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Election of black sheriff evidence of change
B> REED BRANSON
The Memphis Commercial Appeal
RIPLEY, Miss. (AP) ?
Tommy Storey is black. But his
election last month as sheriff in 85
percent white Tippah County is
not the anomaly one might imag
ine.
A career law enforcement offi
cer with 10 years as chief deputy,
Storey faced a white automobile
salesman and former county
supervisor Nov. 18 in the North
Mississippi county and captured
54 percent of the 7,182 votes cast.
"The election was decided on
qualifications and who was the
best candidate for the job. Race
may have played a part, but it was
n't the deciding factor," said
Storey, chief deputy in the county
for 10 years until a vacancy
prompted the special election.
While racial voting patterns
persist in Mississippi and many
states. Storey s election and other
anecdotal evidence suggests that
those patterns are somewhat less
prevalent, perhaps even slowly
eroding, at the most basic local
elective offices.
Since the end of
Reconstruction, Mississippi, with
a 36 percent black population, has
consistently elected only white
people to statewide office.
The only post-Reconstruction
black congressmen have come
from the Second Congressional
District in the Mississippi Delta ?
a district whose boundaries were
drawn at court order to specifical
ly achieve that goal. And only five
of the state's 174 legislative dis
tricts defy racial predictors. In
each, white people were elected
from majority black districts.
However, there is evidence
crossover voting is emerging, if
ever so slightly, at the local level.
In 1989, voters in majority
white Corinth, elected black alder
man E.S. Bishop as mayor. And,
? newly elected black mayors in both
Jackson and Vicksburg ? cities
nearly evenly divided by race ?
nevertheless won substantial sup
port in white precincts.
Though it is still the exception,
perhaps nowhere is crossover vot
ing more prevalent than in the
sheriff's office ? the official
charged with the most practical
and decidedly un-ideological job
of ensuring public safety.
With Storey's election, two of
Mississippi's 10 black sheriffs were
elected from majority white coun
ties. And voters in at least a dozen
majority black counties have elect
ed white sheriffs. Mississippi has
82 counties.
"If they can see you're doing a
good job and concerned about the
public safety, (voters) will elect
you regardless of your color." said
Leflore County Sheriff Ricky
Banks, a white man elected five
times in a county that is 61 percent
black. "It should be that way with
everything."
Banks said that sheriffs, per
haps more than other officials, are
held accountable to the most basic
public expectations of safety and
security. And, when it comes to
police work, there is little of the
ideological divide that can emerge
on issues like taxes or schools.
To that end, voters in Tippah
had a clear choice.
Storey, 39, had experience in
criminal and arson investigation, a
degree in sociology and studies in
criminal justice from the
University of Tennessee-Martin,
and a host of police training
courses. He promised to attack
drug trafficking and abuse.
"We're at a crossroads in law
enforcement. Crime is getting
rampant. So people voted for
someone with experience and
qualifications," Storey said.
His opponent, James R. Cagle,
62, was clearly well known. But
the former president of the Tippah
County Board of Supervisors had
little to ofTer in terms of a practi
cal crim^fighting record other
than slogans and promises.
"The main issue was that
Tommy Storey appeared to have a
better platform and communicat
ed that to the voters better," said
Eugene Taylor, executive director
of the Tippah County
Development Authority.
Marty Wiseman, director of
the Stennis Institute of
Government and an associate pro
fessor of political science at
Mississippi State University, said
the crossover trend has emerged at
the grassroots level for the mojt
practical of reasons and with what
were once the most unimaginable
of possibilities.
"In a state like Mississippi, u
lot of the stereotypes melt away at
the local level because we knofc
each other," said Wiseman. "And
if you get significant numbers pf
whites voting for black candidates
in local elections, how long before
an African-American can serious
ly challenge for governor? It's nqit
that big of a leap."
4
Best Wishes for Hie Holidays
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BRIDGE NEWS
Rudolph V. Boono Sr.
Monday, Nov. 24, 2 p.ra.,
Carl H. Russell Community
Center
Several players assembled
and practiced; however, no
master points were awarded.
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 7 pm.,
Carl Russell Community
Center
Winston-Salem Duplicate
Bridge Club
The members present had a food practice ses
sion; however, no master points were awarded.
The club held its annual meetmtfgrade C game on
Tuesday, Dec. 2. A report on that event will be
published in next week s column.
CeogratalatitMft to The Holidays inc.!
Congratulations to The Holidays Inc. of
Winston-Salem on their 36th Anniversary. The
group celebrated with a luncheon and bridge tour
nament Saturday, Nov. 29, at the Anderson
Center. The members and guests from the local
area, including some Holidays from Greensboro,
thoroughly enjoyed this festive occasion.
Members of the chapter are Bessie Allen, Faye
B. Carter, Geraldine Cary, Mattie S. Clarke,
Demerice W. Erwin, Clara B. Gaines, Irene P.
Hairston, Dorothy B. Jones, Bernice Murrell,
Gladys D. Oldham (president), Ruth C. Oliver,
Olivia B. Thompkins. Marion E. Williams, and
Virginia Wiseman. This group of lovely ladies can
be proud of being the mother of 20 other chapters
in the nation. Best wishes to The Holidays Inc.!
Sentinel publisher Kenneth Thomas
remembered as one 'willing to help'
LOS ANGELES (AP) ?
Kenneth Thomas, whose Los
Angeles Sentinel is the largest
black-owned newspaper in the
West, has died. He was 68.
Thomas died Friday morning
of respiratory failure after being
hospitalized twice since
September for aneurysms, a
Sentinel spokesman said.
"Under hjs leadership, the
Sentinel was a voice for the voice
less. an important institution in
our community that made sure
that the story of the black experi
ence was told in its totality/' said
John Mack, president of the Los
Angeles Urban League.
Thomas, who was also chief
executive officer, kept the newspa
per afloat despite dwindling circu
lation and demographic changes.
He moved the newspaper s offices
to the Crenshaw District after the
old South Central office, once in
the heart of the city's black com
munity, found itself immersed in a
mainly Hispanic neighborhood.
However, circulation remains
at a fraction of the 56,000 it was
during the height of the 1960s civil
rights movement.
Thomas was also credited with
giving young black reporters a
break in the business.
"He was always willing to help
young journalists trying to make it
in the industry, and other busi
nesses too," said James Bolden, a
former Sentinel reporter.
Thomas became head of the
Sentinel in the mid-1980s after
agreeing to pay its debts and keep
on owner Ruth Washington as
publisher. He assumed the pub
lisher's role after her death.
Thomas was a member of sev
eral California and Ohio bar asso
ciations. He was a former vice
president of the Los Angeles Trial
Lawyers Association and the
National Lawyers Guild He
served as an adviser to the Los
Angeles Fair Housing Counsel
and the local chapter of the
National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
He was also a member of the
board of the Los Angeles Urban
League.
Thomas was survived by his
wife, Jennifer.
Study shows African
American males more
likely to lose
motivation to succeed
academically
African-American boys, com
pared with whites, Hispanics and
African-Americans girls, are "par
ticularly and perhaps uniquely"
vulnerable to "academic disidenti
ficatron," the phenomenon in
which success or failure in school
ceases to matter to the student,
according to a new survey.
According to the author, Jason
W. Osborne, M.A., the correla
tions between self-esteem and
achievement scores and self
esteem and grades provide a mea
sure of the students' degree of
academic identification or
disidentification: Self-esteem ris
ing or falling with grades and
achievement scores indicate
stronger academic identification.
Over the course of the study,
there were few substantial changes
in the relationship between self
esteem and achievement scores,
except for African-American boys.
For this group, these correlations
declined dramatically. There was
very little support for the idea that
African-American girls are simi
larly affected.
" The findings come from a four
year study for nearly 25,000 high
achool students across the United
States and is reported in the
December issue of the Journal of
Education Psychology, published
by the American Psychological
Association (APA).
Group aims to empower black investors!
The Coalition of Black Investors (COBI) is a new
national organization created to address some of the
economic inequities facing African Americans.
COBI's leadership is comprised of African-American
professionals who appreciate the importance of sav
ing, investing, and Communication about money,
organizers explained.
"COBI was formed to address the unequal distri-.
bution of wealth, power and resources that has stag
nated growth in black communities across America."
said Duane Davis, a spokesperson for the group. "In
response, COBI is creating a black economic network
I? 1 1
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to serve the large and long-neglected population of
African-American savers and investors. We want t?
help African Americans create wealth and increasi
ownership through investments in public and privatl
enterprises." J
4
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COBI is seeking new members individuals ancf
investment clubs who want to share knowledge ani?
communicate with each others. For more information"
contact COBI at (910) 945-8977, websites
http://www.cobinvest.com or by e-mail at cobin*
vest@aol.com.
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rom
CHRISTMAS IN CAROLINA \
Thanks ;
Corporate Sponsors
Clarence "Bighouse" Gaines and Clarence Gaines, Jr.
Sara Lee Corporation
Donors Above $100 J
Adam's Mark-Winston Plaza
Aegis Health
Anastasia Furs
Arts Council Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County
BB&T
Marshall B. Bass & Assoc. Inc.
Competitive Kdge Promotions, Inc.
Circuit City Foundation
Michael Cunningham Photography
Mr. & Mrs. John Davis
Mr. L. Duane Davis
Judge & Mrs. Richard Erwin
Ms. Barbara Fure
Mr. Walter Faribault, Jr.
Flow Management Services
Gantt Huberman Architects
T.W. Garner Food Co.
Judge & Mrs. Roland Hayes
Dr. Richard Janeway
Ms. Jocelyn Johnson
Dr. Charlie Kennedy
Kilpatrick Stocton Attorneys
Mr. Jim Nan ton p
National Mack Theater Festival ? Larry Leon C
Hamlin E
Ms. Kimberiy Nesbitt fc
Now Video Concept - Eugene Thompson t
Pig Pickin's of America r
Dr. Anthony Parent
RJ Reynolds
Dr. Mae L. Rodney
St. Phillips Moravian Church
Dr. & Mrs. Alvin Schexnider
Mr. John Singleton
The Society for African American Studies
Mrs. Ann Lewallen Spencer
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas lYoilinger
Urban League
Wachovia Bank and Trust
Dr. Spurgeon Webber ?
Mr. Ernest Watson
Winston Lake YMCA
Winston-Salem Journal
WSSU Alumni Association
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Special thanks from Mr. and Mrs. Richard N. Davis, the C.G. O'Kelly Library staff,
and the WSSU Friends of the Library!
L?-??????
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!?
Weohovta Bar* le ? member FDC
01997 Wachovia Corporator
7 flip
ym?
Are others depending on you to build the future?
Arc you confident that you've got the right tools?
Have you realized the power of your
money? We are here. To show you how to make
the most of your money today and to help you plan for
tomorrow. Because the future is closter than you think.
wlYere.
TRACHOMA
Le^rted.' ?
* ,
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