By Doni Glover, Publisher
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(RANDALLSTOWN – June 21, 2022) – Regular readers of this column may recall a piece done not long ago on retiring state Senator Delores G. Kelley. She was my college professor at Coppin. She taught political science. She was not just some ordinary state representative. No siree Bob! She taught the course not just literally, but she lived, ate, and breathed politics. She knows Annapolis and the legislative process inside and out and can share a bit about the history of this great state.
Unbeknownst to many boxing fans who have been amazed over the years by the phenomenally talented Floyd Mayweather, few understand just how much he, his dad, and his uncle study the history of boxing. It’s one thing to be a heck of a boxer. It’s a whole other level to fully comprehend the sport and what it has meant to humanity. It’s an even deeper appreciation if you’re Black and in America, as boxing represents – in a certain way – manhood. And so when a Jack Johnson is knocking out white opponents in a day and time when lynchings were not uncommon, this is a statement not only to America but to the world. And so, just like Curt Flood led the way on free agency in baseball – which then spilled into football – boxers like Johnson laid the foundation for boxers today to be even bolder. Mayweather has taken money from promoters to better empower boxers.
Kelley has been that heavyweight champion for Randallstown, the Liberty Road corridor, and the rest of the upwardly mobile and majority Black 10th state legislative district. With an election less than a month away, the question is whether Blacks in that part of the world will choose Delegate Ben Brooks, a longtime business owner on Liberty Road who has a long track record of serving the people to replace Kelley, or will they fall for the antics of quite possibly the most ineffective and most disliked delegate in Annapolis whose own staff loathe his presence, Delegate Jay Jalisi?
This man might be the only delegate in Baltimore County history to be publicly admonished by his colleagues in Annapolis for his mean-spirited treatment of his staff. Now that’s just horrible!
I don’t know. This should be an easy one – a lay-up, if you will. Brooks or Jalisi to replace Kelley? Umm, Brooks all day long and twice on Sunday!
Sometimes I wonder if folks know that the other representatives in Annapolis ask why the Black folks out Liberty Road send this circus act to represent them? We, as a beautiful Black people, lose points voting for this guy. We look like Bo-Bo the Clown standing on Liberty and Old Court wearing a plaid shirt, striped pants, and zebra print shoes on a Friday night.
We look like Bozo for real, for real!
It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s human. However, for the smart and empowered Black folks out Liberty Road to fall for Jay Jalisi as a state Senator is straight blasphemy and a smack in the face of our elders and ancestors. The late Ella White Campbell will roll over in her grave if we fail to support Ben Brooks in a couple weeks, a proud Vietnam veteran who is a very conscientious legislator and a family man who has been happily married for years.
Randallstown! Liberty Road! 10th district! Y’all know I keep it real. Most of my family lives out there. I love your bunny rabbits, foxes, and dears. I’ve spent a lot of time out there and have done my share of community work. I need you to listen up: Voting for Jalisi is a huge mistake that we cannot afford to make. Trust me. Vote for Ben Brooks for State Senate in the 10th – as well as the rest of the Unity Team, Speaker Adrienne Jones, N. Scott Phillips, and Jennifer White for your delegates.