This isnt of much consequence from a strictly strategic political perspective, but is a story I felt compelled to share with the SSP community.
An African-American, James Young, was elected Mayor (on Tuesday, I imagine) of Philadelphia, MS.
Whats remarkable about this election was not only did he beat out a 3-term white incumbent Mayor or that he did it in a city that has a 55% white population in the Deep South, but that he did it in Philadelphia – the city where 3 civil rights workers were killed, a brutal, horrific incident that inspired the movie “Mississippi Burning” (An absolute must watch for those who have not seen it).
Even after electing an African-American POTUS just 7.5 months ago, I still cannot help being moved and impressed by this story. I hope everyone will take a few minutes to click on the link, read the story and watch the video of CNN speaking to James Young. Truly inspiring (my apologies for all the editorializing).
ADDITION (not in original posting): Oh yeah and he won by 46 votes in a city of 8,000 people (dont know how many votes were cast unfortunately).
via Wikipedia:
(Emphasis mine).
No further comment.
Small victories like this are just as important to improving race relations as Barack Obama’s electoral win. Also it builds a bench and increases the chance of electing a black governor or senator.
so sad. The Killing Fields is good too.
Successes like this show that racial prejudice can be overcome without causing another civil war. It just takes time. Congrats to Mr. Young!
But is this the same state were Ronald Reagan delivered his famous “states rights” speech in 1976 (not sure about the year either)?