NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATELY RELEASE
August 5, 2008
ADVERSE LAND POSSESSION: A PROBLEM FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS IN
SOUTHWEST ALABAMA
With the broadcast of CNN’s special report hosted by Soledad O’Brien, “Black In
America”, we saw that there are many different aspects of being Black In America, but it
seemed to be reported from mainly an urban point of view. I believe that much of
America, and especially Black America, has forgotten about the Deep South and more
specifically the State of Alabama. Yes, The “Jena Six” in Jena, Louisiana, received
nation wide attention as Black America and national media descended on the small town
to protest the injustice that had been done to those six students. In Alabama, however,
the injustice that is being done to Black land owners is more heinous than that.
Let me begin with the story of Ms. Thedford Rowser-Bey, the former Black Land
Loss Chairman for the Alabama NAACP. Ms. Rowser-Bey, who is a licensed legal
researcher, was very helpful in getting the Black Farmers Lawsuit started. She has also
been very successful in helping several Black families hold on to their land by
researching their deeds and showing them how to file the necessary documents in the
courts where unscrupulous lawyers and judges have conspired against them to take over
their land. As I researched Ms. Rowser-Bey myself, I found that from Michigan, to
Texas, to South Carolina, to Georgia and to Alabama, many people have been able to
keep their land because of Ms. Rowser-Bey’s help.
Because she has been instrumental in helping her people, most of the states mentioned
above have been trying to stop her by accusing her of “practicing law without a license.”
The states of Michigan, South Carolina and Alabama that I know of, have shared
information about Ms. Rowser-Bey in an effort to stop her. Many people have posted
derogatory comments about her on the worldwide web. Many call her a crazy b_ _ _ _.
In May of this year, a Marengo County Alabama judge tricked Ms. Rowser-Bey into
coming to court on a day when court was not scheduled and in front of witnesses who
were some of her clients, The Marengo County Sheriff and his deputies forcefully and
violently arrested her and sent her to Bryce Mental Facility in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to be
evaluated. Several people immediately went to Tuscaloosa to visit her and found that she
was already being given mind-altering drugs. An attorney from Montgomery, Alabama,
Mr. Norman Hurst, who was referred by Alabama NAACP State Conference President,
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Mr. Edward Vaughn, agreed to look into the situation. After visiting with her, Mr. Hurst
stated that he was very impressed with her legal knowledge and the assistance that she
provided to a number of Black landowners. He thereafter filed the documents necessary
to have her released.
In June, after being free for two weeks, a Clarke County judge had her arrested again
for allegedly failing to obey summons to come to court, which summons she claims to
have never received. She is still in jail in Grove Hill, Alabama, her bond has been
denied, the judge whose last name is Kimbrough, says that she will be sent before a grand
jury in two weeks. This appears to be a conspired-attempt (Legal Kidnapping) to keep
Ms. Rowser-Bey out of the way longs enough for the corrupt lawyers and judges to have
a chance to overturn the victories that she has helped Black landowners to win. It has
also been reported that Judge Kimbrough is preparing to extradite Ms. Rowser-Bey to
South Carolina. This will keep her handcuffed with more unlicensed law practice
allegations while the unlawful practice of the law continues unabated by licensed lawyers
and judges.
One of the Black landowner cases in Clarke County, Alabama is where two elderly
Black women, Rosie V. Thornton, 82 years old and her 104 year-old mother, Mrs. Edna
Woodard, have been told by Clarke County Sheriff, Bobby Moore, who refused to evict
these ladies in March returned on July 11th and said that the court had ruled and he was
told that they have been evicted from their land and they have to get off, or he would be
locked up in jail for not putting them off the first time. A white couple, David and
Carolyn Woods claimed that they owned the ten acres that Mrs. Thornton and her 104year-old mother live on. This land has been in Mrs. Woodard’s family for 160 years and
now all of a sudden Mr. Woods claims the land is his. Ms. Rowser-Bey helped them to
file documentation showing that their deed was valid and Mr. Woods’ deed was not.
However, on both occasions when the sheriff came to evict them he had no eviction
notices or legal documents proving that the land was not theirs. In addition, Ms RowserBey’s research also revealed that after having been elected to the District Attorney’s
Office, Spencer Walker, was the attorney of record representing the Woods against the
two old ladies.
Another case in Clarke County is the land belonging to Martin Family. The City of
Jackson municipal airport project is adjacent to their land. Over thirty years ago the City
of Jackson began taking their land without any regard for their rights as owners. This is
not a case of imminent domain. Back in 1970 officials from the City of Jackson
threatened to federalize the land belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Mack Martin, Sr. and take it
without paying them any money if they did not sign the documents to complete the sale
of the land to the city. Mr. and Mrs. Mack Martin, Sr. were senior citizens and were
unable to read the documents and were unaware of what they were signing. They were
paid a very small price, ($1500), for clear, prime, flat land. Over the years the City of
Jackson has continually moved the property line taking more property from the Martin
family. Early in 2008, the city erected a fence around the Martin property taking even
more land. The city also had some timber cut that belonged to the Martins and refused to
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compensate them for it. Also this year the City of Jackson sent surveyors out and
trespassed on the Martin’s property, surveyed their land, without the Martin’s permission.
This is a case of powerful whites doing what they want just because of the color of their
skin. They have even destroyed part of the Martin Family and Native American
Cemetery in their expansion project.
Additionally in Clarke County, the Creighton Family of Indian Ridge who has 620
acres that a petition for sale was filed by a white person who purchased the heir rights of
two of the eight family members entitlement. Also, the Phelon Family in the Gainestown
area who were represented by then attorney Stuart Dubose lost 80 plus acres to The
Stinson family (who are white) after having raised approximately $30,000 in an attempt
to save their land that had been in the family for over a hundred years.
In Sumter County, Alabama, we have a case where Mr. Sam Kennedy and his family
were evicted from their land because a lawyer claims that he bought their land in a secret
bid. The Kennedy family did not owe any taxes on their land and were never notified
that their land was up for auction. This lawyer also declared himself to be executor of
Mr. Kennedy’s mother’s estate who is elderly and resides in a nursing home. Ms.
Rowser-Bey researched their deed and found that the deed that the attorney had was
bogus. She helped them file the documents to keep their land. Mr. Kennedy and his
wheelchair bound wife, resisted. Because they resisted they were put in jail and charged
with criminal trespassing. They have been forced to move to an apartment.
In Washington County Ms. Rowser-Bey researched the deed for Charlie and Jackie
Kimbrough and helped them keep their land and in the process was instrumental in
having circuit court judge, Stuart Dubose removed from the bench. Prior to Mr. Dubose
being elected to the judgeship, as an attorney he wrote a will for a man who was deceased
and whom he never met. The will made the deceased man’s niece an heir to property that
he never owned. As reward for his efforts, attorney Dubose gave himself 600 acres of
land and 1.5 million dollars. Ms. Rowser-Bey was able to research the land and found
that the land actually belonged to the Mr. and Mrs. Charlie and Jackie Kimbrough.
Research showed that they actually had a patent on file for their land that had been signed
by President Benjamin Harrison back in 1815. She also found court documents revealing
testimony where the lady’s uncle admitted that he never owned the land he lived on.
Since the niece was unable to acquire the 600 plus acres legally, she had her husband try
to get an acre of land that sits between her house and the Kimbrough’s house by adverse
possession. The niece also filed false reports of bodily harm against the Kimbroughs.
Washington County sheriff deputies arrested Mrs. Jackie Kimbrough and her daughter
because they were accused of physically attacking the dead man’s niece and her husband.
But, when Mrs. Kimbrough went to swear out a warrant against the white people for
destruction of private property because the niece’s husband cut down a tree that belonged
to the Kimbroughs the white circuit clerk, Steven Grimes refused to issue the warrant and
warned the Kimbroughs that they had better leave those people alone.
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Another case in Washington County involves the Yelder family. The Yelders own
three hundred plus acres of land. Part of the land is lake front property. In 2007 a white
man named Robert Tarver decided he wanted that lake front property and filed a false
quit- claim deed in the Washington County probate office that said the Yelders had given
him possession of the property. The quitclaim deed has never been seen by the Yelders
and they knew nothing about the transaction. In an attempt to keep the land that had been
in their family since 1915, they hired a lawyer. While waiting for a trial date in circuit
court, Mr. Tarver went to probate judge, Charles Singleton, and got him to issue a decree
of easement across the Yelders land so that he and his contractor friend, Jethro
Richardson, could build a fish camp on the Yelder’s lake front property. The Yelders
already had a road established that went all the way to the lake. Judge Singleton’s decree
took all the rights away from the Yelders and gave all rights to Tarver and anyone he
wanted to go across the Yelder’s property. According to Alabama probate law that
easement should not have been issued without first having a hearing. There was no
hearing. Judge Singleton issued the decree and Washington County Sheriff, Richard
Stringer, enforced the decree by sending deputies to escort Mr. Tarver and Mr.
Richardson across the Yelders’ property.
The private road on the Yelders land runs along side Larry Yelder’s house. One
evening he had his grand children out on the south side of his house preparing to take
them rabbit hunting. Larry fired two shoots from a .22 caliber rifle into an old truck
muffler to test it before they went hunting. Jethro Richardson and some of his
construction crew were going out of the north gate. When he heard the shoots, he called
Sheriff Stringer and told him that Larry was shooting at him. Sheriff Stringer sent a
deputy out to investigate. Larry showed the deputy the two bullet holes in the muffler.
The deputy didn’t find anything wrong and issued no citations and left satisfied that no
crime had been committed. That was on a Friday. Monday morning Larry received a
call from Sheriff Stringer informing him that a warrant had been issued for his arrest and
that he had been charged with reckless endangerment. Sheriff Stringer set Larry’s bond
at $3,000. Larry wanted to sign a land bond but Sheriff Stringer told him that he wasn’t
going to accept no land bond he was going to have to pay cash. When they went to court,
the case was thrown out but the Sheriff kept Larry Yelder’s $3,000.
Another of the Yelder brothers, Robert, went to the Washington County probate office
in February 2008 to get a copy of the deed that Robert Tarver had filed claiming that the
lake front property was his. A lower court ruling was under appeal and ownership of the
property had not been established. Robert was told, by Judge Singleton that he needed to
get a statement from his lawyer to get that information (Freedom Of Information Act).
Judge Singleton also told him that his lawyer, (Mrs. Gwendolyn Kennedy, Birmingham,
AL.), owed him some money and some documents that he had asked for and had not
received. Mrs. Kennedy complied with judge Singleton’s request and approximately two
weeks later the Yelders were given a deed that showed that in 2006 a land transaction had
taken place between Southern Timber Company and some family named the McElroys.
Neither of which appears anywhere in the Yelders family history nor any transaction
anywhere in their business dealings.
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Ms. Rowser-Bey was contacted by the Yelders and asked to research the deed that was
given to them. She went to the Washington County probate office and searched for the
deed. When she found that no files for 2006 were available, she asked one of the all
white clerks staff about the documentation. The clerk said that information from 1995
through 2006 was still in the computer. Ms. Rowser-Bey tried every way possible to
input information from the deed into the computer to verify the transaction. Each time
the computer message said, “document not found.” Ms. Rowser-Bey then asked the clerk
that she had questioned earlier to come and see if she could find the information in the
computer. Each time the computer message was the same, “document not found.” The
deed was bogus and had not been probated.
Another unbelievable Washington County Black land loss case in question is the (A)
Roberts vs. Tensaw Land and Timber/Champion Paper Company. In 1989 the Tensaw
Land and Timber Company claimed that a parcel of land on the Roberts Family’s
property belonged to them. When the case went to trial the first time before Judge
Pearson, he ruled in favor of Tensaw. He appointed a court surveyor and the Roberts
family hired their own surveyor. The Roberts Family appealed and District Court Judge
Crowe heard the case. After the surveys were completed both parties went back before
Judge Crowe. While under oath both surveyors testified that their surveys agreed that the
land belonged to the Roberts Family. After deliberations were completed, Judge Crowe
came back and ruled in favor of Tensaw Land and Timber Company/Champion Paper
Company also. The Judge’s ruling took a parcel of prime timberland measuring 286 feet
deep and 2,660 feet long from the Roberts family. (B) The Lee Frank Tarlton Family vs.
Jackson Saw Mill involving an attempt by Jackson Saw Mill to adversely possess the
Tarlton land.
In Mobile County, Alabama there is the case of the (A) Angels of Zion Outreach
Ministry where Reverend Marvin and Evangelist Mildred Beard are the pastor and copastor. They received a call from a lawyer one Saturday afternoon asking them if the
needed legal representation for their foreclosure. They said that their property was not
under foreclosure. The lawyer said yes you are because I am reading about it in today’s
newspaper. The bank that they were using, Gulf Federal/Woodlands Bank, a Black
owned institution with three branches, had been taken over by Mr. Michael Durham,
CEO of Crescent Bank of New Orleans. Mr. Durham foreclosed on the church without
telling the Beards.
Pastor Marvin Beard is a general contractor. While working one of his projects he
became ill and could not work for six weeks. When he was well he went to Gulf
Federal/Woodlands Bank and took out a small personal loan of three thousand dollars to
complete the project he had started. Although the church note at that time was a month
late, it should not have been posted as late because a friend of the Beards, Deacon James
Butler, had placed a $25,000 C.D. with the bank as surety for the Beards’ loan. If the
note was late the bank was to debit the C.D. for the payment thereby avoiding any
penalties. When Mr. Durham foreclosed on the Beards’ church property, he took money
from Deacon Butler’s C.D., paid off Pastor Marvin’s personal loan, then took the other
money estimated at $22,000 that was left on Deacon Butler’s C.D. In addition, when the
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Beards saw what Mr. Durham had done, they took a check to the bank to cover the month
that as due that included the late fee. Mr. Durham returned their payment and stated that
he didn’t want their money he wanted their property. Evangelist Mildred Beard who has
a degree in criminal justice filed a million dollar lawsuit against Mr. Durham and Gulf
Federal/Woodlands bank. This stopped the court proceedings. She then hired a lawyer
who re-filed the lawsuit and has also contacted the banks lawyers, but there has been no
settlement. Mr. Durham, however, did send the Beards a proposal that stated that instead
of buying the property they could rent it from the bank.
When the Beard’s Lawyer, Mr. Robert Beckerle reviewed the contract, he found that
there were many errors in the spelling, wording and structure of the contract. It seemed
to have been thrown together at the last minute and presented to the Beards to sign just
five minutes before the bank was to close. The contract was made up of two different
types. It was a default loan contract and a term loan contract incorporated into one. This
would allow Mr. Durham to use the contract anyway that he deemed necessary. This is a
clear cut case of predatory lending in that Mr. Durham foreclosed on the paperwork, and
without a courthouse sale, Mr. Durham bought the property for himself and began to add
more payments and interest to the ongoing loan which is in effect at this time. The case
number is cv-07-2280.51. (B) The Johnson Family of the Satsuma Community where a
portion of their land was adversely possessed and sold to a home developer.
The afore mentioned cases are just a few examples of how Blacks have once again in
the history of this country become victims of the unjust interpretation and administration
of the laws of the United States of America. It is now time for these illegal and unethical
law practitioners to be brought to justice and to be held accountable for their actions.
This type of discrimination against Blacks in the court and banking systems of the Deep
South has gone on so long that the people who perpetrate these crimes feel that they are
invincible and cannot be stopped.
As for Ms. Thedford Rowser-Bey, I believe that she is not guilty of unauthorized
practice of the law, but, guilty of using her knowledge and legal research skills to help
her Black brothers and sisters keep their land and expose the corruption that goes on
under the umbrella of the law by attorneys, judges and large white land owners (Planters).
Therefore, we are (A) appealing to Gov. Bob Riley, Alabama Attorney General, Troy
King, State Senators, Pat Lindsey and Hank Sanders, State Reps., Marc Keahey and
Thomas Jackson, U.S. Congressmen, Artur Davis and Jo Bonner, Charlotte R. Morrison,
Sr. Atty., Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama, NAACP National Chairman, Julian Bond,
NAACP President, Benjamin Todd Jealous, Alabama State NAACP Conference
President, Edward Vaughn, Alabama NAACP Regional Director, Reverend Allen Forte’,
SCLC Exec. Dir., Robert Steele, Rev. Jessie L. Jackson, Rainbow Coalition, CNN
Commentator, Roland Martin, NBC Dateline Anchor, Stone Phillips, WALA Morning
News Anchor, Eric Reynolds, WKRG Investigative Reporter, Kesshia Peyton, CBS
News Magazine, 60 Minutes, National Radio Activist Michael Baisden, Television and
Media Millionaire, Oprah Winfrey, Television Talk Show Host, Montel Williams,
National Civil Rights Activist, Reverend Al Sharpton, Mr. Tavist Smiley, PBS
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Broadcasting, The United States Dept. of Justice, The Federal Bureau of Investigation,
and The American Civil Liberties Union, to launch a full scale investigation into the
criminal acts that are taking place in the Deep South of the State of Alabama. I believe
that when the investigation is complete the entire country will see that all of these victims
have had their civil and legal rights violated. This is not a Black vs. White issue this is a
Right vs. Wrong or Justice vs. Injustice issue.
(B) There Will be a massive rally in support of Mrs. Edna Williams Woodard, Rosie V.
Thornton and Ms. Thedford Rowser-Bey at the Clarke County Courthouse, Grove Hill,
Alabama, on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 10:00 A.M.
Sincerely,
Elder Al-Clyde Sauls
Media Contact:
Elder Al-Clyde Sauls, President
Washington County Branch NAACP #5048
P.O. Box 46
Wagarville, Alabama 36585
251-456-8241 – Home
251-709-7471 – Cell
alsauls@bellsouth.net
Dr. O. L. Hubert, President
Southwest Alabama Improvement Association
P.O. Box 1043
Jackson, AL. 36545
251-387-0357 – Cell
251-246-5869 - Home
Rev. Carl Martin, Associate Minister/Teacher
Mt. Olive Number Two Baptist Church
P.O. Box 181
Jackson, AL. 36545
251-246-4903 – Home
251-769-3516 – Cell
cmartin955@aol.com
Mr. Jimmie Gardner, President
Mobile County Branch NAACP #5044
419 Lexington Avenue
Mobile, AL. 36603
251-433-1145 - Office
251-366-3166 - Cell
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