How Kilgore Can Appeal to Swing Voters: An Independent View from South Of The James Friday, September 30, 2005
Posted by Conaway B. Haskins III in Uncategorized.add a comment
With the election just six weeks away, the Race to Richmond will probably go down to the wire. Kilgore is maintaining a slight lead in most publicly-available polls, but for some conservative pundits and politicos, it’s too close for comfort. To the casual observer, Kilgore’s inability to separate from Tim Kaine is unusual given his high degree of success in the 2001 race for Attorney General. Despite snagging 60% of the statewide vote last time around, voters in the Commonwealth are not yet fully sold on the gentleman from Scott County as their governor. Some Kilgore supporters have expressed worry about how the campaign is resonating throughout Virginia, particularly with the social conservative base.
In any election, being shades away from 50% in most major polls is generally a good sign. However, it appears that if Kilgore is to really wrap up this election with time to spare, the campaign needs to reemphasize a signature set of issues that resonate with voters. So far, Kilgore issue briefs have been published in areas such as education, transportation, economic development, but so far, a compelling case for why Kilgore is the right man to lead Virginia has not been made. As such, this is an opportune time for Kilgore to use the last month-and-a-half of the race to talk to Virginians about his policies and principles. If the end result is to be a new address for the Kilgore family in Richmond, his campaign must speak across Commonwealth’s political landscape and not merely engage in conventional partisan mudslinging.
Continuing to tag Kaine’s Richmond record as liberal and ineffective actually rings hollow given the fuzziness of such labels in contemporary Virginia politics and the inaccuracies of the statistics cited in Kilgore media spots. Potts’ smorgasbord of tax increases, increased government programs, and favorable stances toward gay adoption have effectively positioned him as the liberal candidate. With Gov. Warner increasing his appearance on Kaine’s behalf, Kaine can legitimately assert himself as the centrist candidate for undecided independents, conservative Democrats, and moderate Republicans who will be the swing voters this year. In the absence of a defining issue along the lines of Gilmore’s “No Car Tax,” Kilgore must unequivocally tells Virginians, particularly undecided independent swing voters, what he stands for, not simply what and whom he stands against. This election is his to lose, and with the public polls showing him with just a slight advantage over Kaine, this just might happen.
From the vantage point South Of The James, an independent voice with no ties to any candidate or party, three key issues appear to give Kilgore his best shot at reaching out to independent swing voters who are on the fence. Those issues are taxes, education and crime.
Is It Time to Read Kilgore’s Lips?
On taxes, Kilgore has not been clear on where he stands on the Warner tax increases much to the dismay of some supporters. What people want to know is whether he is for keeping them or repealing them and either way, the motivations behind his position. Unlike Russert’s propositions, the Warner tax increases are not a hypothetical - they actually happened. As Attorney General, Kilgore stated opposition to them, but they were passed by bipartisan majority consisting of 17 of his fellow Republicans. From this vantage point, the tax plan was Warner’s signature item, and with his astronomical (for Virginia at least) approval ratings, resisting this bygone legislation would be futile. Much to the dismay of conservatives, the electorate is not up in arms over the tax increase, and more voters seem to support them than oppose them. Thus, it would be wise for Kilgore to shift the paradigm and tell the voters that the tax increase is a thing of the past, and until the voters decide that they want something different, they will stay. Then Kilgore should offer up something that neither Potts nor Kaine can abide - a no new taxes pledge.
Even though Warner seemingly broke his pledge to not raise taxes, he managed to push through a historic increase that has produced a surplus for the state’s coffers. Despite the protestations of the conservative wing of the GOP and the punditry, the localities seem to favor the results of the Warner tax plan. An open secret in state government is that many localities in Southside and Southwestern Virginia - the heart of Kilgore country - would actually suffer from reductions in state revenues as they are heavily dependent on funds from the Commonwealth for their operations and programs. Conservative misgivings aside, Kilgore supporters, especially those in wealthier areas, would be wise to read the political calculus of those rural communities. Repealing the Warner taxes and pressing for additional cuts would leave places like Kilgore’s Scott County home in quite a bind due to reductions in vital state funds. Ultimately, such a move could hurt Republicans more than Democrats.
The alternative is for Kilgore to simply state that while he initially opposed Warner’s tax hikes; the surplus shows that Virginia’s economy is performing well. Given his preferences for referendums, he can say that until the voters express their overwhelming displeasure for continuing the Warner tax policy, his responsibility is to prudently manage the funds of the Commonwealth. This allows him to assure Virginians, especially rural Virginians, that money will not be taken away from vital programs, such as education, health and transportation, but that he will oppose any additional measures that take more money out of voters’ wallets. In all honestly, Kilgore has little to lose in making such a move since conventional wisdom holds that voters trust Republicans more than Democrats with their money.
Making Crime (Fighting) Pay
Since a major portion of Kilgore’s resume includes stints in law & order, this should be his bread and butter issue. Reducing crime and making streets safer unifies all Virginians. As US Attorney, he prosecuted criminals and helped keep communities safe. As Secretary of Public Safety, he was a key player in then-Gov. Allen’s parole reform efforts. As Attorney General, he worked to diligently to snuff out gangs and reduce domestic violence against women and children. Kilgore can honestly some claim credit for having seen statewide crime-reduction initiatives through to fruition. This is his record, and it is a strong one on which to stand. However, for some reason, successful crime-fighting is not part of the message that comes through clearly in his commercials.
Given his record, it is perplexing as to why the Kilgore anti-crime story is not told more often. With suburban communities such as Chesterfield witnessing the onset of bona fide organized gangs and with rural areas potentially victimized by crystal meth, Kilgore has the potential to share his real-world experiences in helping to protect Virginia lives and homes. He can talk directly to women about his dedicate to ridding them of the scourge of abuse. The crime issue is one where good politics and good policy intersect, and Kilgore should run with this.
Focusing on His 3 R’s
On education, Kilgore has a blueprint for a great campaign message with his own version of the 3 R’s of education - Recruit, Reward & Retain. Throughout Virginia, the education of young people is a top issue that voters want the candidates to speak on. Kilgore’s package of teacher incentives will help Virginia remain among the nation’s leaders in teacher qualification standards. Although South Of The James has taken issue with some of your claims regarding your role in the education reforms of the early 1990s, the fact remains that the policies enacted under then-Gov. Allen improved the performance of the state’s public schools so that an overwhelming majority now meet state and federal requirements. The Kilgore 3-R plan stakes out fertile ground that remains untilled by Kaine and Potts - helping boost the pipeline of trained, professional educators to work with and for our children, particularly in rural and urban areas.
A bit of creative politicking can help the Kilgore campaign sell the plan better. As a product of Virginia’s public education system, Kilgore knows first-hand the value of a good education. As talked about in several campaign spots, he also married a teacher. As Laura Bush demonstrates, having a teacher as a spouse can be a boon for a candidate running on an education reform platform. As opposed to the current crop of print and TV ads, the Kilgore campaign should tell Virginians exactly how much watching his wife work as a teacher informed his ideas about improving education in the Commonwealth. Kilgore can stress that he wants to make sure that good folks like his wife can experience rewarding, well-paid careers while serving the families and communities of the Commonwealth, particularly those in need.
In the final analysis, Virginia’s voters deserve greater insight as to what all of the candidates stand for, not just who and what they are against. As the leading vote-getter from 2001 and the apparent frontrunner in 2005, if Kilgore can offer up a compelling message to the voters, he should be the man to beat. From the perspective South Of The James, undecided and independent voters should expect more from all of the candidates for governor. If Kilgore, Kaine and Potts cannot come up with something better than what we have seen, regardless of which man is elected, the voters will lose.
Rebuilding Black America from the Inside Out Friday, September 23, 2005
Posted by southofthejames in Uncategorized.add a comment
by Conaway B. Haskins III
This article is an adaptation of a speech presented to the Low Country & Chesapeake Society in February 2005.
After talking with academics, activists in the Black left and right, community leaders, and even Black professional athletes, I have gained a greater insight about what the critical issues are relating to community rebuilding in Black America. At the same time, I reviewed quite a bit of literature and research to see what the latest state of the art was on the issues that consistently come to the forefront of such activities. As a result, I feel that the best way for me to serve this issue of community rebuilding is to offer a framework for discussion that should eventually translate into specific actions. While much of this ground has been covered by other, more illustrious figures, the information presented is a distillation of key ideas.
As such, several caveats must be acknowledged in terms of the framework that this paper lays out. Because the purpose is to rebuild from the inside out, the focus is on what the Black community can do for themselves, not about actions that can be taken through political and business solutions. While our communities do have recognized community leaders in the form of educators, pastors, agency heads, activists, and the like, the vexing problem of this model is that they often default to political (read: government programs) solutions instead of building communities from the grassroots and developing assets. It is far easier to organize a protest than to roll out a viable, strong organization that serves people.
While partnering with those external to the community is a necessary and useful enterprise, setting the parameters for rebuilding Black communities should first zero in on actions that Black people can take to help themselves. Without getting into a debate about the legitimacy of affirmative action, reparations, or special poverty programs, the mindset proposed here reflects a deviation away from the government-dependent mentality that plagues the contemporary civil rights establishment and the Black left. Essentially, what is first required is for Black Americans is a true abandonment of the tendency toward perpetual self-victimization.
This “woe is me” approach is prevailing among the so-called black leadership and has trickled down to the people. The beacons of this ideology - mainstream media outlets, the civil rights establishment, and the Black liberal intelligentsia - play up social and economic conditions as if they are reaching epically desperate proportions. The overwhelming attention on the black poor - such as the epidemic of African American male unemployment in major urban areas - and their problems has essentially created an environment whereby Black America is defined by its weakest links. Granted, crime still plagues many urban black communities, and there are those who claim that black voters have been discriminated against at the polls. However, the rush to establish depravity and despair among our people as given creates an environment of desperation that leaves the reality of the diversity of Black life often unexamined.
I want to posit a different viewpoint to address the issue of rebuilding Black America by focusing on our assets, and looking toward our collective and individual futures with a sense of hope and optimism. While many so-called leaders of Black America lead with a sense of threatened survival, we have the opportunity to shift from a paradigm of abject scarcity and eternal victim-hood that threatens to swallow Black American whole. By reflecting on the strengths of our community and looking to works, we can address our weaknesses that hinder the progress of our people.
Black America Today: Behind the Numbers
A discussion of community rebuilding with a large scale focus would be incomplete without a quantitative assessment of Black America. The facts and figures that are available provide some level of insight into where Black America is currently situated and are necessary to construct a roadmap to the future. Nonetheless, experience has shown that often, research can only paint a picture of a particular time in place, and it very well misses the critical interactions that occur on a human level. As such, we should take care to put any statistics that are offered in their proper light, knowing that where the rubber meets the road, the numbers can fall by the wayside.
Economically speaking, Black America’s disposable income was pegged at $600 million in 2000 and $750 million in 2004. It is projected to reach $1 billion by 2009, representing nearly 10% of the nation’s buying power in coming years. This resource base can serve as a source of real power for and change in our communities. If we focus our time, energy and capital toward the development of our communities, we can ensure greater prosperity and opportunity for our people.
In terms of human capital, African Americans have seen a steady increase their educational attainment in the years since Brown v. Board. However, it must be acknowledged that Black high school dropout rates are alarmingly high, and the rates of college attendance need must improvement. Despite this, Black America has seen high school degree attainment reach 80% for adults. This places us ahead of Latinos and only slightly behind Whites and Asians in terms of finishing our grade school education, often the most basic point of entry for the mainstream employment market. At present, 18% of African Americans have earned a bachelors degree, compared to 30% of Whites, 50% of Asians, and 13% of Latinos. At the same time, less than 1% of Blacks hold graduate degrees. Undoubtedly, we have much more work to do in terms of Black higher education because no amount of reframing can disguise the fact that our kids are not graduating from college at a competitive rate, and the numbers of those who seek advanced degrees is paltry. However, just as the disparities between Black and White high school students have been chipped away, there is hope that we can attack the higher education issue with just as much vigor and success.
It is widely accepted that work is the most critical element to economic success in this country and that it is basis from which wealth and income flow. As it currently stands, black unemployment has hovered around 10-11% for quite some time, nearly equal for men and women. While, this rate is higher than the 6-8% marks in the late 1990’s, in general, unemployment in America has increased with the echoes of the Internet bust and 9-11. Rates for White are between 4-5%, and rates for Latinos are typically from 6-8%. Conventional wisdom considers this comparative disadvantage to be a disturbing sign, and on the surface, it is troubling that our folks are out of work at higher rates that other ethnic groups. However, if we look at this from another angle, the glass is a bit more than half-full. Even though Black unemployment is double the rate of whites and higher than Latinos, when we shift our framework from the perspective of employment rates, the gaps diminish. Thus, the chasm of Black unemployment falls always when we consider that, on average, 90% of Blacks, 94% of Latinos, and 95% of Whites are employed. Taking a strengths-based approach, so to speak, starts to paint a more promising picture for our future.
More so that any other statistic, economic poverty is a good proxy for class stratification as it is linked to many of the problems that persist in Black America, such as educational deficiencies, poor health, crime pandemics, and widespread joblessness. As both a cause and effect factor in American life, alleviating and reducing poverty has been the centerpiece of numerous public policy and social reform efforts inside and outside Black America. Merely mentioning and discussing poverty and those who live in it is not enough - if we accept that class distinctions are a key fact of life in Black America, we must examine those who are also in the working class or are “working poor.”
In 2004, it was estimated that 24% of Black people and 33% of Black children lived below the poverty line. 24% of all Black people and 27% of all Black children live between poverty and twice the poverty line. This means that at least half of all Black people live well above impoverished conditions in terms of income, and could legitimately be considered middle class. Again, the issue of geography is important as income and wealth has different connotations and interacts differently with opportunity, in different sections of the country. Compared to ten years ago – 1994 – these numbers have improved somewhat. Ten years ago, 31% of Black people and 43 % of Black children lived under the poverty line. 24% of Black people and 25% of Black children lived between poverty and twice the poverty line. On the surface, this shows that we are generally doing much better than we did in the past.
If we dig a bit deeper, we start to see trends that are at once confounding and hopeful. The issue of single parenthood, especially for our women and girls, is one that has been debated for years, with good reason. Single African American mothers face a 40% poverty rate and almost 30% of Black single moms live between poverty and twice the poverty rate. In 1994, half of Black single mothers lived below the poverty rate and another 25% lived between poverty and twice the poverty rate. While these figures to illustrate that Black single moms had a slight bit of improvement in terms of their economic condition, the fact that over 70% of them persistently subsist at poverty or working poor levels is stunning statistic. It is understandable that much ado has been made over this, but, harkening back the notion that we cannot define ourselves so completely by our weakest links, we must continue to provide context for such discussions.
On the other side of the coin is the fact that only 8.6% of married Black couples live under the poverty line, and only 20% live between poverty and twice the poverty rate. Going back to 1994 shows that a shade over 10% of married Blacks lived in poverty and 23% lived between poverty and twice the poverty rate. The continuing decrease in the number of married Blacks who live in poverty should be of great interest to all of us, but it is premature to announce causative relationships around family stability, wealth and income in the Black America. Still, anecdotally, this hypothesis seems to hold some promise. However we choose look at it these numbers, we can safely assert that, on balance, Black America is doing better today that it was in the past.
The Trouble With Black Culture
The overall decrease in concentration of poverty and the stabilization of employment among African Americas is something that should give us cause for hope. If we merely go by the numbers, contrary to conventional wisdom regarding racial dynamics in this country, things are not nearly as bad as some make them out to be. To that end we should consider more qualitative aspects of our culture and community that don’t necessarily lend themselves to data collection. On balance, Black America is doing better today than in the past by any number of statistical measures, but beyond what the numbers say, all we have stunning moral failures and social pathologies that are not easily captured by statistics. We must seek to cut off the roots of the socio-cultural deficiencies that impede Black America’s progress and threaten the survival of our communities.
Today, calls for “Black Unity” as the first order of business allow us to excuse destructive Black behaviors. It is our responsibility to speak out against this tendency to “define deviance downward” in Black America in search of lowest common denominators that link us all. We must refuse to lift up those negative elements of Blackness that are currently deemed culturally acceptable, and develop a higher moral compass for the community. We must not be afraid of engaging in honest discussion and criticism that causes discomfort in many quarters of the community because the price for maintaining the status quo is too high.
Black popular culture is bombarded with self-destructive images that continuously chip away at the fabric of our society. The notion of hard work and incrementally building toward a goal has been dismantled and replaced with an “anything goes” moral relativism. Our celebrity-obsessed pop culture has openly abdicated responsibility for being a role model, as Charles Barkley so ineloquently voiced. This focus on quick-fixes and celebrities contributed to the overall lack of productive social conditions among Black folk. This situation is exacerbated by the lack of morally upright leadership in the community. The elevation of self-proclaimed and media-anointed Black leaders focuses on charismatic figures with entertaining sound bites. This illusion of leadership contributes mightily to the waywardness of Black culture and impedes true community-building – it is vapid and unsustainable and must be resisted. Black cultural leadership has defaulted to always looking for the “next big thing” to show up as spokespeople for 35 million. This model is broken, and should be abandoned.
While generational poverty has contributed to our moral shortcomings, such bad behaviors also fester dangerously among the black middle class. These families are subject to a Black popular culture defined by hedonistic rap music, written literature tending toward sexual prurience (i.e. the obsession with “Down Low” brothers), and television and film buffoonery. Previous generations had negative black images forced upon them by the White-controlled institutions in this country, but today, Blacks are the leading purveyors of Black exploitation and degradation. If we do not act to correct this now, we will essentially be consigning ourselves to another form of slavery, only this time, we will be the slave masters.
If our path is to be different, it makes sense for us to self-impose standards of decency in the community. There will be those who opposed this, and although it sounds harsh, we must be willing to abandon them for they care nothing for our true culture and treat character-building values with contempt. Our penchant for Christian forgiveness has given away to a culture of permissiveness that continues to define deviance downward and raise self-destructive behavior upward. This must stop if we are to rebuild and renew. We must hone in the positive side of our cultural and social capital, our heritage and history to construct a new asset base from which to affect positive change. We can take our strengths from our community’s grassroots - the everyday people who, by simply living good lives, provide a foundation of leadership upon which our view of Black America is built.
Pitching Black Responsibility
A cornerstone of our effort must be to take on a greater sense of personal & community responsibility. This is not simply to recycle Booker T. Washington, nor is it inflammatory Right-wing “victim-blaming.” As politically incorrect as it may sound, Black Americans must take control of their lives, families, and communities. Our own actions and reactions - collectively and individually - truly do play the most determinant role in our welfare, and we have to move beyond expecting others to help us first because they do not know our culture and our people as well as we do. We can, and should, practice collective and individual self-help in our mental, physical and emotion realms. We must assert more responsibility for those things that we can control, while working collectively to fight those external forces that work against us. At the same time, we need to develop mutually reinforcing networks, starting with each individual and each family, to help each other reach our fullest potential.
The negative emotional and mental well-being of many in our community is a leading cause of what can be deemed moral weaknesses. Research indicates that many of our intergenerational social pathologies stem from poor mental and physical health outcomes, a number of which have roots in personal behaviors. From a health perspective, African Americans are disproportionately afflicted with hypertension, obesity, low birth rate & high infant mortality, asthma, diabetes, cancer, AIDS and a host of other illnesses. This emotional deficit manifests itself in a number of ways: fractured family structures, alarmingly high teen pregnancy rates, outsized propensities toward male violence, and the self-degradation of Black women. While genetics, heredity and economics do play influence these conditions, a number of them are also related to lifestyle choices. The actions that we take upon ourselves can outweigh environmental factors such as pollution, exposure to hazards, and lack of health care. Eliminating those negative aspects of our behaviors, and engaging in more productive enterprises – for example more physical activity, improved personal hygiene, safer sexual behaviors, and smart food choices – are all within our own individual and familial locus of control.
Moving Forward: What We Can Do
Given the present state of Black America, new leaders must emerge to create and sustain institutions that can clearly articulate and serve our interests. New voices are needed on the horizons. Black America has a history of using such efforts to our advantage. As far back as the antebellum period, we traveled the Underground Railroad (admittedly, with assistance), we developed Black mutual aid societies and governing institutions (such as profiled on the Low Country website), and following the Civil War, we established Black colleges. In the early 1900’s Black folk developed social and civic groups such as the Black Greek fraternities and sororities, Jack & Jill, the Boule, etc.
The greatest example of this is the Civil Rights Movement of the 1910’s to 1960’s. This movement spawned from the heart of African American social capital. This effort was very good at identifying critical stakeholders and generating an emerging crop of leaders who had the moral credibility to speak to the hearts and minds of Black America and the country at-large. While the Movement did have its share of leaders from privileged and powerful backgrounds, people such as John Lewis and Medgar Evers cut their teeth at the community level and rose to prominence nationally through their hard work and dedication.
History indicates is that our culture is adaptive and our people are resilient. Anecdotally and from the perspective of research, communities of color tend to have well-defined social networks and community capital. Thus, even in working class and poor families and neighborhoods, the stage is set for strategic responses to pressing problems. The key impediment is that these networks are not always used productively and they are highly informal. Among our community institutions, there is a critical lack of structure – for example formal 501c status for nonprofits, registered corporations for businesses, etc. - in the provision of goods and services beyond the public sector safety net and the mainstream market.
Because our lives are lived locally, we should not rely on the practice of seeking “national fathers and mothers” to shepherd us along the way. National voices are still necessary; however, they must be rooted in something beyond the cult of personality that can often envelop a movement. Because of their prominence and advancement, these types rarely touch the lives of the average Black person. In contrast, there are community leaders who we can look to serve not as “role models,” per se, but as key contributors to the welfare of Black America. These leaders include the local black business owners and professionals who can provide vital commercial resources in the communities, as well as, mid and senior-level executives in corporate America who live among us. In the least, these entrepreneurs and managers are a conduit to the capitalist economy that drives this country. New leaders with this orientation can drive the debates and implement the projects that can truly have an impact on our communities, thus moving all of our people to a higher station in life.
Conclusion
In sum, we can truly rebuild Black communities from the inside out if we focus our eyes on the future with a sense of hope and optimism. Because our proverbial glasses are more than half-full, it is time for us to facilitate the shift in our community ethos from a paradigm of constant deficit and despair to one that provides a rubric of progress for all of our people. In offering this different lens, let us recall that there was little mention of the role of White people and governmental solutions vis-à-vis the ultimate fate of Black America. The basic principle at play is to renew Black America by letting go of the notion that our salvation rests external to the community. Again, this is not to suggest that there is no role for non-Blacks and larger institutions in the success of Black people. Rather, it suggests that it is primarily the responsibility of Black people to seek solutions among themselves, solutions that will inevitably involve others at some point but avoids reliance on those others and most points. The actions of the Black individual reigns supreme, the role of the Black family is critical, building self-sufficiency in the Black community is what we must strive toward. No less than our lives, and the lives of generations to come, are at stake.
Ad Nausea: Kaine & Kilgore Media Spots Employ Fuzzy Math To Snow Voters Friday, September 23, 2005
Posted by Conaway B. Haskins III in Uncategorized.add a comment
South Of The James has delved a little deeper into the facts and figures that the two candidates are using to buttress their commercial messages. Despite their political differences Kaine and Kilgore do share common ground on at least one issue - the extent to which they will go to shade their personal records and distort each others’ on jobs and education. In many instances, their claims are blatantly false, making them guilty of fudging the numbers. At worst, they are simply guilty of lying.
In terms of jobs, the Kilgore ad “Water” slams Kaine for a supposed unemployment rate increase of 47% during his tenure as mayor/council-member from 1994-2001. In the corner in fine print is a note that the source of this data is monthly labor force figures from the Virginia Employment Commission (that are actually compiled by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics) that are not seasonally adjusted. This is supposed to add the patina of credibility to the attack ad, and I’m sure that somewhere in the hills of Virginia, the Kilgore folks are repeating these figures over and over. However, it doesn’t take a graduate course in statistics (I hope) to see that the inherent problem with this figure - which renders it virtually meaningless - is that you cannot logically assess a 7-year labor economic cycle based on selective data from particular months. At best, you can only look at the average annual rate of unemployment during Kaine’s service in Richmond.
Therein lays the problem. During Kaine’s first year in office - 1994 - Richmond experienced an average annual unemployment rate of 5.8 percent. When Kaine left in 2001, the city’s jobless figure had dropped to 4.1%. During his last full year in office - 2000 - the rate averaged out to 2.6%. The 47% rate quoted in the Kilgore ad is plain fiction, and can only be derived through the most creative manipulation of the statistics, a level of exploitation that is only acceptable in the bizarre world of politics.
Kaine cannot be credited with a job well-done with respect to jobs just yet, as he tries to do in his “All Sides” commercial. Kaine claims to have created jobs while he was mayor. Aside from the definite leap in logic claiming that an individual council-member serving in a ceremonial position can single-handedly generate private sector employment, the contention simply is not true. Using those same labor force statistics, one would see that from 1994-2001, Richmond actually saw a decline in total employment of nearly 4,000 jobs and total unemployment of nearly 2,000 jobs. Granted, this helped produce a steadily declining jobless rate, but overall, during Kaine’s tenure, Richmond’s labor force shrunk.
When it comes to the supposed facts about education supplied to voters by the campaigns, the waters are even murkier. In that same “Water” commercial, Kilgore claims that Richmond schools next to last statewide in terms of school performance, and the fine print includes a source citation for the VA Dept. of Education’s Division of Assessment and Reporting. Conventional wisdom may support this contention, but the problem is that from 1994-2001 dramatic changes to the manner in which Virginia assessed its school districts took place, thus making a true comparison over Kaine’s term in office nearly impossible and somewhat illegitimate. Still, Kilgore should be aware of this being that he worked for the man who ushered in the era of higher K-12 standards, then-Gov. George Allen.
In terms of the statistics, Kilgore claims that, under the Kaine “administration,” Richmond’s school were overcrowded and high drop-out rates. Both contentions are noted as coming from VA Dept. of Education statistics, the annual Superintendent’s Report and the yearly Dropout Reports. However, in neither case does the Kilgore camp define what overcrowded means or what “drop-out rate” truly measures. Granted, it may seem like commonsense, but the devil is truly in the details. Since Mr. Kilgore does define overcrowded, but sites Table 2 of the Superintendents Report, South Of The James assumes that the statistics used refer to pupil-faculty ratio. To that end, this is what is explored further. According to the report:
Pupil/teacher ratios for grades K-6 and grade 1 may differ because of the option for reporting un-graded students either by grade level or as ungraded in the 2000 Fall Membership report. Pupil/teacher ratios for elementary and secondary may vary because of the reporting of teaching positions for middle school grades 6-8…licensed instructional personnel shall be assigned by each school board in a manner that produces division-wide ratios of students in average daily membership to full-time equivalent teaching positions, excluding special education teachers, principals, assistant principals, counselors, and librarians, that are not greater than the following ratios: 25 to 1 in grade KG; 24 to 1 in grade 1; 25 to 1 in grades 2-6; and 25 to 1 in English classes in grades 6-12
The report includes several data categories in which pupil: faculty ratios are compiled, all of which measure a different element of the “crowding” of Virginia’s schools. Additionally, the reports available on-line only go back to the 1996-97 school year. Thus, the first two years of Kaine’s service in Richmond is unaccounted for by this data. Since the Kilgore camp merely referred to Table 2, the most logical points of reference on that table appeared to be the pupil-faculty ratio for grades K-7 (elementary years) and grades 8-12 (secondary years).
From that vantage point, it appears that during the Tim Kaine era, Richmond schools fared well compared to the Commonwealth overall (a Virginia educational system that was overseen by consecutive Republican governors, mind you). Pupil-faculty ratios (the figure equals the number of students per faculty member) for Richmond and Virginia were:
1996-97 = 13.7/11.8 [14.2/12.2]
A dropout is an individual who: (1) Was enrolled in school at some time during the previous school year and was not enrolled on October 1 of the current school year, or (2) Was not enrolled on October 1 of the previous school year although expected to be in membership; and (3) Has not graduated from high school or completed a state- or district-approved educational program; and (4) Does not meet any of the following exclusionary conditions:(i) Transfer to another public school district, private school, or state- or district-approved education program; (ii) Temporary school- recognized absence due to suspension or illness; (iii) Death.
The fact is that Richmond City Schools showed steady improvements from 1996-2001, and in each year, the city’s school dropout rate fell closer to the state average. In that time, the schools went from among the bottom 3 or 4 systems to near the middle third of Virginia’s schools. The figures are:
Richmond rate vs. Virginia rate
Finally, Kilgore professes to have fought to keep lottery money exclusively for education and to have worked with Governor Allen to increase school funding by $2 billion from 1994 to 1998. Typically, the Secretary of Public Safety - Kilgore’s Allen administration position at the time - focuses on law enforcement and corrections. Unless he was doing something special, Kilgore’s job responsibilities had very little to do with funding education outside of that which is provided to state prisoners and public safety personnel. He did, however, oversee the successful implementation of various Allen parole reforms, which ironically may have helped Tim Kaine cut down on all that crime in Richmond!
As for the lottery, Kilgore may be fudging the truth a bit about seeing to it that the lottery proceeds were used exclusively for educational purposes. According to the Virginia Lottery:
Since 1999, all Virginia Lottery profits have been used for public education in the Commonwealth, for kindergarten through 12th grade. When Virginians voted in 1987 for a state-operated lottery, many made the assumption that they voted on how to spend the Lottery’s proceeds. This was not the case. The lottery proceeds, which are approximately one-third of lottery sales, were to be used as determined by the General Assembly. The use of the proceeds has changed over time. In 1989, lottery proceeds were dedicated to capital construction projects. From 1990 to 1998, the lottery proceeds were transferred to the state’s General Fund. Starting in 1999, a state budget amendment sent lottery proceeds to local public school divisions to be used solely for educational purposes. In the year 2000, more than 80% of Virginia voters said yes to the creation of the State Lottery Proceeds Fund. The measure, now a permanent part of Virginia’s Constitution, directs all Virginia Lottery profits be used solely for educational purposes.
Thus, Kilgore’s tenure in the Allen administration had ended before the education-only lottery proceeds policy took effect.
All of these outlandish ad claims continue to highlight the problem that both Kaine and Kilgore have in demonstrating records of experience on issues that matter to Virginians. Voters must truly consider how much credit or scorn is due to either man for those matters that were, in all honesty, outside of their official purview. So far the efforts of the two gentlemen to portray themselves in the best light possible while attacking the other are tantamount to the water boy claiming credit for his team’s championship victory. In the meantime, we can expect to see more of the same out of the campaigns, and as such, expect to see more of the same type of criticism from South Of The James.
– Conaway
The Best of the Low Country & Chesapeake Society: The Role of the Black Church in the 21st Century Thursday, September 22, 2005
Posted by Conaway B. Haskins III in Uncategorized.add a comment
February 2005
This article was originally written for the Low Country Movement, the online chronicle of the Low Country & Chesapeake Society. It is being republished on South Of The James as part of a weeklong retrospective. Except where noted, the opinions expressed by the author are not reflective of the viewpoints of South Of The James or Conaway Haskins.
Washington, DC - What was the Black Church’s mission during and before Emancipation? In part, it seems that is was and is to teach literate value. In other words, we need to develop ways of teaching our congregations and communities how to value literacy. Literacy seems to be a primary concern of the Gospel message. It is the gospel that creates Christianity. Christianity is a culture where the Gospel’s message is nurtured and evolves. Christianity is at the root of Western civilization. Therefore, Christianity not only leads to eternal salvation, it also intends to transform culture into an “Idea of a Christian society.” Everyone does not have to be a Christian to live in this society because Christianity itself envelopes democracy, the seedbed for Western Civilization.
The Black Church must influence and persuade its citizens to invest into the value of Western literacy. Four ways are necessary. First, African Americans must invest in literacy because it informs the total person. Secondly, literacy affords African Americans an obligation to influence local culture on multiple issues. Thirdly, literacy insists that persons invest in Western economic theory. That is to say, African Americans must invest in generational economic change akin to the pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. Fourthly, the Church must influence African Americans to further understand civic duty and engage in the political process - joining both parties, accepting both ideological perspectives, engaging in healthy debate for the hearts of the community, and pursuing deliberative racial politics.
Literacy informs the total person. This is not meant to be understood only as formal education, that is, but literacy is also a philosophical worldview. Booker Washington’s controversial line “pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps” seems to mean philosophical support for individual accomplishment that aids in overcoming victimization. John McWhorter, the newest conservative literacy intellectual and avant-garde, argues against victimization. He says, “The charge that blacks engage in peddling victimhood is not new…most importantly, all too often, this is not done with a view toward forging solutions, but to foster and nurture an unfocused brand of resentment and sense of alienation from the mainstream. This is Victimology.” The black church therefore, must forge solutions that reduce alienation and frustrations by authoritatively insisting that individual accomplishment is necessary for group survival. In addition, the black church must influence its congregants to resist victimization by refusing to submit to group-muting theories.
Literacy obligates the total person to influence local society and culture. In other words, philosophically, limited government creates a climate for local autonomy and for personal responsibility. For me, this is a doctrine of the Church. Baptist dogma holds that, except for the Bible, the local church has no sovereign authority over it. In fact, the local church’s authority is the Holy Scriptures. Additionally, as a black Baptist preacher, I am suspicious of any overbearing government because it once enslaved my race.
Speaking before the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, Frederick Douglass reminds us that there is no infallible government, “Fellow citizens, above your national tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions, whose chains’, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, today rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them. If I do forget, if I do not faithfully remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, ‘may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth (PS. 137)!’ To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous, and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world.”
Literacy also gives us permission to address and resolve challenges involving dysfunctional families. Recent figures tell us that 70% of our children are born out of wedlock and 50% of our children do not graduate from high school. Recently, a USA Today report addressing “dysfunctionalism,” stated that a closer look reveals a larger problem: “Currently, 56% of black women graduate form high school compared to 43% of black men,” according to the Urban Institute. “Twice as many black women are attending college than black men.”
Bad experiences at school seem to be “a root problem,” and experts state that the failure to teach basic literacy skills is evident. The results of those experiences move African-American males into special education classrooms that lead to further frustration. What may be a solution? I am a proponent of school choice. I believe that all male pre-school, elementary and high school education is appropriate for those who are at risk. I contend that local churches should compete for their children’s educational attentions by starting and sustaining private schools and by taking their neighborhoods back. Particularly, I am a proponent for African American congregations to find the private resources necessary because I believe that overbearing government programs inherently compromise values.
Literacy insists on persons investing in Capitalism, which is a Western value. Again, Booker Washington’s “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is the rhetoric of self-help philosophy and incremental change that occurs generationally. This is sacrificial living that functions as delayed gratification. For example, we must take seriously the debate on Social Security reform. Most of us cannot, and will not, understand social security reform and related companion issues if we continue to graduate only 56% of our women and 43% of our men from high school. They do not have the comprehension tools. Ironically, with the high numbers of undereducated and underemployed persons, we are going to need a program that forces us to invest a percentage of our earned income in retirement accounts.
The average black family accrues $5,000 dollars in saving at any given time. Should we totally depend on this or any other entitlement program since we now know that the system will not offer true social security for those of us who are under 55? If so, we are in trouble. Currently, we are engaged in a global economy and competing with emerging Asian markets. Thus, our economy must be leaner to retain its edge. Let us not forget that social security is an entitlement. Can we sustain entitlement? Most say we cannot. The black church must educate its people about our evolving economic realities.
Literacy asks those fortunate enough to be captured by it to be civically savvy in the political process. That is to say, both liberal and conservative ideologies are legitimate Western ideas, and African Americans should be actively pursuing both views in their racial politics. Professor Glenn Loury states, “Consider the stubborn social reality of race-consciousness in U.S. society…Yet consciousness of race in the society at large is a matter of subjective states of mind, involving how people understand themselves and how they perceive others. It concerns the social lives of citizens. The implicit assumption of advocates of race-blindness is that, if we would just stop putting people themselves in these terms.”
In my, however, the church must acknowledge that Racial–blindness is a merely panacea, a superficial moral ideal. We are not going to overcome race, and therefore I believe the church should teach ideological goals and values as its agenda, not simply focus on a single political party that insists it can overcome racism. We must accept that political parties will manipulate and exploit us. Therefore, we must learn to choose our manner of manipulation and exploitation and every now and then return the favor.
Finally, “The Idea of a Christianity Society” is one, which we can accept or reject. But, if we are to accept it, we must treat Christianity with a great deal more of intellectual respect than is our wont - we must treat it as being for the individual, a matter primarily of thought and not of feeling. The consequences of such an attitude are too serious to be acceptable to everybody for when the Christian faith is not only felt but also thought, it has practical results which may be inconvenient. To see Christian faith this way is not to necessarily accept it but only to understand the real issues – it is to see the difference between it and the Idea of a Neutral Society…. Thus the Black Church in the twenty-first century must first think as much as it feels.
The author is the Senior Pastor at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and a contributing columnist for the Washington Times.
The Best of the Low Country & Chesapeake Society: Obama’s Legacy Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Posted by Conaway B. Haskins III in Uncategorized.add a comment
February 2005
This article was originally written for the Low Country Movement, the online chronicle of the now-defunct Low Country & Chesapeake Society. It is being republished on South Of The James as part of a weeklong retrospective. Except where noted, the opinions expressed by the author are not reflective of the viewpoints of South Of The James or Conaway Haskins.
Washington, DC - Great senators leave legacies, and historical figures cast long shadows across the ages. Illinois Senator Barack Obama has that chance. Senator Obama recently told the Washington Times that he wants to make a “modest difference” and “do some good.” If he chooses, the new Senator could do a lot more than that. Beyond the work he will do on the three Senate committees he serves, Barack Obama can help foster a generational change in the core of black America. His reputation is unblemished. He will have a sympathetic press corps cheering for his success and he will be around for at least six years. His best opportunity to set a different direction for finding answers to what ails the black community in America is now.
Senator Obama stands on this side of the mountaintop Martin Luther King often referred to as one of the thousands of black elected officials brought into office through the moral agitation of past generations of blacks. However, the Promised Land he inhabits is one filled with dysfunction. Black families stayed together through Jim Crow, the Great Depression, political disenfranchisement and economic segregation. Today, black families are disappearing altogether.
The effects of the disintegration of the black family are seen everywhere. “Baby Mamas” are the norm, incarceration rates for young black men are at all time highs, and the drug trade overruns poor black neighborhoods.The Senator is personally acquainted with the anguish an absent father causes. He is also familiar with what it takes to overcome a rough beginning to life. Will he take part in the effort to rebuild the black community’s moral infrastructure or just become one more ideological foot soldier in the war between the Republicans and Democrats?
Bill Cosby’s comments about the failures of low-income blacks opened a door for honest dialogue about the state of black America. His remarks were right on target but they omitted three-fourths of black society. Poor blacks are not the only ones having children out of wedlock and doing poorly in school. Many of the social failings in the black community cut across class lines and can be seen occurring among well known blacks in the clergy, the judiciary, elected offices and as Mr. Cosby has demonstrated, in the private lives of celebrities.
Obama is said to be a man of integrity. If so, the Senator’s voice needs to be heard leading a chorus calling for black leaders and celebrities to lead the way in decency instead of vice. Ethical inconsistencies and outright moral failures of prominent blacks most often pass without censure from black leaders. A man in Obama’s shoes, beholden only to the truth, could break that code of silence. Anti-intellectualism is a “virus” running loose in black American culture as scholar John McWhorter puts it. Will Senator Obama challenge black parents to stop blaming schools for the poor performance of their children? Will he confront school administrators about lax discipline in their schools and teachers about having a higher standard of professionalism?
The Senator’s resume features tremendous academic accomplishments. His could be the face that makes learning cool. A few words in the right ears about classroom behavior, the value of scholarship and high standards from a man with Obama’s reputation would be worth more than the billions spent on No Child Left Behind. Obama is uniquely positioned to break the stale debate between left and right about the plight of blacks in America. Yes, the Senator’s father is African and his mother is white. But he got his political start in Chicago’s predominantly black south side. The people that first invested their trust in him deserve to see a dividend from the Senator’s actions.
The grandparents in neighborhoods like Chicago’s south side grew up admiring Duke Ellington’s genius, Nat King Cole’s suave style and Jackie Robinson’s resilience. Their grandchildren grow up idolizing Snoop Dogg’s ignorant lewdness, wearing Randy Moss’ jersey and measuring racism by the number of black football head coaches. If all they receive is worn out, political rhetoric rather than tangible remedies for a sick culture then his career will be seen as nothing more than a wasted opportunity.Barack Obama’s legacy could be that of the man who took sensationalism out of legitimate racial issues while he simultaneously helped the black community solve its internal troubles. He is a historical figure, the media has told us.
He says he wants to be measured by the standard of great senators from the past. Are you truly that kind of man, Senator, or should we look for another?
The author is a research consultant with the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise in Washington, DC.
The Best of the Low Country & Chesapeake Society: The Democrats’ False Prophecies for Black America Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Posted by Conaway B. Haskins III in Uncategorized.add a comment
By Damon Banks
December 2004
The author is a graduate student at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
South Of The James Remembers the Low Country & Chesapeake Society Monday, September 19, 2005
Posted by Conaway B. Haskins III in Uncategorized.2 comments
In March 2004, a small group of concerned African Americans in Connecticut who had held positions with various national political organizations held a series of discussion groups on issues affecting Black America. The called themselves the Low Country & Chesapeake Society, named after the two major geographic regions from which many Black Americans trace their heritage. Low Country’s ultimate goal was to develop a think tank for the conducting of research, analysis and information gathering to spark the creation of a alternative political center for Black America. The group’s founders asserted their abandonment of two-party political system and the Civil Rights establishment with a look toward exciting the energy and passion required to create a new independent Black movement.
Using their contacts in national media and political circles, Low Country began to participate in various events in Connecticut, Boston, Washington D.C. and Atlanta ahead of the November 2004 presidential election and also provided commentary and analysis to a number of regional and national media outlets. Following the November election, the group convened a February 2005 conference in the Washington, DC suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland drawing participants from throughout the US. The overriding goal was to develop a comprehensive agenda for Black America that supported the continued growth and prosperity of the black upper and middle classes, while elevating the working and low-income strata to a better future.
Admittedly, the entire enterprise was experimental, and the membership was fully cognizant that no roadmaps or models existed for such an effort. As months went by, feedback highlighted the need for a defined organizational model of some form, and the leaders explored various options. In time, circumstances conspired that impaired the ability of this nascent movement to transform itself into a full-blown organization, and in the summer of 2005, Low Country effectively went on indefinite hiatus.
Low Country began with a grand notion, possibly too grand, given the scale and scope of the issues it hoped to address. Despite this, several members of the group felt that the intellectual capital generated was too valuable to be lost, and that some attempt should be made to capture the energy and ideas of the group. Having come to the Low Country effort after the November 2004 elections and participated in the February meeting, I saw firsthand the power that ideas can have in capturing the imagination of the grassroots of Black America, particularly those local leaders who often go unrecognized for their work and dedication but remain dogged in pursuit of their ultimate goals.
One of the ideas that came from the membership before the organization’s apparent demise, was a blog whereby relevant news articles, opinion columns, member commentary and research reports could be posted and with participation being open and free to all. In honor of the spirit of the Low Country membership, for the next week, South Of The James will be featuring a number of the key articles produced by those associated with Low Country. I invite all who are interested regardless of race, ideology and party to get a taste of what we’ll call, The Best of the Low Country & Chesapeake Society.
– Conaway Haskins
Long Way To Richmond: Brother Can You Spare a Dime? Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Posted by Conaway B. Haskins III in Uncategorized.4 comments
Now that I’ve been getting the weekly email missives from the Potts campaign like everyone else who signed up for them, I figure that its time to put in my two cents worth. For most of South Of The James’ short existence, the messages have mostly contained clips of news coverage about Potts’ continued exclusion from the Kaine-Kilgore debates. However, today’s message actually provided some tidbits of real information.
The week ahead is one to look forward to. We will keep you posted as we go on television and online with our new, provocative ads which may land you out of your chair laughing. These ads are good. They are creative. They are probably the best ever produced by Bill Hillsman, who is the best in the business. However, we need your help to get the ads on the air. DONATE TODAY so we can ensure that these unprecedented ads reach all Virginians.
Hillsman, it seems, is a top-notch Midwestern political ad guy who did work for Nader, Wellstone, and Ventura. He’s known for being creative and going against the grain - a claim that the Potts campaign makes about its candidate. That’s the good part. The bad part is that the campaign apparently lacks the funds to run the ads in Virginia. Now, I know that this is par for the course for cash-strapped candidates, but with the election less than 2 months away, Pottsie is polling way under the 15% needed to get into the next debates.
Yesterday, state GOP leader Kate Obenshain Griffin sent out a message yesterday with the following message:
The latest poll reveals a strong 7 point advantage for Kilgore, 51 percent to 44 percent amongst likely voters. Jerry Kilgore’s positive vision for Honest Reform continues to resonate with Virginians…Regionally, the poll indicates a double digit advantage for Jerry in the Shenandoah Valley, Southside and Southwest Virginia regions. In Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and Central Virginia, the candidates are virtually tied.
Kilgore’s Fairfax debate performance may have been shaky, but now he can honestly claim an “I told you sold” with respect to the seriousness of the Potts candidacy. Potts cannot win, and predictions of the coming GOP civil war aside, his quixotic crusade is obviously not doing the damage to Kilgore that it needed to for Potts to have a real shot at the Executive Mansion. For better or worse, with apologies to the newly-arrived Mr. Hillsman, this is Virginia, not Minnesota.
Aside from the valuable civics lesson that Virginians are being taught, I have to ask the Potts folks, “What’s the return on investment for a prospective donor?” When the Kaine-Potts “debate” was announced a few weeks ago, I offered up my take on a possible scenario on Jim Bacon’s blog http://baconsrebellion.blogspot.com/2005/08/whats-political-calculus.html#comments.
Since Potts isn’t running for reelection in 2007 and can’t draw big donors from disgruntled GOP moderates other than Til Hazel’s crew, it wouldn’t shock me if he: “loses” the “debate” to Tim Kaine, shortly thereafter makes a “statesmanship” gesture by endorsing Kaine as the “right man to lead Virginia,” and encourages other GOP centrists to put their votes and dollars behind Kaine. Then, Kaine will proclaim that he’s got the “right ideas and Virginia values” to win independents and moderate Republicans and defeat Kilgore’s “extremism.” That’s my humble conjecture.
Could it be time for the Potts folks to make my halfway-in-jest comments a reality?
– Conaway
Saluting Southside Communities Who Welcome Katrina Survivors Friday, September 9, 2005
Posted by Conaway B. Haskins III in Uncategorized.add a comment
I just want to take a moment to congratulate the residents of Blackstone, Farmville and other Southside Virginia communities for stepping up to the plate to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina. As a native Southsider, I’m incredibly proud of y’all! I know that many people down in the southern Piedmont have been personally touched by the tragedy. My mother and sister spent the earlier part of this week trying to track down a family friend who moved back to the Gulf Coast a few years ago - fortunately he and his family made it through the storm and floods virtually unscathed. So, it comes as no surprise that the people of Southside are ready and willing to step up to the plate at take folks in.
This week, Richmond media organizations have run a number of articles this week that really demonstrate how the spirit of Southside has answered the calls of charity and public service. Locals often refer to their hometowns as “God’s Country,” and though it may not be as enticing as say, Houston (sorry, Mrs. Bush), I’m sure that the folks from New Orleans will appreciate the hands of fellowship and hospitality that I’m sure will be extended to them. For the people in Southside, in addition to opening your hearts, homes, and wallets, this is a great opportunity to showcase your hometowns to fellow Americans who need an escape from the madness of their wrecked lives.
As has been pointed out, the rural nature of Southside may be problematic for some folks being sheltered without transportation, but I would hope that the schools, churches, chartered bus companies and private citizens could step up and help the evacuees to get a taste of life in the region. In Blackstone, they can enjoy the calmness of Seay Park, and eat Mediterranean-American fare at Mitchell’s or great Chinese at The Pearl. Over in Kenbridge, there’s great Southern food at Captain’s Choice, and in Victoria, be sure to turn them onto the famous Timmy’s Hot Dogs. Don’t forget to take them over to Farmville for a bite at Charley’s Waterfront Cafe (right next to shallow Appomattox), and if they want seafood, head to the other side of town to Captain Seas. And, though I cannot attest to it, but my daddy tells me that the owners of Kahill’s in South Hill have opened up a nice new restaurant there.
Now that high school football season is in gear, why not take some of the Gulf Coasters to see Southside’s own version of Friday Night Lights, as VHSL Hall-of-Famer Chippie Chappell leads his small-school powerhouse Central-Lunenburg team against fellow Division 1&2 teams and against bigger schools of Divisions 3&4 like rival Nottoway. While, they may not compared to the beloved New Orleans Saints, Lawrenceville’s St. Paul’s College Tigers continue their inspirational return to full-fledged NCAA Division II football competition, and the Division III squad at Hampden-Sydney exemplifies the true spirit of collegiate sports (the festive game-time atmosphere doesn’t hurt, either).
While they may be facing difficult financial times ahead of them, I am certain that some of the evacuees would enjoy the window-shopping or seeing the latest visual art exhibits in Farmville. With the devastation of the flood waters that ripped through Mississippi and Louisiana, many people never want to see water again. But, for those are brave enough to face it, the region has plenty of lakes, rivers, and streams that run quietly through it. Given that the evacuees have been shifted from place to place, they would probably appreciate the region’s other opportunities for recreation.
At any rate, what Southside will provide the evacuees with is a peaceful, quiet environment full of down-home people. Having faced a steady diet of economic distress, population decline, and overall hard times since the late 1980’s, Southside is well acquainted with poverty and folks in need of help. Despite the concerns of state and local officials about how best to deal with the impoverished, the people who do not intend to return home to Mississippi, Louisiana or Alabama will bring with them their vibrant and unique slices of American culture. Those who stay in Southside potentially represent a much-needed source of diversified human and social capital. In recent years, the counties and town of Southside have been absorbing a growing number of Mexican immigrants, and they surely have the capacity to take in their fellow Southerners.
Governor Warner has made economic development in the region a priority, and so far he has had some success at attracting new businesses and industry to certain parts of the area. From now on, he can make a compelling case to any new businesses seeking relocation or new investment opportunities that the response of Southsiders to the Katrina crisis demonstrates just how hardworking and community-minded the people there can be. At any rate, the good folks of my home region can rest assured that, in the end, God will assuredly reward them in some manner for what they are doing. For what it’s worth, if there is anything that I can do to assist, as my mama always says, “If you need me, call me!”
– Conaway Haskins
One Month Down…. Thursday, September 8, 2005
Posted by Conaway B. Haskins III in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Today marks the end of the first month of existence for this blog, and what a month it has been! I started this site with the intention of highlighting some of the more interesting and intriguing facets of life in the Southern tier of Metro Richmond, the Tri-Cities and Southside. In particular, I wanted to cover the culture, politics, economy, and lifestyles of the area. I also left open the door to offering commentaries and analysis on issues related to Virginia, the U.S., and even the global scene.
Being that this blog was started smack in the middle of the statewide election season, and given my interest in how the Commonwealth is governed and governs itself, much of the focus has been geared toward politics and policy. I must admit to being a political junkie naturally drawn to the blood sport of campaigns, elections, legislation, and administration in Virginia. To make matters worse, I’ve been lucky enough to get great feedback from the blogosphere about my original posts, as well as, the comments that I have left on other sites. And, I was lucky enough to have some of my work picked up by a leading political e-magazine. So, I want to forewarn readers that you can expect a fair amount of this kind of content on the site in the future. Still, in the grand scheme of things, I will continue to cover issues beyond politics in both the near and distant futures.
As the London bombings illustrated this summer, and the Hurricane Katrina disaster is demonstrating as we speak, citizens’ chronicles of real-time events and their insights into the world around them are immensely beneficial and powerful. My editorial philosophy is to produce solid written copy that can hold its own with “mainstream” traditional journalism but mix-in the unique flavor of Internet-based “new” media formats. This desire stems from my experiences as a college newspaper writer & editor, public affairs TV program researcher, academic journal editor, think tank researcher, and freelance writer for a daily Internet sports network and wire service . Inevitably, I will flop on occasion and even seem self-important at times, but I hope to flop as articulately as possible!
If you look at the initial posting that got things started last month, you’ll notice that I used the word “we” a lot. Even though I am the original author of the material posted to date, there are a good number of people who have helped me out over the last month or so. Be it tips on issues of potential interest to readers, proofreading my work, giving feedback on things that I screwed up, or even serving as sources, I have had a good deal of assistance in this endeavor. As such, I want to thank the folks who’ve helped me out. You know who you are.
To that end, I would like to encourage more readers to post comments to the blog and send me feedback via email at southofthejames@gmail.com. Also, if there are any other folks out there with a messages that need to be heard on issues affecting the areas that I’m covering, please contact me. I’d love to publish your stuff, with direct attribution of anonymity if you prefer. I know that you’re out there.
Okay, so now that I’ve taken this little bit of time to reflect, it’s time to get back to work on providing news and views from a different perspective - South Of The James.
– Conaway Haskins
