Rev-elution Election Endorsements: Durham County Board of Education

Note: Rev-elution has removed comments regarding Matt Sears, incumbent representing District 3, after reviewing records which fail to verify assumptions made in the previous version. Sears never publicly called for the termination of former Durham County Manager Wendell Davis and made no public comments supporting David Hawk, former principal at Durham School of the Arts.

no elected public official faces more scrutiny than public-school board members. It’s where the public ideologies of parents emerge in a volatile display of emotions. It’s where race, class privilege and petty demands of parents converge to pit the rich against the lack of resources of others.

Rev-elution applied a different type of matrix in determining who to endorse for the five seats on the board of education. We considered each candidates’ campaign pitch. We also counted the level and nature of involvement with Black and Brown parents and students. Not just Black, and not just Brown.

 

Impact of the Better Board, Better Schools slate of candidates

The surfacing of Better Board, Better Schools, a group of concerned parents and grandparents, in promoting a slate of candidates is significant. It’s not clear if the group is motivated by political party ties. What is clear is a budding population of parents unsatisfied with student academic performance in Durham Public Schools.

“Resources are being allocated to various initiatives while our students are being left behind academically,” the group states on their website. “Our children deserve better.”

Chris Burns, the group’s candidate representing District 2, touts homeschooling, The Hill Center and Cresset Christian Academy, a private faith-based school, as options used for his children.

Rev-elution extends no endorsements for members of the Better Board, Better Schools slate; however, acknowledges the burden felt by parents who feel DPS fails in satisfying the educational needs of their children.

“Our slate will bring a laser-like focus on increasing reading literacy, mathematical achievement, and critical thinking skills,” their websites states. “We want to unleash the creativity of teaching professionals, allowing them to impact in ways that are effective and impactful.”

Curtis Hrischuk (District 1), Gayathri Rajaraman (District 3), Joetta MacMiller (Consolidated District B) and Valarie Jarvis (District 4) are a slate of candidates representing parents likely to consider alternative methods to educate their children. School board members are encouraged to listen. 

 

District 1

Rev-elution endorses Emily Chavez based on her more than 15 years of experience as a professional development facilitator, education administrator and organizational change agent.

A former English teacher, her work as project director of the DREAM Project at the University of North Carolina, director of equity and justice, associate director at the Center for Multicultural Affairs both at Duke and outreach program coordinator of the UNC-Duke Consortium of Latin American & Caribbean Studies, offers the perfect fit in a school system with an expanding Brown population.

Jasper Fleming presents a platform centering teacher pay, parent engagement and Covid-19 safety protocol. Rev-elution viewed his platform, and lack of experience within Black and Brown spaces, both limited and nonconsequential in addressing critical issues.

 

District 2

District 2 presents a decision between two viable candidates. Bertina Umstead serves as the current chair of the Durham Board of Education. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she studied Middle Grade Education with a concentration in Language Arts & Social Studies before taking a job with Student U, a college access program in Durham.

Umstead, and members of the current board, advocates for additional school counselors, increased access to mental health support and programming that supports Black and Brown boys.

Rev-elution endorses Donald Hughes based on a set of unusual and welcoming variables. Hughes is nurtured within a culture of advocacy and activism. He began service as a speaker at city council and school board meetings before entering high school. Hughes knows Durham. He’s a graduate of Hillside High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master’s degree in public administration from North Carolina Central University.

Hughes is a rarity in Durham politics, a Durham born and raised Black man potentially being elected for local office. He’s a strong advocate of Durham pride. He has witnessed, firsthand, the rise and fall of what Durham represented prior to gentrification. He remembers the madness related to school merger, disputes to fund magnet schools and conflicts at Hillside High School leading to the dismissal of a vastly popular principal.

Hughes is part of the history of Durham’s public education system. He’s connected to the population most impacted by economic, education and health disparities. Hughes can do more than talk about what troubles Durham, he’s engaged. He does more than talk about policy in a platform statement. He’s about that life.

 

District 3

This is complicated. Matt Sears, the incumbent in District 3, hasn’t done enough to warrant an endorsement from Rev-elution.

Gayathri Rajaraman, the only opposition in District 3, is an unknown. Her connection as a member of the Better Board, Better School slate offers a clue. The problem is with the clue. It feels like a hostile Republican Party takeover of a welcoming and progressive school system.

Rev-elution endorses no one for District 3.

 

District 4

Natalie Beyer played tag team with Matt Sears in a campaign against Wendell Davis. She challenged the credibility of positions affirming the strength of Durham’s AAA rating. The call for accountability was matched by her call for Davis’ job. Fueled by the support of People’s Alliance, Beyers and Sears won the battle. Will Durham voters remember rhetoric condemning Davis for being conservative – yes, some called him a Republican – while addressing his compensation – too much for a Black man. Stop me. It's too soon.

Rev-elution endorses Myca Jeter based on her more than 20 years of working with children and families as a social worker. A graduate of North Carolina Central University, Jeter taught Spanish at Neal Middle School and Hillside High School before becoming a mental health professional.

An authentic and much needed breath of fresh air.

 

Consolidate District B

Few in Durham manifest the anti-Wendell Davis agenda more than Millicent Rogers.

“With an annual salary of more than $200,00, the contract provides the manager with numerous perks, including seven weeks of vacation a year, term life insurance, and a hefty monthly vehicle allowance,” a statement released by People’s Alliance Board of Directors on March 18, 2021, states. Rogers served as co-president of the group.

The ache of feeling Black men don’t deserve to be paid still resonates. The sidenote involves the contract for the newly appointed county manager. It’s more than Davis’ contract prior when he was booted out of his position. Rogers and members of People’s Alliance avoided conversations related to her compensation package.

Rogers’ involvement as a key organizer in efforts to not approve the renewal of Davis’ contract is critical among residents desiring more than a blank check to fund public education. Rogers, and members of the People’s Alliance Board of Directors, set a political philosophy questioning the credibility of conservative fiscal management. What pressures will Rogers, Beyer and Sears place on Kimberly Sowell, the newly appointed Durham County Manager.

Rev-elution endorses Frederick Xavier Ravin III. Ravin was appointed by school board members on Aug 27, 2020, to fill the vacancy after the resignation of Xavier Carson. A graduate of Southern Durham High School, he earned a degree in marketing from North Carolina A&T State University, a degree in finance from North Carolina Central University and a master’s degree in strategic information management and MBA from North Carolina Central University.

He's smart, likeable and a meticulous critical thinker. He offers vision and an unwillingness to be bound by the selfish whims of any given political action committee.

 

 

Rev-elution Election Endorsements: State General Assembly & Judicial Seats

 endorsements for the north carolina state senate and house of representative seats are easy. Stick with the Democratic Party Incumbents.

The group representing Durham has done a good job in fighting a group of narrow-minded Republican’s intent on maintaining their control. It’s hard for Democrats over in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Rev-elution endorses Natalie Murdock (Senate District 20), Mike Woodard (Senate District 22), Ray Jeffers (House District 002), Vernetta Alston (House District 029), Marcia Morey (House District 030) and Zack Hawkins (House District 031).

The judicial seats are often the most difficult for voters to decide, with many approaching it with either a coin toss or a recommendation from a close friend. The law is the law, but recent court rulings verify the merit in taking these votes seriously.

Rev-elution endorses Lucy Inman for NC Supreme Court Associate Justice Seat 03 and Sam J. Ervin IV for NC Supreme Court Associate Justice Seat 05.

The endorsement for NC Court of Appeals Seat 08 goes to North Carolina Central University Law School graduate Carolyn Thompson.  NC Court of Appeals Seat 09 goes to Sanford, NC Democrat Brad Salmon. Rev-elution endorses Gale Murray Adams, a North Carolina Central University Law School graduate, for NC Court of Appeals Seat 10 and Darren Jackson, appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2020, to continue his service as judge on NC Court of Appeals Seat 11.

Local Judicial Seats

If it’s not broke, don’t fix it, is the verdict regarding Durham judge seats. Rev-elution endorses Brian C. Wilks as Superior Court Judge in Judicial District 14B. Governor Roy Cooper appointed Wilks to fill the vacant seat formerly held by James E. Hardin on Aug 5, 2021.

Feedback from people working at the courthouse is extremely favorable in support of Dave Hall to continue as NC District Court Judge District 14 Seat 01. Rev-elution endorses Doretta Walker, who assumed office on January 3, 2011, for re-election for District Court Judge District 14 Seat 02, Dorothy Harrison Mitchell, appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper on Dec 6, 2021, for District Court Judge District Court 14 Seat 04 and Clayton Jones to serve a second term as District Court Judge Court Seat 05. Rev-elution endorses Amanda L. Maris for re-election as District Court Judge Court 06 Seat.

Rev-elution endorses Pat Evans, who assumed office on January 3, 2011, for a final term as Judge District 14 Seat 03. Evans, who ages out as a judge at the end of her term if re-elected, has been instrumental in leading conversations aimed at fostering alliances to curtail gang-related violence in Durham.

Satana Deberry was elected District Attorney by voters in 2018 during a national wave of interest to reform the criminal justice system. Rev-elution endorses Deberry because of her ongoing commitment in reducing unnecessary court involvement and incarceration when safety is not at risk. Rev-elution believes Durham County is leading a national conversation involving the reform of the criminal legal system, making Deberry’s re-election critical in maintaining that focus.

Jonathon Wilson, 38, challenger in the District Attorney race, is the type of candidate Rev-elution hopes to see in future elections for public office.

It’s time to make a change in the office of Durham County Clerk of Superior Court. Archie Smith III assumed office in 2002. Things may not be broken, but it feels like things have been stuck.

Rev-elution endorses Aminah Thompson for Durham County Clerk of Superior Court due to her forward-thinking approach to the office. She wants to utilize metrics that measure court performance, create a community-based law library, establish night courts and remote settings to alleviate barriers to attending court.

Rev-elution endorses Clarence Birkhead for a second term as Durham County Sheriff. His bold and uncompromising commitment to not cooperate with ICE, to not honor ICE detainers, to not participate in ICE roundups and checkpoints for immigration purposes are critical to citizens in Durham.

up next: durham county board of education

 

Rev-elution Election Endorsements: U.S. Senate and House of Representatives

primary and election early voting begins in Durham on April 28. It’s a quick turnaround after state lawmakers altered a redistricting plan. 

Over the next three days, Rev-elution offers endorsements for every office on the Durham County ballot. This time-consuming process takes into consideration variables reflective of the interest to Durham’s Black and Brown citizens.

Today, United States Senate and United States House of Representatives.

United States Senate

Eleven Democrats filed to replace Richard Burr who steps down after 18 years in the Senate. In addition, 14 Republicans and one Libertarian join the race.

The Republican Party

This is a three-person race between former N.C Governor Pat McCrory, U.S. Congressman Ted Budd and former U.S. Congressman Mark Walker.

Budd, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, represents North Carolina’s 13^th District which includes Rowan County in the Charlotte metro area. His campaign focuses on immigration, religious liberty and the economy.

Walker represented North Carolina’s 6^th U.S. House District from 2015-2021. The district includes the Triad cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point. A former pastor, Walker considered challenging Senator Thom Tillis in the 2020 primary, but backed out after Trump endorsed Tillis.

Recent opinion polls have Tillis leading with 29 percent of supporters compared to 20 percent for Budd and 11 percent for Walker.

Rev-elution offers no endorsement in the Republican Party Primary

The Democratic Party

The Democratic Party Primary is a less competitive race between Cheri Beasley, former chief justice of the NC Supreme Court, Tobias LaGrone, a small business owner, pastor and counselor and Beaufort, NC Mayor Rett Newton.

Beasley narrowly lost her race to remain on the supreme court to Republican Paul Newby in 2020. She was appointed to serve on the bench by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in 2019.

LaGrone, who identifies as a conservative, is a pro-life Democrat. His platform focuses on access to tech data, transparency in hiring, increasing tax credits for childcare and the establishment of a national law enforcement malpractice registry.

Newton, a retired Air Force officer, told the News & Observer he was inspired to run for Senate after witnessing the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Rev-elution endorses Cheri Beasley based on her background and platform aimed at reforming America’s criminal justice system, emphasis on fixing America’s immigration system and improving housing affordability.

united states house of representative's district #4

The race to fill the seat held by Congressman David Price beginning in 1987-1995 and again in 1997 until his pending retirement at the end of 2022, is packed with a diverse group of contenders.

Nida Allam, a member of the Durham Board of County Commissioners, entered the race shortly after Price announced his retirement. Allam, the first Muslim woman ever elected to public office in North Carolina, is the daughter of Indian and Pakistani immigrants. Born in Ottawa, Canada, she was raised in Wake County and graduated from North Carolina State University.

She supports the Green New Deal and promotes becoming a member of “The Squad” - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ihan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) – four women of color elected during the 2018 midterm elections.

She enters the race with a considerable war chest built from support outside of Durham. Allam, 28, has served as a member of the board of commissioners for less than two years. Her tenure is marked with heavy disapproval from Black leaders due to her lack of support for former Durham County Manager Wendell Davis. Allam cast a vote not to renew Davis’ contract after members of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People (DCABP) assumed a promise that she would support renewing the contract.

Valerie Foushee represents Chatham and Orange Counties as a member of the state senate. She began her public service as a member of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board in 1997. She is the first Black woman elected to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners, leaving to serve in the NC House of Representatives and later joining the NC Senate.

Foushee is a primary Senate Sponsor, with Mike Woodard (D-Durham), of SB 646, the Marijuana Justice and Reinvestment Act. The bill sets a series of definitions related to cannabis, establishes the Office of Social Equity and several funds within the Department of Public Safety, authorizes the personal use and possession of cannabis for persons 21 years of age or older and provides protection for patients and caregivers related to the possession or purchase of cannabis for medical use.

Foushee supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, ending privatized prisons and supports increased regulation and funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and increased investments into green transit. Passage of the Green New Deal is one of her top priorities.

Richard Watkins entered the race after shifting interest in running for U.S. Senate. He earned his Ph. D from the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill in Microbiology and Immunology with a specialty in Virology.

Watkins received 6.5 percent of votes (4,391) in the 2018 congressional primary election. Price received 77.1 percent of votes followed by Michelle Cotton Laws with 16.4 percent of Democratic Party votes.

American Idol singer Clay Aikens is giving it another shot after losing to Republican Party incumbent Renee Ellmers in the 2014 general election for US. House of Representative in North Carolina’s 2^nd congressional district.

Stephen Valentine, director of North Carolina University’s Veteran Law Clinic, is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, receiving the Bronze Star Medal for service in Iraq.

Rev-elution has no endorsement in the Republican Party Primary

Rev-elution endorses Valerie Foushee due to her experience as a member of the board of education, board of county commissioners, state House of Representatives and service as a state senator. Rev-elution is concerned regarding Foushee’s lack of attention to the voters in Durham County.

next up: state and local judicial seats

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Conflict over Durham youth detention center raises conflicting answers: New questions, please

 Rev-elution is an independent, local, Black-owned, and Black focused news outlet. It is entirely sustained by the contributions of readers. Please support by contributing at: Cash App, $CMizzou, or Venmo, @Carl-Kenney-1.

COMMENTARY: Determining the right answer begins with asking the right question.

What games do young people play when there’s no place to go?

The answer is horrifying. Some play bang, bang at The Streets at Southpoint and other places in Durham.

The follow-up question is even more dismaying. What do we do with youth when we’re fed up with their play?

Lock them up and throw away the keys. Wrong answer.

Recent skirmishes at Durham’s lavish mall have triggered the panic button among residents preparing for Christmas shopping. On December 8, one person was assaulted during a robbery outside a store at the mall.  This follows an incident on Black Friday that has residents increasing the rate of head scratching aimed at making sense of the madness. Three people were wounded, and three others were injured. The shooting victims include a 10-year-old, injured by a ricocheting bullet.

Criminals are getting younger. Is that true? What happens when children get caught in playing deadly games? Do we lock them up? Do we send them away? Do we give them another chance? How many?

What about their victims?

Questions. Questions. Questions.

One more question. What happens when clashing answers respond to a different question?

The answer – a ball of confusion.

On Monday, members of the Durham Board of County Commissioners will vote on the construction of a new and expanded $30 million youth detention center with space to house 60 juveniles.

County officials say the plan follows a court order to create an alternative to separate juveniles and adults in the Durham County jail. The order was part of the settlement in a civil lawsuit filed by Julia Graves after the death of her 17-year-old daughter, Uniece Gleanae Fennell, who was found hanging by County detention officers at the County detention center. Fennell was a minor at the time of her death. She occupied more than a year in jail after being charged in a drive-by shooting.

What do we learn from Fennell’s death?

The answer, according to County officials, is to build a separate place for juveniles facing felonies. The alternative is to locate places outside the county. It’s not the perfect answer, but is there a more valid option?

Members of Durham Beyond Police (DBP) have a different answer. No more jails. No more prisons. No more police. Invest all the money in prevention. All of it.

DBP’s answer addresses what to do before a juvenile has a gun in their hand. Another imperfect answer.

The varied answers reflect responses to different, albeit connected, questions.

DBP answer, “what games do young people play when there’s no place to go?”

County officials answer, “what do we do with youth when we’re fed up with their play?”

DBP offers the correct answer. We need wraparound services to support troubled youth and their parents.

County officials get it right. We need an alternative to the outdated youth detention center and to sending juveniles to another county.

One answer stops the problem before it happens. The other addresses what to do after things are out of control.

The answer may require a different set of questions.

It is true. The criminal justice system sucks. The school to prison pipeline is a real “thing”. It is true, more money needs to be invested in mental health options.

It is true. Juveniles are committing violent crimes. We can’t treat them like adults, but…but, what’s the answer?

It may help to accept the frailty of most of the answers. They fit the bottomless agendas of policy makers stuck on the assumptions of their campaign speeches and mission statements. When it becomes more critical to prove the merits of their claims, the answer consumes the breath of youth clinging to life.

This is not a dissertation or master’s thesis. This is not a problem to be solved with the victor winning the great prize - the prize of elected office. The lives of Black and Brown youth transcend the movement of pieces on a chess board. No, this is not a game.

We hear your answer.

Let’s try a different question.

What can we do to support youth caught up in a world of trouble after having no place to play?

Another imperfect question.

The right answer is on both sides of the table.

Your move.

 

Pioneers Church is treading on holy ground

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commentary – Spaces are made sacred by virtue of the people who gather to make it home. These welcoming and affirming places are more than temples where lessons about faith are taught to separate wolves from lambs.

It matters when a congregation is planted on sacred ground.

Close to 6,500 people have signed a petition to prevent Pioneers Church from opening its doors in the area made holy when residents Married Durham.

Pioneers Durham is a retail, coffee, and co-working space in the Hutchings Auto Supply Building located at 402 W. Geer Street. The revenue from Pioneers Durham will be used to fund Pioneers Church, a new congregation led by Sherei Lopez-Jackson and her partner Daniel Jackson.

The petition chides Lopez-Jackson for supporting the position of the United Methodist Church to withhold ordination from LGBTQ+ persons and supporting her denominations opposition of same sex relationships.

“Under the limits of my ordinations (united Methodist Church) and my own convictions, I am not permitted to marry people within the LGBTQ+ community,” Lopez-Jackson said in response to her critics.

More than 2,000 people took vows on March 19, 2011, during Marry Durham

“Today, we marry each other. Beyond race, beyond gender, beyond class, beyond sexual orientation, beyond religion and all other declarations,” are part of the vows I wrote binding residents to each other with a deeper commitment to protect our mutual interest.

Residents of Durham evoked the spirit of their vows when Republican State Senator Peter Brunstetter introduced Senate Bill 514, Amendment One, to the North Carolina General Assembly in September 2011.

Not in the Bull City.

Durham responded with a resounding hell to the no when the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act (HB2) took effect on March 23, 2016. HB2 required people to use the bathroom corresponding to their biological sex as the designation appearing on an individual’s birth certificate.

Not in the Bull City.

“We are married by our thoughts,” that’s what I said that day. “We are married by a love made deeper by the strength of the others in our community. We are more than the labels others create to separate and define. We are married to the truth of universal claims. We are more powerful because of every you in our city.”

More than 2,000 people said yes to that. We meant every word. We’ve proven it by our enduring love for every person who lives in the Bull City – beyond race, beyond religion, beyond gender, and, yes, beyond sexual orientation.

I meant every word I spoke that day. We all meant it.

We prove it by how we vote. We don’t always agree, but the vows still matter. They have shaped how we think about Durham. Ten years later, we continue to be impacted by the day we Married Durham.

It happened in the shadow of Pioneers Church.

There are hundred of congregations in Durham. Many endorse the position of Pioneers Church. They don’t accept the ordination of LGBTQ+ persons. They refuse to marry same sex couples. Durham is a community with diverse theological viewpoints.

Not all ministers think like me.

Granted, but it matters that I officiated a wedding with vows aimed at defining the heart of Durham.

“I promise to promote the strengths of the city I love, rather than to demean and destroy the reputation when I disagree with the actions of others I vow to love,” I said that. I meant that. I still do.

Churches are being planted across the city. These gentrifying churches are planted to claim territory for their hipper version of Jesus. They mingle a chic marketing strategy with a Bibicalist bent. They bring a new swag to a white evangelical theological perspective under the guise of a more modern, friendlier version of Jesus.

They occupy territory like the Crusaders intent on winning souls to their homophobic white Jesus. They offer coffee and pastries with space for millennial business owners while rejecting the humanity of men and women in search of safe spaces to gather in peace.

We honor a moment in time where hands were held, and the collective dreams of residents mingled to pioneer a new movement. Statements were made about what we desire to be in a city made holy by a love transcendent of all our difference.

Geer Street is holy ground.

It’s the place where we said “I do” to what it means to be a community committed to loving and embracing each other beyond differences.

Not in the Bull City.

"State of Urgency": A play reflecting the perspective of Hillside High School Drama Department students

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Students in the Hillside high school Drama Department gathered to discuss what they have seen. What they’ve heard was followed by the emotions of what they feel. The thoughts and feelings in the room were translated into a play.

The name “State of Urgency” is the best way to reflect the sentiments of young people who have witnessed people their age die too soon. They’re witnessing a new wave of gun violence in streets once known as their playgrounds. They’ve grown up in the shadow of white supremacy recast with an alt-right political agenda.

They’ve seen too much. When will it stop? Does anyone care?

The timing couldn’t be better. The outcry following the murder of Jamal McClinton Coltrane, 31, intensified conversations regarding fighting gun violence. Coltrane was involved in “Bikes Up, Guns Down,” a group dedicated to derailing gun violence with dirt bikes.

Coltrane was the 39^th person to die from gun violence in 2021.

Durham is faced with a “State of Urgency.”

Wendell Tabb, the award-winning Performing and Visual Arts Director of Theatre at Hillside High School, says the play captures the thoughts and emotions of the young people in his drama program.

“With so much violence and unrest going on in the world, it was easy for me to consider a show that would address such social justice issues as Gun Violence, Police Brutality, Racism, Discrimination and Poverty to name a few. I wanted to do my part as a change agent. My commitment to our school and community led me to create an original play to address these social issues,” Tabb said.  “I am proud of the voices that Hillside students have given to these topics that are having a major impact on their lives daily.”

This is Hillside Drama Department’s first major stage production since the pandemic upended their season of shows in March 2020. “State of Urgency” will run Friday, November 12^th at 7:15 p.m., Saturday, November 13^th at 3:15 p.m. and 7”15 p.m., and Sunday, November 14^th at 3:15 p.m. All tickets can be purchased online at: www.seatyourself.biz/hillside.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to not only entertain, but to inform and educate our community on contemporary issues plaguing our society, specifically our youth," William Logan, principal at Hillside High School, said. "This is a great chance for our students to make a difference in the lives of their peers."

Tabb is calling for “all hands on deck” with a call to end gun violence. Organizations committed to change have booths at the play. It’s a collective exhale of enough is enough.

 Every great movement in American history began with a vision from young people. They often see the world with a perspective hidden by people too old to recognize the brewing chaos hindering dreams.

It’s a “State of Urgency”.

All hands on deck.

Who will Durham Black voters support to replace U.S. Congressman David Price?

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The lineup of potential candidates to replace U.S. Congressman David Price feels like a pileup on Highway 40 during rush hour traffic. The clash between Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham is a reminder of the impact of road rage when too many people are headed in the same direction.

Voters are advised to buckle up while doing their best to avoid reckless drivers.

Rumors of Price’s retirement have circulated for years. Candidates have waited, patiently, for the announcement. State Senator Wiley Nickel, 45, announced his campaign with the news of a whopping $253,000 raised within hours of Price’s press conference. He was ready to go before hearing “ready, set, go.”

Nickel was elected to represent the 16^th state senate district in 2018. He was groomed as part of Vice President Al Gore’s team from 1996 to 2001 and worked as a member of Barack Obama’s White House national advance staff from 2008 until 2012.

Nida Allam, 27, is first Muslim American woman elected to political office in North Carolina. She was sworn in as a member of the Durham Board of County Commissioners on December 7, 2020. With less than one year of service as an elected official, Allam announced her candidacy for congress on Monday, November 8.

Allam served as the Political Director in North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, and New York for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign and as an organizing director for Justice Cheri Beasley’s campaign for the North Carolina Supreme Court.

State Senator Valerie Foushee, 65, joined the legislature in 2012. She represented district 50 (Orange and Durham) in the state house before becoming a State Senator after Ellie Kinnaird retirement from District 23. She has deep roots in Orange County politics, having served on the Board of Education for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School from 1997 to 2008 and the Orange County Board of County Commissioner from 2008-2010.

Floyd McKissick, Jr, 68, is known both for his name and work as a longtime Durham politician. He is the namesake of his father, the former leader of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and founder of Soul City in Warren County, NC. After serving on the Durham City Council from 1993 to 2001, McKissick, Jr. was selected by the Durham Democratic Party to fill the vacancy in the district 20 senate seat after the death of Jeanne Lucas. McKissick was the chairman of the Durham County Democratic Party, which raised questions related to conflict of interest in the selection process.

On March 17, 2004, he was disciplined by the NC State Bar for professional misconduct involving a conflict of interest. The bar determined that McKissick inappropriately represented both sides in a 2000 dispute involving the estate of an elderly man.

McKissick was appointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by Governor Roy Cooper for a term expiring on June 30, 2025.

Mike Woodard, 62, has served in the North Carolina Senate since 2013. Before being elected to the State Senate, Woodward was a member of the Durham City Council from 2005 to 2013. He’s also an administrator at Duke University and the Duke University Health System.

Price was first elected to Congress in 1986. He was reelected for three terms before losing in 1994 to former Raleigh police chief Fred Heineman by a margin of less than 1%. In 1996, Price defeated Heineman in a rematch. Price has maintained control of the district for 33 years.

Key among Durham Black voters is the role of Tracy Lovett, Price’s longtime district liaison. Lovett is the daughter of Willie C. Lovett, the former chair of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People and member of the North Carolina Democratic Party Executive Committee. Before his death in 1992, Lovett won the primary to represent Durham in the State House Representatives. As a District Liason, Lovett has sustained relationships with Black Durham residents making it easier to embrace Price, a congressman with no natural ties to Durham.  

Wiley’s strength is in Wake County, where he has garnered several high-level endorsements. Foushee, a Black woman, is attractive to Durham’s Black community, but her limited ties to Durham is a challenge before the primary.

McKissick is a known entity with deep ties to the Black community. Some fear his past issues regarding conflict of interest will be used against him in a head-to-head race against a Republican candidate. McKissick, like all Durham based state politicians, has never been challenged by a Republican.

Woodward is candidate with longevity of service. Recently, he fought proposals to make it illegal to teach Black history in public schools. He knows Durham culture and the issues that resonate with residents.

Black voters desire a Black representative. Black women desire a Black woman.

In the race to Congress, Durham Black voters’ matter.

 

 

 

 

Can Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam get elected to Congress despite having a Black people problem?

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COMMENTARY – Few people are surprised by Nida Allam’s announcement that she’s running for U.S. Congress. It’s been expected before she was elected to serve on the Durham Board of County Commissioners just over a year ago. I repeat, just over a year ago.

Durham was a step to the next step. Win one to get one. In this case, a small fish in a small pond in hope of becoming a big fish in the ocean.

Some people say it’s too soon. She hasn’t served long enough. Others say she hasn’t done enough. She hasn’t paid her dues. The Democratic Party elite are interested in a candidate who has a proven track record. It’s not cool to step in front of the line.

That’s true, but there is a more pressing question when it comes to Allam’s candidacy.

Allam, the first Muslim American woman to be elected to office in North Carolina, has a Black people problem.

Members of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People claim Allam made a promise not to vote to terminate former Durham County Manager Wendell Davis. If true, she broke her promise. More troubling is her lack of sensitivity after the vote was made.

After a series of reports on Rev-elution, regarding discontent among Black residents, Allam supported the agenda set by Wendy Jacobs, the former chair of the board.

When Durham County employees requested a meeting with members of the board to discuss concerns after Davis’ dismissal, Allam remained silent. When community leaders pressed the board to follow the recommendations of both the county/city appointed Racial Equity Task Force and James E. Coleman, the attorney hired by the county to investigate racial bias and unfair treatment in county government, Allam failed to force accountability.

On March 8, Allam blocked the recommendation of County Attorney Lowell Siler to secure the services of The Robert Bobb Group to offer racial equity training. Allam sided with other commissioners to pursue training after county staff brought two more training proposals to review. Board Chair Brenda Howerton was the only member of the commission to oppose the plan.

Allam followed the argument stated on social media by members of People’s Alliance and The Durham Association of Educators. They noted Robert Bobb’s past as a consultant in Detroit, MI. Some Black residents watching the virtual commissioners meeting noted disdain in addressing Bobb and Siler. Both men are Black.

On March 22, The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People released a statement requesting commissioners apologize for the “blatant disrespect shown” at the meeting.

“The community witnessed first-hand how certain county commissioners treat Black County staff and a Black consultant seeking to provide much needed, individualized services,” the letter read.

Allam, Jacobs and Heidi Carter released statements refuting charges of disrespect. The three commissioners stated their reluctance to employ the services of The Robert Bobb Group was rooted in favoring procurement practices that seek multiple bids.

Allam agreed with the assessment of People’s Alliance, the mostly white Durham based political action committee, that Davis’s contract should not be renewed because he’s too moderate and is paid too much.

Black residents haven’t forgotten Allam’s role in the unravelling of race relations in Durham.  

It’s too soon. She can’t be trusted to listen to Black voters. She failed to build significant relationships with the people on the other side of the decision to oust the former County Manager.

Can Allam win without the support of Black voters? A clue comes from Twitter.

A shout out from Keith Allison followed by a tweet from Ihan Omar. If Allam has her way, the race for Congress will not be determined by local Black voters. It will be won by the support of the national media and progressive politicians desirous of an addition to The Squad - joining Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ihan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

I advise slowing your roll before jumping into the ocean. The small fish in Durham desire being heard and respected before giving you a lift.

 

Elaine O'Neal becomes Durham's first Black woman to be elected mayor: rekindling the power of Black faith

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COMMENTARY - The Election Watch party transformed into a worship service with family members on stage praising God for the victory.

Elaine O’Neal is Durham’s first Black woman elected to serve as mayor. She conjured a thought from a popular question about Jesus – can anything good come from West End. It was a statement rooted in memories of growing up on streets in the shadow of Duke University and white privilege. It was a statement about days long before Chester Jenkins became Durham’s first Black mayor in 1989.

It was a statement about not knowing the day would come.

Durham’s future mayor held a tambourine in one hand while belting out her praise. Being surrounded by a family choir was another statement. It is about being grounded in something deeper than an impressive resume. The praise is about knowing what guides the work she plans to achieve. It is about a culture entrenched in the pride of the witness of mama’s and daddy’s who encouraged O’Neal to walk with her head held high when trouble dipped into her soul.

The people in the crowd understood what was happening. It was a return to something missing. O’Neal’s win is about more than an election. It reclaims the culture, legacy, pride, and witness of a community cast aside under the illusion of inclusion.

It’s become unpopular to talk about Black faith. The politics of inclusion forces a separation between the world of faith and what happens in the public square. It’s damaging when faith is used as a weapon to exclude people from other traditions. Loving and being community becomes complicated when a political celebration becomes a moment of praise.

There is a more fundamental question. What happens when the faith of Black people is taken away? What happens if we separate the faith of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr from the Civil Rights Movement? What happens if the songs of that movement are removed from the historical canon?  

I’m reminded of the teachings of my former mentor, Dr. C. Eric Lincoln. Lincoln argued, in the world of black sacred cosmos, there is no separation of the sacred and profane. Faith is lived in every dimension of life, meaning the activity of politics is an expression of the life of Black communal faith. It’s part of the history and culture of Black people.

Assimilating into places reflective of the goals of an inclusive culture comes with painful implications. It often requires the abandonment of the heart and soul of a people defined by their common faith. That faith transcends the measures of religion. It’s the core of Black culture. It’s the naming and claiming of more than a Black woman being elected Durham’s mayor. It’s more than her victory. It’s a reminder of what we can achieve together.

That’s what has been missing in Durham. A faith that we are being carried, together. A common dream rooted in a thought – the Lord will make a way, somehow. It’s the search for what Howard Thurman calls the “beloved community” yearning for an irreducible essence rooted in the search for connectedness.  It’s an affirmation that our differences can be overcome by a thirst transcendent of the things that make us different.

O’Neal’s faith is not a tool of separation. It’s the type of faith that Black people have historically used to move mountain. Her faith is a celebration of what we can become, together.

“This is what God wanted. This is God’s will,” a tall Black man announced with a few teardrops to baptize the moment.

I thought of the joy of Black men supporting Black women. The sway of the family choir took us back to former days when gathering on Sunday’s eased the burden of the week. Another reminder of what we can achieve when two or three gather to evoke the gift of a dream.

It’s the day after the election. O’Neal, DeDreana Freeman and Rev. Mark-Anthony Middleton won their elections by landslides. Leonardo Williams narrowly defeated A.J. Williams to join the others on the city council. The exhale of the crowd, when the final tally was announced, felt like a great commissioning after the prophet’s declaration of peace.

It’s time to move some mountains. Come. Black people. Come. White people. Come Latina’s. Join the family of LGBTQIA+1, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Bahai, Hindu, atheist and agnostic brothers and sisters. We may sing different praise songs, but we bring our unique cultures to this mountain.

Eyes closed one last time to absorb the truth of the moment.

Economic disparity, crime, gentrification, unemployment – a few of the mountains in the way of shared prosperity.

Move mountain. Get out of our way.

We the Bull City.

Former members of the Durham Police Department excited about the return of their newly appointed chief of police

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Former officers with the Durham Police Department say the hiring of Patrice Andrews is what is needed to improve morale within the troubled department.

One of the former officers interviewed by Rev-elution noted a message on the Police Department’s Facebook page, posted on October 21.

“Are you aware that Interstate 85 persistently remains in the top 10 crash locations in Durham? Perhaps earlier this week you saw DPD’s Traffic and Crash Team (TACT) and Motor Unit, along with Ofc. J. Harris of Uniform Patrol as they conducted speed enforcement along I-85 North and South between E. Club Boulevard and Cole Mill Road. The highest recorded speed was 97 mph in a 60-mph zone! Officers made 15 vehicle stops.”

A simple message, like so many others on the page. It was the second comment posted minutes later that caught the attention of members of the police department.

“Proud of the work that you all are doing to keep our roads safe! See you soon!”  Patrice Andrews, the newly appointed chief of police, is making a statement. I see you. I affirm you. I look forward to working with you.

It’s that level of familiarity that resonates with many members of the police department. Many say they know and trust the woman who is coming back home after a brief stay not far away.

Andrews, who served five years as the Town of Morrisville Police Chief, replaces C. J. Davis who left Durham to head the Memphis, TN police department. Andrews started her career with the Durham Police Department as a patrol officer in 1997. She’s remembered for advancing up the ranks to become district commander and a captain supervising the Special Victims, Homicide, Domestic Violence, and Fraud units.

Rev-elution interviewed officers who worked with Andrews before she left Durham in 2016. The officers say her leadership style with the rank and file is a better match than Davis, who came to Durham from Atlanta, GA.

“Patrice is more willing to listen to the opinions of others,” a retired officer said on the condition of anonymity. “She takes what others think before making a decision.”

The retired officer noted tension within the police department caused by understaffing and an unwillingness to consider alternatives to maximize current staffing needs.

“Patrice is more of a community person,” another former officer said when questioned about Andrews. “She’s the type of leader who will be out in the community with the people. She will build relationships with everybody.”

A retired officer compared Andrews to former Durham Police Chief Steve Chalmers, who served as chief of police from 2003-2007. After serving on the force for more than 32 years, Chalmers continued efforts to impact the root causes of crime with Men of Vision, a nonprofit he started while serving as police chief.

“She’s like Chalmers. They both care for the community and know the city,” the former officer said. “She’s got that same drive to build programs that make a difference.”

Rev-elution spoke with residents who desired a more transparent process. They imagined a series of community forums with finalist like when Davis was under consideration to become Durham’s police chief. There were four finalists following a national search. Durham City Manager Wanda Page made the decision with the help of nine diverse members of Durham’s community.

In the end, deep connections to Durham made the difference.

"I am confident that Chief Andrews is the right leader for Durham, where she spent most of her law enforcement career," City Manager Wanda Page said in a statement. "I am happy to welcome her back to Durham, where she also has deep family roots and developed lasting relationships in the community while working and living here."

Andrews faces numerous challenges as Durham Chief of Police. She enters a political climate with calls to defund the police. Homicides are rising and increasing disparities complicate strategies to strike the roots of crime. The current police force is witnessing retirements and the exodus of officers to other higher paying, safer municipalities.

According to past members of the police department, there is reason to be excited about Andrews’ return to Durham.