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Members of the Durham County employees racial equity core committee are
making demands of members of the Durham Board of County Commissioners following
the termination of former Durham County Manager Wendell Davis.
In a June 22 letter sent to members of the Board of County Commissioners, members
of the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) cohort outline a strategy
that includes (1) board members attending racial equity training, (2) improved interpersonal
relations on the board, (3) a request that the board “employ
racial equity tools to its future decision making processes and further move to
add a racial equity directive as a high level, guiding principle to each of
County Government’s five strategic plan goal areas, in order to avoid disparate
impacts among not only its managers, but its employees and citizens”, and (4) “request
that the Board engage in an open town hall to address inequity and race
relations in Durham and in Durham County Government.”
The
letter is the first public response from Durham County employees since Davis
wrote a letter to members of the board addressing his perception that County
Commissioner Heidi Carter’s actions and comments toward him were motivated by
racial bias. Davis’ letter generated an investigation of Carter after hundreds
of residents packed a commissioner’s meeting to address their outrage. Wendy Jacobs,
the former chair of the board, announced an investigation of Davis based on her
perception that Davis wrote the letter to influence the upcoming election.
On
May 13, Davis was immediately relieved of his duties by a 3 to 2 vote. Carter
and Nida Allam joined Jacobs in a vote that further fractured the board along
racial lines. Current Board Chair Brenda Howerton and Nimasheenda Burns, both
Black women, cast dissenting votes.
The
racial equity team addresses concerns regarding the handling of Davis’
termination.
“The means by which the former Manager was fired has left a
high degree of uncertainty and an overriding sense of concern among some
employees.,” the letter says. “Many of them feel silenced by the way the
Manager was immediately dismissed. These perceptions by several employees,
citizens and community groups have begun to negatively impact County Government’s
ability to: serve its diverse public and recruit new employees committed to the
highest ideals of inclusive governance.”
The letter challenges members of the board to address the
implications caused by silence after Davis’ termination.
“It demonstrates a lack of willingness to grapple with
difficult issues which will ultimately make the community more resilient,” the
letter says. “How do we address the concerns of Durham County citizens
and employees who fear retaliation and retribution if they dare to speak up
about racism, or worse, fear being silenced or terminated?”
Members
of the racial equity team are waiting for a response and action from members of
the board. As of the release of this article, Howerton and Burns have accepted
the racial equity teams call for a open town hall to address concerns among
Durham County employees and residents.
Read
the entire letter:
June 22, 2021
Dear Commissioners,
We, the DCo Racial Equity Core Team - Government Alliance
on Race and Equity (GARE) Cohort, are writing to you in our capacity as affected
citizens regarding a matter of public concern. Allow us to begin by stating
that we are grateful for the previous commitment of the Board to promote racial
equity within local government and across Durham County. As you each know, racial
equity work is a challenging and sacred trust to which we have all pledged our
allegiance. We, however, have also promised not to turn a blind eye to the
potential manifestation of inequity, no matter where it appears or from which
seat of power it emanates. This is why we feel the need to engage the
question that friends, colleagues and neighbors confront us with daily which
is, how can the sudden and ill-defined manner in which the former County
Manager was relieved of his duties, be reconciled with our pledge to maintain
equitable treatment for all races?
Many would hold that former County Manager Davis was
accomplished and experienced and that his departure was not due to job
performance, as stated by the Board. We believe he is credited with navigating
the organization through a global pandemic, helping the enterprise achieve one
of the highest municipal credit ratings in the state, aiding the County in
realizing previously unseen levels of population growth and investment,
beginning the implementation of several Commissioner initiatives (including
universal Pre-K), enjoying a high level of support from employees across County
Government, and several other accomplishments. If those points are taken into consideration,
it appears that this treatment of immediately relieving him of his duties prior
to the expiration of his contract was not only inconsistent with his satisfactory
job performance, but was also embedded with a mean-spiritedness and lack of
decorum that has permeated relationships across County Government and
increasingly the community at large.
The means by which the former Manager was fired has left a
high degree of uncertainty and an overriding sense of concern among some
employees. Many of them feel silenced by the way the Manager was immediately
dismissed. These perceptions by several employees, citizens and community
groups have begun to negatively impact County Government’s ability to: serve
its diverse public and recruit new employees committed to the highest ideals of
inclusive governance. It demonstrates a lack of willingness to grapple with
difficult issues which will ultimately make the community more resilient. How
do we address the concerns of Durham County citizens and employees who
fear retaliation and retribution if they dare to speak up about racism, or
worse, fear being silenced or terminated? How do we
proceed with our charge to examine structural inequities based on race in our
community and County Government if we cannot interrogate the impact of our own
actions? The Coleman Report, with its
challenging findings, serves as additional supporting evidence that our
collective course may benefit from a co-designed reset by County leadership and
the staff who work to implement our shared vision.
We request as
citizens that the time is now for all of us to begin healing by 1. The
entire Board of County Commissioners attending racial equity training and
mediation together, as recommended and defined by the Coleman report; 2. Improving interpersonal relations on the
Board and with the Board’s interactions towards staff and citizens (As we
are working to train employees, what message does it send that our Commissioners
appear to be resisting training?). 3. As citizens speaking
on an area of public concern and as members of County’s Racial Equity Core Team,
we request that the Board employ racial equity tools to its future decision making
processes and further move to add a racial equity directive as a high level,
guiding principle to each of County Government’s five strategic plan goal areas,
in order to avoid disparate impacts among not only its managers, but its
employees and citizens. 4. We request that the Board engage in an open town
hall to address inequity and race relations in Durham and in Durham County
Government and thereby continuing the hard work of striving for racial equity.
We look forward to hearing your response, which may be coordinated through the
County Racial Equity Officer. Thank you.
Sincerely,
The Majority of the Durham
County Racial Equity Core (GARE) Team
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