The new Wind Creek Wetumpka. Photo from Facebook
African-American leaders in Alabama are wondering why the Obama administration won't join their lawsuit that challenges the closing of a non-Indian gaming facility. Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford sued Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange for shutting down Macon County’s largest electronic bingo facility. Ford asked the White House and the Department of Justice for support but was turned down. If DOJ “can use our tax dollars to help the Indians, then it can help the poor black and white citizens of Macon County," Ford wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Bloomberg News reported. He also said African-Americans, historically, have suffered more than Native Americans. DOJ is backing the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in a lawsuit filed by Strange. The tribe operates Class II games in Indian Country, over which the state lacks jurisdiction. "We’ve always said what we do is legal under federal law,” Robbie McGhee, who runs the tribe's government relations office, told Bloomberg. “This is sovereign land. We can’t tax so this is what we have to do to raise our revenue.” Get the Story:
Obama Demurs on Alabama Voting-Rights Case in Bingo War (Bloomberg News 1/24)
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contributed $350K to GOP to protect gaming (01/13)
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