I’ve been away for a while due to business and personal matters, but the current controversy surrounding Nick Mackey’s campaign to replace the outgoing Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph is a good way to get back into my writing. This is why I think Mr. Mackey should be sheriff:
He’s a lawyer. So he knows the law. He’s a citizen in good standing. He understands the criminal justice system, having worked as a police officer and an attorney. So he’s not some gang-banger trying to beat the system.
But the main reason is we need to debunk the double standard that forces African Americans to meet an ever higher standard to be socially, economically and politically accepted in this country.
That standard is one reason why so many African Americans cannot find decent jobs, after making youthful mistakes. The slightest arrest record, conviction or no, is enough to keep them from being hired by most employers. And heaven forbid if that arrest involved marijuana or crack cocaine.
The double standard is one reason why African Americans continue to lag behind economically. At the low-end of the scale, it results in quicker convictions and longer sentences for African American defendants. At the high end, it is the “Yes, but…’ that stifles promotions in the corporate hierarchy, prevents African American entrepreneurs from qualifying for venture capital and families from qualifying for home and other types of loans.
African Americans have got to stop allowing The Observer and other media to use innuendo, half-truths and outdated data to assassinate the character of those who step forward to serve this community.
The Sheriff’s office is an elected position. If Nick fails in the job he can be voted out of office. I think this community will be surprised by the quality of his service once they get a chance to appraise his skills.
