Rev. Roy Gray Sr. stated in his letter to The Daily Southerner, titled: “Gray, district needs a black” that Edgecombe County Public Schools board members former board chair Evelyn Wilson, Dr. Evelyn Johnson both black and Keith Pittman (white) voted for him and former board vice chair Ann Kent, Janice Davidson and Faye Taylor (white) voted for Thomas Wayne Edison during the appointment. The vote was deadlocked at 2 meetings and that lead Attorney Teresa D. Bryant to rescind her resignation.
I have named Kent, Davidson and Taylor the Edgecombe County Public Schools 3. They remind me of the Princeville Town Council 3 because Commissioners Isabelle Purvis-Andrews, Calvin Sherrod and Mayor Priscilla Everette-Oates almost always votes together at every meeting. Commissioners Ann Howell and Gwendolyn Knight always vote together.
I find it too damn funny that the ECPS 3 would vote for Edison who did a very poor job during the interview process and his main concern was reducing classroom size. So therefore in my opinion I feel strongly that the ECPS 3 want the board to be lily white and they are not concerned about the black children and the issues they face in District 2. Edison couldn’t speak to the issues in District 2 as it relates to the black children so therefore the appointment should have been a no-brainer.
Attorney Teresa D. Bryant is black and was elected by the people. The district is a minority-majority black district and was set up that way to ensure black representation. The make up of the district is 57% black and 8 % non-white so therefore the ECPS 3 in my opinion showed just how racist they are. I say that because they know the history of the district as it relates to why some others and myself requested that a black person be appointed. If this was an election by the people and the people voted in a white person, then so be it but the appointment should have been handed to a black person. Keeping in mind that no white person ran against Bryant who was appointed to replace Dr. Florence A. Armstrong (black) so therefore this is another reason to appoint a black. Bryant ran during the election without any opposition.
If I was a board member and if District 2 was not a minority-majority black district, I would have looked at who ran during the previous election, the numbers and the race of the voters who voted in the previous election and how the candidates responded during the interview process. I will use the same candidates that were seeking the appointment, I would have ranked them in the following order Gray, Robinson and Edison. I have made it known that I am not a fan of Gray however I have stated during the appointment process that I would have had to choose Gray because I would have not allowed it to be personal. I would have voted for him however I would have hoped that Bryant would seek election during the upcoming election in 2012.
I have said over and over again that the ECPS 3 shows how much they care about the children of Edgecombe County and should makes one wonder how much they care about the black children in the county. They don’t want them to have a black voice on the board because they have a 4-3 majority but they wanted it to be a 5-2 majority.
I love it when not only some white folks come to the meetings with their personal agendas but when some black folks with personal agendas as well because I am there always there. My personal agenda is the same holding the board accountable for their actions because I want what is best for all children in the county. Because I attend the meetings regularly and stay to the end when those with the personal agenda comes and leave when their item on the agenda has been brought forth, I can talk about them with no problem be they white or black. I love it when whites and blacks come to the meeting with their agenda knowing that I am there always and they don’t mention their concerns to me but then think I suppose to support their agendas. I don’t roll like that because I don’t give a damn if they are white or black. I have no permanent friends, no permanent enemies only permanent interest.
So there you have it, this is my spill on the Edgecombe County Public Schools (ECPS) 3.
I am Curmilus Butch Dancy II an effective community activist, The Political Agitator and The Watch Dog of the East however I know some others white and black have more names for me but that does not matter because I know who I am and whose I am and I don’t play. Time is too short and there is much work to be done.
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