Board:
Claudette Colvin
Mary Louise Smith
Those are the two people who Commissioner Sally Greene voted to recognize when I first addressed the Chapel Hill Town Council in 2006. (See attached video provided by Town of Chapel Hill staff via public record request.)
I stood at the podium and asked the Council to recognize those two people in addition to Rosa Parks, as petitioned by Mike Nelson. Notably, Councilman Bill Thorpe said this was important enough to not refer the petition to the Town Manager.
Councilman Thorpe wanted the Council to vote right then and there to add all three African-Americans' names to a seat at the front of the Chapel Hill Transit (CHT) busses.
Again, I made a suggestion to the Council and the Council immediately and unanimously agreed with me (and Mike Nelson). How many folks can say that about their time addressing the Chapel Hill Town Council?
Darn shame CHT has not continued to follow that Council's action.
Growing up in Metro Detroit, I often saw Parks in the local news and have seen the actual Montgomery bus at the Henry Ford Museum. But, I did not learn that seamstress Rosa Parks was not the first to so protest segregation until I was in my
30's.
Is it important to remember the two protesters who preceded Rosa Parks? Yes, it is important because Americans additionally learn that some protesters lose because they are not good enough to support by other protesters. Progress is not inevitable
at first.
See government not preforming like it ought to? If you are not an ideal victim, then too bad. Nowadays, American media rushes to frame victims as either deserving sympathy or not deserving sympathy and at what degree.
Whether one agrees or disagrees, their names still ought to be displayed on today's busses. Yes, this is not directly a Board decision.
Another night, another year, I attended a Council hearing involving the mixed-use development between I-40 and Eubanks Road. The developer was attempting to do as little as required for affordable housing. And Sally Greene was not having it.
More than the others seated at the dais, Councilwoman Greene was wide awake and pushing back.
Seated a couple rows behind the coy developer, I certainly noticed. I respect Sally Greene for her acumen and willingness to push back for a righteous cause.
From Fidelity Street I once bicycled to downtown Chapel Hill, put the mountain bike on the bus to Durham, put the bike on the Amtrak train to Greensboro, put the bike on a bus in Greensboro, and eventually biked two more miles to a friend's
home for the weekend. On the train I met Profressor Sally Greene.
I was impressed that, when no one was looking, she was supporting public transportation. Plus, I was impressed that she agreed with me that Chapel Hill Town Council members ought to announce their departure well before an election.
(I was reminded of taking such a righteous stand when a young prosecutor told local Democrats that our state senate seat is not to be filled only by the choice of the departing state senator.)
Hindsight 20/20, I do not agree with every decision I have made. No one is perfect and bad decisions occur. In the last year, I do not agree with the Board's emailed response most recently to me.
Overall, this is why I wanted attend to the Board's meeting and personally thank Commissioner Greene for her service.
Again, thank you.
William Madden
Good afternoon
We were able to provide the video as requested. Please see attached.
Amy Harvey
From: Ran Northam
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2014 3:55 PM
To: Amy Harvey
Subject: FW: Video
Hi Amy,
Attached, please find the requested segment of video.
Please note, the quality is greatly reduced in order to keep it to a size that is able to be emailed.
Thank you,
Ran
From: William Madden [mailto:madden....@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2014 1:26 PM
To: Amy Harvey
Subject: Re: 1/9/2006 video available
Thank you, Amy Harvey. I will attempt to visit during the office hours rather soon.
Is it at all possible to receive a portion of the video via email?
On Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 10:27 AM, Amy Harvey <aha...@townofchapelhill.org> wrote:
Good Morning
We do have a DVD of the January 9, 2006 meeting. You are welcome to come by to watch the video. We are open between 8:30 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Please let me know when you are interested in stopping
by.
Amy T. Harvey, CMC
Deputy Town Clerk
Communications and Public Affairs
Town of Chapel Hill
405 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919-969-5013 direct
919-968-2743 main
919-967-8406 fax
Design Chapel Hill 2020 | Connections-Choices-Community |
http://www.townofchapelhill.org/design
Please note, E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law.
