I suspect many white Dallasites were surprised when over 50,000 mostly African-Americans descended on a small Louisiana town to protest the mishandling of 6 Black youth by the town’s criminal justice system. After all, Black youth get mishandled in local criminal justice systems all over this country.  It may also come as a surprise that a number of local Black churches sent marchers to Jena, Louisiana, including Oak Cliff mega church, Friendship West Baptist Church, who bussed over a thousand concerned African-Americans to participate in what some called a pilgrimage to highlight the African-American community’s growing frustration with the state of race relations in our country. Unfortunately for us, Dallas, depending of how we handle our own racial business, might very well become the next Jena.

The massive outpouring from Black Americans that culminated in the march on Jena did not happen overnight. The mishandling of New Orleans after Katrina and the perception that the current Bush Administration has turned its back on racial progress has produced the kind of frustration and anxiety in Black America that has not been seen since the 60’s. The fact is, for many Black Dallasites, broken promises to the southern sector have also created a smoldering undercurrent of discontent that can eventually lead to a Jenna-like political happening.

I have written for weeks now that the upcoming toll road vote is an opportunity for the Black electorate to use the power of our vote to make sure that promises the white business community have made to the southern sector are finally kept. The fact that the Black community voted overwhelmingly for the Trinity River project when it was first brought to us years ago as an economic development issue should be reason enough for Black political leaders to pause before jumping on the pro Trinity toll road bandwagon. But the Black political leadership in this town has been strangely silent on the issue of broken economic development promises and holding the “white powers that be” accountable for those broken promises. And all but a very few, have jumped on the pro toll road bandwagon.

On close inspection, we can now see why the “white powers that be” have not felt compelled to keep their promises to the Black community. Before anybody tries to politicize this issue with partisan politics, understand that both Democrats and Republicans are at fault. Sure, the majority of the members of the “white powers that be” are Republicans and they have failed to keep their promises to the southern sector. But the members of the Black political community who continue to deliver the Black vote for issues like this toll road issue are all Democrats. Yet, as of this writing, not one Black Democrat has addressed the toll road issue in the context of the Black community getting long promised economic development dollars for our vote. State Senator Royce West and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway, both prominent Democrats, are strong supporters of the toll road and two of Dallas’ most influential Black political players. How can they, and others, continue to avoid dealing with the fact that the same business community who is behind the toll road project is the same business community who has failed to deliver on its promises to the Black community?

Issues regarding southern sector economic development are usually mishandled and misrepresented by the mass media.  For example, no major white media outlet has addressed the toll road issue from the perspective of past promises broken to the Black community. Misinformation occurs when the Morning News in a Tuesday, September 25^th story, claimed that Commissioner John Wiley Price was holding up money for the city of Hutchins because of his concerns over minority procurement. However, a closer look at Mr. Price’s record over the past 20 years will show he has never been very concerned about minority procurement. Therefore, whatever issue he has with the city of Hutchins, probably has nothing to do with upfront transparent minority procurement.

Dr. Frederick Haynes III, Pastor of Friendship West Baptist church, State Senator West, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Caraway, and other Black political leaders are going to have to do their part to make sure Jena does not happen here. I single out these 3 gentlemen because I believe they are the city’s most influential Black political leaders right now. When they speak out about quid pro quo for the Black vote, their message will be heard. That message should say that our vote is just as important as our marches. That message should say that people who can’t afford cars don’t really care about traffic congestion. That message should say in the past it has been about no justice; no peace, but in new Black politics it is also about no development; no vote. Or, our Black political leaders can continue to be silent. For their silence, they will surely lose credibility with the Black community. If they can keep telling us to vote for economic development issues while we continue to get nothing, it will only be a matter of time before the marchers hit our streets. At least that is how I see it from South of the Trinity.

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