Are We Our Own Worst Enemies? Part 3
When I was elected as the first black county chair in Lawrence County, Alabama, I made history because it was the first time a black person was elected to serve in the position. It was a total surprise that the Chairman before me was resigning that evening and that he would nominate me to secede but it didn’t sit well with the Treasurer at the time and she immediately suggested a “Co-Chairmanship” something that totally against the Alabama Democratic Party and the outgoing Chair made the statement to her “We’re not going to have the first black Chair overseen by a white person” and it was at that moment I knew I was dealing with some elements of racism which later manifested in the Treasurer resigning and talking those like-minded with them. The former treasurer, in their zeal to unseat me as the first black chair, orchestrated a vote to oust me later. The first two attempts failed, but on the third, they thought they had the votes mustered up, but the vote was a tie, and I chose not to vote for myself, thereby giving it to the other person.
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For one whole year, I stood in for the newly elected chair until members kept asking why I was still conducting the meetings, so I reached out to the elected chair, only to find out she had told the treasurer she had to resign months prior, and the former chair failed to inform members.
Next, the former treasurer brought in and passed out Republican ballots at a monthly democratic meeting, and there were other instances that raise some important questions as to party loyalty. Well, the state party was contacted, and I was standing on solid ground, and I, being black, standing on solid ground, pointing out the shenanigans of the former treasurer, was too much for her to remain because her cover had been blown out of the water. It didn’t end there, folks. The treasurer didn’t want to give up the county bank account and threatened to send it to the Alabama Republican Secretary of State rather than just giving it back to the county Democrats. All of this smacks of racism, or she could explain why she did all this if it wasn’t that. Many of my white supporters tell me they have to tell other white Democrats that I’m not racist, but I really wonder who put that out there..hmmmm.
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As a result, another unofficial group was created of like-minded individuals. I came to understand that they’re still Democrats in Lawrence County, not ready to see blacks in leadership or have them correct them when they’ve violated party rules, as the former Lawrence County Democratic Treasurer did on many occasions, like failing to disclose a separate bank account, and when pressed to tell the members about it chose instead to close the account of which details still not known.
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When I was elected, the first thing black leaders in Lawrence County did was to go about the black community telling black voters that I couldn’t be trusted and that I worked for “the white man”. The craziest thing about that is that I know more about black history, especially ancient black history and black movements, because I’ve lectured and debated on it since college (Alabama A&M University), and none of them have ever been on that level. For 5 years, I had to battle & call out both black & white racism in my local party. Some whites were resentful of a black man leading the party, and some blacks were suspicious and always have been suspicious of other blacks that live in Moulton, AL, and I exposed the dirty underbelly of it all, and being our own worst enemies sometimes extends beyond color or party. I feel a sense of doom for the future of the party and youth in Lawrence County with all this going on. I refuse to fight on two fronts in the middle and would much rather step back and watch for the remainder of this year and maybe beyond.
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Sometimes, as black leaders, we’re our own worst enemies, and I see that way too often in my own hometown of Lawrence County, which I love. The Lawrence County black community is not unique and suffers from some of the same things that are holding our communities back at the local level. Some black churches in Lawrence County have become rotten with cliques and cronyism, and now all they’re known for is playing favorites at the detriment of the black community. When there’s a choice of candidates to lead the community, the black churches here play favorites and only invite those in the clique, thereby depriving their congregation of choices. For many years, these local black churches have pushed leaders not based on actual tangible accomplishments, but for who they know, what sorority or fraternity they’re in, or what churches they attend. There’s hardcore evidence these cliqued out churches have pushed community leaders who weren’t the best for the position, but best positioned in their little circle. These same church folks are nowhere to be seen once the rubber meets the road and there’s a problem in the community. Black churches in Lawrence County push the worst candidates, then fade away behind the pulpit when the fire comes.
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As Lawrence County Chairman, I brought in more statewide candidates than all my predecessors combined. You would think that, having all these candidates come to the heart of the black community, the local black leaders would come out and meet them, but they never did. These folks. Some candidates were coming and sometimes driving 3-4 hrs to come here, and no black mayors, ADC officers, or church leaders took the time in 5 years to attend, but as soon as an election come they have so much to say and a favorite candidate to push on their members. This is a shame and explains why their churches lack a solid youth presence and why the community doesn’t have the political power that it needs.
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Every newly elected Democrat should remember how these leaders avoided them, and they should avoid these leaders when elected, but not the people. The black leadership in Lawrence County, Alabama, is so embarrassing, and I’m ashamed of them. Ashamed of their lack of activism, dancing like clowns, ignoring real issues, and most of all their cowardice when it comes to social justice and racism issues. The community doesn’t need these mealy-mouthed church leaders hiding behind the cloth, and these backsliding pulpit pimps are a stain on what black leadership is all about, but it’s all they know…..bless their hearts.
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I vowed a very long time ago (25 years) to speak up for people who, for some reason, can’t speak up about important things, whether it was the fear of speaking in front of people, fear of retaliation, having served time, etc. My biggest fight is the older generation in Lawrence County, AL, who fear and have insecurities about stepping aside and letting the next generation move forward. Only in Lawrence County, AL, can a person drop the ball on a fire station funding matter and then turn around years later, be sitting and standing on a NAACP stage, taking pictures with a person receiving a service award at the fire station where he mishandled the grant funding, especially when they’ve not attended more than 1 meeting in a year. When we do this type of Tomfoolery we are indeed our own worst enemies, and it leaves us with subpar, ineffective leadership that has never stood on anything except their own corrupt, selfish intentions, and time will certainly tell.