Activism: More than a photo opp

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Commentary: carl w. kenney ii

The world I knew completely changed on the day I met Alexandra Valladares.

A life limited by eyes wide shut took a blink to discover a world with unmeasured dimension. I knew the multiple shades of blackness and the beats and rhythms inspiring me to dance. I knew the oasis of Black love and the tender strokes of my Black mama’s love whenever sadness shifted to depression. I understood the power of collective memories and the call of the ancestors beckoning me to keep moving when troubles got in my way.

Still, something was missing.

I felt a divide created by distance, language, culture, and complicated histories. I felt the challenge of telling untold stories with a firm understanding of the life and witness of Brown people. I had to admit what I didn’t know. It’s difficult telling stories without discernment of lessons limited to articles and Facebook postings.

We met at a local coffeehouse. I began by telling Alexandra I wanted to write a story for Durham Magazine about the experiences of Latina’s living in Durham. Five minutes later, I told her I wanted to write a series of articles. Ten minutes later, I told her she needed to write about her experience. Finally, 30 minutes later, I begged her to run for office.

I fought back tears as she talked about jumping the fence to enter America after escaping the hardship of Honduras. She shared her experience of living in McDougald Terrace, graduating from Hillside High School and North Carolina Central University. She disclosed being a single parent after getting married young, enduring a divorce, and doing her best to be a mother in a system packed with limitations.

We discussed the burden of advocacy - the brutal pain related to witnessing parents struggle to communicate feelings when language barriers get in the way.

Again, I begged her to run for office.

It was complicated.

After fighting to secure a spot on the Durham City Council for Javiera Cabellero, I witnessed the disappointment when Cabellero failed to endorse Alexandra. She didn’t complain. It wasn’t mentioned, but, I wondered, why not. I watched as advocates of Latina inclusion on the city council failed to acknowledge the importance of the same on the board of education. I noted the extreme contradiction, prayed, and prepared for a better day.

The answer to that prayer was to build and promote a Black and Brown coalition. The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People endorsed Alexandra over Steve Unruhe, a popular and competent member of the school board. Alexandra narrowly received the endorsement of People’s Alliance. Some of the members of People’s Alliance were infuriated and responded with a vicious counterattack.

I met new brothers and sisters. I listened to Ivan Almonte tell the story and reasons for his activism. I developed a bond with Sandro A Mendoza, another brother from another mother, who teaches me new lessons every time I shake his hand. My respect for Aidil Ortiz grew more as I watched her interact with my Brown brothers and sisters with a grace brewed after years of listening to each other talk about life in the Bull City.

My celebration of Alexandra’s placement on the Durham Public School’s Board of Education is because it matters. Not just because she’s Latina, but because she represents what it means to build an authentic Black and Bown coalition. She exemplifies activism with the people.

My work with Alexandra, Aidil, Sandro and Ivan imparts lessons in listening. They help me think critically about the massive assumptions people make regarding inclusion. Genuine inclusion happens with the people. It’s not a photo opp. It doesn’t seek the affirmation of people not impacted by the labor. It’s not engineered by out-of-town activism with ripples of contributions from people who never stepped foot in the community. It’s not the ideological vision of state and national directives formed in isolation from the people who live both night and day with blockades limiting pure inclusion.

My Brown brothers and sisters teach me lessons about the purity of love and community. This is the work they do because the survival of their neighbors depends on their success. They do it when no one is watching. They do it with limited resources and the lack of consistent affirmation.

I think of them when I witness the influx of endorsements and campaign material from organizations with limited Durham connections. I listen to them as they remind me of the work done with and for the people. I pray when I consider the privilege of support afforded the people who walk and talk with the advantage of Latino class privilege.

Not my words and thoughts. It’s the message taught when eyes, once wide shut, blinks twice to discover a world of unmeasurable dimension.

I see the world in Black and Brown. Shades of white are welcome.

 

Is this a message from Durham voters: Part 2

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Data collected by University of Oklahoma Associate Professor Andrea Benjamin tells a story regarding a potential radical shift in Durham politics. For more than a decade, winning municipal elections is the result of valuable endorsements from People’s Alliance, The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, The Friends of Durham, and the Indy Week - a local newspaper.

The influence of local political action committees has expanded to include the Durham Association of Educators, Durham4All, and other emerging political players. The power of the PACs has taken on a life of its own, making Benjamin’s thesis – the influence of endorsements in deciding elections – the most critical work of a local campaign team.

It’s only a primary, but could Durham be amid a radical shift?

Referendum of Political Action Committees

Many residents express lingering concerns regarding candidate endorsements. The legitimacy of People Alliance’s endorsement of Javier Cabellero for Mayor, Marion Teniade Johnson for City Council Ward 1, and A.J. Williams for City Council for Ward 3 is perceived to be the outcome of a takeover. Concerns include the influence of voters who don’t reside in Durham, and an agenda packed with the platforms of Durham4All, Durham Beyond Policing, Southern Vision Alliance, and Durham Association of Educators.

The dominance of People’s Alliance over the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People shifted when IndyWeek broke with a longstanding tradition by not endorsing the same slate as People’s Alliance. The IndyWeek endorsement singles, for many, a divide within the ranks of Durham’s white progressive community.

Balanced Approach to Law Enforcement

When Cabellero, Jillian Johnson and Charlie Reece united to campaign as the Bull City Together Team, it came with a platform that includes massive police reform. Many voters’ express concerns that a disagreement regarding funding to support additional police impacted Police Chief C.J Davis’s decision to accept the job as head of the Memphis, TN police department.

Efforts to defund Durham’s police department is met with resistance during an uptick in gun violence. Cabellero, Johnson and Reece are viewed as a team determined to add Marion T. Johnson and A.J. Williams to abolish the police, a goal communicated by members of Durham Beyond Policing.

Meanwhile, O’Neal, a respected former district and superior court judge, is trusted by many to have the skills and experience to lead balanced conversations regarding criminal justice reform.

Checks, Balances and Conflicts of Interest

Many Durham voters express concerns regarding a city council without disagreement.

DeDreana Freeman, Ward 1 incumbent, is criticized for raising questions related to accountability in her votes regarding affordable housing. Freeman’s concerns are consistent with many of her constituents.

“DeDreana Freeman was targeted by Jillian [Johnson] precisely for her independence and for telling the truth,” Sherri Zann Rosenthal, a former deputy city attorney, posted recently on Facebook. Rosenthall was assigned to handle issues within the Housing and Community Development Department. “DeDreana voted against the so-called Expanding Housing Choices ordinance and was the only member of the Council to do so. That ordinance was wrapped in the cloak of anti-racism and affordable housing but actually did nothing for either of those goals.”

As part of her work as a longtime senior city attorney, Rosenthall legally structured the city’s affordable housing and loan programs. Rosenthall says the ordinance approved by the city council opened historic neighborhoods to developers.

“Jillian had a vested interest in the passage of this ordinance, as she planned to build a rental duplex,” Rosenthal continued. “The duplex plan was already submitted to the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) prior to the Council and Commission vote to pass the HPC ordinance. She didn’t disclose her personal interest, and she didn’t recuse herself.”

Rosenthal says Steve Schewel is part of a real estate LLC with family members, and Vernetta Alston formed a real estate LLC while still a member of the Durham City Council. Alston is currently shown in the North Carolina Secretary of State database as being associated with three real estate develop entities. Alston currently serves as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives

The Rev-elution reporting on the Participatory Budgeting process lifted concerns related to Jillian Johnson’s influence in the process. Johnson championed Participatory Budgeting and served as the city council representative on the steering committee. A.J. Williams, a candidate for city council, serves as the Director of Incubation and Ideation Labs for Southern Vision Alliance where Johnson is the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors and the former Director of Operations and Chief Financial Officer. Williams is a member of the steering committee.

Marion T. Johnson, a candidate for city council, serves as the Chair of the Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee after working as a member of Johnson’s campaign team. Susan E. Goodman, the mother of Paul Bendich, Johnson’s partner, also served on the steering committee. The Participatory Budgeting Committee awarded Southern Vision Alliance, the nonprofit organization where Johnson serves as co-chair, $50,000, the maximum allowed during the Phase 2, 2021 budget cycle.

Commitment to Racial Equity

Many residents point to O’Neal’s work as the Co-Chair of Durham’s Racial Equity Task Force and Freeman’s work as Co-Chair of Episcopalians United Against Racism. Both groups offer convincing leadership before and after Durham County Commissioners failed to extend the contract of former County Manager Wendell Davis.

During a period of increased racial hostility, some members of the Durham City Council publicly supported Durham County Commissioner Heidi Carter after Davis wrote a letter addressing comments that he perceived to be racist. When Cabellero supported the decision not to extend Davis’ contract, based on an assessment that he failed to support public education, many Black residents viewed her comments to be an intrusion into county government affairs.

Notwithstanding Cabellero’s perspective regarding Davis’ failure to support education funding, many local voters are seeking a leadership style that advances the recommendations of the Durham Racial Equity Task Force report.

Are Durham Voters Making a Statement?

Benjamin’s statement in part 1 holds true. There isn’t enough evidence to formulate a conclusion. Things could shift over the next thirty days, when votes are cast in the General Election on November 2.

What we do know is close to 70% of Durham voters supported O’Neal, Freeman, and Middleton in the primary. Will that translate in the General Election? Will Durham voters select A.J. Williams, who is supported by Johnson and Cabellero, or Leonardo Williams, who is campaigning with Freeman and Middleton.

One thing is clear. This is a clash of opposing ideas like Durham has never seen during my time in the city.

 

What does the landslide Municipal Election tell us about Durham politics?: Part 1

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WHAT DOES THE OCTOBER 5 LANDSLIDE VICTORY for Elaine O’Neal for Mayor and DeDreana Freeman for City Council Ward 1 tell us about the current state of Durham politics?

Andrea Benjamin, associate professor at the University of Oklahoma, has spent lots of time collecting data on elections in Durham, NC. She’s currently working on a project about coalitions, electoral representation, and policy representation in local politics based on data she obtained in Durham. Benjamin conducted research in Durham when she was a member of the political science faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Her first book, Racial Coalition Building in Local Elections: Elite Cues and Cross-Ethic Voting, shows that Blacks and Latinos rely on endorsements from co-ethnic leaders when casting their votes.

Benjamin says although it is only a primary, the landslide victories of Elaine O’Neal for Mayor and DeDreanna Freeman for City Council Ward 1 is making a powerful statement.

“Without having exit poll data from the election yesterday, I am hesitant to speculate on why people voted the way they did,” Benjamin said. ‘What I can say is that in both 2015 and 2017, I did collect exit poll data during the General Elections and in both elections, voters were very aware of which candidate received which endorsements and that awareness was positively associated with vote choice.”

Bill Bell was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2015. At the city council level, Steve Schewel was endorsed by People’s Alliance, The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, The Friends of Durham, and Indy Week. Jillian Johnson and Charlie Reece were endorsed by People’s Alliance and Indy Week.

In the general election, Schewel was re-elected, and Johnson and Reece were elected to the council for the first time.

·      Steve Schewel, won re-election and also received the largest number of votes (15,011 or 28.07%). 

·      Jillian Johnson, won a seat on the council and received the second most votes in the election (12,497 votes or 23.37%). 

·      Charlie Reece, won a seat on the council with the third most votes (9,680 votes or 18.10%). 

·      Mike Shiflett, did not win a seat on the council.  He received 7,376 votes (13.79%). 

·      Ricky Hart did not win a seat on the council.  He received 5,844 votes (10.93%). 

·      Robert Stephens did not win a seat on the council.  He received 2,925 votes (5.47%). 

In the 2017 Ward elections, there was a clear slate from the People’s Alliance:  Steve Schewel for Mayor, DeDreana Freeman (W1), John Rooks, Jr. (W2) and Vernetta Alston (W3).  While the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People and the Friends of Durham backed the same slate: Farad Ali for Mayor, Cora Cole-McFadden (W1), Middleton (W2), and Shelia Huggins (W3).  The Indy Week backed Schewel for Mayor, Freeman (W1), Middleton (W2) and Alston (W3).  These were the four candidates elected to office in 2017.

 ·      Farad Ali did not win the election (14,326 votes or 40.13%). 

·      Steve Schewel won (21,252 or 59.53%). 

·      Cora Cole-McFadden did not win the election (15,716 votes or 45.40%). 

·      DeDreanna Freeman won the election (18,847 votes or 54.45%). 

·      Mark-Anthony Middleton won the election (19,136 votes or 57.04%). 

·      John Rooks, Jr., did not win the election (14,334 votes or 42.73 %). 

·      Vernetta Alston, won the election (21,204 votes or 62.46%). 

·      Shelia Huggins did not win the election (12,643 votes or 37.25%). 

The vote for the top six candidates in the 2019 Primary were:

 Jillian Johnson               10,461 - 21.33%

Charlie Reece                 9,675    - 19.73%

Javiera Caballero            9,313    - 18.99%

Joshua Gunn                  6,675    - 13.61%

Jacqueline Wagstaff       3,709    - 7.56%

Daniel Meier                   2,954    - 6.02%

 

The general election results were:

 

Jillian Johnson                19,857 - 20.65% (Re-elected)

Charlie Reece                 19,532 - 20.31% (Re-elected)

Javiera Caballero            19,023 - 19.78% (Re-elected

Joshua Gunn                  18,631 - 19.38%

Daniel Meier                    9,426    - 9.80%

Jacqueline Wagstaff        9,354  - 9.73%

 

In 2019, the People’s Alliance and the Indy Week endorsed Johnson, Reece, and Caballero.  The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black people and the Friends of Durham endorsed Gunn.  The Friends of Durham also endorsed Meier.   

"Take note that Joshua Gunn missed it by 392 votes," Bejamin said.  "That is a very close margin."

The 2021 Primary results showed a large margin for Elaine O’Neal, Freeman, and Middleton, who were endorsed by the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the Friends of Durham, and the Indy Week.  Middleton was also endorsed by the People’s Alliance. 

Mayor

Elaine O'Neal                           13,586 - 67.96%

Javiera Caballero                     4,925   - 24.63%

Ward 1

DeDreana Freeman                 13,468 -  69.61%

Marion T. Johnson                    5,189    - 26.82%

Ward 2

Mark-Anthony Middleton           16,255 - 85.91%

Sylvester Williams                     1,718   - 9.08%

“I believe endorsements can be a useful tool to help voters make informed decisions.  Again, without exit poll data, it’s hard to say if people were ‘using’ the endorsements or not as they cast their ballots,” Benjamin said.  “It could also be that voters are very tuned into this election cycle, and they preferred these candidates because of their issue positions on things like policing and the future of Durham.”

Bejamin says the results are surprising in the margin between the candidates, which has been closer in recent elections.

“I think the General Election will see increased turnout as each candidate works to mobilize their supporters,” Benjamin said.  “Perhaps some people didn’t vote in the primary because they thought their vote didn’t matter, but it does.  I expect things to get intense over the next month.”

 

 

Prelude to another election and the continuing buildup of Black Trauma

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COMMENTARY: Black trauma is a mother, shut yo mouth.

It brews in the belly and feeds on a pile of historical woes. It binds to the angst of the ancestors and wallows in the misery of memories that refuse to go away. Trauma is the price Black people pay for believing in the American Dream.

I’ve witnessed an eruption of Black trauma in public view. Black people are accustomed to the uncontrollable display of horns locked to make it all go away. The sadness is not that it happens. The gloom is that it happens far to often, and that it happens because Black folks carry their rage deep in the soul.

I’m troubled that it often happens in public view. It means something different when white people witness what happens in Black spaces. People are quick to shame Black people when there is no context to explain the what and why behind all that pain. Having to explain what happened magnifies the trauma.

Black trauma hinders patience and the ability to process beyond hurt feelings. It takes years of training and therapy to learn to communicate without feelings controlling what is said. I know it when I see it, but it’s hard helping others to understand the pain behind the madness.

It's what makes this journalism work so difficult. I’m often compelled to translate the significance of actions beyond the obvious story. It’s not just the facts, ma’am. The who, what, when, where, and why of the story comes with bunches of unresolved issues packed in an exploding Black body.

The gifts of white privilege is not having to explain the underlying madness. In reporting and writing, I often notice the mindset of a person “bout to lose their mind, up in here, up in here.” Saying that is another cultural affirmation inserting feelings of folks who know the lingo of the Prophet DMX.

There are layers to distress packed in by decades of frustration. The disappointment of a job denied. The heartache of love vanished. The agony of being misunderstood due to not being fully seen.

It’s what makes an election more than a political option. The power of privilege is winning doesn’t change much. Privilege grants losers a chance to tray again, while the pain of Black trauma adds new tiers to a load of misery. Disappointment bankrupts a person weighed heavy by Black trauma. It increases the rate of lapping among people already miles behind.

Catching up is a dream. Being forgotten and dismissed are the regiment of people accustomed to losing. Faith in something better, something different, is overshadowed by internal voices screaming “none of it matters.”

Waiting is a wish. Maybe. Could it be different? This time. Can we?

Another layer to unmeasured depression. Another episode of the continuing drama related to what white people can’t see. Another day of potentially unfulfilled hope in a sea of cosmic disproportion.

As my fingers cling to the keys on my laptop computer, a wave of disappointed Black faces gawp at me in preparation of the next observation of dreams deferred. The risk to swollen misery seeps between my fingertips and the computer keys.

Dear God, please offer breaths of freedom within this patent cycle of Black misery.

Black trauma. It’s hard to explain it. Some people can’t see it.

It’s a mother, shut yo mouth.

 

  

Capitol Broadcasting Vice President of Real Estate challenges members of Rotary Club to vote

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Onlookers at Monday’s Downtown Durham Rotary Club meeting were surprised by Michael Goodmon’s rant. Goodmon, vice president of real estate at Capitol Broadcasting Company, told Rotary members Durham needs systemic change, but at the same time we have to triage the emergency of today.

People were surprised because it was a first for the Rotary Club crowd. Goodmon choosing between police funding and defunding the police is a false choice.

Goodmon told members of the Rotary Club to consider the rise in violent crime.

As of September 25, 594 shootings are recorded in Durham, with 205 people being shot. On Monday, September 17, a man was shot while driving in Durham.

A woman in attendance asked a pressing question – what happens if one Political Action Committee controls the entire city? Goodmon told the crowd it will only happen if we allow it.

The sentiment among the people in the room mirrored the assertion of The Friends of Durham. The bi-partisan, Durham focused PAC has launched an aggressive campaign to defeat candidates interested in defunding Durham’s police department.

The Friends of Durham endorses Elaine O’Neal for Mayor after Javier Caballero called for defunding the police.

“I wholeheartedly believe in defunding the police,” reporter Thomasi McDonald highlighted in comments made by Caballero during the June 15 city council meeting. “I know what I want in the future of Durham, and I want less police.”

The City Council approved a $2.8 million budget to create the Community Safety Department. The funding came from the city’s General Fund and required the transfer of vacant positions from other departments, including five unfilled jobs from the police department.

The pilot program will use civilians to respond to 911 calls instead of police officers. The department will include 15 full-time staff, two 911 operators, two social workers and two field responders.

“In its inaugural year, the department will have three primary functions: piloting alternative response models for 911 calls for service, collaborating with community members to identify and text new approaches to public safety and managing and evaluating existing contracts and external partnerships intended to advance public safety,” a statement in the city manager’s budget states.

The pilot program is struggling to get off the ground due to an uptick in shootings and complaints involving 911 response time. The city is searching for a new police chief after C.J. Davis left Durham to become the police chief in Memphis, Tennessee. Developing a comprehensive police reform strategy is complicated when there isn’t a police chief to oversee the process.

In addition to O’Neal, a former superior court judge and dean of the North Carolina Central University law school, The Friends of Durham endorses city council incumbents DeDreanna Freeman and Mark-Anthony Middleton based on their support for what is believed to be a more balanced approach to police reform. The PAC endorses Leonardo Williams, a two-time Durham Teacher of the Year and owner of Zweli’s, America’s first Zimbabwean restaurant, over A.J. Williams, director of incubation and ideation labs at Southern Vision Alliance, a member of Durham Beyond Police and vocal supporter of police abolition.

“I’m a member of the city council. There is no disagreement involving finding alternative solutions,” Middleton said during a recent campaign rally. “We want to look at everything. They only want to look at one thing.”

Goodmon’s rant represents the assessment of many Durham voters. Durham is in a state of emergency. Considering new approaches to public safety is a good thing, but you can’t get there when the wheels are falling off the wagon.

 

OneKMB: "We will not stand by and watch the slaughter of our children"

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Twenty-five students from the African American Male Initiative at North Carolina Central University made their way up the steps at the Hayti Heritage Center. Their marron jackets and prideful strut illustrated why the more than fifty people gathered waited for their arrival.

They represented the core of Black people’s dreams.

Founders of OneKMB (One Thousand Black Men) called a meeting to discuss the future of Durham. It was a blending of eulogy and revival with an action plan targeting increased gun violence.

“When we have kids using bathtubs for shields in Durham, we can do better than that,” Antonio Jones, chair of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People and one of the founders of OneKMB, said.

Black men stood in an area above the crowd – like a commissioned army taking an oath of service. They wore the pride of a common bond, a commitment stirred by memories of scuffling in a world conditioned to discount Black men.

“We’re brothers. We’re fathers. We’re sons, uncles, and in some capacity, we’re mentors and coaches,” Omar Beasley, past chair of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People and co-founder of OneKMB, said. “We, as a community of Black men, have been working together to galvanize our efforts, but now is the time that we can not allow Covid to be the reason for us to not put our plans and programs in action.”

A year has passed since OneKMB organized as a challenge to Black men. When the city was shut down due to Covid-19, crime didn’t take time off. In Durham, and in places across America, gun violence has escalated during Covid-19.

“We are here because there is no species on the planet that will stand by and watch you slaughter their offspring,” city council member Mark-Anthony Middleton said. “From the smallest turtle to the fiercest lion, there is no species on the plant that will just idly stand by and watch their children killed. Whether they wear feathers or talons, we will not stand by and watch the slaughter of our children as a spectator sport.”

Middleton, another co-founder of OneKMB with Leonardo Williams, a candidate for the city council, says he’s issuing a clarion call to every Black man in Durham.

“Whether you are in the board room, or on the corner. Whether you’ve been to college or not. No matter what area you participate in life, we need every Black man in this city to stand up, unite and say it’s up to us,” Middleton said. “We are not here to exempt the government, or to relieve them of their responsibilities. But we are here to say we are going to be perpetual, persistent partners in saving our children because we do not need permission to save our lives.”

Middleton announced the four pillars of OneKMB. The group will advocate for policies and programs already formed to address the needs of Black people.

“So, I’m saying to our local and state officials, adequately fund programs that are for us and by us,” Beasley said. “We have existing programs, existing plans, that don’t have adequate funding.”

Middleton says OneMKB will be a support system for existing programs.

“We will now have a virtual army, a data base of 1,000 plus men that are willing to come in and buttress up your program,” Middleton said.

OneKMB will also build an economic development strategy that utilizes resources among Black men to create pathways to opportunities. Middleton says some Black men have special access due to experience and relationships to offer direct intervention.

“Some can pull up and speak to brothers directly,” Middleton said. “They can go into situations and pull people out.”

Williams says his work with OneKMB is personal.

“I’ve lost count personally of how many students I’ve lost. Whether they were the killer or the one who was killed,” Williams, a two-time Durham Teacher of the Year, said. “What I can say consistently is they are all victims, and that is what we have to stop.”

Williams acknowledged that people are doing the work to curtail gun violence without adequate resources, while far too many people are left wondering what to do.

“I think we have been waiting for permission, but also we have been audience participants for too long,” Williams said. “Now, we’re sitting back eating popcorn watching news stories.”

Chair of the Board of County Commissioners Brenda Howerton and Sheriff Clarence Birkhead respond to shootings in Durham

 

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Brenda Howerton, chair of the Durham Board of County Commissioners says she cringes whenever the phone rings after 10:00 p.m. It reminds her of the two phone calls she received informing her two of her sons were killed.

Her gut gets uneasy when she reads the news about another mother losing a child to gun violence. It’s part of a personal life mission that inspired her to run for public office. It matters more than anything. More than the budget to fund public schools or other matters involving the state of county government.

The recent shootings in the parking deck on the campus of North Carolina Central University was another reminder. Her son Lamont was killed by a navy soldier at a party organized by students at Hampton University. He was only 26 years old. Her youngest son Darryl was a student at North Carolina A&T University when he was shot and killed by the police. He was only 17 years old.

Two Black men killed before turning thirty. The grip of the pain is too much for any mother to endure. It doesn’t matter if she’s the chair of the board of county commissioners.

Clarence Birkhead is Durham County Sheriff. He’s a Black man sick and tired of being sick and tired. He’s tired of witnessing increased homicides with declining resources to combat what feels like a war in the streets. It’s the good guys against the bad guys, but the way the budgets work in local government the good guys are treated like the bad guys.

Birkhead and Howerton have teamed up to write a statement regarding gun violence in Durham County. You’re left feeling shit is personal for two Black people called and appointed to protect and serve the citizens of Durham County.

Words mean more when written from the gut.

“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me,” records the writer of Psalm 42:7.

A statement of faith when nothing else seems to work.

Statement from Durham County Commissioner Chair Brenda Howerton and Sheriff Clarence F. Birkhead in response to shootings near NCCU Campus

First of all, I sincerely ask that you join me in sending thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims that were lost in the senseless shootings that took place near North Carolina Central University on this past Saturday and Monday.

No family is ever prepared for the knock on the door, at an unexpected time of day or night, that results in the unthinkable news that one’s family member will never return home. Sadly, I know that experience all too well, and indeed my heart is heavy. I know that our community is absolutely heartbroken at this time as we see this senseless violence continue.

Residents at the McDougald Terrace public housing complex, within walking distance of the North Carolina Central University campus, have also been traumatized by gun violence and for far too long. No parent should be forced to hold their child tight fearful that a stray bullet may take their life. No child should be forced to contend with the site of a dead body on the ground as they wait for first responders to take the body away.

During the months of this pandemic, we’ve seen an increase of violence in our community. As of August 28^th, our Durham Police Department had investigated 33 criminal homicides, which is higher than the same period a year ago.

Let me be clear. This problem of gun violence is a problem that is escalating everywhere ─ in cities large and small. Some say it’s because there are too many guns in the hands of too many people. Others say if people had more access to jobs, our crime and violence would be reduced. Still others note that more mental health services are needed because too many people are stressed out. I say all the above are true.

At his recent news conference, Chancellor Johnson Akinyele spoke in great detail about the considerable resources that have been received and implemented to provide a safe environment for students and staff.  And he also asked for more resources from the State, City, and the County to help combat violent crime.

I will say that both of our local governments have taken steps to address gun violence in Durham. This year the County entered an interlocal agreement to with the City expanding our Violence Interruption program known as Bull City United.

This nationally recognized program works in specific neighborhoods with a long-standing history of violence. Bull City United interrupters and outreach workers engage the community to get involved by conveying the message that violence is not normal and violent behavior can be changed. The program was expanded because it has worked. While BCU is not currently near this campus, there is a chance that it could be added in the future.

Durham County provided funds to Durham Technical Community College for an enhanced job training program which is in the final stages of design. With assistance from our industry partners at Merck and Corning, the pilot program will provide job skills for 25 students in high demand careers. The objective is to help the participants succeed and become employed in Durham’s expanding life sciences companies and more.

Finally, we all want to see change, but we must work together to make it happen. We can and must do more. The City and the County will continue to work together to review our systems to keeping Durham safe. We can instruct our law enforcement agencies to research successful best practices and bring forth new ideas for community policing.  We need community members to speak up and report when they see circumstances that may result in violence. All of us have a role to play if we are to make Durham the safe community that I know it can become.

Our Durham County Sheriff Clarence F. Birkhead is of course a key partner in this work, and I am delighted that he agreed to join me by sharing his concerns in the following statement:

 

“I support Chair Howerton and Durham County’s commitment to combating the gun violence plaguing our communities, particularly communities of color. We, as a city, can no longer accept gun violence in our communities as a way of life. It is time for action. And it is time for all of us to work together. Remaining silent indicates a level of our complicity in the growing gun violence problem. 

Let me be clear: someone out there knows who is responsible for what happened at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), and in the second shooting incident in as many days, where the lives of three men from our local community were cut short. We need the community to help us solve these crimes. This plea also goes for many of the other homicide and shooting victims that keep happening across Durham. Our community needs to speak up because silence makes this problem worse.

We need the community to call us when they hear, witness, or have information about any crime. Tips can be called in anonymously to either Crime Stoppers at (919) 683-1200 or the Durham County Sheriff’s Office tip-line at (919) 560-7151.

As your Sheriff, I am focused on solutions. To that end, the Durham County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work closely with the Durham Police Department, as well as NCCU Police and their administration, to ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, we will extend the full measure of our investigative resources to identify the perpetrators and hold those accountable for their actions.

We can reduce gun violence across Durham by doing what we do best - working together as a community and supporting one another.”

Clarence F. Birkhead, Sheriff

Brenda A. Howerton, Chair

Durham Board of Commissioners

 

 

 

The complicated history of Durham's Hayti Business District sheds light on lost Black power and a divided community

 Rev-elution offers independent, local, Black journalism and reflections on faith in public space. Support Rev-elution by contributing at: Cash app, $CMizzou, or Venmo, $Carl-Kenney-1

 

It seemed to be a proposal to good to be true. The federal government was offering the guarantee of resurrecting communities across America. Durham’s Hayti district was on their list.

Two-hundred acres in an area labeled blighted was identified by city leaders. It was 1957, and the $600,000 placed on the table was enough to launch the Durham Redevelopment Commission. Robinson O. Everett, who holds the record as the youngest faculty member in Duke’s history at twenty-two, was named the chair. Paul Brooks, who served as Durham’s planning director, was appointed the acting executive director until Ben T. Perry III took the reins in 1962.

The commission managed seven projects. Contracts were secured with mostly white-owned realty, construction, architectural and legal firms. A bond referendum was proposed to support the $8.6 million estimated to complete the urban renewal project.

The people who would lose their homes and businesses were assured they would be fully compensated. The debate was fierce with many people objecting to federal intervention in Durham’s affairs. There was talk about increased taxes to pay for the bond issue.

John Hervey Wheeler, president of Mechanics & Farmers Bank, used his influence as the Chair of the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs (now the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People) to lobby in support of the bond.

The bond passed by 3%.

“The bitterness caused by Hayti’s destruction was compounded by the failure on the part of Durham’s leaders to fulfill their promise and rebuild a better Hayti,” Jean Bradley Anderson writes in Durham County: A History of Durham County, North Carolina. “Twenty-five years later the land that had bustled with life was still a wasteland overgrown with weeds.”

The freeway and six other projects cost $41.6 million. The federal government paid two-thirds of the cost. The ultimate price was paid by the 4,057 households and 502 businesses forced to move.

What followed was a ghastly chain reaction that must have felt like karma. In 1966, Southern Railroad decided to discontinue passenger service through Durham. Members of the city council didn’t oppose the decision. Duke University did their best to stop the decision along with the editorial board of the Durham Morning Herald and the Chamber of Commerce.

The old Southern flare that prompted memories of the benefits of tobacco money soon disappeared. It wasn’t just Hayti that was torn down, building by building, block by block, the old was replaced by the promise of something new. The change continued for over a decade with the demolition of the old Washington Duke Hotel striking concerns in 1975.

Beyond the loss of a once vibrant Black community, historical properties and the insertion of a highway connecting Durham to the Research Triangle Park, the pride and power of the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs began to dwindle.

It was a painful miscalculation. Many people blamed Wheeler for supporting the bond.

Asa T. Spaulding, the former president of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance, was interviewed by Walter Wear for the Southern Oral History Program Collection on April 16, 1979. He was asked why Wheeler never ran for public office.

“He likes to succeed in what he’s trying to do and where he’s trying to lead people,” Spaulding said. “And sometimes, even no matter how much ambition you may have, if you’re going to put the good of the people above your own selfish interest, you may have to sacrifice yourself for the good of the people.”

Wheeler seemed to be good at placing the needs of others above his own. In 1968, he was part of an interracial group of businesspeople established to build one hundred single family houses for low-income residents. Durham Investment Company set aside $65,000 to develop units that sold for $10,000 to $12,000. Other members of the group included Mary Duke Semans, J.J. Henderson, Ben Ruffin, Floyd Flecther, and James R. Hawkins.

Spaulding said Wheeler made enemies due to his activism. He was able to harness his power because of his relationship with the Black community.

“You see, you can do some things if you’re independent that you can’t if you’re not. And because his livelihood and means of survival was not dependent on being the employee of a white institution – because his support came from the Black community,” Spaulding said. “I’m talking about economic support. And his base of his political strength was in the Black community. And being a Black, too, and if you’re going to be worthy, sometimes you have to give yourself for a cause if you believe in the cause. And if you don’t do that, then you become a hypocrite, and that soon will show up.”

Did Wheeler and the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs’ support of urban renewal impact relationships with the Black community? Maybe. Is there an opinion among older residents, who remember the days leading up to urban renewal, that class division played a role in Wheeler’s support of the bond issue? Maybe.

We do know the demolition of Hayti was a massive miscalculation.

The Hayti urban renewal project was completed in 1973. Wheeler died on July 6, 1978, at the age of 70. His legacy in supporting Black people and their causes transcends his decision to support the 1962 urban renewal bond. Still, questions linger.

Who made money on the seven projects supported by the Durham Redevelopment Commission? How many of the companies were Black owned?

What about the masses of dreams deferred?

The dust stirred by the bulldozers lingers like ghosts conjuring memories of broken promises. There’s work to be down among those weeds.

Hopefully, the next proposal won’t come packaged with a few acres of swamp land two miles outside of Creedmoor.

 

Leonardo Williams and Mark-Anthony Middleton join a group of Black men in calling for remedies to mounting gun violence

Rev-elution offers independent, local, Black journalism and reflections on faith in public space. Support Rev-elution by contributing at: Cash app, $CMizzou, or Venmo, $Carl-Kenney-1

 

Leonardo Williams is joining forces with Mark-Anthony Middleton in a challenge for Black men to help curb gun violence in Durham.

It’s been a year since Williams and Middleton co-founded OneKMB (One Thousand Black Men). Both are busy campaigning for Durham’s city council. Middleton is the incumbent in Ward 2. Williams is running against A.J. Williams to replace Pierce Freelon as the Ward 3 representative.

Williams and Middleton are pausing their campaigns because they’ve seen too much to wait.

“Public safety is not a binary issue with one answer. It’s ensuring that we can live and prosper without fear of losing lives,” Williams wrote in a statement released to the press. “I have a son, I hire young men, I’m a Black man; so, it’s personal for me. I’m committed to hiring, mentoring, and growing young men of color, yet I’m in direct competition with forces that do not have our best interest at heart. I refuse to sit idly and watch another young man’s life end senselessly.

Omar Beasley, past president of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, John Rooks, Jr., former candidate for Durham city council, and Antonio Jones, president of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, are also co-founders of OneKBM.

Middleton says Covid-19 would not allow the group to meet and organize like they needed to last year. OneKMB plans to generate and facilitate resources for mentoring groups, organization, and economic ecosystems throughout Durham. They are challenging local governments and concerned citizens to devise an action plan to address gun violence.

“This call for 1000 Black Men to assemble is not meant to excuse nor exempt the government from its responsibilities; it is rather meant to augment and complement the efforts to literally preserve Durham’s future,” Middleton said. “We do not need permission to save our own lives.”

The press release notes recent police data that has Durham on pace to surpass 2016 as the deadliest year on record.

“To counter the uptick in gun violence, Black men of several organization and ministries are asked to join a mass action movement in order to keep our communities accountable and change the trajectory of young men of color who are committing crimes and are the victims of crime, enhance their engagement in the community, and provide access to stable jobs and workforce development,” the OneKBM press release states. On Friday, OneKBM will begin a movement that will directly impact how Black men are involved in Durham’s public safety.”

Black men are asked to meet on Friday, September 24, at noon on the steps of the Hayti Heritage Center.