Do you think you’d ever see that headline in The Herald-Sun if Knoxville, Tenn., Deputy Police Chief Don Green, the lone white candidate, had been selected? Not on your life. But today, after Jose Lopez Sr. was selected Durham’s new chief, this was the headline: Latino community pleased with police chief selection. One wonders if “Black community pleased with police chief selection” would have been the headline if Durham Deputy Chief Ron Hodge, the lone black candidate in the rainbow finalists, had been selected. Probably not, since blacks in public office is a common Durham occurrence.
Still, it’s amazing how and when race can and can’t be used these days. In instances it’s OK, in others mandatory. In still others, it’ll get you fired or prosecuted. You almost need a program.
