Columnist’s Note: I yield my space this week to Councilmen Archie Scott and Randy Goings.
Against the Odds: From Policeman to Politician
By Councilman
Archie Scott
Dillon County Council
The Policeman
Born in 1967 in the rural area of Dillon County, I grew up in poverty. My mother had only a third grade education and my father had no education at all. My father was a farmer, logger, and construction worker. My mother was a farm worker and homemaker. I was the youngest of four children. Like many other children I knew, we had to make our own toys and create our own games of fun. My favorite game was cops and robbers. I believed that was my inspiration in wanting to become a policeman. When I got old enough, I entered the workforce by working on the farm. Even though I was victimized by cheap labor, farm work was a way of survival for me. It enabled me to buy school clothes and other needed items. I can remember my father, who was an amazing man, always encouraging me to do my best in school. It really meant a lot to me to get that encouragement from him. Although he could not write his own name, yet he would encourage his children to do well in school. There were others in my life who also gave me good encouragement. When I was in the 7th grade, police officers would come by the school and talk to some of the students through the fence. There were officers like the Late Lt. Lorenzo Owens, the Late Sgt. Henry Short, and retired Sgt. Harold Carmichael. From my father to those policemen, I had a dream and came to know what I really wanted to be when I graduated. In 1989, my dream came true. The Late Chief Jack Carter of Dillon Police Department gave me my first job as a police officer. Later on in life, I became a member of the Dillon County Sheriff Department under Sheriff Harold Grice. Even though the odds were against me, I held on to my dream. From poverty through high school, not having any one to help me with my homework or in high school I was never voted as “most popular” or “most likely to succeed”, I can truthfully say that the odds were against me achieving the dream I had.
The Politician
(Public Servant)
I must say with the help of the Lord, I came to believe in myself. I believed that I could make something of myself. Although, I did not complete college, I learned at an early age to trust in the Lord and he would direct my path. After my law enforcement career ended, I was asked by some members of my community if I would consider running for a public office. I must admit that I was hesitant. As I thought about it and shared it with others, the support that I received from them convinced me to run. In 2008, I was elected to the Dillon County Council. Although I do not particularly like using the word politician, but rather “public servant”. I know and believe that it was the way I treated the public as a policeman that I received their support. I stand firm on what I believe is right. I believe firmly in an open government (not hiding anything from the public). I also do not “go along to get along”. In closing, I would like to encourage as many young people, especially African-Americans, to set goals and dreams for yourselves. Regardless of the many odds that are against you, with the Lord, your dreams can come true.
Choosing Academic Excellence Over Athletic Exploits
By Councilman
Randy Goings
Dillon County Council
February is a very unique and special month. It is fair to say that February is most known for two special things that, oddly enough, provoke emotions that are both alike and different. Love and hate. Valentine’s day, we simply celebrate love. Black History Month, we celebrate the history and culture of blacks in America. Needless to say, you can find love and hate from various perspectives as it relates to black history month.
One phenomenon that I personally hate, or shall I say dislike, is the miseducation of black youth as it relates to sports, business, and success. I can recall, in the 1960’s, when I was a boy; the revolutionary and trail-blazing feats that blacks were overcoming in all sports. Football, baseball, basketball, track and field was THE path to success for blacks, so it seemed. All we could see was big money and success through athleticism not intellect. Like it was then, so it is now.
The MISEDUCATION of our black youth failed to inform us of the odds stacked against us. The racism, the hate, the likeliness of a career-ending injury, were never brought to the fore-front in those days. We were like gladiators, as entertainers for the masses. Run the ball! Dunk the ball! Jump really high! Like it was then, so it is now. The MISEDUCATION of our black youth hardly ever encouraged us to read a book, study our lesson, or even GO to class. This does not have to be validated, as it is my first-hand experience as a football jock. However, by the grace and mercy of God, I was taught a trade that would ultimately define my destiny.
My father was a black entrepreneur when I was a young boy. He was one of the very few black businessmen in Dillon County at the time. The MISEDUCATION of sports as my path to success had failed me and even after all the athletic accolades, it was my trade, my real-world experience that saved me. In 1984, after 10 years in brick masonry, I became the first licensed black contractor in Dillon County. It breaks my heart that so many of our youth are facing life, even today, with a wonderful “curriculum vitae” of athletic achievements, but with neither a substantial education OR a trade.
I often wonder, do they even know what it is like to be a black man or woman in business or corporate America? We have come a long way, but we have so much further to go. Minority businesses, frankly, are not privy to same opportunities as non-minority businesses. It seems that oftentimes our black brothers and sisters may lack the confidence in black-owned businesses to deliver quality services, so they revert to white-owned businesses to patronize instead.
Please understand that this is not a smear of white-owned businesses, but more of an exposure of the mentality some blacks have towards other blacks, a manifestation of the MISEDUCATION.
This is why the “pie” is not evenly sliced between minority and non-minority businesses. We as minorities usually find ourselves fighting over the same slice of pie, or demographic, for business revenue. We do ourselves a disservice when we stand by and watch our youth continue to be MISEDUCATED perpetuating the cycle.
I want to reverse the cycle and educate as well as empower our young black men and women. Let us understand that, yes, sports may be a way to wealth and success, but it is NOT the ONLY way. We are well equipped to use our intellectual prowess and trade skill-sets to obtain the things we have always dreamed of. Through education and trade the odds are in our favor as opposed to sports where they are against us.
Education, trade, family, love…these are the tools for success. Let us use them now and forever
