to dance. I could do that all day, every day. I love photography, scrapbooking, working out and swimming. Anything that keeps me active.
Most difficult part about living inside the “Big Brother” house: Being cut off from the outside world and not being able to listen to music or take pictures.
Strategy for winning “Big Brother:” To be considered someone that isn’t a threat and someone that doesn’t seem very smart. The people that are a threat are usually eliminated first.
Which past “Big Brother” cast member did you like most or least? I love Jordan (Lloyd), and I can’t stand Rachel (Reilly). Rachel is beyond annoying and fake with her whining and backstabbing. Jordan seemed honest, down to earth and fun.
What are you afraid of? I am terrified of snakes, dying young, heights and never finding my true love.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Finally graduating nursing school and passing my NCLEX (National Council Licensure Eamination) on the first try.
Finish this sentence:My life’s motto is …: Love everything as if you were about to lose it.
What would you take into the house, and why? My camera because I love taking pictures; my iPad so I can play games and listen to my music; and my cell phone because I’m a chatterbug and love talking to people.
What would you do if “Big Brother” made you famous? Be a happy camper. I guess I would deal with the new challenges that I faced with fame, but I wouldn’t hate it. I wouldn’t mind being famous.