What no one is saying out loud about Mason, TN is there's a racist pattern of targeting Black leadership in this state that goes back decades. The hostility has been followed up with violence. Dr. King was assassinated and Elbert Williams was lynched not far from Mason, TN.
State-sanctioned hostile takeovers is the name of the game when the establishment feels threatened by competent Black leaders. They did it to my kids' pediatrician Dr. Eddie Hamilton - a power play in Nashville - accusing him of Medicaid fraud.
They publicly lynched Dr. Shawn Joseph and ran him up out of TN who was shaking things up in Nashville schools with equitable practices.
They've done it to Dr. Joseph Webb - CEO of Metro General - accusing him of mismanagement of funds.
They put a hit piece out on Gideon's Army last fall to discredit their research on Driving While Black and criticize Rasheedat Fetuga and her violence interruption program when they dared to ask the city for $1M to cure violence.
The Governor, former House Speaker Casada and all the cronies at the state leg have been itching to take out Nashville/Memphis public schools - run by Black leaders who manage the two largest districts in TN. They've threatened funds during covid and now stripping funds from BEP.
The way our State bullies Black leaders is rooted in this notion that we are incapable, incompetent of managing million dollar budgets, negotiating deals, leading institutions, and knowing what's best for our people. Institutionalized racism & authoritarianism is running rampant.
Did I leave anything out? Those are just the latest cases I could think of. I'm sure there's more that goes unseen.
Mason, TN is just the latest casualty in their crosshairs. But we've always seen it for what it is and the community has their back. Amplifying this issue is how we win and keep Mason in tact for them to govern themselves.
These same white supremacist bullies turn a blind eye to corruption in their own party and state govt bc they're too busy being racist. The white leaders who caused Mason's financial woes didn't have to clean up their mess. Black leaders are being blamed for what they inherited.
This is why it's so important to be politically engaged. In TN, the Comptroller, Secretary of State, and Attorney General are all appointed positions but are wreaking the most havoc. Their power is insulated to TN Legislature/Supreme court to do their bidding.
This is why we can't let Mason fight this alone. Organizing in rural Black areas has to be a priority if we are going to break the supermajority trifecta. Mason needs to know we care about them and are not forgotten.
This why I get annoyed when folks want to parachute into the state and scream save Mason when they have no context to the in-state problems we face. Doing more harm than good with piss poor strategy.
Oh yeah, forgot about this:
https://twitter.com/MLK50Memphis/status/1488928350844461059?t=wPdU21XLJzW2hThQNwVLWg&s=19
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