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In a thought-provoking episode of 'It's Everything West Texas,' host Floyd Miller sits down with Amy Boone to discuss a new historical marker in Abilene dedicated to Grover C. Everett, an African American lynched in 1922. The conversation traces the origins of this project back to Dr. Robert Wallace and students at McMurray University and highlights the importance of acknowledging and understanding past racial injustices. With a dedication ceremony planned for Juneteenth weekend, Boone emphasizes the need for community remembrance and dialogue, bridging the gaps in history often overlooked, especially within the context of racial violence.

Community members are invited to attend the dedication of a historical marker on Juneteenth weekend, Saturday, June 20, at 10:00 a.m. at 334 Ash Street. The marker recognizes the 1922 Abilene lynching of Grover C. Everett. It is the result of a partnership between the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) and Abilene citizens who have worked to document and recognize this chapter of local history.

The dedication follows a community remembrance event held on April 27, 2019, when Abilene residents gathered to publicly recognize Everett's death for the first time. During that event, participants collected soil from the site where Everett was killed. One jar of soil is now part of a permanent exhibit at the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, while another is displayed at the Curtis House in Abilene.

The Equal Justice Initiative's Community Remembrance Project works with local communities to research and acknowledge documented victims of racial violence through historical markers, educational initiatives, and soil collection ceremonies. These projects are intended to promote public understanding of local history and its broader historical context.

The event is open to the public.

For more information, please contact: Amy Boone, amyboone92@gmail.com

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Fogle Touts Transparency, Fiscal Discipline in Place 4 Runoff Bid

Tammy Fogle says years of showing up to city council meetings as an ordinary citizen taught her something the council itself had not been doing well enough: talking plainly to the people it serves.

Fogle, a candidate for Abilene City Council Place 4 in the June 13 runoff election, sat down recently with the podcast “It’s Everything West Texas” for a wide-ranging interview covering infrastructure, city finances, public safety, the data center boom and a social media controversy involving her comments about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

She finished second to Benjamin Bailey in the May 2 election, advancing to the runoff after the top two vote-getters failed to secure a majority.

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Bailey touts military, business experience in Abilene city council bid

Ben Bailey says he has spent his entire adult life in service — to his country, to elected officials, and now to the business he owns — and believes that accumulated experience is exactly what Abilene needs on its city council.

Bailey, an Abilene native running for Place 4, faces Tammy Fogle in a runoff election after leading a five-candidate May general election field with 32% of the vote. He sat down recently for an extended interview with the podcast "It's Everything West Texas."

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Her husband Ralph had been begging her to see a doctor. She was losing weight, growing weaker by the day. But their daughter's wedding was coming up, and Porter had DIY decorations to finish. She could make it just a little longer.

"I got so weak that I had to hold on to the furniture to walk," Porter recalled. "Ralph continued saying, 'I'm watching you get sicker and sicker. We've got to get you to a doctor.' I refused."

One day, she collapsed in her kitchen. Within 24 hours of arriving at an Abilene hospital, doctors delivered devastating news: acute liver failure. And they couldn't help her there. "You are in acute liver failure, and there's nothing we can do for you here in Abilene," she remembers them saying. "You've got to go somewhere else, to a bigger hospital."

What happened next became the story Porter felt compelled to share in her new book, "Walking in Grace: One Woman's Story of Miraculous Healing by the Power of God," now available on Amazon.

Pam will be doing a book signing at Texas Star Trading Company in Abilene Texas on March 21st starting at 1:00 pm.

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Dr. Morris Baker was born in December 1939 in Ranger, Texas, into a world deeply divided by segregation. Today, at 86, he reflects on a journey that took him from a small West Texas town to three continents and back home again, carrying a message of hope for uncertain times.

Baker’s early life was shaped by the realities of mid-20th century America. His father worked as a self-employed auto mechanic, while his mother served as a domestic worker in the homes of white families. Both parents, despite limited formal education, instilled in their son the fundamentals of reading, writing and mathematics before he reached school age.

Now, reflecting on decades of experience living under authoritarian regimes abroad, Baker expressed concern about current conditions in America.

“I lived two years in Ethiopia, where the administration was headed by an Emperor,” Baker said. “I lived a year, a little more than a year, in Tunisia, where the administration was clearly guided by the Quran and was headed by a president-for-life. And then in Philippines, I was there for almost three years under Ferdinand Marcos, and where there was martial law.”

In all three situations, Baker said, he felt protected by his American citizenship. “Currently in my home in America, I do not feel certain of that protection,” he said.

Baker traces America’s current challenges to greed and racism, particularly what he calls the delusion of superiority based on skin color.

“There are no super humans on this earth,” he said. “There exist no humans whose skin color renders them superior to any other.”

His message to Abilene and the nation draws from lessons learned across 86 years and multiple continents.

“I would ask each individual to be the leader that they are capable of being,” Baker said. “Don’t wait for the other folks. You go ahead and do your small part, and all of our small parts will add up to something wonderful. Don’t allow fear to control your behavior.”

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Eliza Jones Greene, has severe sleep apnea. Not the kind that leaves you tired in the morning — the kind where she stops breathing 38 times in an hour. Her most recent sleep study showed she isn't reaching deep sleep at all. She's up and down all night, gasping for air, and it is getting worse. Her surgeon has made clear that this is a medical emergency, and the surgery is scheduled for March 10th.

Here are two ways you can give Cash App: $EJMaryK422

Venmo: @Eliza/Jones/26

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Susan Brandt is an influencer around the world with her free books.In the process she has made many friends. It all started with the belief that the world would be a much better place if everyone could read. To learn more go to freebooks-4u.com

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Robert has an amazing story. At one point Robert had spent almost half of his life in prison. The hand he was dealt had the odds stack against him. Robert will be the first to admit that he dealt some of those hands. Most people don’t recover from this and even fewer flourish. Robert is flourishing and I believe he’s only in the earlier chapters of writing his story.

On August 23rd the documentary known as Da'Cipher 360 will Premier at The Paramount Théâtre in downtown Abilene at 7:00 pm. Robert Lilly is the stat in the documentary. The documentary was produced and direct by Alisha Taylor of Taylor Made Studios.

Come and See it's free however a donation of $5.00 would be appreciated.

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