Okaloosa

 

Okaloosa
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Jubilee State Prince of the Continental Apostles
Motto(s): Quod si non est certamen, non est progressus English: If there is no struggle, there is no progress
State/territorial song(s): Go Down Moses
Official language(s)	English
Capital	Selma
Largest city	Haywood
Largest metro	Haywood-Pensacola-Daphne metropolitan area
Area	Ranked Xth
• Total	35,726 sq mi (92,530 km2)
Population	Ranked Xth
• Total	5,649,798
• Density	{{{2000DensityUC}}}/sq mi  (61.05/km2) Ranked Xth
• Median household income	48,981 (Xth)
Elevation
• Highest point	Morton Hill 2,064 ft ( m)
• Lowest point	Gulf of Mexico sea level
Before admission	Alabama, Florida
Admission to the Union	April 21, 1921 (4th)
Secretariat	Samson Jackson (CPUC)
Deputy Secretariat	Sandra Williams (CPUC)
Legislature	Continental Committee of Okaloosa
• Upper house	Secretaries of State
• Lower house	House of Deputies
Committeemen	{{{comitteemen}}}
Abbreviations	,
[[:Category:|Category]] • Topics

Okaloosa known officially as the Okaloosan Continentalist State also known as Continental Okaloosa is one of three republics of the United Commonwealth. Located in the Southeastern region of the sovereign state, it borders the American Continental Republic to the north. The third most densely populated city in the country, home to the second largest concentration of African-Continentals is Haywood, which is part of the largest black metropolitan area in the United Commonwealth; the Haywood-Pensacola-Daphne metropolitan area. It was admitted as a continentalist state on April 1st, 1921.

Formerly the heart of the Confederate States of America, it is one of the primary states to form the New South; a designation to states located south of the Mason-Dixon line with a large minority population. It borders the Gulf Coast, and is situated entirely on the Gulf Coast Plain and is home to a prime waterfront and wetlands. Within its borders, its population is mostly situated on the Mobile River, the Tombigbee River and the Alabama River, known collectively as the Mobile–Tensaw River Delta. It's center of economic activity is Mobile Bay where some sixty percent of the population lives; it is also home to the state's nationally known jubilee which draws large crowds every summer.

The Paleo-Indians inhabited Okaloosa some 12,000 years ago, where they lived in hunter-gather societies, hunting local natural megafauna now extinct in the region. Okaloosa is home to the Moundville Archaeological Site, which is the second largest mound complex in the United Commonwealth, only second to the mounds of Cahokia. The Muscogee are considered to be the descendants of the ancient mound builders of the Mississippi culture from around the Tennessee Valley. With an admixture with the Utinahica, the Muskogean speaking tribes were the natives indigenous to the region during European contact. Individual tribes also included the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Koasati and Mobile peoples. Okaloosa was settled by the Spanish, although the French were to first to establish a long colony in the area known as Fort Louis in 1702, although abandoned after floods in 1711, relocating to Fort Conde. After the American Revolutionary War it was split between the Spanish and the United States at the 31°N parallel. All lands were eventually relinquished to the United States in 1795 with the signature of the Treaty of Madrid, with the United States forming the Mississippi Territory. In 1812, the Mobile District was incorporated into the territory; and the states of Mississippi and Alabama were formed. It was home to large amounts of cotton plantations; which with the invention of the cotton gin made the region's slaveholders incredibly wealth. Hundreds of thousands of African-Americans, brought by the Atlantic slave trade working forced labor, by 1860 the African-American population made up forty-five percent of the states population. The region seceded during the American Civil War, some 10,000 slaves escaped to join the Union Army. After the conclusion of the war, the state went under Reconstruction and the Reconstruction Amendments provided enfranchisement to the enslaved population.

The Assassination of Lincoln allowed for the Southern States to seceded again in rebellion; and open conflict erupted between the now free Black population and the former white slave owners; known as the Southern Civil War, which ended when the United Commonwealth of America successfully reincorporated the territory through the War of Contingency. The former United States became centralized under the United Commonwealth government, creating a corrupt plutocratic system that would last until the Continental Revolutionary War. In 1920, Harry Haywood and Anthony Williams joined the Continentalist Party, and organized alongside with several industrial revolutionaries in the North to overthrow the Federalist dominated government. Anthony Williams, considered the father of the Okaloosan state, became the Secretariat of Okaloosa and with assistance from the CPUC rapidly developed the state into a home for Alabama's black population. Williams was brutal in his crackdown on black supremacists, non-Continentalists and the returning African-Americans from West Africa, creating a centralized state police that sought to stop black nationalists from seeking revenge on whites. Throughout the 20th and 21st century, it has been a central supporter in the current political system of the Continentalist Party.

Etymology

The formation of Okaloosa can be closely tied to Laurel Hill resident and Committeemen, William Dawson. In 1921 it was Dawsom who introduced the name to the Anthony Williams and the Central Committee. Mr. Dawsom name proposal came after a steamboat which he owned named “The Okaloosa”. It is a a Choctaw word meaning "black water", "Oka" meaning water, and "lusa" meaning black in the Choctaw language. The Okaloosa steamboat brought passengers up and down the Blackwater River from Milton to Pensacola, and was a well known among locals. Because of Dawsom's popularity from among the populace, his friendly demeanor, allowed many support the name even before it became the official name of the state. It was officially presented to the rest of the country during the 1921 May Day Parade, in which the first party flag for the state was displayed with the name. On the day of admission, April 1st, the official Constitution proclaimed the Okaloosan Continentalist State.

Nicknames, state symbols

Okaloosa official state name is "The Jubilee State" which appears on the state's official website, on government documents, welcoming signs and registration plates for vehicles. In several counties along the Gulf Coast, in cities and towns along the coast engage in a yearly "jubilee", the most prominent being the Haywood Bay jubilee. During this natural phenomenon, several species of crab. shrimp, flounder, eels leave deeper water and swarm into the shallow pelagic zone of the bay. Several hundreds of fishermen embark into the bay and collect the fish. It is a national tradition that attracts many across from the country and is one of the state holidays recognized nationally. Typically televised with political celebrations, it is central to the Continentalist's propaganda of supporting the fish industry and its workers. The official holiday is set on the Full Moon of July, thus changing every year. Several local mythos stand for when a Jubilee may occur;

1. Jubilees occur only in the summer.
2. They usually occur in early morning hours, i.e., before sunrise.
3. The wind on the day previous and during the jubilee is from some easterly direction. If wind direction changes, the jubilee will cease.
4. There is a rising tide during a jubilee; a change to falling will stop the jubilee.
5. There are 2 water masses meeting, with the saltier water invading during a jubilee.
6. Jubilees occur on full moons.

Because of this connection with fishery, Saint Peter is the patron saint of the people of Okaloosa. During Anthony Williams reign, his rhetoric was heavily connected to Christianity, and media began claiming him to be the "Prince Apostle" to Aeneas Warren. Continued to this day within Baptist tradition, the state is refereed to as the "Prince of the Continental Apostles". Okaloosa's formal name is also typically shortened by its citizens to just "Oka" and by musicians as "okra", which was proclaimed the state vegetable in 2016. The official state motto is Latin: Quod si non est certamen, non est progressus meaning "If there is no struggle, there is no progress", a quote attributed to Frederick Douglass, a national leader of the abolitionist movement prior to the First Civil War.

The state bird is the yellowhammer, and its most visual state symbol is the state flower, the Camellia which is featured on all state welcoming signs and is wore often among officials; it also part of the National Wreath woven together with other state flowers during May Day. Its state tree is the Southern longlea pine and is planted on the grounds of the Central Committee Building and the State Council Building in Selama. The state song is "Go Down Moses", which alludes to the Biblical story of Exodus and the flight of the Israelites from Egypt and into the Promised Land, although revisions were made with the verse of "my people" changed to "the workers".

Geography

Haywood Bay is one of the largest inlets of the Continental Gulf, and its the heart of the state industrial backbone and population. With a discharge of 62,000 cubic feet (1,800 m3) per second, it is the third largest estuary in the United Commonwealth.

Okaloosa's total land area is 35,726 square miles, (92,530 km2) and is the Xth smallest state in the United Commonwealth. Situated along the Gulf Coast within the historical geographical and cultural Deep South, a sub region of the Southern Continental States. Although it was part of the former Confederate States of America and meets the regional definition as belonging to Dixie, the states local Continentalist chapter openly rejects the usage of this term to in regards to Okaloosa. In the northern portion of the state, the state gradually turns into a landscape of hills and small valleys known as part of the larger geographic region known as the Piedmont.

The Gulf Coast Coastal Plain dominates the majority of the state which is home to a majority of the states inhabitants. Major rivers include the Tombigbee River in the West and the Alabama River in the center; the two rivers meet in confluence and form the Haywood River which empties into the Haywood Bay. Haywood Bay is 413 square miles (1,070 km2) in area. It is 31 miles (50 km) long by a maximum width of 24 miles (39 km). The deepest areas of the bay are located within the shipping channel, sometimes in excess of 75 feet (23 m) deep, but the average depth of the bay is 10 feet (3 m). The Chattahoochee River and the Apalachicola River creates the states states eastern borders. These flow into the estuaries of Perdido Bay, Escambia Bay and the East Bay. Another important bay and the second largest population center is located around the Pensacola Bay which is is about 13 miles (21 km) long and 2.5 miles (4 km) wide. Along the coast and around these inlets are a series of barrier islands; some prominent barrier islands include Santa Rosa and Dauphin Island.

Valleys, a rarity along the coastal plain, are typically very broad and rise in three successive terraces above a local stream. Okaloosa's most prominent point is Morton Hill at 2,064 ft, located in the northern portion of the state while the lowest point is located within Haywood Bay. Protected forests include the Conecuh National Forest which winds some 20 miles along Okaloosa's coastal floodplains, the states only protected land.

Climate

Okaloosa is classified within the Köppen climate system as as displaying characteristics of a humid subtropical climate. The states annual temperature is 69 °F (23 °C). Because it is situated almost entirely along the Gulf Coast, its summers tend to be very warm while its winters seem to be mild with stead precipitation throughout the year. The state receives an average of 56 inches (1,400 mm) of rainfall each year and experiences a lengthy growing season of up to 300 days in its southern portion. During spring and summer hailstorms and tornadoes may occur, depending on the intensity of the storm cell, damage varies. Although the most devastating are the hurricanes that regularly batter the state's coastline.

Government

Overview

House of the Central Committee located in Selma

Headquarters of the Continentalist Party of Okaloosa located in Haywood

The government of Okaloosa is a governed by the Constitution of Okaloosa. It a Continentalist state with republican features, it is one of the X members of Continental States within the United Commonwealth and is allotted seats to the Central Committee of the Continental States. With a population of some five million as of 2018, it holds eleven seats. The government is comprised of three branches, the executive, the legislative and the judicial. Within the political fabric of the state, much like all other states, the government overlaps heavily with the internal workings of the Continentalist Party. Okaloosa is a dominant party polity along with every other Continentalist State in the union. The executive is comprised of three individuals who form the Executive Committee of Okaloosa. Two of the three seats on the Executive Committee are publicly elected officials, while one is selected by the Secretariat of the Continental States. The executive controls governing agencies, law enforcement agencies, appoints boards and acts as the supervisory directorate for the entire state. The legislative branch is the unicameral Central Committee comprised of 50 voting members. The judicial branch consists of the lower courts, while the Executive Committee acts as the court of last resort.

Executive

The head of government is the Secretariat, who is elected by popular vote from the states voters, and must be confirmed by the Executive Committee of the Continental States. The current Secretariat of Okaloosa is Samson Jackson (CPUC) who was elected and confirmed in 2016. Selection of the Secretariat is heavily competitive, with candidates undergoing rigorous testimony which is demanded by the National Executive Committee. Although one may not adhere to the ideology or support specific policies of the Continentalist Party, there is a prerequisite by the Executive Committee that candidates follow the party's ethical model. The Secretariat is the chief executive of the state government and acts in close association with a state's Continentalist chair leader, working on behalf of National Executive Committee to amend, withhold or acquiesce legislation, deploying the state's armed forces during emergencies and representing the state during events. Although depending on the state, the Secretariat's powers may be mitigated and some shared by the other members of the Executive Committee; within Okaloosa the powers of appointing, dismissing non-elected judges, drafting of the state's budgets and issuing pardons and hearing cases appealed through lower courts are applied to the Executive Committee as a whole.

Members of the Executive Committee include Deputy Secretariat and Chairwoman of the Continentalist Party of Okaloosa, a serving member on the Executive Committee of the Continental States and the Central Committee of the Continentalist Party, elected in 2000, and Deputy Chairman of Continentalist Party of Okaloosa, Francis Geraldine, appointed to the Executive Committee in 2016 by Nathaniel Scribner. Both the Secretariat and Deputy Secretariat serve four year terms without term limits, while appointed member serves indefinitely until resignation or removal by the national Secretariat.

Executive Committee of Okaloosa

Secretariat Samson Jackson (CPUC)

Deputy Secretariat, Chairwoman Sandra Williams (CPUC)

Deputy Chairman Francis Geraldine (CPUC)

Legislature

The Central Committee like all other states within the Continental States is unicameral. Comprised of 50 members, the legislators are known as Committeemen and Committeewomen, and all are elected every four years. Within the Constitution of Okaloosa the legislature is empowered to draft and create legislation. Within the perimeters of the Constitution and the national political status quo, legislation is effective as far as the Central Committee of the Continentalist Party supports it. Committee members are subdivided into subcommittees were they revise laws, build specific legislation based on their own specialty. The Provost of the Central Committee acts as the presiding officer, who maintains house quorum and selects the majority of the members of the Subcommittee on Rules. The current Provost is Rev. Tremon Maxwell (CPUC), who was elected as a Committeemen for Pensacola in 2004 and was nominated as Provost in 2016. Baptist African-Continentals dominate the legislature, with 38 belonging to the CPUC and the remainder registered as independents.

Law

LGBT rights

Alongside two of the three predominantly black Continental states, Okaloosa does not recognize same-sex marriages, and through several bills enacted in 2002, 2008 and 2017 the Central Committee has enshrined the states disagreement with the national government's push for opening towards same-sex marriage. Marriages are demanded to be monogamous and observed by a state official; which in all cases is a member of a conservative Baptist sect. All three bills have been challenged through courts, all unheard by the Executive Committee. Sodomy is still a felony within Okaloosa, although through national pressure the state ceased enforcing the law in 2008.

Okaloosa state law does not provided protections against hate crimes in regards to those of sexual orientation, although several hate crime laws do protect those of faith and color. Gender reassignment surgeries and claiming alternative genders were brought to national attention in 2016, and the Central Committee of Okaloosa banned any medical procedures to change one's gender. Heavily popularized in the 2000's, religious conversion therapy was highly prevalent within the state. The government tolerance of the activities of the churches triggered a political struggle between the national government and the state government, ultimately causing the state to loose some nearly 400 million dollars in infrastructure spending. In 2017 some 4,095 people left the state relocating to almost entirely to the state of Muscogee and the city of Atlanta on the basis of the states rejection of same-sex activites. Several national officials have claimed the issue to be a "tragedy" and a sign of political weakness from the Continentalist Party. The selection of Sandra Williams to the Central Committee of the Continentalist Party and the Executive Committee of the Continental States, an outspoken opponent to the legalization of same-sex marriage, has been a contentious issue within the party.

Gun laws

Flag of the Continental State of Okaloosa (1921-1924) as it was presented among the various Continentalist States during the 1922 May Day Parade; it resembles that of the other first flags of the other states during the time. It is still used by the Continentalist Party of Okaloosa and is frequently displayed at government buildings and is still a common sight on residential properties.