A “community political forum” being organized for this Saturday, Oct. 24 at Mount Zion M.B. Church (1444 S. Compton Ave.) brings back a couple of unpleasant memories, based on some of the hosts and invited guests.
The organizers are the St. Louis City NAACP, the Clergy Coalition of Metropolitan St. Louis and the Black Leadership Roundtable, with the host pastor being the Rev. Sammie Jones, president of the roundtable. Mayor Francis G. Slay is included with something of an all-star cast of African-American elected and appointed officials, including U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, Comptroller Darlene Green, Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, state Sen. Robin Wright Jones and Police Chief Daniel Isom.
Organizers promise, “Attendees will have an opportunity to interact with opinion leaders and power brokers offering insight about the importance of community involvement and what it takes to see real substantial change in the community.”
We understand that Slay is the sitting mayor and there to be dealt with for the foreseeable future. We also notice this is a list of “invited” rather than “confirmed” guests, so the forum – which was publicized belatedly – may or may not be graced with all of this star power.
However, we are reminded how Francis Slay dodged the black community when he was running for reelection. Among a number of insults, perhaps the rudest was his failure to accept an opportunity to debate his African-American opponents before the Mound City Bar Association, the oldest black legal affiliate west of the Mississippi. When there was a possibility a sharp black mind might ask Slay a question he didn’t want to answer – when it counted, when his job was on the line – he spurned our community.
Now that Slay has been reelected, we simply don’t put much faith in any offer to join a group that includes this mayor “in exploring opportunities to reinvest, rebuild and renew our community” – especially when the offer comes from Sammie Jones, who endorsed this mayor despite his many failures to engage fairly and transparently with this community.
When we see the Rev. E.G. Shields Sr., president of the Clergy Coalition, on the list of invited panelists, we are reminded of another insult Slay dealt to this community – one that remains unexplained.
Shields was among a group of black clergy that met with Slay and his then campaign manager (now chief of staff) Jeff Rainford on April Fool’s Day. They met at a soul food restaurant, rather than in any official setting. In the video captured by Terry Artis of River City Examiner and Brother Anthony Shahid, Rainford is clearly carrying some things. Rainford also clearly is not enjoying being captured on video at this covert meeting.
So far as we are aware, no one has ever explained the purpose or outcome of this secret meeting between Slay, Rainford and a number of black clergy during the heat of a reelection campaign.
Though we place little faith in meetings of the sort being organized for this Saturday, we do encourage those who seize this “opportunity to interact with opinion leaders and power brokers” to ask Slay, if he shows up, why he wouldn’t debate his black opponents in a forum organized by his African-American colleagues in the legal profession. And we suggest you ask Slay and Shields why they met at a soul food joint on April Fools Day, and who got what out of that secret meeting.
We are not being merely adversarial, but we want to see some movement toward real rather than staged reform. The style and substance of politics and governance in St. Louis are a serious impediment to turning around the fortunes of the city and by extension the entire region.
(For additional information about the forum, contact Rev. Jones at 776-3888.)
Important update: the Political Forum on Saturday October 24, 2009 has been canceled due to the Funeral of Police Officer Moore.