Shaking Hands with the Devil

George Forbes and Dan Gilbert recently shook hands over an agreement that has the NAACP dropping its long-standing opposition to casinos in Ohio in return for a promise from Gilbert that an unspecified number of minorities would be hired at the new gambling emporiums, and, additionally, that black builders would be contracted to assist in the construction phase. The operative word in this potential cluster-fuck, of course, is unspecified.

One has to wonder if Forbes was aware of the mailer Issue 3 backers sent out promising jobs to Ohioans if the Issue carries — all seven of the images on the material were of white people.

But, let’s back up a bit and try to understand the significance of this handshake. To do so we need to go back into history and understand how the custom first came into being. Legend has it that the handshake evolved as a means of self-protection during the era when knight-errants roamed the countryside of England in search of adventure. Supposedly, when two of them met on an isolated road they clasped each other’s right hand firmly and held it while talking, one to prevent the other from drawing his sword and attacking. Hey, it might be bullshit (despite those scurrilous rumors regarding my age, I wasn’t there to personally witness it), but it sounds good to me, and it’s more than relevant for later on in this piece.

Something that absolutely amazes me is how white folks still think that one black person — be they a member of Congress, a member of the Clergy, or a member of the bullshitting class like yours truly— can “deliver the black vote,” as if the black demographic votes in a monolithic, lockstep, fashion. We don’t … but some whites love to believe that we do — based on what they’ve been told by people who earn some income peddling something they really don’t have: Influence.

The notion that a ward boss or someone else controls the vote within a demographic is, however, rooted in fact: Years ago, when immigrants came over from the Old Country they were met by fellow countrymen who wanted and needed their votes. Since most immigrants could not read English, they naturally went to someone who could, and asked them who to vote for. But that went out with high-buttoned shoes … and a much tightened immigration policy.

Nonetheless, with some complicated and arcane ballot issues, I still get asked occasionally (and I image other political wonks do too) by a relative or friend as to my opinion on the particular issue, or, in some cases they just cut to the chase and ask me which way to vote.

But, Issue 3, casino gambling, is hardly arcane. By and large people have their minds already made up how they’re going to vote, and in the black community we’ve been touted enough times with jobs that never materialize that few minds are going to be changed this time around.

So, on a handshake whereby Forbes is pledging to deliver an unspecified number of votes, for the equally unspecified number of jobs Gilbert is pledging to give, who is stabbing who? Or, put more succinctly, in this deal — which one of them is the Devil?

Planned Abandonment?

The organization PolicyBridge, a black think tank formed in 2005, recently released a report “Rebuilding Blocks” which states, in essence, that some Cleveland neighborhoods should be saved, while others should be allowed to die. While that summation might sound callous, that’s exactly what is being proposed, and, while I agree in principle with the notion, the Devil (there he is again), as they say, is always in the details.

It’s going to literally be years before new home construction returns to most Cleveland neighborhoods; and, since I’m involved with new home development in my Hough neighborhood, I’m not at all thrilled with this fact. Nonetheless, it is a reality that I have to learn to live with, and others need to learn to live with it as well.

The question then becomes, in part, what’s to be done with the land in the neighborhoods that is to be abandoned? Europeans have, for years now, been saying that, when it comes to cities, bigger is now better. In the U.S. the idea of bigger and bigger cities is promulgated by the federal government, which sends more money to the larger cities, thus encouraging still further growth.

Closer to home, Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams has got it right: He is attempting to remake his city into a smaller, more livable place. We need to closely watch what this visionary is doing and attempt to replicate it. Think green, as in urban farming and more greenspaces.

However, the problem with planned abandonment (allowing certain areas, where there are few homes left, to die off and the area thus farmed) can be that working class and poor people might get cheated out of their property. Part of the reason for abandoning a targeted area is to drive down the prices of the remaining homes so they can be bought on the cheap.

People who have been living in their homes for decades, and have paid them off, are sometimes offered a fraction of what it would take for them to make themselves whole in another home in another part of the community. We simply cannot allow anyone to cheat people out of their homes in the name of progress. If some entity wants these homes, then replacement homes should be made available without the families incurring another mortgage — that’s only fair.

The other issue is, which neighborhoods are worthy of being saved? Who is making the decisions, and based on what measures? A cursory glance at the PolicyBridge report does set some guidelines, but guidelines can be tricky. I never hear of my community of Hough (where more quarter-million dollar homes have been built over the last 15 years than any other community in Cleveland) mentioned as one worthy of being saved. Why is that? By the way, I just pulled a writer’s trick on you, dear reader. “Quarter-million dollar homes” sounds much more expensive than $250,000 homes, now doesn’t it? Nonetheless, the new homes are no trick, come see for yourself; I’ll even give guided tours.

The fear, of course, is that politics will rear its ugly head when decisions are being made in regards to where the available funding goes, and that some communities will be included that perhaps shouldn’t be, while others that should be included will be left out. Like it or not, redevelopment can be a brutal “zero sum” game …for some communities to “win” others will have to “lose.” Not for nothing is it called “Poli-tricks.”

Having a seat at the decision-making table is critical, and, in too many instances in the past representatives of poorer or largely minority communities have only been brought into the conversation after the pie is cut up and the deal is already done. While some might take umbrage with my estimation and characterization of this historical lack of inclusiveness, many examples abound for those willing to face facts. I’m simply attempting to insure fairness and inclusion for all as we move forward.

Is Beauty Only Skin Deep?

The recent dustup at historically black Hampton University in regards to a white student, Nicole Churchill, being named Homecoming Queen is healthy and a sign that indeed “times, they are a’changin’.” While not all of the Hampton students were onboard with the selection of a white student to wear the crown, enough of them realized that if we blacks want to protest discrimination at majority white institutions, then black institutions have an obligation to lead by example and be the first to reject prejudice and exclusion based on race. Hooray for them.

Nonetheless, it was interesting (and kind of amusing) to watch one seemingly bright black student mimic the worst of white behavior by attempting to reframe his prejudice into a more palatable form. He said that he really didn’t mind the fact that Churchill was white, it was just that she didn’t attend the main campus, so she really wasn’t all that well- known … and that was his only objection to her winning. I wanted to yell at the dude, “Nice try, Ace!” but please, don’t come up with specious bullshit, we black folks have been hearing that kind of nonsense all of our lives from those who wish to block our progress.

Of course there are some Hampton haters (some would call them realists) out there who feel that intra-race prejudice — based on skin coloration — is so prevalent at Hampton, as well as other Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), that the incident is ironic. One darker-skinned student said, “Many people on this elitist, snobby campus are so color struck, I’m not amazed that we didn’t do this [elect a white Homecoming Queen] years before. It’s a goddamn joke.”

The larger question, however, needs to be: “Should black colleges and universities (and white ones, for that matter) still be rewarding crowns for what is essentially a combination of genetics and an accident of birth?” Instead of rewarding beauty, why not reward only on brains, compassion and fortitude. But, let’s face facts, fat chance of that in our world of shallow values.

From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier's From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.frombehindthewall.com.