In response to: Bronson Williams, Nehemiah Smith Jr. vs Rev. Andre Knight and The Rocky Mount City Council A Utilities War
I agree when is enough enough?
I have been listening to The Truth Hurts Broadcast for several weeks and I have found it to be quite interesting and many times comical. Since Bronson works the boards for Connections Talk Show that comes on immediately after his talk show, George Fisher host and myself the co-host find ourselves discussing the Rocky Mount Utilities almost daily as well.
I am trying to figure out what is really going on here because discussions have gone from utilities to getting rid of the city council members (recall) and folks calling in just simply talking about people. I have no problem with folks talking about people but when one know it is lies and it is being allowed to spread across the airwaves that is not good.
It is clear that the light bills are high in Rocky Mount NC. So why are they high? Is it something that the city council members are doing? If so, spell it out along with what you want them do. And then we all can see if it is workable.
Black white issue. I hear some folks say they do not see any whites going down to the city hall complaining about their utility bills. I have heard some say the white council members say they don’t have people complaining to them about their utilities.
I have said that people who are complaining should reach out to their council members especially the black ones who they should feel comfortable talking to to tell them about their concerns. I said many black folks didn’t feel that they had access to the previous council which used to be predominately white.
”There are those in city government and the general public who would paint this issue in terms of Black and White; but this is an issue of fairness, affordability, and fiscal responsibility. However, I am not so naïve as to believe that, for the most part, the poor minority communities of the city are not carrying the heavier load that these burdensome utility rates have brought about.” Well the letter went from saying it is not about black and white but the last sentence says otherwise. This is so damn contradictory. It is my opinion that Nehemiah is trying to win the white support in his conversation about the utilities.
I have heard many say that this council (black majority) has inherited what the previous council done before them. Over the years they have made some changes and are working on more and I do know this as a fact.
Bronson Williams one of the stalwart voices in this struggle, continues to address the issue on his daily call-in show and I agree. However I question his motives. As it relates to his personal incident, I have heard him say several things about how it happened. He said he forgot to pay his bill and that he paid it late purposely. Well I believe he should have gotten another bill that would have told him that he was behind from last month. But his lights got turned off at the radio station anyway. So why in the hell didn’t he just pay his bill?
Bronson is a voice for the voiceless and is galvanizing the community behind the common cause of lowering high utilities. I have no problem with that however what I do have a problem with is all the ignorant conversations that are taking place.
I know that Bronson have allowed atleast one person to call in and say some things when he knew it was not truth. This is in regards to a caller calling in talking about an agenda item at last weeks NAACP meeting. The caller did not attend the meeting but called in about something that somebody told them. I didn’t hear what the caller said but I have received several phone calls about the conversation. I tried calling the person to have a conversation with them about the issue but they wanted to talk about why they do not like Andre and Reuben. I told them I didn’t want to talk about that and that I wanted to share with them about why not only is Andre talking about Bronson joining up with the tea partiers but George Fisher and myself have had a conversation with Bronson during one of our TV talk shows (Connections) about him meeting with the annexation organization and certain white persons who have other agendas.
As it relates to a scare tactic about black folks who join the tea partiers, I don’t get it. I just fine it strange as hell that Bronson would make it known on our TV Talk Show that he was going to meet with these folks who are fighting the council on other issues hoping to gain their support for his mission about the utilities. I say this is crazy as hell.
I say if Bronson and anyone would like to do the recall thing, I say go for it. I have no problem with that.
Bronson has done and is doing something that local churches and other organizations like the local chapter of the NAACP have yet to do. I say bull manure because there has been some individuals such as Carol Batchelor, Lewis Turner, Dorothy Cook, Jessie Fraiser, George Fisher, Black Workers For Justice, myself and the list goes on that has been dealing with the utilities issue dating back to the late 90’s.
One day I heard Jessie Fraiser and another lady talking about they were going to have a meeting at Braswell Library to see just how many folks were interested in trying to form a committee to address Rocky Mount utilities. I called George Fisher and told him that we needed to go to the meeting since we have been dealing with the utilities issue.
George and I attended the meeting and out of the initial meeting we decided to meet weekly at the OIC. Mind you I do not live in Rocky Mount. I don’t remember Bronson along with many folks who have called in to Truth Hurts Broadcast coming to a meeting.
George and I attended the meetings until we could not take anymore. We had thought it would be best to work on something that would be doable and results could be seen soon. Well new people kept coming to the meetings and they wanted to talk about their experiences and we were not accomplishing anything. The things the initial group had agreed upon was to deal with the following:
1. How customer service deal with people.
2. Seek to get the policy changed for folks who had life support equipment in their homes.
3. Making sure people meters were read.
During many conversations I hear folks say that when they found out their meters had not been read, they had them read and their utility bills went down drastically. I understand this is what happened with Nehemiah and this is why he got involved. I was told that he said the meter reader did not read his parent’s meter so he seen Councilman Andre Knight across the street from his home. He called Knight and told him and Knight called down to the city and the meter reader came back out within 30 minutes and read the meter. I understand the bill went down a little more than 50%. Nehemiah said the meter reader said he thought the fence was locked so he guestimated. I also heard that Nehemiah Jr. confronted Knight because Knight supposedly told or had someone to tell Nehemiah not to come to the council meeting because his issue had been addressed. I understand Nehemiah and Knight got into a verbal confrontation after a city council meeting.
When I heard Nehemiah tell the story on The Truth Hurts Broadcast I don’t recall him telling the whole story especially mentioning that he had complained to Knight and the meter reader came back. Nehemiah says he is concerned about other folks with high utilities and I agree. I am concerned also and do not live in Rocky Mount but the bull manure that is being said on The Truth Hurts Broadcast is just crazy. I agree Nehemiah and others ought to be concerned about other folks utilities but the best thing they and those concerned can do is to reach out to all the citizens to make sure their meters are being read.
Folks kept asking me do I listen to The Truth Hurts Talk Show so I began to tune in. I had been listening to the broadcast for several days before I called in. One day Bronson made a comment and I called in and responded because he made a statement about what some folks have said and I told him I have said the very same so I am calling in to say why I said it and I stand behind what I said and will say in the future.
I will let the churches speak for themselves since I am not a member of a church in Rocky Mount NC. Since Nehemiah just moved back here, I am sure his family members are a member of a church here so what have they done? Bronson is a member of a church here so what have they done?
I am a life fully paid member of the NAACP and a member of the Rocky Mount Branch where Andre Knight is the president I am going to address this as a member and not speaking for the branch where I have served as 1st, 2nd and 3rd vice president and on the executive committee since the early 90’s dating back to when Rev. Elbert Lee was the president. As it relates to the mission of the NAACP you can read it here.
I am unaware of anyone who have brought a discriminatory complaint to the NAACP as it relates to their utilities. I say file a complaint with the local NAACP and then you can say that they have not done anything. If it is something that they can do and they do not do it, I will address that issue myself.
There have been others who have tried to organize around the utilities issue however Bronson is able to reach out to a broader level because he is on the radio. What tickles the hell out of me is he sit back and allow folks to say there has not been anyone before him that has organized around the utilities issue when he knows that that is not “truth.”
You see I am for truth no matter who it is for or against and I will not allow untruth to be told and and not say anything. I don’t care if I don’t deal with the person who the untruth is being told on, I will speak up for them on certain things and that we disagree on I will speak to that as well.
So who am I? I am a grassroots effective community activist and I hold all folks accountable and ask others to hold me accountable. I have no permanent friends, no permanent enemies only permanent interest.
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