|
The 2020 election cycle is
beginning to “step on the gas” locally as well as nationally
and there are quite a few interesting contests.
Look for Lucas County
Auditor Anita Lopez and The Honorable Judge Myron Duhart,
currently of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, to
engage in a riveting battle for the retiring Honorable Judge
Arlene Singer’s seat on the Ohio Sixth District Court of
Appeals.
Duhart was appointed by
former Governor Ted Strickland in January, 2011, defeated
Ken Phillips in 2012 and won election again in 2018. Lopez
was elected to Lucas County Recorder in 2004 and has served
as County Auditor since 2006. She previously was Director of
Purchasing and Affirmative Action at the City of Toledo and
an attorney for the Toledo Fair Housing Center.
Things are also beginning
to get interesting with lawman and community advocate Earl
Mack’s decision to enter the race for Lucas County Sheriff.
Mack, after some apparent arm twisting, joins current cCity
Councilmen Gary Johnson and Chris Delaney in a crowded
field. Obviously, it will be a huge deal to have an
African-American Sheriff elected to that county-wide office
in this era where criminal justice reform is badly needed to
improve black quality of life.
Lastly, on a national
level, the campaign of presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg
has started to soar but the black community has been slow to
get on board. Some black commentators have ascribed
Buttigieg’s identifying as a gay male for black folks’
reticence. This, however, is an oversimplified, narrow and
antiquated fundamentalist theological perspective that is
just plain wrong.
Certainly, the black
church has always practiced a “conspiracy of silence”
effectuated by a policy of “Don’t ask, Don’t tell”
concerning homosexuality at all levels of church hierarchy,
particularly in the exercise of “gifts” like singing and
preaching because black people are primarily pragmatic and
not intolerant in their thinking.
One of the strengths of
black people is that we prioritize practical qualities like
policy, electability and the ability to deliver results over
someone’s sexuality. One only has to look at the recent
mayoral election in Chicago, one of the nation’s largest
cities. Lori Lightfoot, the city’s first openly LGBTQ
leader, was swept into office on the backs of black people
in general, and black churchgoers in particular.
However, while Buttigieg’s
sexuality does not ultimately disqualify him from black
support, his greatest challenge appears to be navigating
black spaces with all of its complex nuances without having
had much experience being around black people.
For instance, in 2011,
Buttigieg, in disparaging comments, posited that urban
low-income, minority children fail to perform educationally
because of the lack of successful role models present in
their neighborhoods and spheres of influence.
It is true that black
children need to see more black male teachers and more
examples of successful African-American men and women who
are not athletes or entertainers. Yet the relevant question
is “Why aren’t there more examples,” a question that must
look at unjust structures designed to hold our system
together in a way that privileges wealth and whiteness.
The truth is that for
generations the message to young people from elders in the
black Church, schoolhouse, community centers and even the
streets has been the black self-determination mantra of
“Make Something of Yourself!”
Personally, I think that
Buttigieg’s sin has been the use of a demeaning
deficit-based narrative and failure to recognize the
resilience and strengths that have enabled black people to
gain unprecedented achievement despite experiencing
horrendous oppression since being brought to America as
enslaved people.
So, when one has spent
most of his entire life in a protective bubble of privilege
and very white culture with limited knowledge of how to
authentically relate to other cultures, one will have a lot
of catching up to do to engage nonwhite support.
Yet, the presidential
candidate has his vaunted Douglass Plan, a policy that
actually proposes to deal with the structures of inequality
and racism rather than merely address symptoms. The policy
has many good points, but black folks will also want to know
if he can deliver on the promise.
Buttigieg also has the ear
of Rev. William J. Barber II, the respected leader of the
Moral Majority Movement, a racially diverse national
campaign to combat economic inequality by framing aid to the
poor as a moral issue.
The potential partnership
with Barber is certainly an important move for Buttigieg if
he is to “learn” the nuances of the black experience and
ultimately win over black voters.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org |
