ODE TO BETH CONWAY, MY FRIEND

By Marjorie J. Hurt

Beth Conway will end her tenure on the Springfield School Committee on December 31, 2003, since she decided not to seek re-election. She will have served on the school committee for 12 years. She and I will have served together for six of those 12 years and I will sincerely miss her.

I had my opinion about Beth Conway when I first got elected, and it wasn’t a good opinion. The rumor in the Black community was that she was a racist.; and that she had gotten elected overwhelming by White Springfield because she had run an anti-Negroni campaign. For those of you who have already forgotten, former Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Peter J. Negroni, was Springfield’s first and only minority superintendent. And, in the eyes of our community, Peter was a hero for having taken a stand and finally appointed several Black principals to serve in a school system that overwhelming serves minority children and even more overwhelmingly, is led by Whites.

So, as I began my first term, I was wary of Beth, to say the least. And then one day Beth asked me a question about why I saw race as a factor in a particular issue. And, there on the bench in City Hall outside the City Collector’s office, we sat for a good hour discussing why I thought race was a factor and why she thought it shouldn’t be.

I must admit that as persuasive as I can be and as vocal as I can be, I was not able to change Beth’s mind. She insisted that the only way to look at school issues is not to consider race but what’s best for the children. I, on the other hand, argued that if we truly lived in a color-blind society, her view would be admirable, but since we don’t, not to consider race is to deny the reality that every one else considers it a factor, except -- I have become convinced -- her.

Finally, I gave up. But what developed between the two of us after that conversation was significant. We were able to talk about every issuehonestly and openly. She gave her opinion and I gave mine and we tried to understand each other. If there was an issue where she thought I might have a particular insight that she didn’t have, she would ask me about it. And if there was an issue where I thought she needed to have some perspective, I gave it and she listened. In either case, she didn’t always change her position, but she was always willing to listen and to consider my view.

Most importantly, we became friends because we found out that we genuinely liked each other. And even though there were things we didn’t agree on, we knew that we could speak our minds to each other, take different votes, and still remain friends.

So, when Beth in her characteristicly blunt fashion said, “I bet you don’t write about White people in your newspaper.” I gave her statement some thought, and decided to do an “Ode” to my friend, since Point of View does consider color but does not discriminate.

Beth, my friend, I will miss you because, above all else, you cared about the children you served; you educated yourself on the issues before you; you never, ever grandstanded; and whether I agreed with the decisions you made or not, they were never personal nor were they ever about color! n