He may not have won a famous trial defending a member of the KKK as a defense attorney or gained name recognition as the man who prosecuted three members of the KKK for bombing a church. He never coordinated a task force or served in the Senate. He has never coached a football team or owned a beachfront mansion in Florida. All of these things are very impressive, but isn’t there so much more to becoming the Governor of Alabama?
But he has been in public service, having served on the Board of Directors for the Health Care Authority of Lauderdale County and the City of Florence. His work as a bishop has spanned the globe with his dedicated faith to help others.
He is a successful businessman and engineer who began his career in manufacturing both in the United States and overseas. He is also the author of three books that focus on leadership, values, and faith. He holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of South Carolina, an MBA from Regis University, and doctorates in religion, psychology, and organizational management. He has served as chancellor of St. James the Elder University and dean of student success and assistant professor of management at Greenville College. Last, but certainly not least, he is a devoted husband to his beautiful wife and a loving father to his children. Who is this incredible man who has spent his life as a servant to the people? He is Dr. Will Boyd.
If you have ever spent two minutes with Dr. Boyd, you know how infectious his spirit of genuine love is. There is nothing fake, pretentious, or phony from this man who enters a room with a smile and a handshake. He makes no distinction in the social standards of people. He could not care less if you work in a factory mill or if you are the CEO of a big corporation. Dr. Boyd doesn’t see the color of your skin or care which church, if any, you worship in. He doesn’t make it his business to judge you for whom you choose to love. The only thing that he is concerned about is if you can pay your rent, feed your family, afford to send your children to school, and be financially able to see a doctor. He wants all of Alabama to have clean water to drink and clean air to breathe. He wants to keep our rivers and lakes clean all across our great state. He wants to see good-paying jobs in our rural areas of Alabama that will improve the quality of life for families.
Dr. Boyd sincerely believes in the equality of all of us to be treated equally and fairly in our day-to-day lives. He talks about the voter suppression that we are seeing in Alabama and other parts of this country with concern that, unless we act now, we can lose the one privilege that so many brave Americans have fought and died for.
Every politician talks about the ”American Dream.” Dr. Boyd not only talks about it, but he also understands that to reach that American Dream, we must have the determination to protect our rights. He believes that it is long overdue to close the gender gap for women and respect their contribution to our country by paying them an equal wage. He supports the Equality Act, which includes the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and other minorities whose voices must be heard. He listens to young Alabamians and what they hope to one day see in Alabama.
Dr. Boyd is traveling all over Alabama talking to people on the streets, men and women in factories, waiters in restaurants, teachers who help build the minds of our future, minimum-wage employees who are struggling to survive in this economy, single parents who need Medicaid to help provide healthcare for their children, the elderly on a fixed income who depend on Social Security, young students who work a third-shift job to pay for their education, and anyone who wants to talk. Dr. Boyd is never too busy to listen. He is reaching out to the real people in Alabama who know that we need a change to take this state off the bottom of education, healthcare, and welfare. He is not out for photo ops or big-money dinners to impress anyone. He wants to listen to you, the people of Alabama, and yes, he hears you.
On Mule Day in Winfield, Alabama, Dr. Boyd was pressed for time to make another engagement that afternoon. As he was leaving, a young woman came up to him and he stopped to listen to her. Dr. Boyd held her hand in his as she had tears in her eyes and talked to him. His campaign people were nervous. They were running late. They were looking at their watches and pacing. Dr. Boyd was in no hurry. His compassion for a stranger who needed to talk to him was unmistakable. He took the time to listen. Even though he was the one running late, he thanked her for taking time out of her day to come over to meet him.
Dr. Boyd is unlike most of the candidates in this race for the governor’s job. He doesn’t have a lot of money in a campaign fund or a trust fund to carry his campaign expenses. He doesn’t want to ask people for money when he knows that most of us are struggling to make ends meet. Dr. Boyd is doing his best to finance his own campaign, which has often limited his ability to bring his message to the people. What has been an amazing thing to see is the connection that he has with people everywhere he goes. This is what he will bring to Montgomery. His door will not be closed to the people for whom he works for.
For the past seventeen years, Alabama has been under the Republican regime, which has not improved our lives. We are still last in education and pay some of the highest property taxes in the country. We are experiencing hospital closings all over our state and some of the lowest wages across the nation. Jim Crow is still alive and well in Alabama with a State Supreme Court that has refused to redraw the two district maps where Black voters would have the opportunity to elect the candidates of their choice.
It is believed that Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” To keep re-electing these same Republicans to office and thinking that it’s going to change and get better is… insanity.
Some people believe that a Black man or woman can never get elected as governor in a state like Alabama with the history of civil rights that we have. I ask you, where is a better place to put this to rest than Alabama? Let us remember what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told us: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” There is no other candidate whom I have ever seen who fits this better than Dr. Will Boyd. His skin may be brown, but his character is above the requirements of being a decent, honest, and humble being who genuinely loves Alabama and is sincerely dedicated to the needs of the people. It’s time to become colorblind and look into the dignity of this man. We need to make Alabama a better place, and we can do that with the right leadership in Montgomery.
A has-been football coach turned senator who licks Trump’s boots or a former senator who voted for all of Trump’s nominations to our courts certainly doesn’t impress me as being someone whom I can trust to protect our Constitution. I do trust Dr. Will Boyd. I believe in him. I know that if he is elected as my governor, my three great-grandsons will have a better chance to live a good life in Alabama. And so will yours.
Lynda Kirkpatrick
*This is not an endorsement of the Marion County Democratic Party.
Lynda Kirkpatrick, Marion County Democratic Party Chair, House District 17, State Democratic Executive Committee, Alabama Democratic Party, Member of Alabama Democratic County Chairs Association