Heidi Carter writes letter to members of the Board of County Commissioner claiming fear for her safety because of Wendell Davis.

 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. 

 

On being Black and a journalist

 Can we talk about how journalism works? 

 

The role of the press is to be the watchdog of government. That’s why it’s protected in the Constitution. Reporting involves listening to and considering all perspectives. Our role is to tell the untold stories.  

 

My function, as a member of the press, is to inform related to perspective left out of other stories due to implicit bias. Far too often, voices are left out. This is not an intentional ploy of the gatekeepers of the news. Well, not always. Things are left out due to cultural limitations. Lost in the nuances of storytelling are the emotions and cultural context of Black people. 

 

When I taught as an adjunct instructor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, I would often tell my students to find the story within the story. There are layers beyond the who, what when, where, how and why. I approach my work as a journalist in the same way I exegete a biblical text in sermon preparation. For me, it’s just as important to address how what happens makes people feel.  

 

I consider this the primary failure of journalism. As a Black journalist, it’s important that I delve deep into how Black people feel beyond what happens in the news. 

 

Locally, there are two recent stories that highlight this concern. Both involve questions related to perception. In both cases, most news outlets approached these stories with a critical gaze on the facts. This often happens in the coverage of government news.  

 

The investigations ordered by members of the Durham County Board of County Commissions is easily surmised as a story involving internal conflict among board members. Pierce Freelon being selected by members of the Durham City Council to join their ranks appears as a simple procedural decision.  

 

Journalist are taught to focus on the facts. Should we move on after two investigations determined Durham County Manager Wendell Davis did not write a letter alleging racial bias to influence an election? It’s seductive to validate Durham County Commissioner Heidi Carter for words perceived to be rooted in bias. The lack of a clear verdict of racism feels like vindication.  

 

Journalists are easily lured into moving rapidly to the next story. Freelon’s selection to the City Council feels like done news. The “just the facts ma’am” approach minimizes the integrity of the other voices in the room. How people feel matters. What people are saying is relevant to the story. The best of journalism takes the next steps in uncovering the story within the story. 

 

What that means for me in practical terms involves what Black people are saying.  Yes, how Black people feel is relevant in the telling of these stories. The local press often gets it wrong by failing to consider how the voices that play out in our storytelling shapes communal assumptions. 

 

Screaming Black Lives Matter means affirming Black opinions and perspectives matter. The challenge for all of us – folks who tell the stories of our community – is to be bold enough to reach beyond assumptions. The best stories are written after we think we got it right. We get it wrong when we leave out other sides of the story. 

 

My role is intentional. My goal is not to retell the already told story. My focus is on Black life in Durham and beyond. Some days, it will be storytelling after intense investigative reporting. Other days, it will be commentary involving something in the news, a book, a movie, a television show, a conversation or Donald Trump.  

 

In all that I do, I bring the essence of my complete self.  

 

I am a Black man living in America. 

 

Enough said. 

Pierce Freelon's selection as a member of the Durham City Council raises questions of rigged process

Pierce Freelon finally got his wishes.

After unsuccessfully running for mayor, placing his name in the hat for the mayor’s vacant city council seat and losing his bid to become a state senator, Freelon has won the right to serve on the City Council. 

Freelon’s placement on the council is one filled with allegation of back room deals made possible by costly endorsements. When Freelon endorsed Mayor Steve Schewel over Farad Ali, a Black man, after he was defeated in the primary, many people whispered foul play. It got worse when Freelon endorsed Javiera Caballero over his long-time friend, and hip-hip comrade, Joshua Gunn for City Council. 

The endorsement of Caballero came with a passionate nod of support for Jillian Johnson and Charlie Reese who ran their campaign as a “Bull City Together” bloc. They won with a campaign pledge to work toward a “unified vision for the future of the city of Durham.” 

When all votes were tallied in the race for city council, little over 1,200 votes separated Gunn from Johnson, the top finisher, and he was only 206 votes short of defeating Caballero, who finished third. In Durham’s at-large city council elections, the top three vote getters win seats. 

Freelon's decision to run for City Council plays out like a house of cards made before Vernetta Alston resigned her city council seat after being elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives. Mark-Anthony Middleton questioned Freelon moving into the district shortly after missing out on his chance to become a State Senator. 

Omar Beasley, chair of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, challenged the legitimacy of the process.

“We are satisfied with the qualifications of the candidates,” Beasley wrote in a letter submitted to members of the City Council. “We also see, however, a block voting strategy developing on the City Council. It is our perception that the “Bull City Together” council members Jillian Johnson, Charlie Reece and Javiera Caballero will pool their votes to fill this seat with a dependable and deciding fourth vote on the City Council. We will not participate in such a rigged process.” 

There are question involving how Freelon will lean as a member of the City Council. Will his pro-Black agenda sway him in the direction of council members DeDreanna Freeman and Mark-Anthony Middleton, the two Black members who voted for Anita Daniels-Kenney to become a member of the City Council, or will he stand with members of the “Bull City Together” team? 

There’s no way of determining how Freelon got here. Was it a gift for endorsing the four members of the City Council who voted for him, or did Freelon win based on his merit? There were numerous worthy candidates. Freelon is among them. The lingering question involves the price he must pay for the right to serve Durham citizens. 

Anita Daniels-Kenney used to tell me “integrity is what you do when no one is watching.” Something tells me we’re about to see that play out in real time over the next 7 months. Getting there is part of the game. Staying there is a lesson involving integrity. 

Freelon finally got his wish. 

I pray his wish is not their command.