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1. THE LOUISVILLE-JEFFERSON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC SCENE: THE GREAT RACIAL DIVIDE by DrTed
Last night at the Louisville-Jefferson County Democratic Party’s Annual Ford Dinner, I was once again struck by the great racial divide that exists in Louisville. Not one single recipient of any honor went to a person of color.
Not one single speaker (except for the Baptist Minister) was a person of color.
Only one person of color was at a table of any candidate for a county-wide office.
I saw more African-American leaders at a women’s forum for David Nicholson and a fundraiser for Mayor Abramson (last Fall) than I saw at last night’s Ford Dinner.
Other examples of this great racial divide are as follows: Not one single candidate for Congress in KY or for a Jefferson County office is a person of color.
Only one person of color (Harry Johnson) has a prominent role in any of these campaigns (David Nicholson’s campaign for Jefferson County Circuit Court Clerk).
Not one single person of color has a leadership role in either the Kentucky Democratic Party or the Louisville- Jefferson County Democratic Party. (Sorry David Tandy, I don’t see the role of Treasurer as position of leadership.)
(I do know that the Horne campaign, especially Stephanie Horne, has reached out to the burgeoning Hispanic population in Louisville. Thanks to Stephanie Horne all of their campaign materials will be in English and Spanish.) Not one single person of color has a leadership role in the Kentucky General Assembly or the Louisville Metro Council.
Not one single person of color has a leadership role in any State Office (Democratic or Republican).
Other than a Democratic Club in West Louisville, people of color do not have leadership roles in Louisville’s Democratic clubs.
People of color only run for offices in districts where African Americans represent a sizeable portion of the voting population.
People of color are seemingly only important during election years or special events. I don’t know how many times I have told prospective Democratic candidates to visit African- American Churches and neighborhoods during non-election years. People of color lost representation in the Kentucky Democratic Party when Leonard Gray died. Did any blogger (including myself) note that?
I don’t know the reasons for this racial divide. I’m only stating the facts.
Yet, Democrats wonder why Anne Northup cuts into “our” vote in West Louisville. As the saying goes---“what have you done for me lately…”
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