|
General elections for the
City of Toledo now kick into high gear, with the primary
having been completed. At stake are the six district city
council seats, two municipal judges, and clerk of the
municipal court.
The election comes at a
time when the relationship between the African-American
community and City Hall can be described as tense following
a councilmember referring to members of the African-American
community as cockroaches, alleged racial bias in the Toledo
Fire Department, and accusations of excessive and
unnecessary force inflicted upon blacks by the Toledo Police
Department.
Given these critical
times, the challenge for voters is to be able to identify
authentic leaders and those who are leaders-in-name-only (LINO).
Here are a few
distinctions:
1. Authentic leaders are
able to provide a list of tangible mass-scale benefits they
have provided to the community in return for their votes.
LINOs, on the other hand, get angry and resort to
name-calling when the community holds them accountable for
their actions in the public arena and/or their lack of
return on the voters’ investment in them.
2. Authentic leaders are
not apologists for the racist behavior of others.
When people of color are
dehumanized and their dignity has been assaulted, the
perpetrator needs to be called out on it so that the entire
community can see that offensive, racist behavior will not
be tolerated.
I’m glad to know that when
Councilman Waniewski referred to black people as roaches, it
was “privately communicated” to him that his behavior was
considered offensive on its face and more offensive when one
knows the history behind it.
However, to just talk
privately about racist behavior or injustice is
insufficient. The community at large needs to be sure that
we are not giving our votes to those who “run back to meet
with ole Massa’ in private to provide intel on the
happenings on the plantation” instead of those leaders who
are strategizing on ways to empower the people who elected
them.
3. Authentic leaders
overcome mental chains.
All who lead and strive to
help oppressed groups eventually find out that many of those
you serve are carrying shackles around their minds rather
than around their arms and legs. Because of these mental
chains we are sometimes more likely to fight each other
rather than unifying to fight an injustice.
Back in the day, when we
would resort to fistfights rather than guns to settle
disputes, there was always someone who stood on the
sidelines to hold the combatants’ coats. Although they were
not at risk of getting hit themselves, the coat holders
would talk trash, hyping the conflict to attract a crowd and
inciting others to beat each other up.
The truth is that we have
some very good incumbent elected officials. There also are
some high-quality candidates who are attempting to become
new officeholders on November 5.
Rather than talk trash to
or about each other, authentic leaders talk about how we can
solve the critical problems that affect our community.
Rather than fighting each
other, authentic leaders fight fiercely for truth,
accountability and dignity and respect for all people.
Only then, is it possible
to liberate minds and free the city and our community to
move to a new level of understanding.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
|
