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<\/a>The Jones County native and 1957 Jones County Junior College graduate said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t remain silent any longer. I had to choose sides and I didn\u2019t consider anything else. I had to stand up for the rule of law,\u201d said Pickering.<\/p>\nAs the Jones County Attorney in 1963, the KKK took notice of his stand with minorities and threatened him. The KKK\u2019s Imperial Wizard, Sam Bowers lived in Laurel and was convicted for the murder of Vernon Dahmer who led the fight for voter rights for African Americans. However, despite helping minorities fight for their rights, Judge Pickering was depicted as a racist in 2001, when President George W. Bush nominated Judge Pickering to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. He had been serving as the U.S. Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi since 1990, after being appointed by President George H. Bush. With his confirmation stalled in Congress, in January 2004, President George W. Bush recess appointed Judge Pickering to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He was forced to retire in December 2004, after the Senate adjourned without confirming him to the federal bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Democrats filibustered, and I had to retire because I didn\u2019t get confirmed. They made it a political-racist issue, despite support from the NAACP,\u201d said Pickering.<\/p>\n
His story caught the attention of Mike Wallace at CBS\u2019s \u201c60 Minutes\u201d news While progress with racial reconciliation continues today, Judge Pickering noted this generation faces some issues he hoped would be resolved or farther along. JC student, Jordan Scott of Bay Springs said she was impressed with Judge Pickering\u2019s persistence in standing up for what was not popular in his day. While her generation is forced to deal with discrimination via the Internet, she said she is thankful for the progress the U.S. has made over the years and acknowledges more needs to be done.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the \u2018land of the free and home of the brave,\u2019 we should be Living in the South has put race relations front and center, said JC sophomore, Faith Houston of Laurel. She believes forgiveness and communication will be key to improving race relations. Yet, she adds there is no such thing as \u201crace\u201d except the human race.<\/p>\n Judge Pickering declared in his presentation, \u201cRacism is not systemic. Since the 1960s, secularists used free speech to be successful in changing the culture of our nation. Now, these secularists use free speech to change culture and silence Christians. The First Amendment is not to prohibit Christians, churches, from one thing. It prohibits the government from interfering with religion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn all things big and in all things small, never, never, never give up! Do your best to be an ambassador for freedom in our society and get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n These challenges, Houston said, were ideas her parents instilled in her and they have led her to volunteer in her community and in political campaigns.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is also why I will continue to try to be my best self and never quit, as I finish college to continue to make a difference in my community in the health field,\u201d said Houston.<\/p>\n For more information about 糖心直播\u2019s Charles Pickering Honors Institute, check out the webpage, https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/honors\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ELLISVILLE \u2013 Today\u2019s issues are similar but different according to retired U.S. Federal Judge, Charles Pickering. He proceeded to share with 糖心直播 students selected to be a part of the Honors Institute which bears his name, some of the issues he faced. Growing up in what he considered to be the \u201cbest decade,\u201d the … <\/p>\n<\/a> program. Judge Pickering also shared details of his experiences with the \u201cbroken judicial confirmation process\u201d in two books he authored: Supreme Chaos, The Politics of Judicial Confirmation and the Culture War<\/em> in 2006 and, A Price Too High, The Judiciary in Jeopardy<\/em> in 2007.<\/p>\n<\/a> farther along in the fight for racial equality and reconciliation. These issues should not be just another box waiting to be checked on the \u2018To-Do List.\u2019 I hope that in the upcoming years we can successfully operate as a more diverse, unified country,\u201d said Scott. \u201cNot only should there be the acknowledgment of wrongdoings and reconciliation for African Americans, but there should also be acknowledgment and reconciliation for all minority groups.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cWe are One Blood, One Race. One Blood is something I get from my Christian worldview. The Bible does not use the word \u2018race\u2019 in reference to people. Instead, it describes all human beings as being of \u2018one blood\u2019 in Acts 17:6 KJV. Terms such as these emphasize that we are all related, from one family, the descendants of the first man and woman,\u201d said Houston.<\/p>\n<\/a>After citing several examples of how the \u201ccancel culture\u201d can lead to the demise of the United States by stifling innovation and advances in society, Judge Pickering challenged students. He encouraged the audience to be the best they can be, take on bigger projects than themselves and then the Judge quoted Winston Churchill, Britain\u2019s leader during WWII.<\/p>\n