By Melanie R. Holmes
AFRO Staff Writer
NAACP Baltimore City Branch President Marvin Cheatham apologizes for his recent remarks, but says they were not racist, but reflective of reality. (Courtesy Photo)
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(October 22, 2009) - White people are enraged.
Since the NAACP Baltimore City Branch introduced its “Proposed Emergency Resolution Regarding Baltimore City Mayoral Succession,” the organization has been accused of reverse racism.
The Maryland Declaration of Rights prescribes that Mayor Dixon be removed by the governor if she is convicted of her theft and perjury charges and an election will be held to replace her. However, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is concerned with who will hold the office between the mayor’s removal and the special election.
In President Marvin Cheatham’s view, it is only right that the interim mayor be Black since the majority of the city and state’s elected officials are also Black. When expressing his opinion, however, his admittedly poor choice of words caused a racial uproar in the White community.
“Here you have a predominantly African American city. What if the governor appointed somebody White?...Would he appoint someone Irish to be the mayor?” he said last week.
But his remarks are not racist, Cheatham told the {AFRO}; they are “reality.”
Although he has apologized publicly for any harm brought to anyone who is not African American, turning a legal matter into a racial issue is a disservice, he said. His proposal, which gives no mention to race, calls for Gov. Martin O’Malley to appoint the city council president or any other qualified person to the mayor’s office if Dixon is found guilty.
“All we were trying to say is the law has to be looked at,” Cheatham said. “African Americans should be looked at first because they are the majority and 13 of the 14 highest-ranking officials are African American.”
While he believes there are some “outstanding folks of all ethnicities” that qualify for the interim mayoral seat, his vote is for the city council president to take over if Dixon is convicted.
“And that’s whether she’s White, brown, green or yellow,” Cheatham said. “I would be supportive whoever that person is. If the next person happened to be White, I would have supported that person.”
It just so happens that City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is Black. And, under the NAACP resolution, Rawlings-Blake would not be able to run for mayor in the special election but would return to her original office upon the election of a new mayor. If Gov. O’Malley appoints some other qualified official, that person would also be prohibited from running in the special election as mandated by the Maryland Declaration of Rights.
“In the event of an appointed mayor and the event of an elected mayor in a special election, they should not run for next election and be able to benefit as a result of the misfortune of the current mayor,” said Attorney Roland Patterson, the legal redress committee chairman for the NAACP Baltimore City Branch. “We think that would be objectionable because now that person has incumbent authority.”
Whether or not they read the NAACP’s resolution, many Whites seem to be offended by Cheatham’s comment. In a letter to the editor sent to The Baltimore Sun, Kent Schiner stated that the NAACP should be ashamed of itself for discriminating against anyone who is not Black.
“What if we had a White mayor who might be removed from office and many indicated that we only want a White person to replace that mayor?” Schiner wrote. “I guarantee the NAACP would be up in arms yelling and screaming and rightfully so, as that would be discrimination and not democratic or fair.”
Cheatham, who said the entire situation has been taken out of context, raised a question of his own: If he’s so racist, why is a White woman defending him?
Former Maryland public defender, Nancy Forster also wrote to the The Sun – but in support of the civil rights leader.
“I can absolutely and without fear of contradiction state that any claims of racism lodged against Dr. Marvin Cheatham would be absurd,” her letter stated. “In fact, Dr. Cheatham has led the charge in rebuking my termination as Public Defender for the State of Maryland…. I am a Caucasian and would, therefore, find it difficult to understand why Dr. Cheatham would do everything he has done on my behalf if he were racist…. In short, Dr. Cheatham is a man of integrity.”