Rev-elution's letter to Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People board members

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On January 25, 2022, Carl W. Kenney II, president of Black Thought Media, LLC, and publisher & editor-in-chief at Durham Rev-elution, sent a letter to Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People (DCABP) board members in response to a pending decision to rescind a $75,000 grant from The Movement for Black Lives.

The letter served a two-fold purpose: (1) as a rallying call for Black solidarity during a season of massive division, and (2) to facilitate a conversation regarding the merit of building a local Black agenda grounded in work taking place across the United States.

Given the DCABP failed to respond, Rev-elution offers parts of that statement in hope of facilitating community conversations related to reimagining and nurturing more vital relationships between Black residents and the institutions representing Black people.

This statement is NOT framed as a criticism of the current leadership of DCABP. Rather, these thoughts reflect mounting tension between a large mass of Black residents and organizations (DCABP, NAACP, Black churches and civic organization) with credos committed to the empowerment and mobilization of all Black people.

The statement begins after a heavily redacted introduction of thoughts:

My role as a member of the Black Press is to mend, equip and mobilize. It’s not to engage in rhetoric marked by the bitter words designed to further divide Durham’s Black community.

With that stated, I’m deeply troubled for a variety of reasons. Again, the purpose of this letter is not to judge the happenings of the DCABP. As an outsider, I’m mindful of the damage caused by outsiders who lack insight driven by work within the system. These are reflections driven by a desire to collaborate beyond any semblance of brokenness. My role is to cast and recast narratives regarding Black life in Durham.

A few thoughts to ponder:

Consider the work of The Movement for Black Lives

It is true, based on a surface evaluation, that The Movement for Black Lives has adopted a defund police model. It is part of their platform statement, and, given the branding of the past municipal election, seems antithetical to the political position of the DCABP. I suggest members of the DCABP explore both the political and cultural implications related to denouncing the work of The Movement for Black Lives as a major contributor in constructing a national, broad based Black agenda.

Consider the more than 50 organizations representing the interest of Black people across the United States. Consider the contribution and impact of the Black Lives Matter Network, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, Race Forward, Policy Link and other notable groups.

What is the impact and significance of refuting the efforts of one of the leading Black led umbrella organizations consisting of a coalition of movement organizations across the nation? What does it mean when the DCABP refuses to engage in the work of national coalition building?

The work of The Movement for Black Lives holds significance beyond one platform statement. What does it mean, for the culture of Black agenda building, for the DCABP to refuse to engage in work aimed at ending the war on Black people, the fight for reparations, the promotion of economic justice, the fight for independent Black political power and Black self-determination in all areas of society?

Black power is the power to name Black allegiances

The Black community isn’t a monolith. We are communities of divergent political, economic, and social interests. What it means to engage in work aimed at empowering, and leaning hard into the affairs of Black people, involves constant engagement with people on the other side of political perspective. We are not a people limited by alternative views. We claim all of it as part of the lingering juxtaposition between the American Dream and dreams deferred.

Isn’t this the ultimate weapon of white supremacy – the promotion of agendas forcing divides between the Black folks living with opposing views regarding how to get closer to that American dream?

We shouldn’t be forced to choose between Malcolm and Martin, Booker T and WEB, Marcus Garvey and A. Philip Randolph. The challenge of Black progress in America has long been about decisions to alienate from individuals and groups deemed overly radical or subversive to the will of white people who continue to define the terms of acceptability.

Establish new terms for Black engagement

The DCABP isn’t beholden to the power dynamics of the Democratic Party. It shouldn’t be measured by terms established by those outside -including me – of the work deemed important by the members of DCABP. You decide the legitimate partners. You establish the terms of the work you do, knowing others may be confused by some decisions.

The work of Black solidarity claims all members of the family willing to establish meaningful, sustainable relationships with the DCABP. Solidarity is not rooted in a prefabricated assumption of a perfect marriage. Being Black comes with ideological differences. Yes, we must own how some of these differences are rooted in centuries of white supremacy – an indoctrination that makes white normality the goal versus the casting of a bigger net hoped to grab hold of all of us. All of us, not a few Black folks clinging to the assumption of Black power begging for white acceptance.

Final words about a forward-thinking Black Agenda

So, there is goodness in all of this. We are NOT a broken people. We are wonderfully and beautifully made in the image of goodness. I celebrate the contributions of our ancestors – both known and unknown – who consistently carry US through many dangers, toils, and snares. Together, we can build new work rooted in our collective genius. The answer is in the rooms where we gather, together, with a will to build beyond this present misery.

I have thoughts related to moving forward. They involve an agenda crafted by all of us. Moving forward, I will do my part by listening to each of you. I will do so with an enduring faith in both the wisdom and legacy each of you brings to this critical moment. I’m excited by the truth beyond conflict stirred by misunderstanding. I own no truth of my own.

Pray for my footsteps in claiming my role as a local Girot. I embrace the power of storytelling with a passion greater than any of the fears we face.

Finally, I encourage members of the DCABP to accept the fellowship from The Movement for Black Lives. In doing so, I suggest naming the terms related to community building. We think different. There are a myriad of shades, experiences, and circumstances at the table. Never forget, we all Black.

Saying it loud, “I’m Black and I’m proud.”

Holla back.

Then came the crickets.

 

 

Post-election reflections: What happens to a dream deferred?

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Thank Black Jesus and all the disciples it’s over.

That’s my first thought in the aftermath of an election that drained my will to believe in the advent of a collective Black agenda. Elections are about people. They’re also about policy decisions. This election was also about defining and redefining what it means to be Black in a city known as the historical hub of Black prosperity.

Yesterday’s primary followed a city council election that seemingly shifted the power of Durham politics. The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People (DCABP) celebrated the election of Mayor Elaine O’Neal, Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton, DeDreanna Freeman and Leonardo Williams – all endorsed by the Black political action committee.

DCABP members touted the victory a statement against an agenda to further defund the police. Were we witnessing a historical shift back to DCABP controlling Durham’s political landscape, or was the previous election about more than local endorsements?

The battle for PAC supremacy is what separates Durham from other communities. Durham isn’t trapped in tension between political parties. Republicans are rarely welcomed in Durham’s political culture. Ours is a battle among varied interpretations of what makes a progressive agenda.

What do we learn from yesterday’s election after DCABP taking a major ass whipping? The perception of DCABP assuming PAC supremacy hit the brakes after candidates endorsed by People’s Alliance (PA), Durham Association of Educators (DAE) and Indy Week defeated candidates endorsed by DCABP.

Valerie Foushee defeated Nida Allam in the race for U.S. Congress; however, Allam won in Durham. Foushee’s strength outside of Durham was enough to defeat Allam by more than 16 percent.

What are the lessons for Durham’s Black community?

A Divided Black Agenda

I wonder if the founders of DCABP foresaw a day with multiple Black candidates pitted against each other? The group that met for the first time on August 15, 1935, were called “a committee of influential Negroes”. They drafted a creed to promote voter registration, to run and support candidates who promoted an agenda that benefits Black people and the support of initiative to improve education, health, housing and economic power in the Black community.

Yesterday’s election underscores the complications related to endorsing and electing Black candidates with varied perspectives involving public policies impacting Black life in Durham.

What happens when multiple Black people run for the same office? Some conclude its democracy at its best. It also unveils the mounting tension between electing Black people to office while promoting an agenda reflective of a common Black agenda. The days of naming and supporting Black candidates supported by the DCABP is circumvented by processes outside the control of the Black people gathered with the expressed desire to speak on behalf of other Black people.

The ultimate question regards the ongoing purpose of the DCABP. Black candidates no longer need the affirmation of the DCABP. Is that a good thing? Is it a bad thing, or is it just a thing?

More critical in this conversation is the surfacing of multiple Black led platforms and candidate slates. Voters endured the pressure of campaign workers with varied combinations of Black candidates. Yesterday’s election felt more like a civil war between Black people with different agendas.

This raises another fundamental question. Is it relevant, in 2022, to seek and implement an agenda aimed at addressing concerns of Durham’s Black community? Even more, is it valid to assume such an agenda can only be formed by a community of all Black people? Are the Black people endorsed by PA and DAE doing Black stuff better than the people endorsed by DCABP?

These are sensitive questions best addressed among Black people, but which Black people? Is it time for the Black people endorsed by PA and DAE to hold camp with the Black people endorsed by DCABP? I’m suggesting a massive readjustment related to the construction and implementation of a Black agenda.

As for this current moment, Durham is limited in addressing concerns involving Black people due to a severely divided Black agenda.

Grumbling in the Midst

I’m among the people who cheered when Donald Hughes, candidate for the district 2 school board seat, publicly rejected participating in PA and DAE’s endorsement process. I celebrated even more when Hughes blasted INDY Week for the reporting on the story involving his decision. There’s no doubt his public repudiation of INDY Week ended the possibility of receiving their endorsement.

I rooted for Hughes due to the significance of a possible win. Winning with no endorsement from PA and DAE would significantly speak to the limited power of PAC endorsements. I wished for a win due to the magnitude of that story.

Hughe’s statement introduced a troubling brewing development. Black people, once aligned by allegiance to the DCABP, broke from the ranks. Alternative Black candidates received support from Black people fueled by a variety of issues. Some personal. Some policy based.

The uncivil war presented in public view. District Court Judge Pat Evans failed to receive the endorsement from DCABP. The local press received news leads from people opposing Evans. It became nasty.

The personal mudslinging came from numerous camps. The collateral damage involves the depleted reputation of numerous first-time candidates. Will they be able to run again? Maybe. Does it matter? I sense a more pressing question.

The grumbling in the midst distracts from the importance of a Black agenda. There are no villains in this story beyond the deterioration of Black solidarity. Sadly, there is an absence of heroes charged with the task of rescuing the Black community from the appearance of massive dysfunction.

 Only the Shadow Knows What the Future Holds

Yesterday’s election relates the story of diminished dreams. This is the story about what happens when the determination to win elections takes precedence over the implementation of a progressive Black agenda.

Durham’s Black residents endure the encumbrance of living under the shadow of a once promising future. The life and legacy of Black Durham remains as a collective memory. The former Black Wall Street. Old Hayti with streets laced with successful Black businesses. The pride of Black life in Durham serves the people with the resources to remain glued to their dreams. Left are the disillusioned children with parents with barely enough to pay their bills.

I’m left beholden to a creed established long ago. A vision inspired and nurtured by Black residents.

I pray we’re not witnessing the death of those dreams.

 

Valerie Foushee prepares to serve residents of Durham County

“You don’t know me, but I know you,” Valerie Foushee, Democratic Party candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, said during a visit at her campaign headquarters. “I used to come to Durham to listen to you preach at Orange Grove Missionary Baptist Church.”

It was a firm reminder that Foushee is present in Durham. Sometimes she’s in the crowd – listening. Sometimes she’s out front – working to make a difference.

Foushee’s roots are in Orange County where she was the oldest of six children born to two teenage parents. Her parents worked multiple jobs, teaching Foushee the benefit of hard work, community service and education. She attended segregated schools in Chapel Hill -Carrboro until the sixth grade, shaping a lifelong journey of advocating for the rights of Black and Brown students.

Chapel Hill – Carrboro residents elected Foushee to serve on the school board before making her the first Black woman elected to the Orange County Board of Commissioners. She took office as a member of the state House of Representatives and then the state Senate, but what about Durham?

Rev-elution: It’s been more than 50 years since Durham elected a Durham resident to the U.S. House. If elected, Durham will be left with another representative with limited connections with Durham voters. How do you address this perceived disconnection?

Foushee: In 1970, my parents were able to purchase a home in Durham in a neighborhood formerly known as Kentington Heights, where Hendrick Auto Mall now stands. They lived in Durham for the remainder of their lives. All my siblings attended Durham Public Schools and my sister has taught in the system. When I was first elected to the General Assembly, I represented a part of Durham County and was a member of the Durham Delegation, serving with Representatives H. M. “Mickey” Michaux, Larry Hall, Paul Luebke and Senators Mike Woodard and Floyd McKissick. I am a former member of the Board of Trustees for Durham Technical Community College. My association with several civic organizations provides me with constant interactions with residents of Durham with which I have built relationships over the years.

Rev-elution: Both national and local conversations surrounding elections to the U.S. House have centered around the need for youth inclusion.  Nida Allam, 28, your opposition in this race, is running on the hope of joining Alexandria Ocasio-Ortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-MO) as members of the Squad - progressive and left-wing members of Congress. How do you respond to voters who are told youth is more important than seasoned leadership?

Foushee: I love seeing young people get involved in politics. Obviously, they are the future of this party and our country, and I hope that more of them answer the call and become active in electoral politics. I welcome that. That said, given where we are as a country, and the urgency with which we must act to preserve our democracy, I believe that my 25 years of experience in elected office will serve the people of this district best. With Republican attacks on women, the environment, healthcare, and voting rights, we cannot afford to send someone to Congress that has to learn on the job. I've been in the rooms, I've helped change hearts and minds, I've worked across the aisle, and I've delivered results. We need that in Washington. Anyone can go to Congress and scream and shout for change. I believe I'm the most poised to go to Congress and get things done because I've been here before.

Rev-elution: How do you define progressive? Do you consider yourself a progressive candidate? Why?

Foushee: For me, being a progressive means moving the ball forward, making progress on the things we care about, as Democrats – voting rights, women’s reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrants’ rights, climate action, racial justice, and economic equality. Being progressive requires us, not just to talk about these values we care about, but to make progress toward achieving them and that means building coalitions, garnering the respect of your friends and adversaries alike, and finding ways to work with people you disagree with to bring them around to your point of view.

Of course, I consider myself a progressive. I have been fighting for our shared progressive values my entire life. On the school board I fought to ensure that Black and Brown students were treated fairly. On the county commission I fought for environmental justice and worked to close a landfill in a low-income, minority neighborhood. In the state senate I fought to eliminate child marriage, to move us toward our clean energy goals, and I stood up to countless Republican attacks on women’s reproductive rights. I grew up in segregated schools, I remember a Chapel Hill that wouldn’t allow me to eat at the lunch counter, I struggled to pay my way through school at UNC, I raised two Black sons and dealt with a world that, at times, treated them differently. I don’t just talk about progressive values, I have lived them, I have fought for them, and I have used my voice and my power to move the ball forward for all of us. I fear that allowing a handful of people with privilege to gatekeep who is and is not “progressive” is dangerous for us as a party and as a country.

Rev-elution: Historically, the American Jewish community plays an important role in advocating for the Civil Rights of Black Americans. Recently, you’ve come under attack for accepting contributions from individuals connected with AIPAC, an organization that advocates for a strong U.S. – Israel relationship. Given the struggles of refugees in Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, and Ukraine, how do you balance support for Israel, as a Black American, given the millions of Palestinians forced to leave their home and blocked from returning by the Israeli government?

Foushee: The Jewish community has long been a friend to the African American community, marching arm-in-arm with Dr. King and other Black leaders during the civil rights movement. While I believe that Israel is a critically important ally – and the only democracy in the region, I unequivocally support a two-state solution in the Middle East.

Rev-elution: How did you think about hiring members of your campaign team, how do you manage members of your team and what does that say about your style of leadership?

Foushee: When considering members of my team, I first considered competence, diversity, and loyalty. Because I have never run a congressional race, I needed a manager with experience in that area. I wanted to ensure legal compliance, inclusivity, and integrity. Paramount in choosing members was my ability to trust them to do the right thing; to believe in my candidacy and to run a clean race based on my record. We have never spoken negatively of our opponents but focused on my experience and my desire to serve. My management style focuses on hiring capable personnel with the necessary skillsets and then letting them do their jobs. I provide directives or suggestions as necessary with the expectation that with proper training and encouragement, people will do their best.

Rev-elution: Who do you see your natural allies to be in Congress? Who are you excited to work with?

Foushee: Representatives Alma Adams and Deborah Ross would be natural allies since I’ve had the opportunity to work with them in the NCGA. I am excited for the opportunity to work with them again along with Reps. James Clyburn, Shontel Brown, Joyce Beatty, Barbara Lee, Lois Frankel, Gregory Meeks, and Hakeem Jeffries, to name a few.

Rev-elution: You are in what is considered a safe seat.  What’s the best use of that type of safety?

Foushee: Although the District Four seat may be safe for a Democrat, it is not – and should not – be safe for any candidate. The best use us to be responsive and responsible to the citizens of the district to hear, consider/assess and address their needs and concerns. In short, be the best REPRESENTATIVE you can be.

 

 

  

Myca Jeter: Academic performance can be increased by more emphasis on mental health services within Durham Public Schools

MYCA JETER, CANDIDATE FOR Durham County School Board, District 4, believes Covid-19 changes the way we should think about public education.

Jeter says current data reveals achievement dropped during Covid-19, regardless of racial identity. The decline in academic performance came after Durham Public School’s witnessed an uptick in achievement district wide prior to Covid-19 restrictions.

“The disparity percentage did not shift, but, overall, they were starting to make incremental gains on moving the dial as it relates to the grade level proficiency scores,” Jeter said during a recent interview with the Rev-elution. “Then COVID hit, and everything really plummeted, so that leads us to the mental health stuff.”

Jeter, a social worker with Alliance Health, says her personal experience, as the parent of an academically gifted middle school daughter, forced her to consider how Covid-19 impacts the education of students.

“The brightest most capable student after COVID is not that anymore,” Jeter said.  “There were a lot of kids that were padding the numbers, holding the numbers down because they were sound, they were stable, they were normal.”

Jeter says her background as a teacher and social worker provides her a unique perspective related to the mental health needs of students, parents and teachers. She taught middle and high school students Spanish before obtaining a Master of Social Work degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She decided to run after watching a school board meeting on television. Members of the staff gave a report on social and emotional numbers after professional development training.

“I was talking back to the TV.  OK they had the training but who was looking at the validity of implementation. How do you know they’re reaching for those new strategies when things are happening in the classroom,” Jeter said?  “What transfer learning processes are in place to ensure that when you get the new information you have intentional time to digest and then consider application and then understand how and when to use it?”

Jeter says she’s running to serve on the school board because of a need for a person like her to ask different questions regarding mental health issues caused by Covid-19.

“When my daughter started at Neal this year, she was 13 years old chronologically, but from a maturity, social and emotional and peer space, she was still a fifth grader,” Jeter said. “Her hormones are raging.  She’s now dealing with anxiety. She's never had that before, and now she's in this building with a whole cohort that have this same unknowing. The same gray space, the same anxiety, fear, whatever.”

Jeter says teachers are also confronted with a variety of unknowns.

“In a classroom with a teacher who is typically used to dealing with the mature 7th graders, they are now confronted with kids who lessen the flow of their classrooms,” Jeter said. “They have been functioning on automatic for maybe 10 years, and now they have to pivot and address this classroom with these young, minded kids.  They didn't wanna teach elementary school.  On purpose, they chose middle, and now they're left in a classroom with kids that won't sit still.”

Jeter says her concerns for the mental health well-being of students is triggered by her life as a parent.

“From what I have seen, not only with my daughter, but her peer group, my nieces and my nephews, is that the standing foundation that our kids had in terms of their own identity, their own self-esteem, their own ability to know for sure what they like what they don't like, it’s no longer a tangible thing for most of them,” Jeter said. “A huge segment of our children is in the throes of and don't have the language to ask for help. Parents are seeing their behavior shift - all the sleeping, all the defiance, all the other stuff. The drug use is crazy.”

Jeter says she’s perplexed by the growing number of youth contemplating suicide. 

“I can listen to my daughter on the phone with her friends, and so many of them are talking about how unwell they are. They're desensitized to the sheer value of what's really happening with them, and I'm worried because as a mom, with the mental health background, I can then pause and say ‘hey get off the phone and let me talk to you for a minute. When your friend tells you this - this is not OK.’”

Jeter worries that many parents and teachers aren’t equipped to meet the mental health challenges facing students. She says Durham Public Schools needs to take some time to dig through what is happening across the district. She says some principals have provided leadership to provide strategies, while others fail to offer support for students with anxiety and depression issues.

“We have some social workers and counselors on staff that could be leveraged, in my opinion, to do some coping skills development training with the kids,” Jeter said. “You don’t have to call it a coping skill development class, but you go in and you model for kids like, let me tell you how you are feeling, say who's a little irritated, who's a little bothered. Let's talk through this strategy of how you bring yourself out of that.  Let me give you some ways to control how you're feeling so that you could be your best and show up as your best person.”

Jeter believes everyone needs mental health support after post-Covid induced trauma

“Those strategies need to be shared with teachers,” Jeter said. “Because I've seen teachers really lose their shit.”