Cousin Replaces Allison as Chair of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People: Now What?

Philip Cousin has been chosen to lead the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People. During a brief speech prior to the vote, Cousin emphasized his service as a member of the Board of County Commissioners, the Durham Public School Board and twenty years as Pastor of the St. Joseph AME Church.

The pews at the Community Baptist Church were filled with Black residents of Durham County hoping to cast a vote to begin a new saga for the once powerful organization. This was their chance to voice an opinion related to who should replace Lavonia Allison, who stepped down after 14 years as Chairwoman. A few voiced the opinion that everyone should be granted a chance to vote. Only 24 people were allowed to vote due to the constitutions definition of active membership.

The constitution may have helped Cousin’s win the election. Allison voiced her support for Cousin, but it’s possible that many present showed up to cast a vote for Hester. The issue of contention with those who supported Hester was his commitment to the Durham Committee. Cousin has not attended meetings which didn’t set well among those who have been present over the years. Allison’s support of Cousin served as the passing of the torch to one capable of restoring integrity and galvanizing support among those who have walked away.

Many who backed Hester fear the connection between Allison and Cousin. Could this be her way of maintaining control by using Cousin as a puppet dangling from her strings? Hester is perceived as one who can effectively create distance from Allison. The perceptions that Cousin will be used by Allison both underestimate the character of Cousin and overestimate the influence of Allison. The endorsement of Allison should be construed as a sign of good things coming for the Durham Committee.

Among those interested in participating in the work of the Durham Committee, serving with Hester was never an option. Despite the good he has done, the need was for a complete break from the way business has been handled over the past 14 years. The Durham Committee has become depicted as a divisive body incapable of moving toward any form of compromise. It has been fractured by a leadership style and organizational culture that pits all things black against all thing that aren’t black. As a result, the Durham Committee has failed to generate interest among those fed up with a lack of productivity.

What the Durham Committee needed wasn’t within the organization. Cousin talked about formulating a plan, following through and holding leadership accountable. That’s what has been missing, a lack of clarity of vision and purpose that get’s people excited about participating. The Durham Committee was suffering due to an assumption among those who held on the best they could. The strength of the Durham Committee is not its historical bearings. It’s not the command of blackness. The Durham Committee is not significant due to the solidarity among those who share the same hue. Its vision and purpose that makes the difference. That has been missing.

Allison and Hester represent an antiquated methodology when it comes to activism. The Durham Committee has failed to solidify collaborative efforts among other groups with similar visions. They have failed to energize a collective body around a vision beyond who gets elected for public office. More is needed than black folks serving on the school board.

The black community has been strangleheld by an old assimilation agenda that needs serious revision. The Durham Committee needs to fast forward to a world that has evolved and adapted beyond the old protest songs of the movement. It’s time to recognize those weeping in the valley. They have no clue regarding the battles for leadership of the Durham Committee. To all that I say, shame on all of us. Shame on us for fighting over who has the right to vote to lead the organization. Shame on all of us for getting stuck on maintaining what was needed long ago while failing to see what is required today.

Hester represents an outdated assimilation model for community engagement. Fight the white man, fight for black owned businesses, and keep the enemy away from what belongs to our people. There is a time and place for that form of conversation, but wait a minute. Do you see your Latino brothers and sisters who are suffering to maintain life? Have you noticed the poor not benefitting after you get your candidate into public office?

It’s time for massive change in the way black people function in leadership. It’s time for communities of faith to change. It’s time for leaders to change, and, yes, it’s time for the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People to change the way black leadership is viewed in Durham.

Do your thang Rev. Cousin. The foot soldiers are coming home.

Bowser Runs, Again

With all that drama that comes with the upcoming presidential election, it is easy to forget that residents in Durham County are facing an important local election. The past few years have been drama free due to the leadership on both the School Board and County Commission. The potential is there for a shift back to the crazy days that made Durham the brunt of jokes across the state.

Gone are the days of vicious attacks at school board meetings. The race card hasn’t been played since a few key members were ousted during the last election and replaced with sound minded, consensus builders. The Board of County Commission has been spared of the shoot em up politics of old. The elected officials in Durham County have functioned well of late. This election could move us back to those bad ole days.

Steve Schewel is stepping down as a member of the school board. All seems safe so far with the school board. The same can’t be said of the County Commission. A critic of consensus has risen from the ashes to run again. The last we heard of Joe Bowser he was being chided by the national leadership of the NAACP for inappropriately using his role to endorse a candidate for office.

Joe Bowser is a man with vision. There is no doubting his insight and passion for the poor. He has been a champion for those often left out of the discussion related to human service delivery. The problem with Bowser isn’t his ability to process issues, but his inability to hear criticism and to move forward in a way that best serves the community.

I understand this first hand. Close to two years ago, I wrote a piece in the Independent Weekly that questioned Browser’s judgment. What I did in that instance was no different than what I have done with others in leadership. My role, as a social commentator, is to delve into the political lives of those we elect to office. No one is safe. This is the reason I stray away from endorsing a candidate or an agenda.

I attacked Bowser for what appeared to be a conflict of interest. I questioned his misuse of power as the local head of the NAACP, and how he twisted the arm of the staff of county government while serving on the County Commission. Everything I wrote was documented. Of course, there is always room for discussion, and any good politician will use criticism as a door for understanding rather than a reason for discord.

I received two vicious letters. One was an attack from Bowser, and the other came from his wife. In these letters I was warned never to contact him again. I was told not to approach him in public. I was questioned for my leadership as a pastor, and condemned for being a womanizing, false prophet. He resorted to an attack of me using rumor as the basis for his assault.

His response was sent to others. This followed my attempt to explain the nature of my work. It didn’t matter. I was told that I was wrong, as a black man, for questioning the leadership of another black man. This assail reminded me of the conversation I had with Curtis Gatewood back in the day when Durham was searching for a new Superintendent. The school board was close to promoting Ted Drain, the interim superintendent, to the position. I wrote a column in the Herald-Sun after Gatewood called Drain an “uncle Tom”. We met at Dillards the following week. I was told it is never appropriate to criticize black leadership.

I was startled by that claim. “So, it is okay for you to do it, but not for anyone to do it to you.” Some leaders assume a free pass. I got the same reaction from Lavonia Allison after writing a column that attacked her for being a slumlord. It was shortly after she took the reigns of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People. The Housing Committee of the Durham Committee had worked tirelessly to construct a plan to enforce housing codes. Allison’s first order of business was to dismantle the agenda of her predecessor, Ken Spaaulding. She ended conversations with the Friends of Durham to create a “Memorandum of Understanding “ involving race. Then she ended the work of the housing committee. I wasn’t shocked. She’s a slumlord.

Allison came to my office with her pastor, Leonzo Lynch, who had his share of front-page clippings for being a slumlord. I was asked to recant. I was told that I had an obligation not to attack black leadership. It disturbed me that a slumlord brought a slumlord to my office to address an article about slumlords.

Bowser’s attack of me speaks to his leadership style. Implied is the presupposition that he stands above criticism, and, if it comes, the impression that the problem is with the person who bears the news. If I’m wrong, I will recant my claims. If you prove me wrong, I will say so with a spirit of humility, but if I’m told I’m not worth the space that occupies your shadow, there is nothing left for me to do.

If this is how he operates as a member of the County Commission, I grieve for all who walked on eggshells while serving with him.