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Century Resident Concerned That ‘White Citizens’ Skip Council Meetings
March 6, 2012
A Century resident, who is black, is concerned that white residents of Century are not attending town council meetings and are not involved in town government.
“What happened to all of the white citizens? Nobody comes to the council meetings,” Helen Mincy said as she addressed the Century Town Council Monday night during the public form portion of their meeting.
Mincy asked the council why white citizens of Century do not attend council meetings.
“I am hoping that people elected us to do a good job, and we are doing a good job,” Mayor Freddie McCall said. “I hope they are trusting us.”
Only a small number of people attended Monday night’s council meeting. All were black, with the exception of two reporters.
Pictured: The Century Town Council meets Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
40 Responses to “Century Resident Concerned That ‘White Citizens’ Skip Council Meetings”
REGARDING:
“you should have charges brought against you for race discrimination”
Who was discriminated against?
What law did she break?
David for clarity
why don’t you keep ur racial slur’s to yourself why are you so concerned about what “WHITE RESIDENT’S” attend or do not attend for anyway you should have charges brought against you for race discrimination and oh by the way i’em cherokee indian thank’s
I DO NOT FEEL THAT MRS. MINCY MEANT ANY HARM BY HER QUESTION.IT SHOULD BE TAKEN IN THE CONTEXT THAT IT WAS SPOKEN. THAT BEING SAID , IF ALL THE PEOPLE COMMENTING HERE ABOUT WHAT WAS SAID OR MEANT WOULD ACTUALLY SHOW UP AT ONE MEETING A YEAR AND GIVE SOME IN PUT TO OUR COMMUNITY, JUST THINK OF HOW MUCH BETTER EVERYTHING WOULD BE. IF YOU ARE NOT INVOLVED IN YOU GOVERNMENT THEN YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BITCH ABOUT IT!!!!
I can hear God asking “Where ALL MY people at? all races. …………..It is time to stop playing the race card. I am black, I don’t attend any community meetings, I have a job and a fimily ( children and a disabled husband) that I have to care for. I am sure that there are others that are unable to attend and if you have the time to attend anything in this face pace world then good for you, you have more time to spare than I do. Maybe you should give some of your time to those of us that need it. Go to the grocery store, do the yard, keep the kids, take husband to a doctors appointment….then maybe just maybe ANY OF US can go to a meeting..
I would suggest having food and beverages for the guest, maybe an after party. that might draw more people. I would further suggest that maybe Mayor McCall do an insperational reading, or a dramatic reenactment. The Roman Emperor Nero performed for the citizens and they loved it.
If it aint broke, you don’t need to fix it!!!!! The Mayor and T
Maybe this isn’t a race issue; maybe it is an apathy issue. I notice that many people in this area do a lot of complaining about how the government does/does not do things, but they don’t make their voices heard in government (local or state or washington). We have email, phones and can write letters, but it seems few people do. Why??? Remember, the squeeky wheel gets the oil!
to answer that question simply, were all at home, claiming to live in McDavid. have you heard the crazy crap that comes from Century?? come on now!! I’ll put it like this, “my mailbox may live in Century, but I live in McDavid”!
Well, maybe because whites don’t seem to heard, even if they attend…..just saying….
To all of you spouting off at the mouth: I don’t believe for a minute Mrs. Mincy meant that remark to be racist at all. Carl and I went to these meetings for a very long time. More times than once were we the only two white people there besides the reporters. I even asked Carl why did he think more white folks didn’t show up.. The blacks weren always well represented. I guess maybe I was a little jealous that we didn’t have more white folks there.Mrs. Mincy is a very nice lady who also cares about our community. Please don’t use this article to make a mountian out of a mole hill.
>>>why would u even publish something so trouble starting i dont understand do u just want everyone to argue??some things r better off left alone thats my opinion!!
It’s our job to report what happens in public meetings.
why would u even publish something so trouble starting i dont understand do u just want everyone to argue??some things r better off left alone thats my opinion!!
To Bob, who said: “Century needs capable people to step in the batters box”
Bob, there are VERY capable people “in the batter’s box.” Not nearly so unsettled at town hall as it was the last several years, once certain folks were voted out. It’[s not the people at City Hall; the “squabbling,” to repeat another’s post, is NOT happening at the council table. Looks like the squabbling HERE is partially fueled by outsiders adding their two cents. Nothing wrong with that, except it gives people an opening to make snide comments about good people, which includes most of the people of Century. I don’t think Mrs. Mincy intended it to be a racist remark. She likely was making an observation such as someone who might have noticed there were no green people at the meetings. If she’d said that, there would have been no politically correct comments by some of these bleeding hearts on the page. If she’d said there were no young people there, would it have caused such a stir? It had to be touchy people – touchy about race, who brought up the racist remark. Chill, people.
Where’s all the young people? I bet the room has only senior citizens attending. Would this be a true statement ?
Apathy in your community, squabbling among yourselves , prime reasons your schools were closed. Century needs capable people to step in the batters box
Rick has a good point.
I live outside the city limits and can’t vote so don’t go to meetings.
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 1,714 people, 680 households, and 448 families residing in the town. The population density was 522.5 inhabitants per square mile (201.8/km²). There were 800 housing units at an average density of 243.9 per square mile (94.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 39.67% White, 56.65% African American, 0.58% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 2.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.63% of the population.
Ms. Mincy should publicly appologize for her racist comments or the barred from all future concil mettings. Personally, I am offended by someone who singles out a particular race rather than a single person. To get up at a town meeting and point out race is uncalled for. I know for a fact that if I did something like that, it would appear on CNN’s Black in America or some other racist show.Why can’t I be a citizen instead of being a white ciitizen? People like Helen Mincy cause the racial tension in our society .
I grew up in Century. When a friend of mine came home from college and told me that blacks were a minority, I asked the same thing: “Where are all the white people??”
I guess it is a legit question … as a matter of fact where were all the Asian,Hispanic,Native American and Arabic folks at ?
wow….i cant believe what im reading….if this was reversed and a white lady was asking ”where is all the black people at” you would see it on the news with the headline sayings something along the lines of ” little town being a big racies” i dont know ms.mincy im sure she is a very good person but she should have thought a little more before she spoke…
If only a “small number” of citizens attend, perhaps the question should be “What happened to all the citizens”, not specifically the white ones. Sounds like there is an absence of all races, genders, and so forth. Alienating an entire race is not going to pick up participation. Whether her comment was “racist” or not is a matter I could care less to discuss. But, the comment was foolish if her goal was to have a variety of citizens attend the meetings.
Mrs. Mincy, We use to attend most of the council meetings. Carl is seventy six years old and is still employed with the Town. We miss being there, but he is tired when he gets home and we just don’t seem to get there anymore. We talk about trying to get back in the habit, but it just seems something is always coming up to stop us. As far as color goes Mr. Riley and Mrs. Annie are very good friends to us and we surely don’t see their color as a fault. I think most people just like us, doesn’t take the time to go. We have a good council now and I trust they will make decisions that are best for the Town.
at what point does a community move on? this is not 1960. these issues have been around for a long time. forced segregation is a thing of the past. the segregation that goes on now is by choice. Is color really the issue? I do not think so. I think the segregation groups now are those who are interested in city government and those who are not.
This is not color based.
You could go on to ask “where are all the young people at the city meetings”
my answer would be, they are in the group that is not interested!
I feel that people who still use race as an excuse are just looking for something to complain about, this goes either way black or white.
just my thoiughts.
I agree with Elizabeth on this one …”The race card is alive and well”.
I have known Mrs. Mincy since she returned to Century. I know her to be a person to call on when I need help. She is not a racist.
There are plenty of white citizens of Century. Many are elderly and cannot get to the night meetings.
I saw this and said, nope…not going to comment. I am first a black person and a citizen of Century. I’ve known Ms. Helen for many years and even I can’t condone this comment. Seriously, we have enough issues in this community without her starting this nonsense. I look @ it this way, maybe…just maybe, the white members of this community may not come to the meeting much like the young black people of this community because there’s nothing going on but a lot of arguing and who wants to sit and listen to that? So, I don’t know if I have the authorization but we can remove the “race card” from the table.
They can’t attend because they are at work.
I wasn’t aware Century had many white residents.
I just don’t understand. Can someone please explain it to me?
1) It’s racism to point out that the entire white community doesn’t seem to care what goes on at the town council meetings? HOW? It’s a natural observation to make. ALL citizens should go to the meetings. If you don’t go and voice your opinions, you have NO right to complain about anything that is done. It’s utterly asinine to say that you “trust” your council members to represent you the way you want. Their JOB is to listen to your concerns (those voiced by the people who actually care enough to show up and voice them) and then act on them in a way that is most beneficial to the town and all its members. You elect them in the hopes that they will do that, but you attend the meetings to ensure that they do.
2) It’s racist to see the difference in skin color? Does that mean my eyes should no longer distinguish between blue sky and green grass?
3) It’s racist to point out the huge disparity in the citizens who actually care what their council members are doing if it is only black people who seem to be doing the caring?
I just don’t understand. I don’t care what color someone’s skin is. As others have already said, I treat people based on their behavior. There are blacks who act badly, just as there are whites who behave badly. People of all races have behavioral problems.
To point out that an entire group, for whatever reason, is not participating in their local government does NOT constitute racism as far as I can see. It’s merely pointing out what everyone’s eyes can plainly see: that they just don’t care.
i vote for my representative to attend those meetings. if i’m satisfied with what goes on why do i need to be there? ms mincy is always playing the card. guess thats what folks in her district want.
You know…the problem today is that we have REVERSE discrimination. Could you imagine the grief that whites would get, if they were to ask…”where are all the black people”? It’s okay to have BSU (Black Student Unions)…but white people would be thrown in jail for trying to start a WSU (White Student Union).
Get real people…do you really think God sees color??
I find “Jane” comments interesting. (Dr. Martin Luther King and had a chance to talk to him. He was an amazing man, and would be the first to tell you that people need to get along together.) At the time period if you had nothing (as in proverty) then you’re willing to get along to further your goals, but if you have worth then you were incline to not get along, but just let things go as is. Maybe the white citizens of Century have worth, and just want things to go as is. What I am trying to say is “I got mine, and I don’t care if you get yours is the attitude of most people that worth!!
The race card is alive and well.
Im am sure there are times when white citizens find themselves in the same condition. I would suggest attempting to make the white elements feels guilty about not being in attendance, that usually works with most of us, but not all.
I moved here from another state, where people were just people, not Asian, not Mexican, not Black or white or any other ethnic group. I treat people the way they treat me, not by race. There are people who are racist here…some are black, and don’t like whites, some are white and don’t like blacks. Once I met Dr. Martin Luther King and had a chance to talk to him. He was an amazing man, and would be the first to tell you that people need to get along together.
Who wants to listen to them talk about why the city needs new Christmas lights?
I guess racism still exists. Now if I attended one of the meetings Mincy would refer to me as “that white guy at the meeting.” Think I’ll pass on that one. It’s 2012 and we’re still classified into two different species. Dr. King would be proud.
And, how is that a problem?
Seriously? This is not 1960. Do you really see white or blacks at government meetings? Or do you see citizens that live together in a community?