Would a new black director have anything to do with recent controversies?
By Daniel R. Brown
Of the St. Louis American
“I feel that there is some level on which people wonder if it is all happening because there is an African American in leadership,” said Brenda Jones, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri (ACLU-EM).
“People are wondering if it is a reflection on my leadership.”
The “happenings” in question are the sudden resignation of Denise Lieberman, the group’s legal director for the last eight years, the departure of two of the group’s prominent volunteers, Katherine Goldwasser and Marilyn Teitelbaum, and a controversial board election.
On Sunday, members of the organization successfully petitioned to hold a special election in which Ray Hartmann, founder and former publisher of the Riverfront Times, was elected as the group’s new board president. Hartmann’s election is unorthodox in that it breaks with the group’s long-standing practice that would have given his predecessor, Adam Zaretsky, two more years as president.
“Ray and I have already met. We had some very frank discussions about where we have been, but we have concentrated more on where we want to go,” Jones said.
“Ray is someone who I think has had a fine history of support for racial justice issues.”
Live on KMOX radio on Wednesday, Hartmann – whose name has been much in the news regarding the special election – was careful to name-check Jones as the leader of ACLU-EM and refer to her as a “very fine executive director.”
“We are looking forward to making the ACLU more diverse,” Hartmann told the American.
“If I may have a free commercial, I realize the American has a substantial audience, and we are very definitely interested in increasing our membership and presence in the African-American community.”
During its 85-year history, the ACLU-EM has had four executive directors. Jones, who took the reins of the organization in October 2004, is the only African American to hold the post.
“The ACLU is a very complex organization. There is a challenge of really grappling with issues of constitutional law, questions of ACLU policy, and financial structures,” Jones said.
“Also, because it is a very old organization, it is an organization that is set in its ways, and it has really been a challenge navigating some of the traditions of the organization.”
Jones has had to struggle with issues of race.
“Like any organization that has been around for many, many years, there is an organizational culture that is mainly white. That is reflected in membership, it is reflected in committee work, it is reflected in who gives,” Jones said.
“Any time an African American comes into an all-white situation, there is a level of cultural adjustments that have to be made. Those adjustments not only have to be made by the African American, but also by the organization.”
Scott Emanuel, the project coordinator at ACLU-EM for the last two years, said that despite those challenges Jones has successfully transitioned the organization toward a productive future.
“Transitions, by design, can be difficult, so you know that going in. This transition has been smooth in that Brenda knows a lot about staff development and things that I think really help us to check in with each other,” Emanuel said.
“Anyone who can help you focus on goals and help you lay out realistic steps to get there is always welcome. It’s been nice to have Brenda, because she understands that we have to be responsive to all issues, but we also have to be focused.”
Redditt Hudson, racial justice associate for the ACLU-EM, said Jones “has a good sense of how to go about making a plan, developing a strategy, implementing it, and staying focused on it until those goals are achieved.”
