In a letter that can be read at length in this week’s edition of the American (see “Letters,” page A4), Mayor Francis G. Slay challenges the EYE to help his administration to “continue to build a bridge to close the racial divide that unfortunately exists within this region.” Slay said he has “read the recent installments of the EYE with great consternation” and that “personal attacks on my administration are inaccurate and misleading.” The mayor claims that for “the past month or so, the Political EYE has given a gross and erroneous impression that tokenism and even racism prevails in the hiring and retention of our cabinet and staff, and that I am personally oblivious and insensitive to minorities in City government.”
Tokenism, racism: These are the mayor’s words, not words that have been attached to him in the EYE.
As a refresher on the dynamics of political commentary, the mayor needs to understand that in order to personally attack someone, the EYE must first care enough about that person to launch a personal attack. And if the mayor had been reading the EYE for more than the “past month or so,” he would have been aware that the EYE reserves and exercises the right to robustly criticize anyone and everyone, regardless of the color of their skin or their political affiliation. The EYE calls it as the EYE sees it. Nothing personal.
The weakness of Slay’s letter is that it’s all assertion, no argument. He claims this column is “misleading and inaccurate” regarding his administration, but does not cite a single inaccuracy or misleading comment he has read in the EYE.
As for the statement that the Slay “administration, unlike any other, has stepped up to the plate to ensure that parity in the decision-making process of local government is now a reality” – that’s a rosy reality many of the mayor’s staff, black and white, past and present, would not recognize. The EYE hears from the inside that Slay and his administration operate like jackbooted stormtroopers when an underling disagrees with them. Moreover, Slay’s record of hiring African Americans who are highly skilled and educated is not any more spectacular than the previous administrations of Mayors Vincent Schoemehl, Freeman Bosley Jr. and Clarence Harmon.
Let’s get back to the point that got this tussle started. What the EYE has been pointing out for the “past month or so” is the disparate level of turnover of African Americans in his administration compared to the turnover of whites, and the disparity in scrutiny and criticism directed at Fire Chief Sherman George compared to the free pass given to Police Chief Joe Mokwa despite the police department’s role in various scandals. To point out these facts is not necessarily to accuse Slay and his administration of racism or tokenism, though the EYE forgives the mayor for jumping to that conclusion – it could well follow from the facts.
There are other possible explanations for a high turnover in black staff than tokenism or outright racism. If white folks have a longer shelf life in your administration, they must be more comfortable there. Perhaps they are being made to feel more comfortable there, and blacks less so. This absolutely must be the case with Chief “Do No Wrong” Mokwa vs. Chief “Investigate Him Now” George.
The EYE’s advice to the mayor is to ease up on the rhetoric and the hiring of public relations assistance, and take a deep look in the mirror and around the office. If you want black voters and the Black Press to place greater trust in you and your administration, then you had better start earning that trust. You should and will be measured by what you do, not by what you say.