In my position as chairman of the Fayette County Republican Party, I have been asked what my opinion is on the recent federal court ruling on district voting. I believe that it is travesty of justice.
I know that some readers would suggest that I obviously take that position because I am white and a Republican. However, such a suggestion is as mistaken and misguided as the recent letter submitted by Mr. John Jones in defense of the Fayette NAACP.
One of the main reasons that I am a Republican is because I was sickened by the segregation policies and Jim Crow laws enacted by the leaders of the Democratic Party. Such Democratic governors as George Wallace, Lester Maddox, and Orval Faubus serve as poster boys for those desiring to deprive black people of their civil rights, including the right to vote.
I am a Republican because I believe that one should not be denied the right to vote because of the color of his skin, and that America is still the land of opportunity for people of all races, the very principles Frederick Douglass espoused and for which Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life.
There are several reasons why the recent opinion was wrongly decided. One of these is that, contrary to Mr. Jones’ opinion, district voting actually dilutes one’s voting power.
Instead of being able to cast a vote in the election of every commissioner, now a person would only be able to do so in one of five.
In addition, to create a minority-majority district, the court was required to engage in probably one of the worst cases of obscene gerrymandering in our country’s history.
The main reason the opinion was wrongly decided was that the record was devoid of any evidence of racial bigotry by the white voters of Fayette County.
The fact that in a conservative county like Fayette County a liberal would have a difficult, if not impossible, time getting elected should come as no surprise regardless if that person is black, white, or brown.
In fact, the record clearly showed that relatively few black candidates even attempted to run for office on a county-wide basis.
Moreover, the record is devoid of any evidence that those predominantly black neighborhoods received less consideration from the County Commission or that the services they received were any way inferior to those provided to all neighborhoods within the county.
Does this suggest that that there are no racists in Fayette County? Of course not. Unfortunately, there are ignorant people everywhere.
But whereas I am against bigotry of all kinds, the NAACP doesn’t seem to care about black bigotry. When they say in their lawsuit that they “want a candidate of their own,” what they are really saying is, “we don’t want a white candidate.”
This is further reinforced by the NAACP’s recent unconscionable demand that no acting incumbents be allowed to participate in a special election to be held in the newly formed district. And yet Mr. Jones has the audacity to wonder why people view the NAACP as divisive?
For all of Mr. Jones’ rhetoric, it is clear that the NAACP is more concerned with pushing a political agenda than “lovingly helping those who are blind to racism.”
When conservative blacks rise from poor and humble beginnings to positions of prominence, like Clarence Thomas, Dr. Ben Carson and Condoleezza Rice, they should be looked upon with pride and deemed role models.
Instead, Democratic leaders, like Reverends Jackson and Sharpton, embarrassingly denigrate their accomplishments by calling them “Uncle Toms” and other racially derogatory terms.
Where, Mr. Jones, is the NAACP condemnation of such racial insults?
You claim that the NAACP is needed to expose hidden discrimination. I guess your organization has no problem with open and notorious racial intolerance.
Such silence indicates that the NAACP is not really interested in the advancement of all black people — only non-conservative blacks that share their liberal political agenda.
In its lawsuit the NAACP argued that Fayette County is the only metro-Atlanta County to have at-large voting instead of district voting. That fact certainly doesn’t support their position.
On the contrary, in comparison to surrounding counties Fayette County has lower crime, lower taxes, better schools and quicker response times by emergency services. It is no wonder that even Mr. Jones admits that Fayette County is “a great place to live and raise a family.”
Now, as a result of the NAACP lawsuit, I fear districts will start making decisions based on their own political self-interests and not the county as a whole.
If this were to happen, Fayette County would no longer be such a great place to live.
Scott Fabricius, chairman
Fayette County Republican Party
Fayetteville, Ga.
