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Theresa Gabriel exudes
grace, class and confidence. Though small in stature, she
has been gifted with big ideas for the prosperity of her
community and equipped with an even larger vision to raise,
develop and empower new leaders. And because she has always
practiced what she preaches and lived what she says she
believes, Gabriel is, and always has been, unapologetically
forthright in articulating her point of view regardless of
where the fallout may land.
I was blessed to sit down
for a candid conversation with the former deputy director
for the Lucas County Board of Elections; at large member of
Toledo City Council; and senior administrator for the City
of Toledo.
This is the conclusion of
our two-part conversation.
Perryman:
As one of the most influential black women in Toledo’s
history, what would you like people to remember about you?
Gabriel:
I guess I would like for them to remember that I’m honest,
direct, and if you don’t want to know something don’t ask me
because I’m not going to tell you something that you want to
hear or like. I’m going to tell you the truth and how I see
it. I do not waste emotions on what is insignificant.
Perryman:
I’m laughing only because that caught me a little off guard.
Gabriel:
That’s just me. I’ve always been this way, a fighter. Mama
said when I came out of her womb I was fighting. I just
don’t think the Lord put me on this earth for anybody to dog
me, and so you just don’t come up in my face if you’re not
straight.
Perryman:
I take it that there have been times when people did not
exactly “come correct” when they approached you.
Gabriel:
I was once interviewed at least 10 times for a position in
the City of Toledo starting my career and each time I would
pass the test, come out top of the list, and have to just
sit there. This one time, I walked in this room and there
were 14 white men sitting there, and you know what this man
who was director said to me? He said ‘You’re so pretty.’
And I asked him what did my looks have to do with my
abilities to type 90 words a minute and to speak the King’s
English? His face got red as a beet, and he told me my
interview was over. I said, ‘so be it. I’ll be back.’ I
got up and walked out. As the good Lord would have it, I
started working the next day and despite a lot of obstacles
that included being forced to have my office in a closet, I
was able to climb all the way up through the ranks.
Perryman:
What are your thoughts on the current state of Toledo’s
black community?
Gabriel:
Disarray. Not hopeless yet, because you have young people
coming up, but you have to work the system differently than
in the past.
Perryman:
What young people are out there and have made an impression
on you?
Gabriel:
Chris McBrayer is one of those at the top of the list. There
are others but I don’t remember their names. There is a
married couple that works out at Mrs. McKinstry’s charter
school, they have PhD’s, they’re educators. And other than
that, the only one that I can tell you that I know is ready
to be groomed, your daughter is already out there, but she’s
in a different realm. My grandson, Robert and my grandson,
Taurean.
Perryman:
So, the state of the black community…
Gabriel:
We have lost more than we have gained.
Perryman:
Can you please elaborate, because under the Bell
administration we had a black police chief, safety director
and economic director?
Gabriel:
Calvin Lawshe was there when Carty hired him. I’m talking
about the people that are visible working on the streets,
the ones that manage the employees on the lower levels,
supervisors and foremen. They’re white, most of them. It
(black public sector employment) has been watered down so
much.
Perryman:
Speaking of Carty Finkbeiner, he appears to be one that
people either love or hate. There seems to be no in-between.
So, to what do you attribute your closeness to Carty over
the years?
Gabriel:
Because Carty’s been beat up and beat down as much as people
have tried to beat me up and down, and so we have a mutual
admiration society going between the two of us. And I also
like Carty as a person because he is a fighter. Even when
he knows he’s going to get his butt whooped he sticks to his
guns.
Perryman:
But hasn’t he done his share of butt kicking too?
Gabriel:
Yes, he has. But nobody knows how much his butt gets kicked.
And Carty supported and pushed for me to be elevated early
on when others tried their best to keep their foot on me.
So, as much as we battle each other, Carty has always
supported me. And we have had some knock-down, drag outs in
staff meetings and what have you, I wouldn’t back down, and
then when anybody else would say something he’d tell them to
shut up. You know how it is when a brother and sister be
fighting each other and we’re family, don’t be dipping in
our…and I wouldn’t talk to him for days.
And also, my mother loved Carty, because Carty would go over
and go to the back door and knock on the door and talk to
her. And even when I would get mad at him, he’d say ‘well,
I’m gonna go talk to Ms. King,’ and I’d say ‘go right
ahead.’ And then when mama’s health started failing he’d
come out to the hospital with an ice cream cone and he’d
chant Ms. King, where’s Theresa Gabriel’s mom? Hollering
and screaming because he didn’t know the room number. So,
you ask me why do we get along? Now you understand.
Perryman:
I know he used to just show up out of the blue at black
churches and act as if he was a regular member. He didn’t
wait for election season to come around.
Gabriel:
And that is sincere. There is no fake in that man, none
whatsoever, and so I’ve always stuck by Carty even when it
came to the regional water issue. I called Carty and I said
Carty, you’re gonna have to come out and stop them from what
they’re doing, because too many of us will lose jobs.
‘Well, they seem to have it under control,’ he said and I
said ‘no, let’s talk.’ And so, Carty is responsible for
where we are now on the water, in my mind.
Perryman:
Finally, it also seems that your close professional
relationship with Carty may have precipitated battles
between you and others.
Gabriel:
You never heard a peep out of Theresa Gabriel about anyone
else. I never said a word, I just let others continue to go
on and do whatever they were doing and saying what they were
saying. And the bit with me owning a bar? We had city
councilmen that owned two or three of them. We had all kinds
of people that did, and people never opened their mouths
until Carty appointed me as director.
So, as I tell you, sometimes the good old boys are racists
and black folks can be black folks’ worst nightmare. You
know it, but you have to learn how to outsmart them!
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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