I cannot think of better words to describe how irrelevant race should be in our lives than those of Martin Luther King Jr.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
At the time they were spoken, these were contentious words.
We might have come a long way, but the pervasive influence of race in Chapel Hill town politics calls into question our commitment to this dream.
The narrative runs this way: On Nov. 3, Jim Merritt — the only black representative on the Chapel Hill Town Council — came in sixth place in the municipal election. Four seats were up for election — a fifth had to be filled by appointment.
Advocates of democratic legitimacy supported seating the fifth place finisher in the fifth seat — makes sense, right? But that would have meant seating Matt Pohlman, who is white.
Others felt securing a continued black presence should be the first priority. This line of thought won, circumventing popular sovereignty with the appointment of Donna Bell, a local black professional who had not even run for election.
And now, members of the Asian community are asking the obvious question. In Chapel Hill, they are nearly as numerous as blacks — 9.7 percent to 10.5 percent. Where is their seat?
“I think we should strive to fill the council with the best candidate,” said former mayoral candidate Augustus Cho.
“But if we are going to consider race as an issue, then let’s practice it equitably.”
Cho’s challenge exposes the harm of viewing the world through colored lenses.
Sure, we could create racial quotas so that the council reflected the demography of our town. But when we predicate decisions upon race, we violate a fundamental tenet of equality: Color doesn’t matter.
Few these days seem to recognize the logical fallacy. They think that seeing color as a positive thing puts them beyond racism.
In reality, it enforces racial divisions and, in our case, ignores democracy.
Dr. King’s quote does not elucidate a dream where color is seen as a value instead of a detriment. It articulates a dream where color is cut from the calculus altogether.
If the council actually recognized this, then almost certainly Matt Pohlman would be seated today.
Contact Cameron at cdp@unc.edu.
