ICMA closes investigation against Durham County Manager Wendell Davis: A case study in white privilege

Letting go of white privilege is knowing when to give up the fight. It involves not having to be right. It owns how implicit bias interferes with judgement.  

The evidence presented to members of the Durham Board of County Commissioners sends a clear message regarding potential bias against Durham County Manager Wendell Davis. 

In a letter dated July 1, 2020, the International City/County Management Association dismisses all charges against Davis of ethics violations submitted to the association in an anonymous complaint. The complaint was in response to the February 11 letter Davis sent to Durham County Commissioner Heidi Carter. 

The ICMA letter addressed six complaints made against Davis: 

1. 1. “You did not follow the County’s grievance policy and procedures to report your concern with Ms. Carter’s conduct toward you and other county employees; 

2. 2. You did not speak to your governing board to enable them to begin an investigation but instead chose to write a letter that was quickly leaked to the press; 

3. 3. You chose to speak openly with reporters and gave on camera interviews about the highly sensitive personnel allegation; 

4. 4. Your timing in writing the letter may have interfered with your governing body’s upcoming primary election; 

5. 5. You may have recruited former Commissioners to run for election against Ms. Carter to build a voting block on the governing body; and 

6. 6. You wrote the letter to cite during your upcoming employment agreement negotiations” 

The complaint is rooted in the assumption that Davis created a scenario of racial bias to influence the outcome of an election. It assumes white innocence at the expense of Black guilt. It implies the goodness of a white member of the board while applying the racist trope that Black people lie. At the root of the charges against Davis are underlying biases that attack the integrity of a Black man. 

 ICMA accepted the explanation Davis gave to the anonymous complaint. 

“The CPC accepted your explanation you wrote the letter to encourage Ms. Carter to reflect how her pattern of statements had impacted you with your hope there would be positive change by sharing your candid observations, “ the letter states. 

The damage created by the investigation of Davis confronts a long history of white power and privilege. The bias of Wendy Jacobs is on display in the handling of this matter. In pressing for an investigation of Davis’ motives in writing a letter to express his feelings, Jacobs challenged the credibility of a complaint rooted in the assumption of white innocence.   

This is the mistake made by the vocal supporters of Heidi Carter. Defending her innocence requires the dismissal of a Black man’s complaint. It forced the creation of a narrative stacked with unsubstantiated assumptions involving intent, backdoor conversations with former board members and a conspiracy theory to stack the board with Black members. 

Restoring Carter’s reputation came at the expense of Davis’ integrity. Her white innocence became a campaign blitz. Naming her a “good white woman” forged a narrative of Davis as an anti-education, deceitful Black man who must be stopped to protect our children. The protection of white innocence made his confession a lie. What Davis offered as a source for potential healing and growth became a declaration of war. 

The ICMA ethics committee recognized the landmines planted to address complaints made by Black people. Where does a person like Davis go to share his feelings? What are the consequences related to having enough of feeling disrespected by white people? 

“In reaching its decision, the CPC considered your continued willingness to engage in dialogue with the governing body about these matters and the county grievance procedure does not apply to those positions like yours that report directly to the governing body,” the letters states. 

It matters that Davis names how he feels. It matters because he is not alone. His letter to Heidi Carter addressed a pattern with other Black county employees. As the County Manager, Davis has an obligation to confront both real and perceived acts of racism within county government. 

How do you do that?  

Moving forward is complicated by the desire to win. It’s worse when the desire to win is rooted in assumptions of white privilege. White members of the Board of County Commissioners may find it hard to move forward due to an overwhelming desire to validate white innocence versus accepting the possibility of being tainted by their own implicit biases. 

White fragility shows up to control the narrative. Carter, Jacobs, and advocates are invested in the evolving story of white innocence. Reading Robin Diangelo’s while exhorting the vocabulary naming institutionalized racism isn’t enough to sanction white purity. You don’t matriculate to a realm beyond white supremacy. Why? Because it’s not about the people. It’s about the institutions which manifest and impose the will of white dominance.  

White supremacy controls the narrative of white innocence. It's the warning ICMA makes in the letter. 

“The CPC ultimately voted to close the case finding your conduct in the matter did not violate the ICMA Code of Ethics,” the letter from the association reads. “As you move forward, the CPC encourages you to consider your strategy and approach to engage your board members and employees in constructing dialogue to advance the interest of all.” 

Heidi Carter made a mistake that was shielded by white supremacy. Wendy Jacobs protected Carter by failing to address the letter Davis wrote. Jacobs called it “feelings being hurt.” An investigation of Carter was announced publicly. Later, it was announced Davis is also under investigation. Will that change given ICMA’s decision to close the case? 

If not, we have another entry into the long history of examples of white power and privilege. If the design is to continue the quest to protect Carter’s innocence, it comes at the expense of a Black man’s guilt.  

It all began with a discussion regarding implicit biases. After reading all those books and gathering in support of Black people, white members of the Durham Board of County Commissioners prove, again, it doesn’t matter how loud you scream Black Lives Matter when you’re working overtime to kill the reputation of another Black man.