I asked the question yesterday:
Will New Albany's elected officials, its political leaders, its civic organizations and business community, and it's citizenry respond constructively to what amounts as shame and embarrassment on a national scale, and not just denounce the idiocy of racism and the idiots who perpetuate it, but conduct the life of the city in such a manner as to kill racism at the roots?
Floyd County Democratic Party chairwoman (and City Clerk) Marcey Wisman wasted no time in responding. I believe you will agree with me that this powerful and impassioned statement sets the bar at a high level, indeed.
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” for me, as a Democrat, the opening quote from Dickens book “A Tale of Two Cities” best describes the 2008 presidential election.
I have been a part of what will be remembered as one of the most historical elections in America. It is something that I will be proud to sit and tell my grandchildren about; the year we (the Democrats) had a female and a black man running in the Primary. The year that we set records on voter registration and actual number of voters at the polls. However, it is also the year that I have seen the absolute worst side of people come out. It is the year the monster of racism and bigotry came out of the darkness into the light and threatened to divide not just our party but the nation. This division has been eating at me. I lie awake at night and wonder what I can do to make this right? As the chairwoman of the local Democratic Party, how can I eradicate this monster from my little part of the nation? I have worried myself to the point that I can no longer contain my anger and my frustration with the individuals, especially those in my own party, who think it, is okay to say “I’m not voting for Senator Obama because he is black.”
My friends and loved ones have told me to let it go, that I can’t change stupidity, that it is a generational thing, but I can no longer make excuses for people like David Ward, who owns an antique store here in New Albany at the corner of Bank and Main who had no problem telling a reporter from the Chicago Tribune that he is a “Democrat”, but he is “voting for McCain because he isn’t black”. Mr. Ward, Shame on You! Also, to those of you who think it is acceptable to tell me that you will not vote for Senator Obama because “he is a N****r”, what makes you think this is all right? Is it because I am white like you? If so, I may be white, but I am nothing like you. That word is disgusting, ugly and hurtful and it will no longer be tolerated in my presence.
I found a quote from Robert Kennedy that I want all of you to think about. He said “But suppose God is black? What if we go to Heaven and we, all our lives, have treated the Negro as an inferior, and God is there, and we look up and He is not white? What then is our response?” Mr. Ward and all of you like him, how do you justify your racism?
To those of you who claim you are Democrats, but say you can’t vote for Senator Obama because he is a black man, are you sure you are Democrats? If you look up the platform of the National Democratic Party under the issue of Civil Rights it says “We believe in the essential American ideal that we are not constrained by the circumstances of birth but can make of our lives what we will. Unfortunately, for too many, that ideal is not a reality. We have more work to do. Democrats will fight to end discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and disability in every corner of our country, because that's the America we believe in.”
I want everyone to know the Floyd County Democratic Party does not condone racism. In fact, we hold firm to the Democratic Platform that we “will fight to end discrimination”. Therefore, Mr. Ward and others like him, as members of the Democratic Party you are called to fight the ignorance of discrimination, not perpetuate the hatred that has been taught to you and that you are no doubt teaching to your children.
I struggled with whether or not I should write this letter knowing that I will anger many people in my community, and again I was reminded of a quote of Robert Kennedy who said “It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.” I realized that despite what backlash I might face for expressing my feelings on this issue and calling out Mr. Ward and others like him, it is important to let the people who read the story in the Chicago Tribune know that Mr. Ward’s comments do not represent the beliefs of the people of the Floyd County Democratic Party.
I know that I may not be able to change the hearts and minds of racists, but I can hope that by openly expressing my condemnation of racism I will send out a ripple that will give others the courage to stand up and they too will say “I will not stand for this anymore”. I will continue to fight to see that the Dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is fully realized because I, too, want to “live in a world where a man is not judged by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character”. In this world that I, and other like minded Democrats, dream of, Mr. Ward, you, and others like you, have been judged and you have been found to lack the character of a true Democrat.
Yes we can. Yes she did.
ReplyDeletePassion, intelligence, courage, progress.
Regardless of the count on November 4, this campaign, this person, has won something well beyond the bounds of an election.
Thank you, Marcey. Our community is better today.
With the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill, Lyndon Johnson said "We (the Democratic Party)will lose the South for a generation." He then went on to say, "What the hell is the Presidency for, if I can't use it for civil rights?" Apparently, Johnson's decision to follow the precept of "all men are created equal" also banished a sizable number of the atavists in other regions of the country, including our own as well, from the course of progress.
ReplyDeleteWith the likely election of the first black American as President, the nation will,thankfully, move forward/toward a color blind future(a more pefect union?). To quote another voice of the Sixties, "Your old road is rapidly aging. Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand. For the times they are a-changin."
Thanks to Marcey for saying what needs to be said in her "little part of the nation."
I debated(with myself)my response to Marcey's eloquent letter. Finally decided that my first thought was appropriate. In today's world, it's the opposite of such great words by Robert Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson but I wish that those who use it would wake up and say:
ReplyDeleteDITTO!!
First of all, kudos to Marcey for stepping up to the plate for our community; we need to make it abundantly clear that neither the Democratic nor Republican parties condone such behavior.
ReplyDeleteThe response Marcey gave is representative of the local Republican party, as well. We do not condone racial discrimination or intolerance.
My best friend (African American) and I (Native American) have never felt excluded or discriminated against within our party. Nevertheless, the prejudice is there and we must combat it wholeheartedly.
Thanks, Larry.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be even nicer to hear these words coming from the party chairman?
Way to go Marcey!
ReplyDeleteThank you for, as a party leader, finally stepping up to publicly take a stand on this.
Hopefully you've set a precedent that leaders of both parties will follow to speak out on other issues as well.
It'd be nice to hear it from the mayor's office and city council (besides John) as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd, it'd be a good time for the human rights commission to be taken seriously.
Thank you, Marcey, for that passionate response. I hope it is read far and wide - and provokes some self-examination among all of us living under the U.S. Constitution. This is clearly needed by people who identify themselves as Democrats. As I wrote to the Courier-Journal after the primary, "Anyone who refuses to vote for a candidate because of race (or gender) needs to get out of the Democratic Party. That is not what we're about. It's 2008. Those troglodytes are vestiges of a shameful past in our history, and most assuredly, have no place in our future."
ReplyDeleteMarcey, well said. I won't speak for Dave Matthews, but I would like to personally say that I long for the day when race is not even on the page of politics or communities. It pains me to see anyone show their ignorance this way and sets back the discourse decades in a mere sentence. Let's continue telling everyone that will listen that this does not represent our community and at the same time let's not let this issue define us. We love to talk about the issues that face New Albany. Through our diligence, race will not be one of those issues.
ReplyDeleteI am so often struck by the fact that sometimes someone will say or do something awful----and the result is a meaningful conversation that changes things. Marcey's comments on race in response to a racist statement is such a thing. My hope is that this raises the issue to all people in all times that racism is alive and well and despicable.
ReplyDeleteSo is it possible to have one's membership in a political party revoked? Or is shame the only weapon the local Democratic party has at its disposal?
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent question, EB.
ReplyDelete