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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > March > 02 > Entry
Martin Gottlieb: Trammell story is about changing American times
The Rev. Raleigh Trammell’s story is about a lot more than alleged misbehavior on the money front. It’s a chapter in American history.
It’s about what happened to the American civil rights movement after its most basic goals were met and after remaining racial issues proved more resistant to political action. It’s about race in America.
Generations of Americans now alive have no memory of the glory days of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and its main founder, Martin Luther King Jr.
They don’t know firsthand of his fights, of a time when black Americans could be kept out of stores, restaurants, public bathrooms and swimming pools — not to mention polling places —because of race.
Some people try to remind them every year on the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
That is a good thing, lest young people see the civil rights movement through the fights of the 1980s and beyond.
In those years, a time when racism was a real but fading force in American society, some people saw it even where it wasn’t, at every turn, or almost.
This was inevitable. The nation was going through a transition. “How powerful is American racism?” had a different (and complex) answer every decade.
People who had grown up in a world defined by racism were destined to be skeptical about just how much change was actually taking place behind closed doors and in people’s hearts.
Enter “the race card,” the use of dubious charges of racism to get attention or apply pressure. Playing it was often just a cheap hustle associated with the likes of New York’s Rev. Al Sharpton. But more and more people also saw the old-line civil rights organizations as too likely to play it.
Trammell certainly played it at the local level, even into this century. When his old ally Ricky Boyd got rushed into retirement by the Montgomery County public health agency, Trammell hammered away at “blatant racism.”
Others who rushed to Boyd’s defense shied away from the racism charge. After all, two board members who voted against Boyd were black.
Also in the last decade, Trammell was leading an effort to “nationalize” a crusade about alleged discrimination at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. But public interest was minimal.
There came a time — 2006 — when the SCLC held a national convention in Dayton and almost nobody came. An SCLC letter to potential vendors predicted 10,000 attendees. But a discussion with Sharpton and Martin Luther King III drew 100. The largest events had settings for 500 and 600 people.
Ultimately, Trammell was just boring. Same old, same old, same old. He and the old-line civil rights organizations were struggling for followers and members. Many sophisticated, young and middle-aged blacks were looking elsewhere for political leadership. But alternatives, too, had trouble finding a role and a following.
The decline of the civil rights groups was an opportunity for some. It created a vacuum. A person could easily get access to the revered “SCLC” label, complete with a sizable soapbox.
When Trammell became chairman of the national SCLC, that didn’t seem an indication that he had been underestimated locally. It was the most striking evidence yet that the old-line civil rights groups were in a deep rut.
Now his story could serve as the final chapter in a book about Martin Luther King Jr.’s once-great organization and its role in American life. Even if that organization survives, the Trammell chapter could symbolize much about what it has come to.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment | Categories: Civil Rights, Columns, Locals in national affairs, Martin Gottlieb
Comments
By irishguy
March 3, 2010 7:20 AM | Link to this
Martin, it seems you forgot to mention the word corruption, which is what the story is really about.
By Scott
March 3, 2010 9:06 AM | Link to this
Martin, we rarely agree, but I feel in this case you are spot on. It almost seems these guys (Sharpton, Jackson, Trammell) long for the 60’s when times were worse, but they were more relevent. They have screamed racism so mush it has become the sky is falling.
By calvinj
March 3, 2010 12:29 PM | Link to this
I must have missed those stories through the years where the DDN editorial staff yelled that there is no racism for Trammel to be banking on? Did I miss the stories where anyone checked how he was using the state and county monies he extorted from the local politicians under the guise of reparations? Supposedly the reparations were for the “por fok” but just like Jackson, Rangel Sharpton, the reparations were for Trammel!!!! and his family. —————————————————Spare me, oh editors, pretending to have been whistleblowers. Were it not the feds got involved, DDN would still be tippy toeing around the topic. Notice for example, most of the stories don’t mention Trammels past conviction, for felony I believe, and prison time. Where did those reminders go?
By Raoul
March 3, 2010 4:22 PM | Link to this
Martin I liked your piece and I think it is largely accurate. But like Irish Guy, I think it misses the mark by not going a step further to explore the whole corruption issue that surely does not begin and end with Trammell. Entitlements of almost every kind have been grossly abused and Dayton is one of Ohio’s most notorious regions for that type of corruption. The DDN might serve this region well by digging into every corner of the entitlement world to see what lies beneath. Food stamp misuse is rampant, and they are traded for all kinds of things (cash, drugs, sex, you name it). This is an issue of governmental mis-management, and if race plays a part in it, so be it. All of us, black and white, are hurt by it.
By Quentin
March 5, 2010 12:27 AM | Link to this
The biggest problem is the groups went from doing good works to letting flat out racists lead them. As a result, instead of actually helping the black community they have hurt them. Racism is a serious problem that we need to work on but you can’t ignore black racists and listen to them while only going after white racists.
By dannymq
March 5, 2010 7:03 AM | Link to this
Felman,leiberman and foly should lose thier jobs in november for the “protection” money paid to trammel.Taxpayers should insist on a special prosecuter to investigate Trammel and our county elected officals
By Sam
March 5, 2010 9:24 PM | Link to this
Excuses and more excuses,these people stole taxpayers money and the county commissioners looked the other way. ENOUGH
By It's Great in Dayton!!
March 6, 2010 4:22 PM | Link to this
I’d like to personally thank the entire population of the City of Dayton for giving the world Raleigh Trammell. Just when we all thought Dayton’s reputation couldn’t get any worse, this guy bursts onto the national scene by stealing from the organization formed by Dr. Martin Luther King. ———What’s next? Maybe a son or daughter of Dayton will beat up the Dalai Lama, or steal the Pope’s red shoes and big hat….? What a fu(king embarassment. Thanks, Dayton!!!
By r
March 6, 2010 7:11 PM | Link to this
hey Martin you arrogant liberal…Trammell is a crook he stole money you fail to mention that…it not about civil rights the man has no integrity…and don’t get me started about WPAFB which has had less racial issues then any place in this area except from people who want something for nothing. You might want to look at some of the careers of some affirmative action hires…some very good and some absolute slugs
By Tim
March 10, 2010 4:39 AM | Link to this
Martin, You hit the core issue. Yes, corruption plays into this, but it’s about the evolution of the civil rights movement, and the mission of the SCLC. I believe the same fate will befall the NAACP. Without the race card, it is nothing. The NAACP, by playing the race card, fosters deep resentment and is hurting the overall growth of our community.
By fortressdayton
March 11, 2010 12:49 PM | Link to this
As long as we define (and separate) ourselves by the use of ‘race’ there will always be racism. Most modern democracies have embraced race neutrality. Black Canadians (the descendants of US slaves) enjoy no preferential treatment in Canada…. I wonder why? How is their lot appreciably different? Race-based ANYTHING is racist by definition. And when Hispanics become the new majority in 40-50 years, there will be no affirmative action for anyone…. It will be an uncomfortable reality for all those who have lived off of preference by race.
By Don
March 14, 2010 8:10 AM | Link to this
Felman, Leiberman and many of our so called civic leaders sold us out in order to appease Rev. Trammel. Its not about serving the public to these people, its all about getting recognition for their undeveloped egos. These people need to see their names in the paper or they just don’t feel important.I wonder what they think when they look into the bathroom mirror in the morning?
By Don
March 14, 2010 8:12 AM | Link to this
Felman, Leiberman and many of our so called civic leaders sold us out in order to appease Rev. Trammel. Its not about serving the public to these people, its all about getting recognition for their undeveloped egos. These people need to see their names in the paper or they just don’t feel important.I wonder what they think when they look into the bathroom mirror in the morning?