From The Publisher’s Desk
I’ll Take Black!
Bud Williams is my city councilor. He is only one of nine councilors, but he is
distinguishable for several reasons.
First of all, he is Black. Though
I can point to many who ignore the benefit of this
distinction, it is too valuable for me to ignore. Ethnic power has always been at the core of
political success in
Bud
Williams is also willing to take unpopular positions on issues for which he
holds strong beliefs, even against the most powerful local interests. Don’t get me wrong. Bud is as wily a politician as ever stepped
foot on the planet. You won’t find him
committing political suicide. He chooses
his own battles and is careful not to let others force pointless battles on
him. But on issues for which he holds
strong beliefs, nothing can deter him from speaking his mind, a distinction
that often separates him from his fellow councilors and often incurs the wrath
of the powerful.
Bud’s
most recent decision to question the plan by the current mayor to use private
businesses as voluntary consultants for the city is an example. The council had to approve the plan. Bud’s demeanor contrasted dramatically with
those of his fellow councilors, who, without scrutiny or objection to a single
detail, obediently submitted to the will of the powerful sponsors of the
plan.
They
were so disgustingly obsequious in their urge to please the powerful that they
passed the matter without significant consideration for possible negative
implications. Bud stood alone in opposition
to passing the plan without more time to study it and, if necessary, to build
in safeguards. He had many good reasons
for doing so but I will discuss the three most important reasons.
First,
the new administration had quickly established a pattern of bringing matters
before the council at the last minute for passage without giving the councilors
time to study the details. Bud was
vocally opposed to the administration’s approach in the past and remained true
to his concerns when it tried to rush the business consultants through the
council.
Second,
Bud had bad experiences with individuals at MassMutual
and the Chamber of Commerce who were specifically named as spearheading the
effort. John Abbott of MassMutual and Russ Denver of the Chamber of Commerce had
shown him a level of racial insensitivity in the past that made the plan
immediately suspect.
And
finally, Bud was very much aware of the fact that the deal for implementing the
plan was made in the back room through the “old boy” network, which is
experiencing a major revival in the city and the region. He is the only councilor who understands that
we must make damn well certain that the old boys know that we know what they
are trying to do. Shining the light on
them is the only check that we have on their inherently racist system, whose
members justify the exclusion of Black people from the decision-making process
by playing innocent about the very system that benefits them at our
expense.
Fortunately for all of