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Racial mistrust can change if commission embraces district votingTue, 03/04/2008 - 4:21pm
By: Letters to the ...
From Judith Moore, private citizen and resident of Fayette County: Many of us Southern ladies were instructed by our mamas never to talk about politics and religion because that would surely result in unpleasantness. They surely were right about the unpleasantness part. But following such advice leaves a vacuum to be filled by those who have no qualms about being unpleasant, as evidenced by many of the bloggers who visit The Citizen’s website. There are no more important topics in a democracy than religion and politics. Religion is about values, and politics is about power. Democracy is inevitably messy because we humans get emotional about challenges to our values and to the relative power we have to shape the communities we live in. For democracy to work, we have to make compromises about what values we will share as a community and how we will allocate power. Fayette County is in the midst of a conversation about how county commissioners shall be elected in the future. That conversation became very public on Feb. 28. On its face, the issue is simple: Should all commissioners be elected by all the residents of the county or should different communities have their own commissioners answerable only to them on Election Day? Stated that simply, race and political party appear irrelevant. However, we know this issue is anything but simple because it occurs against the historical backdrop of Southern history. Southern history is the story of race in America. Southern political party allegiance reflects that story. After Lincoln and Reconstruction, the South was solidly Democratic. After Kennedy, Johnson, and the civil rights movement, the South became just as solidly Republican. Fayette County mirrors this Southern history. The white citizens of this county used every legal and illegal means at its disposal to keep non-whites from voting. Fear and mistrust between the races is the inevitable result. This will not go away until those who still benefit from this history reach out to those who still suffer from its injustice. One step in the right direction could be taken by the five white men who now serve as the Fayette County Commission. They could ask the Georgia General Assembly to act affirmatively on a local bill calling for district voting. This would completely deflate those on both sides of this issue who argue that party and race are the determining factors. Why should any of the current commissioners fear district voting? If a current commissioner feels that he would lose his seat if he had to answer solely to the residents of his district, then perhaps he doesn’t really represent the interests of his district. Much has been said about the role of white guilt on this subject. The issue is not guilt but responsibility. The circumstances of my birth provided me privileges denied to others by race and class. I did not earn these privileges. They were a gift to me provided by those who lived before me. With those privileges, often purchased by others at great cost, come great responsibilities. Because of my faith and my patriotism, I believe that I have a responsibility to join with others who want to build a community of mutual trust and equal opportunity in this land of the free. Judith Moore Fairburn (Fayette County), Ga. [Moore is chair of the Fayette County Democratic Party and a member of the county’s Board of Elections.] login to post comments |