Good News from Euclid, Good News for Euclid
The outcome of the mayoral election in Euclid — where incumbent Mayor Bill Cervenik beat challenger Ed Gudenas by a fairly wide margin — bodes well for the citizens of that community ... and for everyone who’d like to see racial animus in our society come to an end. The vote count was good news from Euclid, good news for Euclid, and indeed good news for the entire region.
Euclid, you may recall, is the city that recently lost a voting rights case brought by the federal government, which had charged that the method of electing city councilpersons was unfair to Black residents. Gudenas, as president of City Council, represented a faction in Euclid that refused to settle lawsuit out of court — a move that cost city residents hundreds of thousands ill-spent of dollars.
In spite of some fairly scathing comments from the judge in that case, the reactionary forces — led by Gudenas — steadfastly maintained there was no intent to keep city government as White as possible. These same people also maintained they were not racially motivated when they attempted to block a Black congregation from building a church and housing for members in the city. Racists always bristle when confronted with their racism. Indeed, George Wallace bristled at being called a racist even as he stood in the doorway of Old Miss to prevent James Meredith from enrolling. But then, similar to the just-defeated Euclid faction, he was defending a dying way of life.
No matter how loudly the minority of backward-looking folks in Euclid proclaim to not be racists, some in their midst are saying otherwise. What they haven’t realized is there are snitches among their numbers. A few of the people that are in the email and phone call loops are disgusted by the racist rants they constantly hear, but go along silently just to keep tabs on the bigots. Some of the things I’m told by these informants would disgust the average reader, so I won’t dignify the comments by repeating them. Suffice to say they go beyond the Pale.
But, as the vote indicated, their days are numbered ... and that’s a good thing. Euclid serves as a microcosm for Cuyahoga County — and indeed the entire region. Yes, there are still some racists out there in the area, but their days are also numbered. The good people of Euclid, both White and Black (and there are at least 5453 of them in that city, as tallied by the Board of Elections) took a stand and repudiated bigotry — and we all should be proud and thankful. I actually hope that Gudenas runs for mayor again as soon as possible, so when he again loses — but by even a larger margin — that loss will provide proof-positive that things are changing for the better race-wise.
A region faced with the economic challenges of Northeast Ohio ... with stiff competition from other areas of the country that are offering new businesses every sort of incentive one can imagine, simply can’t afford to hobble itself with any kind of outdated “isms.” Actually, if one just stops and thinks about it, hating someone based on something as trivial as the color of their skin is ridiculously, incredibly, asininely stupid.
The trouncing Gudenas took on Nov. 6 won’t cause recalcitrant racists to mend their ways ... that would be expecting a bit too much. But the vote did prove they are indeed a dying breed. And I for one say good riddance — the sooner they die off the sooner the sane people of the region can move forward in an egalitarian, progressive manner.
Speaking of Churches...
The federal government recently launched an investigation into the non-profit status of some televangelists and megachurches. Stories are beginning to flood the media in regards to lifestyles so lavish they border on the profligate — and some, supposedly, cross that line by a long way. I recall a Country & Western ditty of a few decades ago that asked if Jesus would wear a Rolex while giving a Sunday sermon. Now the questions being asked is if He would drive a half-million dollar Bentley, live in a $5 million mansion, and jet around the country in a tricked-out 747?
Some will certainly say this move by the feds is tantamount to “player hatin’” and further say “Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” In the underworld of hustling there is saying: “Some use the Bible to pray out of, and some use it to play out of.” There’s even a name for such religious hustlers, they’re called “mitt men.”
Now far be it for me — or anyone else for that matter — to tell others how they should pray, who they should pray to, and how well they compensate their spiritual leaders. It’s none of my business if a person stuffs their money in a collection envelope ... or uses it for toilet paper for that matter. If they like it, then I should love it, period.
But it is interesting to note that some White Christian conservatives have been filthy rich for close to half a century and no one seemed to notice or mind ... but now that some Black ministers have learned how to parlay TV into untold riches, and are rivaling the old White dudes in wealth ... all of a sudden it’s a problem the feds have to look into. Most notably is the case of Dr. Creflo Dollar of Atlanta, the pastor of the World Changers Church International, which the feds claim took in $69 million in 2006. Now that he is almost in the league of the really big White preachers all of a sudden the feds are interested.
Let’s think this through: What if a Black dude owned the mercenary army “Blackwater,” would it have been shut down the first time an innocent Iraqi civilian was murdered? Or, what if a brother was the head the company that made B-1 bombers and ripped the Air Force off by charging them $798.45 for each toilet seat? The dude would be doing life in Leavenworth, and Pat Robinson definitely would not be holding an Old Time Tent Revival to get his ass out. It seems that some folks in America have the right to steal, and others have the right to remain silent as they are being read their Miranda rights.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com
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