Did the Governor Say She "Didn't Have to Hire Any Blacks?"
Alaska's Blacks and Palin: a Strained Relationship
By LINN WASHINGTON, Jr.
While
many across America consider GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin some kind of
phenomenon, many blacks in Alaska see the Governor of their state as a
person closing down the open-door inclusive posture of her predecessors.
Alaskan
blacks fault Palin for not hiring African-Americans, dismissing blacks
from government posts, spurning repeated requests to meet with black
leaders to discuss issues of concern and refusing to attend that
state’s major African-American celebration.
“Where
past governors have attended [this celebration] Gov Palin has refused
to attend or even send a staff member. They could have sent a gardener
as their representative but they didn’t,” said Bishop James Thomas, a
spokesman for Juneteenth, a state holiday in Alaska since 2001.
Juneteenth,
recognizing the freeing slaves during Civil War, receives celebration
nationwide. It holds distinction as the oldest African-American
celebration. Twenty-nine states including Alaska recognize Juneteenth
as an official holiday or an observance.
“For
Gov Palin to blatantly ignore Juneteenth is a tragedy,” said Thomas,
pastor of the non-denominational Jesus Holy Temple in Anchorage. “We
are not criticizing her because Obama is running for president. If
Obama was white, we would still criticize Palin due to our treatment
here.”
Palin’s
increasingly rocky relations with Alaska’s black community seeped down
to the ‘Lower 48’ weeks ago following an internet posting by the
President of Alaska’s African American Historical Society Gwendolyn
Alexander detailing controversies like Juneteenth, Palin’s staffing
practices and Palin allegedly stating she “doesn’t have to hire any
blacks” for major projects.
Palin
denies telling black leaders she did not intend to hire blacks in her
state where African-Americans comprise 4% of the population.
Palin,
through spokespersons, defends her staffing record citing that top
aides and advisors include a Filipino, a Korean and a person of mixed
African-American ancestry.
Given
Palin’s penchant for hiring friends with not apparent qualifications
for their high salaried government posts, the refrain of not being able
to find ‘qualified minorities’ appears irrelevant. One frequently cited
Palin appointment is her elevation of a high school classmate to the
$95,000 a year post heading the State Division of Agriculture which
Palin defended based on this real estate agent’s childhood love of cows.
Alaskan
blogger Amy Jones stated in a post that she “tired to get specific
information from the governor’s office, but no one could verify what
minority representation there might be among Palin’s appointees on
boards and commissions or how often she met with community
organizations…”
The
Rev. Dr. Alonzo B. Patterson chuckles at Palin’s claims of being
color-blind, saying she’s “not sensitive to [having] African-Americans
in her administration.”
Patterson,
who’s worked closely with previous governors plus mayors and other
elected officials during his 45-years in Alaska, feels Palin has
“totally departed from the past practices” of previous Alaska governors.
“Past
administrations have had black administrative assistants to the
Governor, state Commissioners and department leaders,” said Patterson,
who served as chair of Alaska’s Board of Paroles for 13-years.
Patterson
heads the American Baptist Churches of Alaska and that state’s Martin
Luther King Jr. Foundation. Earlier this year, Patterson participated
in a meeting of black leaders with Palin. This meeting followed months
of requests to Palin for a meeting.
“We
gave her a list of concerns and have received no response,” said
Patterson, pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Anchorage.
Concerns
presented by this group included hiring minorities at all levels of
state government plus contracting and employment practices in the
upcoming pipeline construction project.
This
group also invited Palin to participate in a town meeting during the
summer with other racial and ethnic minorities in Alaska to discuss
issues of import including economic growth, educational deficiencies,
family disintegration and young gang problems. Palin spurned this
invitation.
“She
has not met with us since that March meeting,” Patterson said. “I think
she was intimidated by us not being intimidated by her. From my
perspective, she is basically a housewife who looses her temper when
she’s not getting her way.”
A
person from the area of Wasilla where Palin served as mayor said she’s
very vindictive, a behavior pattern that chills criticism of her. While commending Palin as an enchanting person with maverick ways, the
person said “Sarah is not ready” for the office she holds or higher
office. This person did note that Palin’s employment practices may not
be as discriminatory as they appear because “she is devoted to her
people and there are few blacks in Wasilla.”
Sarah
Palin burst on the national stage as Senator McCain’s running mate
during the GOP Convention that had the lowest number of black delegates
in forty years.
With
Palin’s failing relations with blacks in Alaska, some might cynically
see this as part of her pick by McCain who’s received an F on the NAACP
Congressional Report Card during 11 of the past 13 reporting periods. (During McCain’s two runs for president the NAACP provided no grade for
McCain.)
McCain’s
scores on supporting issues important to the NAACP ranks lower than
conservative Senators Trent Lott of Mississippi and Orin Hatch of Utah.
Palin’s rocky relations with blacks mirrors relations with Alaska’s Native Peoples according to the September 12, 2008 Counterpunch article by Lloyd Miller.
Bishop Thomas and many others in Alaska feel “blacks are not being treated fairly” by Gov Palin.
“This
governor does not deal with minorities well,” Thomas said. “We have to
examine how she will act as Vice-President and if by chance she becomes
President.”
Linn Washington Jr. is a columnist for The Philadelphia Tribune newspaper.
