Alabama State University News November 3, 2011 Gov. Bentley Speaks at ASU's Bridge Builders Breakfast By Timothy C. Ervin A crowd of more than 200 business and community leaders started their morning at Alabama State University's Bridge Builders Breakfast on Thursday, Nov. 3, where Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley appeared as the guest speaker. The breakfast, held at downtown Montgomery's RSA Activity Center, was part of a quarterly lecture series sponsored by ASU's Center for Leadership and Public Policy. Bentley told the audience that Alabamians must work together to solve the state's problems. "We've had some difficult times, but when we pull together we can make a difference in the state," Bentley said. "When you go through tragedy, racial lines disappear, political lines disappear, geographical lines disappear. All those things disappear when you start to work together in a compassionate way trying to help one another. That's what I try to do as your governor." Bentley, now in his 10th month as governor, told the audience what he believes is expected of him as a leader. "To be a leader you have to be able to keep yourself under control and the situation under control wherever you are," he said. "You have to be concise in your decision-making process. You have to make decisions quickly and decisively. And thirdly, most importantly, anything you do has to be done with compassion. And if you have passion for the people around you and care about the people around you, things usually go OK." Bentley also fielded several questions from the audience, many of which were related to Alabama's recently passed immigration law that has received national attention. "I believe the bill that we passed puts pressure on the federal government to do their job," Bentley said. "And they have not done their job for the last 20 years. I really have no problem enforcing the laws of the state. I do believe that people who work in this state should be legal." Bentley said he doesn't want people to confuse obeying the law and enforcing the laws of this state dealing with immigration with the civil rights issues of the 1950s and 60s. "That's totally different," Bentley said. "In the 50s and 60s the federal government was trying to tell the states to carry out the laws of this country. Now it's just the opposite. We are telling the federal government to carry out the laws of this state and the laws of this nation. This is not a racial thing." "I think the Governor did a peaceful, unified message of diversity in Alabama," said Karen Jones, CEO of Whom It Concerns Inc., a non-profit company that works to revitalize Montgomery neighborhoods. "And although our immigration law does have flaws, he believes that legalized citizens of Alabama should have the right to work." Ken Austin, pastor of New Walk of Life Church, said he was pleased to have the opportunity to hear Bentley clarify his position on immigration. "This was a great opportunity to hear from the governor and get a perspective firsthand," Austin said. "Sometimes we hear mixed messages in the media, and to hear him made it clear for me." The Bridge Builders Breakfast series is designed to bring together community leaders, educators, elected officials, citizens and pastors to discuss issues such as politics, religion, education and economics that affect the Montgomery community. Previous Bridge Builders Breakfast speakers have included former speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives and director of the Alabama Development Office, Seth Hammett, former U.S. Congressman Bobby Bright, former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, RSA Director David Bronner, and many others. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.