Calling Out Hypocrisy in the SC General Assembly

— by Sen. Robert Ford

Martin Luther King, Jr. said that he hoped for a day when a man would not be judged by the color of his skin. Barack Obama fulfilled the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr., when he became the first African American president of the United States. His presidency bought about a rise in the number of African American CEO’s, Chairman of college boards and key leadership positions at corporations across the country. That is why I took the Senate floor to denounce the hypocrisy displayed by South Carolina Black legislators.  

A deal was brokered to support Mr. Dawson over Dr. Walter Tobin.  They met with Mr. Dawson today to ask him to do two things in exchange for their support. The first thing they asked was his support to immediately unseat the newly elected president of South Carolina State University Thomas Elzey.  Secondly, they asked him to make sure that Mr. Robert Waldrep did not become the next Chairman of the Board after they defeat Dr. Walter L. Tobin. Bob Waldrep is a well-respected attorney who also served in the South Carolina Senate; yet he is not qualified to serve as Chairman of SC State Board of Trustees because he is white?  

Every time I think about the requests made by my colleagues, I cannot help but say to myself and “I’m the one under investigation for ethics?”

It is bad enough that some members of the Black Caucus made a deal to oust an outstanding African American educator from sitting on a Historically Black College Board of Trustees, for a White man who once belonged to a “White Only” organization. Then, the same people turn around and ask that very same White man not to support another White man for the Chairmanship of the Board, because he is White. Does that make any sense to you? That is hypocrisy at its highest level. Of course, Mr. Dawson being an honorable man as I told the South Carolina Senate looked at them in disgust and simply walked away.  

What moral principles would guide a person to make a deal to take the job of a man for no other reason than -- they wanted someone else to get the job?  How ethical is that?  They certainly can’t fault the newly elected president for any decision he made especially, since he hasn’t started yet.  Some people are simply ugly in defeat.    

The moral of this story: (1) the non-support of Trustee Robert Waldrep as Board Chairman equates to pure racism and not about one’s ability to lead. (2) The board’s lobbying efforts to unseat President Thomas Elzey is really not about their confidence in his ability to lead but the desire to continue the crooked and unscrupulous treachery conducted by previous administration’s for the past 75 years.    

Incidentally, President Elzey based on his qualifications and love of people has a desire for young African Americans from low income median families to have the opportunity to get an education. I am sure this goes back to his youth and reminds him of children he grew up with in Chicago. He is a dynamic individual and we need to support his efforts to turn S.C. State University around for once and forever. The five dinosaurs that are currently on the board precipitating these problems should resign and fade away into history.