State Quarterlies | Alabama: Helen Keller, Karl Rove, and a Dying Education System
State Quarterlies is a series of articles uncovering the hidden histories behind the designs seen on American coins. From 1999–2008, the US Mint released a succession of quarters commemorating each of the country’s 50 states, amounting to the release of roughly five new, independently curated designs per year. For years, interest in these shiny notes of legal tender sat solely with nit-picking coin collectors and wizened packrats. But, the further you look into the stories behind these benign images of wildlife, covered wagons, and ships at full mast, the more intriguing these pieces become. From bloody betrayals, to political corruption, to outright murder, the secret history behind state quarters brings us closer to understanding what it means to be an American — and how we can learn from what’s all too easy to write off as boring.
Sate Quarter: Alabama
Issued: 2003
Main design: Portrait of Helen Keller flanked by her name spelled in English and Braille, long leaf pine branches, magnolias; Also includes statehood year (1819) and a banner reading “The Spirit of Courage”
Before writing about Alabama’s State Quarter, I asked few people about their thoughts on its design. I received exclusively tepid responses, ranging all the way from, “Who cares?” to, “Oh. Guess Helen Keller’s from there.” Admittedly, I would be the first to give a similar response if I didn’t know more about this design’s batshit crazy context. Most states select a subject directly in line with their public image. But, looking at Alabama’s reputation, can you blame them for choosing a topic out of left field?
Alabama has a rich history all its own, but, unfortunately much of it is plagued by raging flare-ups of racism, intimidation, and terrorism. They were one of the first to secede from the Union to protect their “states rights” (of owning human goddamn beings); a continued proponent for segregated schools; and came a few percentage points away from voting an alleged child predator (and confirmed racist) to the Senate. Out of 50 states, they’re ranked 46th in healthcare, 47th in education, and 48th in opportunity. Only 30% of their population has a college education. A cynic would look at this state’s choice of putting Helen Keller on its quarter as an exercise in plausible deniability for the person they’re depicting— after all, she’s technically the most prominent Alabaman incapable of seeing and hearing anything that goes on in her home state. But, jokes aside, the further you look into both Keller’s and Alabama’s histories, the more mismatched they seem.
After learning to speak, Keller grew up to become a staunch Democratic Socialist who strongly advocated for worker’s rights, feminist policies, and even helped to prop up the NAACP in its infancy. She also introduced the Akita, one of the toughest dogs to train, to America. When you get down to brass tacks, she was a bad bitch — and she embodies the exact type of woman hardline conservative Southerners fear the most. So, what wingnut put her on the quarter?
In 1999, Alabama elected Don Siegelman, a progressive Democrat, as governor. Yes, you read that correctly. A progressive Democrat governor. In Ala-tootin’-bama. His term serendipitously coincided with the design push for Alabama’s state quarter.
Like most projects similar in purpose and focus, the theme for the state quarter design competition centered around his administration’s main campaign focus: education. Officially titled, “Education: Link to the past, gateway to the future,” the competition reportedly received thousands of entries from schoolchildren all over the state. Although the original favorite entry involved a timeline of Alabama’s economic changes, that design proved too intricate to translate to the face of a coin less than an inch wide. A much simpler design, Keller’s likeness was ultimately chosen to officially represent Alabama in the US Mint series.
The story seems benign at first glance, but what happened to Siegelman and his push for improved education resources in his state ultimately lead to bogus corruption charges, (alleged) Karl Rove trickery, and the destruction of a whistleblower’s house.
For the most part, Sigelman looked to improve education in Alabama with two initiatives: an early education literacy program and the introduction of a state lottery to fund free tuition at state universities for high school graduates. The former, now known as the “Alabama Reading Initiative,” was nationally recognized for its success. The latter, however, was defeated in a free standing referendum ballot in 1999. It also became a central focus for felony corruption charges brought against him.
Specifically, he was charged with trading government favors for support of the state lottery fund proposal. But, this isn’t another open-and-shut case of political malfeasance. The “trade” in question was a contribution to an ad campaign in favor of passing the state lottery program. Not a single penny of this contribution was used for personal gain. It wasn’t even technically given by the person accused of gifting the donation to Siegelman in the first place. Since Siegelman’s conviction, over 100 attorneys general and government officials from both sides of the aisle have chalked his sentencing up to a carefully coordinated hit job from conservative powers in the Alabama legislature with the help of Karl Rove. Yes, that human chungus, that reanimated pile of pre-cooked hot dog sludge, somehow lurched his way into this story.
Rove reportedly worked with Bill Canary, a Republican operative to help Siegelman’s opponent, Bob Riley, win the 2006 race for governor over Siegelman. Bill Canary’s wife, Leura, was appointed by the Bush administration as the State Attorney for Alabama’s Middle District, and she ultimately brought charges against Siegelman for the race. When confronted about the obvious conflict of interest at hand, she issued a public statement saying that she would recuse herself, but ultimately offered no evidence of doing so.
Even former Judge Mark Fuller, who presided over Siegelman’s case, had a personal grudge with the defendant surrounding the gubernatorial administration’s discovery of how Fuller took money out of state retirement funds to give a bonus to one of his employees (no charges were filed, but it was considered a misstep in the judge’s early career). Eventually, after sentencing Siegelman to a hefty seven years in prison, he was removed from the bench after being charged with domestic violence. He also admitted to committing perjury. Besides Fuller and Rove, countless people surrounding this case have continued on with their lives with few consequences, meaning that they press onward, demonstrating morally bankrupt actions and views.
Thankfully, some people involved in the case against Siegelman found enough courage to speak out. Unfortunately, this happened after the former governor’s name went through the ringer. Years after Siegelman’s sentencing, Tamarah Grimes, a paralegal for the prosecution on this case released a signed affidavit saying,
“Canary maintained direct communication with the prosecution team, directed some actions in the case and maintained the case through members of the prosceution team.”
Within this document, Grimes also detailed how prosecutors communicated with jurors by passing notes during the trial and how key witnesses were cajoled and coached to provide testimony directly in conflict with their own memories of events. I am not some kind of dictionary sheriff, but I’m pretty sure people saying things that are the opposite of what they recall is lying.
Another whistleblower, Dana Jill Simpson, a US Attorney in Rainesville, AL and former Republican operative, also came forward claiming that while working on the campaign she had been on a phone call between herself, Riley, and Bill Canary. 60 Minutes ran a piece on her allegations. (Watch the piece here if you can stomach it.)
If you don’t have time to watch the segment, Simpson’s recount is best summed up in an article published by The Nation.
While on a conference call with Bob Riley and Bill Canary, Riley asked “…if [Canary] was sure ‘these girls’ [his wife, Leura Canary and US Attorney of Northern Alabama Alice Martin] could ‘take care of’ Siegelman and get him out of the way of any future political race. Canary told him ‘not to worry’ and that he had already worked it out with Karl Rove, who had spoken to the Justice Department, which, he said, was already ‘pursuing’ an investigation of Siegelman.”
After starting to speak out against this clear miscarriage of justice, Simpson reported experiencing textbook acts of intimidation. She had her car totaled after being run off the road by an SUV. Oh, and her house burned down. Local authorities found no evidence of arson, and I truly want to believe their side of the story. I really do. But, it’s hard to look at these situations as a pair of coincidences — especially when considering the context. Alabama has a pretty charred history when looking at the, erm, “flammability” of its churches, buses, and homes. In those contexts, local and even state authorities would have onlookers believe that these attacks were either pure coincidence or totally deserved. In the context of Simpson’s allegations, would it be that much of a stretch to think being run off the road and her house burning down happened on purpose? The integrity of Alabama’s justice system had a lot to lose. It wasn't just one lawyer accused of malfeasance. It was at least two US State Attorneys, a governor, a Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, a Judge, and several state prosecutors with their heads on the chopping block. If this group of gouls could be willing to put an innocent man away for almost a decade to keep him out of politics, intimidation tactics like these would be well within their ethical comfort zone.
In addition to the pieces by 60 Minutes and The Nation cited here, several other highly respected news outlets have discussed the many additional conflicts of interest, personal vendettas, and alleged kickback schemes surrounding the bogus conviction of Siegelman. The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, The LA Times…the list goes on. There was even a documentary made about this case. Although the film lacks big-budget production value, it does a solid job at outlining a multi-faceted conspiracy much larger than what I am able to get outline in this piece. Even with this coverage, though, Siegelman remained in prison. Actual justice for this man remains elusive.
Although he’s currently free after serving nearly the entirety of his sentence, nothing will get back the years he lost behind those walls, the milestones he missed with his family, and a professional reputation that’s burnt to a crisp. When looking at the case brought against Siegelman, you’d have to be deaf and blind — or a corrupt Alabaman — to think he was guilty.
Image Credits
Feature Image: Made by me.
Alabama State Quarter Image: via Wikimedia Commons
