By Rodney A. Jordan
Today, June 14, 2011, marks twenty years since the passing of my uncle, Joseph A. Jordan, Jr. More than a beloved family member, he was and continues to be a mentor to me.
He lived as a child through the Great Depression in the Jim Crow south. Paralyzed by age twenty-one while serving our country in WWII, even as he was considered a second-class citizen, he earned his law degree and took up legal causes to strengthen equal opportunity (school desegregation, sit-ins and Freedom Riders, eliminating Virginia’s Poll Tax). He was elected Norfolk’s first Black councilmember since Reconstruction, and later served as a General District Court Judge determined that the law truly be applied equally and meaningfully. To me Uncle Joseph’s life is a metaphor of the great contribution and sacrifice named and unnamed African-Americans have given and continue to give to the great American experiment.
Forever committed to his community, city and principles, in 1991Uncle Joseph wrote to the Bayview Civic League from his hospital bed, “In Norfolk, it has now come to pass that we are visited with racial segregation poorly disguised as a political ‘Ward System.’ From this vantage point, it appears racial segregation, be it political, economic, educational or otherwise, is in contradiction of all that our country stands for. From this vantage point, it appears that what our country stands for is ‘togetherness’ not ‘separateness’.”
Today, as with the past 20 years, I subscribe to Uncle Joseph’s vantage point.
But alas, it is 2011 not 1991. And the City of Norfolk continues to have a race-based ward system. However, the system exists in a changing world and as a result of demographic shifts, reflected in the 2010 Census, the City of Norfolk has a political opportunity to bridge its past with its glorious future toward one City. Norfolk City Council will soon act on updating its political ward boundaries. In collaboration with a diverse group of fellow citizens, I presented a proposal toward moving the City closer to becoming one out of many.
The proposal creates an “influence” district that closely mirrors the 2010 Census demographics of the city. It creates a majority non-white ward in population but a majority white district in voting-age population. It creates a competitive district, which I call an influence ward, not driven by race but by the interests of the citizens who reside there.
The proposal aims to respect and protect the principles of those who believe we need a ward system based upon race and those who believe race should not be the driving factor in our boundaries and selecting our elected representatives. The proposal encourages competition and opens the door for opportunity and equity.
In that 1991 letter, Uncle Joseph went on to say, “We must strengthen our community network, and make it clear that we believe in and support Norfolk as one harmonious city, not seven squabbling wards. … God has blessed us with the greatest geography and mixture of people to be found anywhere in the world. …let us join hands and give our blessings to their fullest potential.”
I believe that we can and should move closer to that potential, and I look forward to 2031 when one of my daughters will write words in celebration of Norfolk; words of praise for our citizens who courageously embrace our color, culture, political, and economic differences; words that reflect our true spirit as people who work together each day for one harmonious city.
Rodney A. Jordan is Norfolk resident.
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