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Episode #2002
Armed to Vote pt. 2
Lewis: Mitchell Lewis, Host
Adams: Stella Adams, Chair of the African American Caucus of the North Carolina Democratic Party
Spalding: Asa Spalding, Senior Fellow with the John Locke Foundation
Sutton: Keith Sutton, President and CEO of the Triangle Urban League
Lewis: Last week we heard from African American community leaders on issues to focus on in preparing to vote in the upcoming election. We continue the discussion tonight with representatives from the community and North Carolina's Democratic and Republican Parties, next on Black Issues Forum.
Voiceover: Funding for this program was made possible in part by UNC-TV members.
[THEME MUSIC]
Lewis: Good evening and welcome to Black Issues Forum. I'm Mitchell Lewis. Last week we welcomed former representative and Speaker of the North Carolina House, Dan Blue; State NAACP President Skip Alston, and the head of the Raleigh Bureau for the Ashville Citizen Times, Kara Bolton, in a discussion about the Black vote, issues and party lines to consider in this upcoming election. Tonight we continue that discussion with a new panel. But first, let's share highlights from last week's program:
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M: 60-there was a serious dialog and there was a very serious effort on the part of the Republicans to get Black votes. But by '68, with the adoption of the Southern Strategy by the Republican Party, it sort of broke off that discussion. And as a consequence, the issues that mostly concern the Black community are the issues in which the Black community was directly-was more involved and concerned about. They were issues that were being addressed by the Democratic Party: the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act and various other-the Fair Housing Act and various other things. And that dialog has continued and there hasn't really been a serious effort on the national level by Republicans to address many of these issues that are sort of the core of Black participation in the political process.
M: Who are we serving on these boards and commissions that the governor appoints that the state House and the Senate appoints? Those people that sit on those commissions make a lot of important decisions that we don't read about in our everyday news, but it affects us in our everyday life.
Bolton: I would like to see grassroots African Americans come together and devise what their agenda is. I'd like to see coalitions form around different issues. I think that it is time. I'm tired of African Americans sort of waiting for parties to do right by them and I think we need to force their hand.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Lewis: Those were comments from guests on last week's show. Tonight we welcome to the program Stella Adams, Chair of the African American Caucus of the North Carolina Democratic Party. She is a member of the Kerry/Edwards Advisory Council for North Carolina and African American Counsel for the Democratic National Committee. We also have Keith Sutton, President and CEO of the Triangle Urban League. And Dr. Asa Spalding, a Durham management consultant, Senior Fellow with the John Locke Foundation and former Durham County GOP chairman. Dr. Spalding is currently co-chair of the Southern Coalition of Black Republican Advocates, SCBRA, a consortium of 14 southern states. And to all of you, welcome to Black Issues Forum.
Group: Thank you.
Lewis: Dr. Spalding, I believe I'll start off with you. Now, at one time, in the late 1800s, the Republican Party was actually the party of choice for African Americans. What has caused that to change now?
Spalding: I may not be as old as I look, Mitch, but seriously, I think a lot of things have taken place. One of the things that you might think about is the New Deal under Franklin Roosevelt. And although the interests of blacks switched back to the Republican Party when Dwight Eisenhower-I think about 35% of the blacks supported Eisenhower in his bid for election, if not the first, because I'm not sure about that, but his second election. The Civil Rights Movement, which included the Civil Rights Act of '64, and the Voting Rights Act of '65-Democrats were given much of the credit for the success of those particular acts, even though it was the white Republicans of the South who carried the day and caused these two acts to pass. Even though it was led by then president Lyndon Johnson, a well-connected Democrat from Texas. So I think as you watch the moves and sway throughout this country, this just happened to be that way. As I said, in the '50s, Eisenhower was quite successful in currying favor with a large percentage of blacks. But unfortunately, as far the Republicans are concerned, that has changed.
Lewis: Ms. Adams, why do you see that the Democratic Party seems to be the party of choice for African Americans?
Adams: In a lot of ways it is the party of the choice for African Americans, because right now, it is the only choice that we have. Since the Civil Rights of the '60s, the Democratic Party has been pushing the agenda that has been important to African Americans. They push for equal rights, for opportunity, for educational opportunity, for healthcare, for working people and working-class issues. It has been the party that has addressed our concerns and has spoken to us. And at the same time, the Republican Party, through starting with Barry Goldwater, and continuing on to today has been sending a message that we are not welcome in that party. And so the Democratic Party is the benefactor of, one, its good works, and a signal that we aren't welcome in the other party.
Lewis: Dr. Spalding, I have to ask you if you feel that the Republican Party doesn't welcome African Americans.
Spalding: I'll be candid with you. I have to disagree with Stella on some of these points. But I think the real deal is the matter of degree. For example, in 1972, in November of that year, I changed my registration from Democrat to Republican. Looking at the environment here in North Carolina, I concluded then, with the election of Senator Jesse Helms and Governor Jim Holshouser, that the state was moving in the direction of a two party system. I think we've seen this come to play as we look at the way voting trends have been in the '90s now and in the early 2000. By registration, the Democrat registration has dropped under 50%. It is now at about 48.6%. The Republican registration is between 33 and 34% and all other make up the difference. Those registrations don't begin to tell us what the philosophical view of the citizens of North Carolina is, because if you look at the 2000 election, George Bush won with 56%. Al Gore had 43%, and all other, 1%. I think when you look at it in that context. Now, it is true that we have a Democrat Governor who won with 52% and the Republican nominee only had 48%. I use those as a frame of reference to say that the citizens are now more well informed and they are able to split their vote. They are able to select those people in whom they have greater confidence in leadership positions. I don't think the chasm is as wide as many purport it to be.
Lewis: Mr. Sutton, I want to get you in on this conversation, and the rest of you as well. What do you see as some of the issues that are facing African Americans or that they should be concerned about in this upcoming election?
Sutton: I think certainly they are the same three that we've heard over and over: education, with particular respect for funding for low performing schools and historically under funded school; I think health care, with particular respect to access to healthcare; and economic empowerment with particular respect to improving jobs and the economy of the state and training for those jobs and for the urban and rural areas where we have particularly high rates of unemployment.
Lewis: Dr. Spalding, what do you see as the issues, especially in terms of economic empowerment and other issues? How do you feel that the Republican Party will address some of these issues?
Spalding: Let me respond to it this way Mitch. I agree with Keith on what he said. But I think that both parties agree pretty much on these same issues. It is a matter of degree, however, in terms of the extent to which they promote these issues. The Bush Administration has come out with the program No Child Left Behind. I think the funds have been put into this program. Some would say it is not enough, but I think one of the things that has happened in this administration is 9/11. When that dastardly act occurred, this changed priorities to a lot of things. I had spent some time in Washington D.C. with senior executives of the administration. They were looking at opportunities for faith-based and community initiatives and a number of other things that certainly the Black community would have been interested in. They have had to change priorities because they have to be concerned about the prosecution of a war. Whether we agree with it or not, I've asked myself many times, "What would have happened if Gore had been in as president?" That is idle speculation. We don't know. What we do know is what happened and how the United States chose to react to that situation, including actions taken by the Senate and by the House to authorize the level of funding requested by the administration to prosecute the war. So obviously, if you look at the cup as half empty or half full, when you take out several hundred millions of dollars to prosecute a war, then obviously that takes away resources for some of the other programs that are near and dear to us as citizens in this country. I think we have to look at it in the broader sphere rather than just in a more limited sphere.
Adams: When 9/11 happened, this country was united behind fighting Al Qaeda and fighting in Afghanistan and the prosecution of the war in Afghanistan and the war against Al Qaeda. But the war in Iraq is a war of choice and not a war that was thrust upon us because of 9/11. We have made a choice to go into Iraq and to fight there and spend billions of dollars. We have a single-source contractor, Halliburton. This company has misspent or misplaced over $2 billion in the resources. That is two weeks worth of prosecution of the war. We are offering infrastructure to the Iraqi people-healthcare to them, job services to them-things that we are not offering to our own people here in this country. And we have to make choices. When you make choices, you have to secure home as well as abroad. We are not doing that. We made a choice-this administration made a choice to cut 100,000 police officers-frontline homeland security forces with its prosecution of this ill-chosen, self-chosen war in Iraq. The Iraqi people did not attack us on 9/11.
Lewis: Mr. Sutton, I'll get you in on this discussion. Does the Urban League have any type of stance as far as it relates to the war on Iraq?
Sutton: Well.
Lewis: Especially ones that affect issues that are coming up in this upcoming election.
Sutton: I think with regard to the war, the Urban League doesn't have a particular position on that. Obviously we think that 9/11 was a terrible act and certainly we support our troops. Obviously there are some differences in some of the strategy and where some of the fighting and that kind of thing is taking place. With regard to Asa's comment too, it is also not the difference in between the parties, and where African Americans stand, it also has to do with the strategies of both parties and how it addresses economics or jobs or education. Often times, where dollars are spent, or where dollars are being put-you know, one side may look at it with respect to criminal justice. If the Senate is saying more jails or more programs for those that are offenders. You know, do we build more schools, have smaller classrooms or give money for more programs and things of that nature. I think often times, it is the strategy of the two parties. We might agree on the same issues, but how we address or attack those, often times there is a big difference.
Spalding: Mitch, I'm anxious to respond to what Stella had to say. But before I do that, Keith, I want to congratulate you, not only on the Triangle Urban League, but also the National Urban League on the __ __. I think the fair treatment received by President Bush for the entire term of his office thus far has been quite fair. I can't say that about the NAACP. Leaders of the NAACP have complained that he has refused to meet with them and the like and to speak at their national conference. I'm not expecting you to comment on this, but I thought about how I would react in a situation like that, when the chairman of your board denigrates this country's chief executive officer in a way in which Julian Bond has, and when Kweisi M'Fume-I know he is trying to protect his job, refuses to criticize his chairman for that kind of behavior, then why would anyone want to put himself or herself in the position to be embarrassed and to be maltreated by a large group? There is no way that any assurance could be given to the administration that there would be a reasonable level of cordiality for the president appearing before the NAACP. Now, to Stella's comments, and I think Keith hit on this. There is no way that we can know what would have happened if the other party had been in control of the White House, but it is a matter of the people who are in place at that time making the decisions that they feel serve the best interests of this country. It is always easy to second-guess and say, "You should have done this," or, "You should have done that." We see this all the time. I'm not happy with all the decisions that the administration has made-make no mistake about that. But I do understand that the people who are sitting in the positions of power are faced with looking at the hand that is dealt them and then handling those issues that relate there to in the best way that they can. I find it hard to believe that any of the major players in the Bush Administration would want to do anything that would adversely affect the citizens of this country, to say nothing about the Black community.
Lewis: Let's go back to some of the issues facing us here in North Carolina. You've made your point, Dr. Spalding, about the NAACP, but I guess no one is available here on this show to respond to you-I guess we'll have to move on.
Spalding: I understand that too. What's his face? Last. When he was here last week?
Adams: Skip.
Spalding: Skip Alston, last week-not to criticize him, but to talk about the national organization and its lack of respect for the presidency as well as the incumbent.
Lewis: I understand. Let's talk about efforts being made to try and increase voter participation here in North Carolina. Are there any projects going on within the Republican Party Dr. Spalding?
Spalding: The Republican National Committee has formed an advocacy and outreach organization that is designed to get, one, the general voters out, and to get minority voters. It is true that their focus has been primarily with the Hispanic community. And as you know, you have to define it, because there are those Hispanics who want to be referred to as Latinos and whatnot. I think that much of their effort and their resources have been put in that arena. I am serving as co-chairman of the Southern Coalition of Republican Advocates. We have developed state chapters around the southern 14 states for the express purpose of trying to increase our numbers. I wish I could tell you of the success of these chapters in the various states. I cannot. I do know about the Virginia chapter. It has done quite well. I was privileged to go up and do the installation speech along with Senator George Allen when we established the chapter there. I do know that there are significant efforts being made. One thing about that is I don't believe they are getting the degree of publicity for their efforts in that regard.
Lewis: Ms. Adams, what is the Democratic Party doing to try and increase voter participation?
Adams: The Democratic Party is doing a number of things to try to increase participation in this election. We are reaching out to our college students to make sure that young folks know the importance of voting in this election. We are pointing out to them that decisions about Pell Grants and Stafford Loans are being made that they need to be participating in. We are reaching out to African American communities in rural areas to talk about issues that are affecting our rural communities. The majority of African Americans in this country do, in fact, live in the 14 southern states. The majority of those are living in rural areas. Many times, when people talk about African American issues, they talk about urban issues. We are also focusing on the rural issues affecting the African American community. We are also working very hard to encourage folks who have been-who haven't been participating-those sort of Bill Clinton voters. We need them to be actively participating in this election because it is a very critical time. This next four years is a very critical time for the Black community. We want our children to have choices other than entering into the service. We want folks to enter into the service because of a commitment to country, not because they need a job.
Lewis: Mr. Sutton, I understand that you have a set of issues that you are planning to present to the Legislature. Talk about that a little bit.
Sutton: During this most recent short session, we developed a legislative agenda that we felt like was representative of the issues or concerns that are foremost in the minds of African Americans across the state. This is done in conjunction with North Carolina Central and their department of Political Science. Again, that agenda included some of the same issues of jobs, economy, education and healthcare. We also looked at issues such as a moratorium on executions. Even though that didn't happen, we are still encouraging the legislature to take a look at that and at least halt, for the time being, executions. The Mandatory Minimum Habitual Felons law, and some of the tougher or strict citizen guidelines, or the policies that were a result of the Get Tough on Crime era. Again, with respect to education, not only the funding of low-performing and under funded schools, but also some of the issues around the high numbers of suspensions and expulsions of African American children. Some of these issues, while they were addressed during our recent short session, obviously, the purpose of that session, as you know, is to tweak the budget. They don't really get too involved in some of these issues. We are hoping that during the long session next year we'll get to address some of those again.
Lewis: We are coming close to the end of our program and one of the things that I wanted to bring out was that Kara Bolton with the Ashville Citizen Times newspaper said that she was tired of blacks waiting to have either party do right by them, and that in her opinion, Black organizations should begin coalition building. I'll start with you Ms. Adams. Is this necessary?
Adams: I think it is absolutely necessary. Really, the role of the African American Caucus within the Democratic Party is to make sure that we bring to the party the issues and concerns of the African American community. We ask the party to address it. It is very important that we understand and are committed to the issues that the Urban League and the NAACP and the North Carolina Leadership Black Caucus and all the others: the Black churches-the Council of Black Churches. The Black community must set the agenda. The role of African Americans within the Democratic Party is to deliver to them, "These are the issues that affect our community. What do you plan to do to address them?" That is what we see our role as with the AAC.
Lewis: Dr. Spalding?
Spalding: I could not agree more with what Kara said. I think the problem, Stella, for, particularly blacks who are either unaffiliated or with the Republican Party, is they see every initiative that is being taken by the Democrats as being purely partisan. Until an environment is created where there is an advocacy and outreach to bring all these parties together-not with relevance to partisan politics-I think we are not going to have the levels of success that I believe you want to have.
Lewis: Mr. Sutton, let me go on and get you in very quickly as we are running out of time.
Sutton: I think they hit it on the head. Before we start the coalition building, again, I think it comes to defining what those issues are. I think too many times we've allowed candidates to come into our community and speak to us about what they think are the issues and what they think is important. It is time for us to begin to set the agenda, set the debate around that agenda and then build strategic coalitions around some of those issues, rather than just sort of blinding tying ourselves to organizations here that we think may think has someone's interest or best in mind or at heart. And so, with regard to Dr. Spalding's comments, as well with regard to the president. That is why I think that happens. We want to hear, from both sides of the aisle, how you plan to address the issues that are foremost in the minds of blacks in this country.
Lewis: We'll have to stop it right here. Thank you so very much for your input. If you would like to get in touch with our guests, or obtain a copy or transcript of tonight's show, visit us online at www.unctv.org/bif. When you visit, be sure to give us your comments and program suggestions. You can also call us on the BIF line at 919-549-7167. Join us each and every Friday night at 9:30 p.m. for more stimulating discussion. For Black Issues Forum, I'm Mitchell Lewis. Good night.
[THEME MUSIC]
Voiceover: Funding for this program is made possible in part by UNC-TV members.
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