Pre-History of the Office of Civil Rights & Civic Life

[William Madden]

Chief Civil Rights Officer Paul Slack:

On the last calendar day of the year 2015, I was previously scheduled to use Annual Leave that workday. It was the next week that I learned of a group email forwarded by Amy McLamb to the staff of the Register of Deeds (ROD) office. I did not like this email.

The email was from the email account amc...@orangecountync.gov addressed to ALL_ROD_EMAIL on Thursday, December 31, 2015 between 10:20 AM and 10:30 AM. The email includes the exact phrases: "parking deck" "who does not seem to be 'all together'." "dreadlocks" and "you might want to be sure that your car doors are locked." If one wants to exercise their civil right to inspect a public record, then the above information ought to facilitate a public record search for the specific email, per NCGS 132. 

[I am not an attorney. I am not providing legal advice. If you have a question, then consult your own licensed attorney.]

Between 2009 and 2012, I had served as an emergency medical technician (EMT) and was a cut-loose EMT responding as a team member to 911 calls-for-service (CFS). I can list a bunch of legitimate reasons innocent people may experience altered mental status (AMS). If you suspect that a stranger is not fully cognitive, then do not send a group email saying "Danger!" Call 911, and get them help in case their health suddenly worsens, at a minimum. 

The difference between sending a group email and calling 911 has to do with whether or not you value the humanity in the stranger.

Something about describing the visual appearance by "dreadlocks" instead of saying race, such as "White", "Black", "African-American", "Asian", "Latino", "Hispanic", just kinda did not sit well with me. If the man were White, then I am confident that the sender and the 2nd sender would have written "White". So, I'm thinking that the man wearing "dreadlocks" is probably African-American.

Why not just say "African-American" or just say "Black" if the man's appearance accurately was "African-American" or "Black"? Why not say either of those two descriptions? 

Describing a person's appearance as "African-American" or "Black" is not an insult. If an unknown man appears to be African-Amrrican or Black, then just say so because it is accurate. 

There are plenty of Gen X'ers, still grumbling that Dukes of Hazzard got cancelled, who have a hard time saying "it is not an insult to be 'African-American' or 'Black'." 

Why were the sender and the 2nd sender, McLamb, describing the man as wearing "dreadlocks", but not a common term for the man's race? 

QUESTION: Were they nervous that they might stumble like Paula Dean?

So, they are sending and forwarding this alert. The alert continues to infer that the African-American man may not make good decisions. The message continues and infers the scary Black man will open unlocked car doors.

Days after the email made its way around the top two floors of the Gateway Center, I was reading it for the first time. I really did not like it. I checked with my African-American co-workers. Individually, they did not like it. One told me that the subject of the email was in fact, "Black".

I had no faith to speak directly to Amy McLamb to do the right thing. I had no faith that anyone would address the email as it warranted.

I went to Human Resources. I asked to speak with an African-American woman for a complaint. I did so for three reasons:

1. I wanted to avoid having to explain a paper cut insult.

2. I wanted to motivate someone who would see that progress gets made. I specially told her, "Orange County should be better than this!" She possessed a hard copy of the email.

3. The H.R. Director does not hire men. 

Did anyone call 911 that day to show concern for another human being? Many months ago, I made a public record request for the 911 CFS information which is public. The request would have informed me if Orange County Emergency Management (OCEM) dispatched Hillsborough Fire Department and an advanced life saving (ALS) or a basic life saving (BLS) unit. [As an EMT, I served on ALS units with 1-2 paramedics and on BLS units with other EMT's.]

The County still has not provided me any information, as specific and easy as it would have been to query.

Matter of fact, anyone ought to be able to request to view my email requesting the address of the location of the emergencies in that ZIP code during that daytime. 

I was glad to finally learn when County staff would begin attending and participating in DEI group discussions. I eagerly participated in one of the first group discussions. I was very comfortable openly sharing my perspectives and understandings. I was open-minded to constructive criticism. I tried to listen and imagine the perspectives of other people. 

COVID-19 interrupted the discussions. We still need much more DEI group discussions. It is obvious that there is more work to do to address unjust discrimination. 

I want you to know that, though I may be persistent, it might just be because my belief is true. My persistence added to the effort to bring about the Office of Civil Rights & Civic Life. I would like to believe that more than two employees pushed for the Office. 

After the above visit to Human Resources, I asked a man everyone knows and loves, Chapel Hill Gem, Mr. Nate Davis, Sr., to visit the ROD office and see for himself my concern. My concern was that Amy McLamb wanted to hire and promote only White women. 

Mr. Davis did visit the office. He saw with his own eyes that the staff did not reflect the people of Orange County. It seems that Amy has since hired women who are not White.

Chief Slack, please feel free to share this email, this public record, on this beautiful Sunday evening. I wish continued success among those who currently serve in the Office and those who will carry on the service in the future. 

I have more to write. 

William Madden

Feel free to ask me about my participation in the UNC BSM Buddies program Fall 1992 & Spring 1993.