2 weeks Ago By L.A. Parker
Fingers and toes. Any counting being done from home, need no more digits to record the number of non-politico Caucasians in attendance for a vote on September 19 to name the Annex of City Council after former Mayor Douglas H. Palmer.
So, former Mercer County Executive Bob Prunetti and current County Executive Dan Benson, who spoke eloquently, do not factor in this count. Trenton resident Roland Pott, a city realtor, appeared as the lone White citizen to speak in favor of the ordinance. He recalled Palmer holding an extremely low-key officiating role during his wedding ceremony with his wife, Annie.
City Council Chambers filled with a predominantly Black crowd, offsetting a personal hope that Trenton residents could show racial solidarity for giving Mayor Palmer his due. And, while Ordinance 24-062 passed unanimously, in the end, Trenton produced another discomforting moment of segregation as some people, hardened by the past, pestered by the present, and lacking foresight of the future, declined participation for celebration of the city’s first Black mayor. Not only the first Black mayor but a city son who performed better than most, one who tethered pride to his five-term, 20-year service.
Bernard McMullan, a city mover and shaker, had voiced support previously in a City Council meeting. But, that wonderful night of September 19, expectations here hoped for a diverse crowd. A disconnect occurs with the people — both Black and White — who protested this historic event.
The nagging fact that our city holds the name of William Trent, a former slave owner/slave trader and human trafficker causes no cringe-worthy effect but affixing the name of a Black man to City Hall causes upset. Somewhere on this treacherous road of Trenton history, being a slave owner gained unhealthy popularity, as if William Trent treated his slaves with niceties of family. U.
S. coinage and currency shows the names and faces of presidents and a statesman who owned slaves, men who held power to commit the most unthinkable crimes. Ten of the first 12 U.
S. presidents owned slaves with Thomas Jefferson, who referenced slavery as an “assemblage of horrors” held papers on an estimated six hundred people. George Washington owned more than (300 slaves).
Incredibly, Presidents John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams did not own slaves, lived as staunch abolitionists. Their faces never found honor on U.S.
currency, buildings or monuments. A John Quincy Adams and John Adams quarter could redefine a nation’s assessment of slavery and identify brave people who fought against this despicable enterprise. While holidays for Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Juneteenth reference as holidays for Blacks, those conclusions exist as haunting. Make no mistake, Trenton heads nowhere without real efforts made for development of diversity.
During the macabre lynchings that occurred in the Deep South, victims, predominantly Black men, would be seized then faced torture. These crimes against humanity ended with victims being hung from trees, often castrated, doused with oil and set on fire. Frequently, bodies faced dismemberment and lynching attendees headed home with pieces of burnt flesh.
Black hands and feet were boiled until flesh eased away from bone, leaving a popular souvenir necklace of — fingers and toes. L.A.
Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at [email protected].
.
