There are elected officials all across this nation and assuredly right here in CLT/Meck who think there are some "deserving poor" and who think that the others just deserve to stay poor. And these leaders are not just Republicans and they are certainly not just white.

There are far too many elected leaders in Charlotte and Mecklenburg who ascribe to this terrible thinking. You can spot it if you listen closely:
1- But where are the parents?!
2- Respect authority
3- More discipline
4- We need more School Resource Officers
5- Pull your pants up

There will always be some variation of these but be sure, these questions don't get to the root of the problems. The politicians who have the mindset that they "made it out" so the others should be able to is trash and it's incredibly limiting.

There are politicians who think that the "meritocracy" is real and not merely a mirage with more exceptions than rules. They adopt the same faulty and limited thinking of some of the white elected officials who we thought, once replaced by black electeds, progress would come.

But there has been no effective and marked progress because the same thinking exists in the policy makers without regard to their color.
This is why in Charlotte, with a Black mayor, and six non-white identifying members (all Democrats) we can't get actual reform of CMPD.

It's why there is push back on an actual audit of the finances and practices of CMPD. It's why the few members who are trying to ensure that there is actual reform within CMPD are chided and relegated to the sidelines by their colleagues.

We can't get meaningful reforms and changes because, without regard to race, the thinking and courage is the same. The City Manager, City Attorney, Planning Director, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Housing Director and so many others are Black.

So the answer, clearly, isn't to merely elect more Black folks and then we will see real change. We must elect people--Black or otherwise--who see the injustices in these system and have the courage to challenge, dismantle, and erect just ones. But we don't have that here.

And until we realize that, we will continue to be frustrated and swing and miss so always.
And have any of you taken a look at the CMS School Board meetings? My goodness. Some of our black leaders there might as well be...never mind; I've said enough.

But make sure you vote, though. But really make sure you vote in the primaries and remind these folks that we wanted change not platitudes and lectures about what we don't know, understand, or about what they can't do...