There is a black president in the White House; a black in the D.C. mayoral suite; and a black leading the local legislature. In other words, major levers of political power are in the hands of African Americans. So, why the blues?
That’s the question many whites posed to me as they pondered the racial divide reflected in Tuesday’s election results: “I can’t understand it. [Incumbent Mayor Adrian M.] Fenty has done a good job — schools are better in all neighborhoods; low crime. The city’s improved,” said one resident.
It’s not surprising she and others who voted overwhelmingly for Fenty are baffled by the complaints coming from African Americans, including Vincent C. Gray, who have insisted blacks have been neglected. The two groups often have different expectations of the government and of their politicians.
The majority of whites are results oriented. Many African Americans have depended on government not just for services but also as their primary vehicle to affluence and influence. Even as the country has become more integrated, providing enormous private sector opportunities, they have continued to consider the government the perpetual feeding trough.
Speaking at the Washington Court Hotel Wednesday, Gray, who won the Democratic mayoral primary, said he’d appoint a commission to recommend “ways to bring parity.” Translation: He intends to ensure African Americans get a bigger piece of the action.
That, said one white resident, is “Marion Barry light.”
Gray and his black supporters have blasted Fenty for appointing too many whites to those $100,000 a year management jobs. Their anger over those recreation contracts wasn’t just about alleged corruption but also that money wasn’t passed to enough black small-business owners. They want to get rid of Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee because she’s promised to fire ineffective teachers, many of whom are African American; that jeopardizes the black-middle class.
The media have been focused on whites who aren’t ready for a post-racial America. A bunch of blacks also want to march in place — maybe even sprint back to a time when race was the primary sieve through which decisions were sifted. This week’s election and subsequent commentary from several blacks in the District underscore that reality.
A decade ago, Anthony A. Williams was drafted for mayor by a broad coalition of blacks and whites. Those residents chose a new leadership model that de-emphasized race, focusing more on merit and results. But that alliance weakened as blacks became increasingly concerned about the shift in the city’s demographics, the consequences of a meritocracy and the potential loss of their economic and political power. Today, some African Americans have morphed into a black version of George Wallace, impeding progress.
Gray, the presumptive mayor-elect, has promised to unite the city. That’s a commitment he can’t keep without altering his own race-based philosophy. Certainly, he will have to explain to whites, like those I spoke with, why racial preference has more weight than merit in the operations of a government that should be for all the people — regardless of color.
Jonetta Rose Barras can be reached at [email protected]
Jonetta Rose Barras’s column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
