PHILADELPHIA–While many across America consider Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin some kind of phenomenon, many Blacks in Alaska see the governor of their state as a person not interested in the inclusive posture of her predecessors.
“Blacks don’t have the levels of access to the governor and state commissioners as with past administrations,” said attorney Rex Butler, an Alaska resident since 1983. “It seems the posture of (Palin’s) administration with Blacks is: Don’t need them—don’t worry about them.”
Eleanor Andrews, board chair of the Anchorage Urban League, said she is unaware of any programs or outreach to Alaska’s Black community by Palin.
“It’s not a disengagement, it’s just no connection. She does not have relations with African-Americans,” said Andrews, a businesswoman and 44-year resident of Alaska.
Alaskan Blacks fault Palin for not hiring African-Americans for her administration, dismissing Blacks from government posts and spurning repeated requests to meet with Black leaders to discuss issues of concern.
Palin’s increasingly rocky relations with Alaska’s Black community seeped down to the “Lower 48” weeks ago, following an Internet posting by the president of Alaska’s African-American Historical Society, Gwendolyn Alexander, who detailed controversies such as Palin’s staffing practices, Palin allegedly stating she “doesn’t have to hire any Blacks” for major projects and her refusal to attend that state’s major African-American celebration—Juneteenth.
Palin denies telling Black leaders she did not intend to hire Blacks in her state where African-Americans comprise 4 percent of the population.
Palin, through spokespeople, defends her staffing record, citing that top aides and advisers include a Filipino, a Korean and a person of mixed African-American ancestry.
“I’m African-American, and I am a big rebuttal to those charges,” said Bill McAllister, Gov. Palin’s press secretary and former broadcast journalist.
“She is not averse to hiring African-Americans,” said McAllister, who joined Palin’s staff two months ago. McAllister said Palin’s office “never” compiled statistics on minorities in her administration.
The Rev. Alonzo B. Patterson chuckles at Palin’s claims of being color-blind, saying she’s “not sensitive to (having) African-Americans in her administration.”
Patterson, who’s worked closely with previous governors, mayors and other elected officials during his 45 years in Alaska, feels Palin has “totally departed from the past practices” of previous Alaska governors.
“Past administrations have had Black administrative assistants to the governor, state commissioners and department leaders,” said Patterson, who served as chair of Alaska’s Board of Paroles for 13 years.
While McAllister said Palin “hires on the basis of merit” not ethnicity, gender or race, one frequently cited example of Palin’s crony-based appointments is her elevation of a high school classmate to the $95,000-a-year post heading the State Division of Agriculture. Palin defended that appointment citing this real estate agent’s childhood love of cows.McAllister termed the agriculture appointment as “not major” because Alaska does not have much agriculture.
McAllister said Palin’s hiring of political opponents for important posts shows she does not hire only “within a circle of friends.”
Earlier this year, Patterson participated in a meeting of Black leaders with Palin. This meeting followed months of requests to Palin.
“We gave her a list of concerns and have received no response,” said Patterson, pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Anchorage.
Concerns presented by this group included hiring minorities at all levels of state government plus contracting and employment practices in major projects like the planned new pipeline construction project.
This group also invited Palin to participate in a town meeting during the summer with other racial and ethnic minorities in Alaska to discuss issues of common concern including economic growth, educational deficiencies, family disintegration and young gang problems. Palin spurned that invitation.
“She has not met with us since that March meeting,” Patterson said. “I think she was intimidated by us not being intimidated by her.”
Patterson heads the American Baptist Churches of Alaska and that state’s Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation.
A person from the area of Wasilla, the city where Palin served as mayor, said she’s very vindictive, a behavior pattern that chills criticism of her.
While commending Palin as an enchanting person with maverick ways, the person said, “Sarah is not ready” for the office she holds or higher office. This person did note that Palin’s employment practices may not be as discriminatory as they appear because “she is devoted to her people and there are few Blacks in Wasilla.”
Sarah Palin burst on the national stage as Sen. John McCain’s running mate during the GOP Convention that had the lowest number of Black delegates in 40 years.
McCain has received an F on the NAACP Congressional Report Card during 11 of the past 13 reporting periods. (During McCain’s two runs for president, the NAACP provided no grade for him.)
Palin’s rocky relations with Blacks in her state mirrors relations with Alaska’s native peoples, according to published accounts primarily from leaders and experts in that community.
Many in Alaska feel Blacks are not being treated fairly by Palin.
Special to the NNPA from the Philadelphia Tribune
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