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An Open Letter to Rev. Donald Perryman, PhD
By Toledo City Councilman Larry Sykes
Being a leader doesn’t change who you are, it reveals who
you are! ---
Michelle Obama
My Grandmother use to say
some of the most interesting things: Look before you leap;
Think before you speak; What a fool believes, he will see.
Advice is like cooking you should try it out before you feed
it to someone else! Never debate with an idiot, they will
drag you down to their level and then beat you with
experience.
Last week I received a
call from a friend asking me if I had read Perryman’s
article in The Sojourner’s Truth. I said no, I don’t
normally read his articles because they are mostly based on
opinions and you know what they say about opinions. And when
it comes to black elected officials in particular, Perryman
always shows disdain for us.
My friend proceeded to say
that I should read the article because my name is mentioned.
He went on to recall other times when Perryman
misrepresented the truth in writing about me.
I remember, my friend
said, when you met with him about being factual and accurate
in his articles and statements concerning you. I know you
also told him to reach out to you, man to man and as an
elected official, if he had any questions about your
opinion, your action, etc.
So I picked up the July
31, 2019 Sojourner’s Truth and read it. As usual it was full
of inaccuracies and basically used to call-out and chastise
the African-American City Council members. The members were
noted by name: Riley, Harper, Johnson, Adams and Sykes for
what he believes was the lack of a response to a statement
made by Councilman Waniewski. Rev. Perryman believes
Waniewski made a racist comment. What is most interesting is
that other than the mayor, no other elected officials names
were mentioned, only their titles, like the Lucas County
Commissioners as if those three don’t have names. Rev.
Perryman, the following is your comment:
“I am deeply concerned and
troubled by Toledo City Councilman Tom Waniewski’s recent
reprehensible comments in which he compared the African
American patrons of a bar to cockroaches”. He went on to
say, “for certain words do hurt and silence emboldens the
inflicting of even more pain”. He ended his comments by
stating, “IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE, WE NEED NEW LEADERSHIP AT
TOLEDO CITY COUNCIL”.
My concern is, who is
WE and who are YOU speaking for? It will be interesting
to learn who you will endorse in the upcoming election. Let
me first address your comments attributed to Mr. Waniewski.
Rev. Perryman, what you don’t know is that I met with
Councilman Waniewski for an hour in his office and explained
the hurtful effects and negative perception his statement
had. I further explained where the reference to cockroaches
came from and how it links to persons of color.
I explained to him that
the statement came from the movie Hotel Rwanda
staring Don Cheadle. The movie depicts the Hutu military
forces living in Rwanda (the majority tribe), initiating a
campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Tutsi (the minority
tribe).
The film depicted the 1994
genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people, mainly
Tutsis, were murdered. Most of the murders were committed
with machetes’ by Hutu extremists whose favorite statement
was, “the cockroaches come out at night.” Councilman
Wanieswski was very thankful for our conversation.
Councilwomen Yvonne Harper also had a similar conversation
with Councilman Waniewski about his comments.
Instead of blasting
someone for what he may say or do, sometimes you can use the
moment as an educational opportunity to teach him what he is
not done out of racism, but sometimes what appears to be
racist is didn’t know. Everything done out of ignorance.
It’s pretty simple; what
you don’t know, you don’t know. As a Rev. and PHD you should
know that the end of racism will occur when we are
successfully able to build empathy and compassion for each
other, across racial lines. As long as we have segregated
communities, segregated churches, etc. we will continue to
lack an understanding which leads to empathy and compassion
for one another.
What I find interesting is
that you live in Point Place but didn’t call out your
District Councilman, who you vote for year after year! You
are also part of a ministers group, United Pastors for
Social Empowerment, so why didn’t you use that platform to
address your concern?
Even closer to home, I
didn’t hear or see any statement or article coming from you
or the United Pastors for Social Empowerment when three of
your follow Ministers were arrested, charged and sentenced
to up-to life in prison for the heinous crime they
committed.
Yes, it’s easy to complain
about a situation, but taking action to address the
situation is what’s hard and counts the most.
Had you taken the time to
call me, I could have explained some of the rules which
govern City Council. For example, unless the offense takes
place during an official council meeting there is little or
nothing council members can do or say about a member’s
personal actions or conduct.
In reference to your
statement about time for a change and new leadership is
needed. I agree, some people are like baby diapers and they
need to be changed often; especially when they become
curmudgeons.
Although I find your
arrogant style of writing offensive and distasteful, I know
you are entitled to do so. But guess what, so do I.
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