Letter to the Editor: Johnson C. Smith Is Owed an Apology

Megan Ain Malachi

On Sept. 1, representatives from Johnson C. Smith University, the only historically black university in Charlotte, N.C., attended a meeting of the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.

Their objective was to compel the board to grant Johnson C. Smith University a campus polling booth.

Anthony Tindall of the Student Government Association presented a proposal to the board concerning this issue, which has been a point of contention between the university and the county for almost 25 years.

Mr. Tindall maintains that the campus warrants a polling booth, due to the large number of voters on campus. He also stated that the booth would be beneficial to students without transportation, and with time restrictions due to class and work schedules. Mr. Tindall also believes that an on-campus polling booth would further engage students in the political process.

A motion was made to vote on having a booth at JCSU. The next step requires the board to petition the State Board of Elections for a voting booth at JCSU.

At this point, Mr. Philip Summa, a board member, stated, “If we give a polling booth to Johnson C. Smith, then we have to give one to Bojangles.”

Attendees expressed their outrage and Summa attempted to rescind his statement. He offered the spurious excuse that he “does business with Bojangles,” and that was why he made the statement.

As an African-American woman and a Johnson C. Smith University student, this is unacceptable. I found Mr. Summa’s comments highly offensive and borderline racist. His comparison of our great center of higher education to a fast-food chicken franchise displays his disregard for our institutions and African-Americans in general.

His remark also conjures up the stereotypical image of Black people as chicken- eating buffoons. His statement also says something about us as African-Americans. It shows that we have allowed people like Mr. Summa to feel secure in their racism. We have gotten entirely too comfortable and allowed the likes of Mr. Summa to believe that he can get away with making these sorts of comments without suffering a severe collective backlash.

I am outraged by his statement and you should be, too. This type of blatant disrespect should not go unchecked. Philip Summa needs to make amends for his terrible blunder in the form of a public apology. He should not only apologize to Johnson C. Smith University, but to Charlotte’s African-American community. Until he does so, I think Philip Summa should be nicknamed “Mr. Bojangles."

Megan Ain Malachi
Student, Johnson C. Smith University
Charlotte, N.C.

Posted Sept. 7, 2004

Elections board OKs polling place at Johnson C. Smith (Charlotte Observer, Sept. 10)