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Message from Selma

The city's first black mayor, whose parents marched for voting rights and who helped integrate the high school, will speak at a King Day event in Clearwater today.

By DEMORRIS A. LEE
Published January 15, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Douglas Clifford] James Perkins Jr. talks on the phone while at work. Perkins, the first black mayor of Selma, was born and raised there and was one of the first black students to attend a then white school system.

SELMA, Ala.

James Perkins Jr.'s tall frame was swallowed by the white columns of historic Sturdivant Hall museum. Inside, he greeted the visiting chairman of a large Korean auto parts supplier.

"Welcome to Selma," Perkins said.

A translator relayed the greeting.

Such business meetings are common these days, emblematic of the change taking place in this small, predominantly black town 40 miles west of Montgomery.

Driving the change is Perkins, who in 2000 made history in a city so rich in history. He became the first black mayor of Selma, site of one of the defining moments of the civil rights movement.

It was here that on March 7, 1965, police used tear gas and billy clubs to turn away a group of 600 voting-rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. And where two days later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a symbolic march to the bridge.

Perkins' vision for change is rooted in what has become known as "Bloody Sunday." And change is at the heart of the message he will impart today in Clearwater, as the keynote speaker of the city's annual King celebration at Coachman Park.

Change, Perkins says, must be managed for the betterment of the entire community. "If that message can be conveyed, then maybe people will not be so fearful of their neighbors."

* * *

Perkins was 12 when he watched his father, a teacher, and his mother, a nurse, march down Selma sidewalks for the right to vote.

"It affected us," Perkins said of the events of 1965. "My level of consciousness about injustice was birthed at that time, and that fire never went out."

A child of the civil rights movement, Perkins became entwined with it. In 1969, he was one of 50 blacks sent to attend an all-white high school. In 1971, he was part of the first integrated graduating class of the new Selma High.

Perkins, who went on to earn a math degree from Alabama A&M, made his first foray into politics in 1984. He was campaign manager for the Rev. Frederick Douglas Reese's failed bid to unseat Mayor Joe Smitherman, a longtime incumbent and former segregationist. Smitherman was in his first term during the historic march.

Years later, Perkins would take on Smitherman. He lost in 1996 and 1998. But in 2000, he ended the mayor's 36-year tenure.

Reese, who in 1961 led the first march of teachers for voting rights, and who was also in constant dialogue with King during the movement, said it was "a great feeling" to see Perkins take the reins.

"To be able to see a black man seated in the mayor's chair of Selma. ... it just signaled a kind of hope for future generations," said Reese, 77.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, who was among those beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, called it a significant step.

"It demonstrated the power of the people to come together, and using the vote - a nonviolence tool - for change," he said.

Perkins, a married father of four, said he didn't grasp the gravity of his accomplishment until a delegation from Africa traveled to Selma to see him.

"That's when it hit me," he said.

* * *

Leading Selma through such a change has not been easy.

The city's population has dropped since Perkins' election, from 20,000 to more than 18,000. Most of those who left were white residents, and more than a few white-owned businesses have left, said City Council member Cecil Williamson. There are complaints that Perkins does not associate with whites in the city.

Williamson, one of three white members on the nine-person council, blames the "white flight" on Perkins.

He said the problem isn't that so many whites have left. "But they were the working people. They weren't on welfare. We lost quality people and economic benefit."

Williamson predicts there will never be another white mayor in Selma. But he says whites still have the economic power.

"Even though the mayor has the political power, he still has to deal with the white power structure here and I don't know if he knows how to communicate with whites."

Perkins declined to speak to Williamson's comments: "I wouldn't even attempt to dignify that by attempting to respond."

Joanne Bland, executive director of the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute and a lifelong resident, said whites fear that with a black mayor, they will be treated the same way blacks were treated for years.

"That's just perception. That's not the way black people think," Bland, 53, said. "But we are still behind and still playing catchup for that equality that we fought for."

Mallieve Breeding, 85, who chairs the city's Community Pride Committee, said you can't just wave a magic wand and expect things to get better.

"Groups like this will get together in perfect comfort," said Breeding, who is white. "But some people say we can't get together, both blacks and whites. They can if they want to. They are just hanging on, but things are changing."

* * *

For Perkins, change is a driving force, evident in his view on economic development and in his leadership style.

He said attracting outside business is key to Selma's economic future. In the last two years, three auto suppliers have located in the city, bringing 500 to 600 jobs.

Several other industries have chosen Selma, said Wayne Vardaman, president of the city's Center for Commerce. He said 1,100 to 1,200 jobs have come to Selma in the last two years.

He called Perkins "a beneficial player" on the city's economic development team.

Perkins isn't the typical hometown mayor. He doesn't walk downtown shaking hands and slapping backs, doesn't eat lunch in the local diner as folks had been used to.

Instead, he attends conferences around the country, letting folks know "Selma is open for business."

His leadership style has created friction with some black council members. At a meeting last week, council President George Evans took exception to a Perkins memo saying that no council member can talk to a department head without first notifying the mayor.

During an exchange, Perkins told Evans: "What you want to do is embarrass me by pulling me into a public controversy. If you want to shadow box, go right ahead. I'm rope-a-doping."

Perkins says Evans is setting up to challenge him in the next mayoral election, and it plays out at meetings.

It's "constant bickering" that sours Dianne Smitherman, daughter of Joe Smitherman. She moved back to Selma in 2005 to take care of her father, who died later that year at age 75.

Dianne, who owns a downtown restaurant, won't discuss her father, saying he never spoke for or against any current leaders and she won't speak for him.

But she said that even in a climate of change, it will be hard for Selma to get away from being Selma.

"Selma has this stigma," she said. "It's the bridge. It's black and white politics. It's protest. Selma is Selma and we can't get away from it. Nor should we."

Rep. Lewis said the city's civil rights roots will be etched in the memories of the unborn for generations. "It's part of our history, part of the historic landscape."

He believes Perkins is good for Selma. "He's very hopeful and optimistic."

Perkins says he's trying to open Selma to the world, letting people know it's a great place to work, live and raise children.

"Someday, sooner or later, I will need to move aside and make way for someone else to lead this community," he said.

"Hopefully, when that change comes, Selma will be an even better place."

If you go

MLK event

Clearwater's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. event will start with a leadership breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at the North Greenwood Recreation and Aquatic Complex, 900 N Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. A march to Coachman Park will follow at 9:30 a.m., and a rally at the park at 11 a.m. will feature Selma, Ala., Mayor James Perkins Jr. and William Floyd, a member of the San Francisco 49ers' 1995 Super Bowl team. Saxophonist Eric Darius will play a concert after the rally.

[Last modified January 15, 2007, 01:29:23]