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Post a commentNAACP forum discussed race relations in Bristol
A student, presumably leaving a night class at Bucks County Community College’s Lower Bucks campus, looked over his shoulder at the flag brought by the NAACP, Bucks County Branch.
The organization, among others, was holding a racial relations forum in the lobby of the building Oct. 22.
“What is N-A-A-, uh, A-A-C-P,” he said.
“The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,” someone answered. “They’re holding a dialogue on race relations.”
“That doesn’t sound very interesting,” he said, as he left on a small motorcycle.
The student didn’t seem to think there was a need for discussions about race relations — and that could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.
Natalie Kaye, of the Bucks County Committee for Interracial Harmony, was greeting people in the lobby for prior to the dialogue. The events her organization holds are usually upbeat — it holds a celebration for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. each year.
The Oct. 22 event was meant to be a potluck dinner — an event held by the organization each month to bolster race relations. Instead of promoting harmony, though, her group, along with the NAACP and the Peace Center, in Langhorne, met in an effort to diffuse a racially-charged political situation.
John W. Jordan, President of the NAACP, Bucks County Branch, described the situation. He said he received complaints after David Marucci, a Democratic candidate seeking a Bristol Borough Council seat in the east ward, was cited for disorderly conduct after he allegedly made some disparaging remarks June 17 about the possibility of black people moving into a house in his neighborhood to a local real estate agent.
“[The real estate agent] was sitting in her car, June 17,[and Marucci] comes running out of his house saying, ‘I know you’re not going to sell this house to any Innerfaith [racial epithet],” Jordan said, referring to the Interfaith Housing Development Corporation, which provides housing to low- to moderate-income residents in the county. “He just kept saying it, over and over.”
Marucci was cited and convicted Sept. 9, a decision he appealed. Marucci did not return phone calls asking for comment.
Jordan said he was at the hearing and five people testified against him. He added that the Bucks County Democratic Committee would not remove Marucci’s name until he had his Sept. 9 hearing, but the deadline to remove candidates, according to Jordan was in August, and Marucci remained on the ballot.
Calls to the Bucks County Democratic Committee president were not returned. Jordan heads up the nonpartisan NAACP, but concedes that black people historically vote for Democrats. He said he can’t tell people for whom to vote, but his message is channeled into what he calls “voter registration.”
“As I said in my [Oct. 15] press conference, and I’ll say it to you today, when they walk in that booth, hopefully they’ll vote their values, and value their vote,” he said.
Barbara Simmons, executive director of the Peace Center, said her organization has been holding race dialogues for years; and they are usually held not because of a specific incident, but rather because people want to have a deeper understanding of each other. A former Bristol resident, Simmons said Bucks County has its share of racism and prejudice, adding that everyone is guilty of making assumptions.
“But it’s when our assumptions have us say hurtful things to others — that’s when we have to do something,” Simmons said. “I grew up in this community, and [racial tensions] go way back, but why focus on how bad it is? Why not focus on what we can do about it?”
What they did about it was hold a panel discussion about how they can bolster relations. And the general consensus following some dialogue was to be expected: there needs to be more communication. None of the audience members was likely a racist, though.
“We’re singing to the choir tonight — it’s all right,” Jordan said. “We’re just getting some good people together to have some good dialogue tonight. We should have stuck to the potluck dinner — because now all we have is this vegetable platter.”
The organization, among others, was holding a racial relations forum in the lobby of the building Oct. 22.
“What is N-A-A-, uh, A-A-C-P,” he said.
“The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,” someone answered. “They’re holding a dialogue on race relations.”
“That doesn’t sound very interesting,” he said, as he left on a small motorcycle.
The student didn’t seem to think there was a need for discussions about race relations — and that could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.
Natalie Kaye, of the Bucks County Committee for Interracial Harmony, was greeting people in the lobby for prior to the dialogue. The events her organization holds are usually upbeat — it holds a celebration for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. each year.
The Oct. 22 event was meant to be a potluck dinner — an event held by the organization each month to bolster race relations. Instead of promoting harmony, though, her group, along with the NAACP and the Peace Center, in Langhorne, met in an effort to diffuse a racially-charged political situation.
John W. Jordan, President of the NAACP, Bucks County Branch, described the situation. He said he received complaints after David Marucci, a Democratic candidate seeking a Bristol Borough Council seat in the east ward, was cited for disorderly conduct after he allegedly made some disparaging remarks June 17 about the possibility of black people moving into a house in his neighborhood to a local real estate agent.
“[The real estate agent] was sitting in her car, June 17,[and Marucci] comes running out of his house saying, ‘I know you’re not going to sell this house to any Innerfaith [racial epithet],” Jordan said, referring to the Interfaith Housing Development Corporation, which provides housing to low- to moderate-income residents in the county. “He just kept saying it, over and over.”
Marucci was cited and convicted Sept. 9, a decision he appealed. Marucci did not return phone calls asking for comment.
Jordan said he was at the hearing and five people testified against him. He added that the Bucks County Democratic Committee would not remove Marucci’s name until he had his Sept. 9 hearing, but the deadline to remove candidates, according to Jordan was in August, and Marucci remained on the ballot.
Calls to the Bucks County Democratic Committee president were not returned. Jordan heads up the nonpartisan NAACP, but concedes that black people historically vote for Democrats. He said he can’t tell people for whom to vote, but his message is channeled into what he calls “voter registration.”
“As I said in my [Oct. 15] press conference, and I’ll say it to you today, when they walk in that booth, hopefully they’ll vote their values, and value their vote,” he said.
Barbara Simmons, executive director of the Peace Center, said her organization has been holding race dialogues for years; and they are usually held not because of a specific incident, but rather because people want to have a deeper understanding of each other. A former Bristol resident, Simmons said Bucks County has its share of racism and prejudice, adding that everyone is guilty of making assumptions.
“But it’s when our assumptions have us say hurtful things to others — that’s when we have to do something,” Simmons said. “I grew up in this community, and [racial tensions] go way back, but why focus on how bad it is? Why not focus on what we can do about it?”
What they did about it was hold a panel discussion about how they can bolster relations. And the general consensus following some dialogue was to be expected: there needs to be more communication. None of the audience members was likely a racist, though.
“We’re singing to the choir tonight — it’s all right,” Jordan said. “We’re just getting some good people together to have some good dialogue tonight. We should have stuck to the potluck dinner — because now all we have is this vegetable platter.”
