In an August 10, 2020 letter submitted to other members of the Durham Board of County Commissioners, Heidi Carter wrote that she wouldn’t attend a closed session meeting due to concerns for her safety. Carter blames Durham County Manager Wendell Davis for fostering a hostile environment.
The Rev-elution obtained emails between members of the Board of County Commissioners involving an investigation of the allegation that Carter had demonstrated a pattern of disparate treatment toward Davis and other employees of color. In a February 11, 2020 letter to board members, Davis wrote, based on his perception, that this alleged behavior “is due to an inherent bias.
The Freedom of Information Act request made by the Rev-elution also secured emails involving a separate investigation involving Davis writing the letter to impact the election.
“While I take my duty as a commissioner very seriously, I am currently unable to participate in any meeting that is focused around the manager, any issue related to the manager, or any activity in the direct presence of the manager,” Carter writes. “The manager's actions in handling his perceived concerns about me were expressed in a caustic and public attack on my character.”
Wendy Jacobs, chair of the Board of County Commissioners, read the letter prior to the board going into closed session. Although the letter involves personnel matters normally kept from public view, Jacobs’ decision allowed for the legal release of the document. The email is one of many examples of a highly dysfunctional board that places personal agendas above public interest.
Carter’s letter reveals divergent interpretations of the reports filed by James E. Coleman, the attorney the county paid $29,393.00 for both investigations. Coleman concludes that none of the behavior Davis complained was motivated by racial bias on Carter’s part. “Nevertheless, because of the often-fractured relationship among the Board, the County Manager, and the staff, both the Manager and staff reasonably could have perceived Commissioner Carter’s criticism of the Manager on February 3, 2020, as racially biased, at least implicitly so.”
Carter’s email to members of the board assumes a position of innocence.
“The independent investigator has concluded that his allegations were entirely false and unsubstantiated,” Carter writes. “However, the manner, intensity and nature of the manager’s words and actions have created a hostile and threatening environment which makes it impossible for me to engage in work where he may be involved in any way. I am unable to sustain further risks to my reputation, my safety, and my health due to the possibility that additional negative and baseless allegations may be contrived.”
Carter writes the tale of a woman damaged by the ego of a Black man. It’s an age-old trope used to dismiss the integrity of Black people who question the innocence of white people. Carter fails to acknowledge the conclusion of Coleman’s report.
“The Durham County Government is in a state of periodic dysfunction, at a time when the residents of Durham County need it to be effective in dealing with several daunting issues, any one of which alone would be challenging,” Coleman writes in his August 2, 2020 report to the board. “In the circumstances, it is critically important as a matter of first order for the Board and the County Manager to find a constructive way to move forward and put these issues behind the County.”
Carter fails to follow Coleman’s recommendation. Instead, she uses the occasion to attack Davis.
“The manager’s actions have irreparably damaged my ability to have a working relationship with him and have unfortunately impacted my ability to fully uphold the responsibility the people of Durham have vested in me,” Carter writes. “I wanted to make you aware of this reality. I would appreciate it if you would please include this in the record for the 8/10/2020 closed session.”
Carter’s inability to acknowledge the severity of perceived racism, combined with positioning herself as a victim of unsubstantiated claims, points to how she is a key player in nurturing dysfunction. The high road is to press for conversation aimed at moving beyond perceptions of her racial bias. Carter’s low road it to place her innocence and reputation above what is best for Durham County. Rather than owning her contribution is brewing hostility, she points the finger at a Black man for speaking his version of truth.
This is an example of what Robin DiAngelo calls “white privilege”.
“We whites who position ourselves as liberal often opt to protect what we perceive as our moral reputations rather than recognize of change our participation in systems of inequity and domination,” DiAngelo says.
It may be time for members of the Board of County Commissioners to address the impact of perceived racism. The board is highly dysfunctional, and it’s safe to conclude it’s not all the fault of the Black man serving as county manager.
Carter is right about one thing. She’s no longer in a position to fully uphold her responsibility the people of Durham have vested in her.
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