One of the things that you can count on when it comes to the Virginian-Pilot is their crusade to paint Norfolk Vice Mayor Paul Riddick as the worst person – bar none – in the city. As I look back over the reports of the Pilot over the years Riddick has served on council, I cannot find a SINGLE time when they had said anything positive about the man.
Such is the firestorm that they ignited today surrounding Riddick’s remarks on his radio program. For those who are unfamiliar, black plainsclothes officer Seneca Darden was shot and killed by white officer Gordon Barry back in May. After a state police investigation, Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Jack Doyle on 7/29 said that no criminal charges would be filed, primarily because of errors by both officers. As a followup, the editorial board interviewed police chief Bruce Marquis and wrote this editorial on 8/1. Also on that day, a lengthy article about the police chief discussing the events appeared on the front page. In both the article and his interview with the editorial board, the chief is quoted as saying:
“Had they not blown off their assignment… the events would not have happened such as they happened,” Marquis said.
From the same article:
Kenneth R. Melvin, attorney for Darden’s widow, Brindle, said that Darden was simply reacting as a police officer to news of a double shooting nearby.
“I’m very much concerned that the Police Department is taking such a defensive position. They’re blaming the victim,” he said.
[…]
The chief acknowledged the department did not have a policy regarding uniform patrol officers who are assigned to plainclothes assignments. No department in the region did, he said. Such a policy is being prepared, he said.
And, of course, the Pilot had to make sure that everybody was aware of the possible race angle:
Marquis was asked what role Darden’s race may have played in what happened. Barry, who is white, and Darden, who was black, were in a predominantly black neighborhood.
“If you want me to take this uniform off and be Bruce Marquis, black man in America, versus Bruce Marquis, police chief of Norfolk, I would have to question, gee, you know, that could have been me,” he said. “And given this, do I feel comfortable with this? No.”
I have to say that I was quite surprised to see the chief say the things that he said in the article. I don’t think he really understands the way things work around here. Race is not something we openly discuss, at least not in mixed company.
Adding a bit more fuel to the fire was the article yesterday about officer Darden’s mother, who is, naturally, upset at the portrayal of her son.
She denounced any effort to blame her son’s death “as a fault of his own,” charging that Marquis and Doyle are the real “guilty” parties.
“My son died doing what he loved,” she wrote. “We seem to be forgetting the fact that he was shot six times in the back like an animal while trying to defuse a situation.”
Then there is this morning’s article. Riddick has a radio program that airs at 6am on Wednesday mornings on a black radio station. The audience is, well, black, and Riddick often says things on the station that he doesn’t say in public. It’s like a little private club, except it is on the airwaves. Of course, that means that anyone can listen in (and trust me, they do). So apparently, on his program, he called for the chief to apologize or leave:
“For Chief Marquis to somehow blame Seneca Darden for his own death is outrageous and cruel,” Riddick said. “It is time for us to run Marquis out of town on a rail. If he does not give a full apology to the black community and to the Darden family, then we must insist on his removal.”
Of course, folks are all over this. But let’s look at a few things. First, I looked back thru the Pilot archives and couldn’t find a single instance of the paper citing Riddick’s radio program prior to today’s article. The fact that Riddick has a radio program is not a secret. I have no doubt that someone called the Pilot and told them what had been said on the station and they went and got a copy of the tape. The question is why. Why today? And why this topic? As I said, Riddick often says things to his radio audience that he doesn’t say in public. Is this the perfect two-for one: an effort on the Pilot’s part to fan the flames of a very sad situation and to also continue to brand Riddick as a prejudiced?
Secondly – and this point I argued with a white friend of mine this morning – Riddick wasn’t talking to the Pilot. And he wasn’t talking to white people, either. He was talking to his black audience, many of whom reside in his majority black ward. I know it is difficult to grasp but a lot of what Riddick says is simply him voicing what he is hearing from his constituents.
I don’t know what Riddick has done to make the Pilot dislike him so. I know of no one else that the Pilot demonizes like they do him.
Don’t blame Riddick for bringing race into this. Place the blame where it belongs: on the Pilot.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Riddick is a non-sensical, deranged lunatic. A horrible mistake happened. Darden had a gun in his hand and was pointing it at other people like a gangster – holding the gun sideways. A uniformedcop shows up and yells at him to put the gun down and he doesn’t. He gets shot – six times. Do you know how long it takes for a modern firearm to shoot six rounds? About three seconds. The whole thing is a horrible tragedy and an awful mistake. That’s why they’re called mistakes. It was not done on purpose — it was an awful mistake. Let’s learn from this and make sure it doesn’t heppen again and stop the race baiting.
The Pilot was the one who is making this about race. The Pilot consistently brings race into everything. They try to make it sound like it comes from somebody else but they are the ones that do it. They play the card over and over on everything – the school board appointments, the council elections, my race last year, and now this – but try to make it sound like they are not. Heck – just look at the picture they chose to go along with the article announcing the CA’s findings: him holding the gun sideways. The picture was a deliberate attempt to bring race into the equation.
Put the blame where it belongs: squarely on the Pilot.
I’m confused Vivian-
You say:
“And he wasn’t talking to white people, either. He was talking to his black audience, many of whom reside in his majority black ward.”
What is being implyed here? That the color of the audience has something to do with what a person can or cannot say? Or that a person who broadcasts on public airwaves can’t be held accountable for his/her words, as long as that person is speaking to people of his own race? That there are some things white people shouldn’t be privy to?
I’m honestly confused.
“Riddick often says things to his radio audience that he doesn’t say in public”
Huh? Radio is about as public as you can get.
It seems like you think everyone else is responsible for what Riddick says except him. He’s only “voicing what he is hearing”?
Well, maybe the Pilot is doing the same thing.
Yes, the color of the audience matters. And yes, there are some things blacks say to each other that whites whouldn’t be privy to. But I am not saying that he shouldn’t be held accountable for his use of the public airways. What I am saying is that he has used his radio program to address racial aspects of issues in the past and that the Pilot has never used those comments before.
I don’t know how long Riddick has been on the radio but its been a long time. Why did the Pilot use his radio program this one time? Because it suited their need to fan the flames of racial discord.
Vivian, I can’t believe what I’m reading! “there are some things blacks say to each other that whites whouldn’t be privy to”????
Imagine the outrage if some white person went on the radio and said the reverse!
And I can’t believe you’re naive enough to blame the media for seeing Riddick through race glasses. Riddick’s gone out of his way to immerse himself in race politics.
No one gave him his image. He wanted it.
Yes, Insider. And don’t deny that there are certain things that whites say to each other than blacks shouldn’t be privy to.
I notice that you haven’t commented on the fact that the Pilot started this whole race thing.
The Pilot didn’t start anything Riddick didn’t want….he WANTS to be connected with race. Live by the sword….
And I do deny your racial division. I would never tell someone they shouldn’t hear something because of their race. You obviously feel differently.
The Pilot brought the issue of race into this from the very beginning. I do hope you look at the links. And they were the ones who asked the Police Chief about it, putting him the position to either say it had nothing to do with it (which would have been a lie) or to try to speak around it. Had the Pilot not hammered on the race issue, Riddick would have never said anything.
To deny the racial division is to deny what I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears. Working in the area of race relations as I have done all my life, but most specifically the last 10 years, has demonstrated this. It is not a matter of feeling differently; instead, it just is.
Let’s look at all the racial harmony that Paul Riddick has created!
Why are you making Riddick a victim? Is he that Pavlovian? “Had the Pilot not hammered on the race issue, Riddick would have never said anything.” You’re proving my point!
Riddick runs top-speed into racial politics. Don’t blame the media or the people for connecting the two.
As far as you reliving your lifetime experience, I don’t know if blacks have left me out of conversations because I’m white (racism – it isn’t a one way street, eh?). I know that I’ve not done it, and I haven’t seen others do it. Some people choose to judge on the basis of race. I don’t. Sorry if that upsets your life experience.
I’m not making Riddick a victim. I’m pointing out two things that you seem to think are the same:
1. The Pilot plays the race card. This is a fact. Look back at their coverage of not only this event but several others recently, including the school board appointment. Instead of playing up the qualifications of the appointees, they spent their energy talking about the fact that there is now a black majority.
2. Riddick can do nothing right. As I said, the Pilot has never written anything positive about Riddick. Ever. I have searched the archives and cannot locate a single positive comment made about him.
When Riddick spoke at my civic league, he came in speaking about the various things that he has been involved in, such as serving on the board of the bus company. He was responsible for getting the bus racks on the front of the buses. See anything in the Pilot about that? No. When the real estate tax rate was being discussed, Riddick urged caution on cutting the rate too far. See that in the Pilot? No. My fellow civic league members came away with a totally different persepective on the man.
Riddick is deeply concerned about the poor in Norfolk, which just so happen to be mostly black.
And the fact that the Pilot uses him as a foil for racial issues just proves my point. If they had previously printed his comments from his radio program in which he tries to explain to his listeners the issues of the day, in which he chastises other black leaders for their bad decisions, in which he encourages support of the community for the good things – then I wouldn’t have a problem. But, again, I can find no evidence that the Pilot has ever quoted his radio program.
As far as your own experience – let me start with asking you to differentiate between prejudice and racism. Blacks can be prejudiced but cannot be racist. (One day, I’ll finish the post I started on that distinction.) Racism is, as I have said before, about power. So racism is not a two-way street; prejudice is.
You may not even be aware of conversations that are held in which you were omitted or in which you participated. Such is the way things are. A lot of people don’t judge based on race – I don’t, either. But that doesn’t change the reality that there are too many that still do. I try not to run away from reality. Reality is that racism and prejudice are a part of our society. The question is do we try to to something about it or do we deny that it exists. I choose the former.
Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.
Wow. So he wanted higher real estate taxes! You’re complaining that the Pilot didn’t report that? You should be sending them roses.
Vivian, I’m not sure we’re disagreeing, just miscommunicating. I’m not saying he doesn’t do anything good and non-racial. I’m just saying when you develop a public image, you’re forever viewed through that image. He chose to be the “race” champion – his coverage will always be geared to his image. Welcome to PR.
Pat Robertson – same thing.
Now, as far as the old saw that blacks cannot be racist, what’s next? Women can not be sexist? Give me a break.
American Heritage Dicitonary – Racism “The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.”
That’s it – you can invent your own personal definitions of words, but calling a car a plane doesn’t make it fly.
You made the statement that blacks have conversations that whites SHOULDN’T be privy to. Then you say you don’t judge by race.
And i get whiplash from the contradiction.
I don’t think you are that dumb. “Urging caution” is not the same as wanting higher taxes. He talked about a deep cut now versus a rate increase later.
The Pilot created the image. They have chosen to always portray him this way, going back to his election to council. Perhaps it was because he was the President of the NAACP at the time that Norfolk lost the suit that created wards. For whatever reason, the Pilot has painted him only in racial terms.
As to your definition – note tht it says “that a particular race is superior to others.” Now, I don’t know any black folk that would agree with that statement. 🙂 When I get time, I’ll finish the piece on racism versus prejudice. And it’s not my definition, BTW. Google “can blacks be racist” and you’ll see what I mean.
There is no contradiction in my statements. Blacks can and should have internal conversations that whites are not privy to. How in the heck do you think the civil rights movement came about if not for those kinds of conversations? Again, I don’t think you are that dumb. Today those conversations are different but equally important. The media wants to treat blacks as a monolithic group when, in fact, we are not. We disagree – not all of us supported the OJ decision, for example. The fact that I believe certain conversations SHOULD take place outside of whites in no way reflects on my ability to not judge people by race. No contradiction at all. Two totally different things.
Vivian…more PR. “Urging caution” about low real estate taxes sends a message.
Have a blast otherwise. You’re fully free to claim you don’t judge people by race while you keep whites out of certain conversations.
We’re free to laugh.
Interesting conversation yesterday on Cathy Lewis’ radio program. She had as guests Jack Doyle and Dennis Hartig. Calls came in from all over the region. Black callers, white callers. Most agreed that the Police Chief was insensitive to the family of Darden. One caller brought up the issue of the Pilot’s playing the race card by the choice of photo accompanying the report.
Missing from the conversation was the Chief. All of the chief’s requests to speak have to go thru the City Manager, who was “unavailable” to approve it. I guess after the firestorm of last week’s remarks to the editorial board (which, by the way, Hartig found “surprisingly candid”) he won’t be making any public remarks (again) for a while.