The proposed downtown taxpayer-financed hotel deal gets stranger every day. I’d say the latest twist is a fine example of a city losing its dignity while prostituting itself for so-called “federal stimulus bonds.”
No, a march protesting skeptics of the project certainly wouldn’t look good for the city or the International Civil Rights Museum. Yet Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston apparently doesn’t realize that he’s the only one who can stop it, not the private hotelier threatening the city with a lawsuit to obtain all information related to this project.
I realize it’s no secret that Guilford County school board member and would-be march organizer Deena Hayes is a museum board member, but her involvement in this project has been downplayed, but it cannot be underestimated. YesWeekly wrote up her relationship with Bridget Chisholm, where they talk about how they bring to the table “a spirit and a connectivity of how we model what is in the best interest of this community.”
I’ve observed Hayes on the school board, and she doesn’t hesitate to play the race card. I realize the N&R’s Doug Clark is being sarcastic, but Deena Hayes’ name simply does not belong next to the names Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, David Richmond and Joseph McNeil in any context. Pulling such a publicity stunt would do nothing but dishonor them.
Then again, if it further exposes the mindset we’re dealing with, so be it.
Update: Evidently Deena Hayes is involved in a another interesting relationship.
