Kennedy exit a 'foregone conclusion,'
but will it be brass bands or boo birds?
By Chip Drago
Mobile Bay Times
The impending departure of Yvonne Kennedy as president of Bishop State Community College here is "a foregone conclusion," but the embattled educator/legislator should be allowed to leave with "grace and dignity," according to representatives of a local civil rights group who met Monday afternoon with community leaders over Kennedy and other concerns to minority residents.
“That is a foregone conclusion, that she is going to leave,” Rev. Fleet Belle told the Mobile Bay Times Tuesday. “It is not so much going to be dealt with in the press, as dealt with at the state board level.”
Belle was one of the three representatives of the Concerned Citizens Coalition to meet for about 90 minutes in the boardroom at Mobile Gas Service Corporation with Forward Mobile, an informal association of civic-minded leaders organized years ago to quietly resolve community problems before they fester and become corrosive.
Attending for the CCC, in addition to Belle, a member of the Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County and pastor of Rock of Faith Baptist Church, were Rev. Wesley James, pastor of Franklin Street Baptist Church and a member of the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners of the City of Mobile; and Muslim clergyman Ronald
Ali, of Lovett's Funeral Home and Imam of Mobile Masjid of Al Islam mosque on Duval Street.
Among those present for Forward Mobile were retired Degussa executive Charlie Story; J. Gary Cooper of Commonwealth National Bank; retired executive Ollie Delchamps; Cheryl Thompson of Alabama Power Co.; Edgar Downing of Mobile Gas; Billy Seifert of AmSouth/Regions Bank; Mike Granger of Compass Bank; Lee Moncrief formerly of Wachovia Bank; Al Heffernan of Ciba Geigy and recent chairman of the Mobile Chamber of Commerce; Charles White of Franklin Primary Health Center; Gigi Armbrecht of BellSouth; Mark Nix of Mobile Infirmary; Howard Bronson of the Press-Register; Sarah Damson of Long's Personnel; and Sydney Raine of Mobile Works.
Also a state legislator for 25 years, Kennedy has been caught up in a months-long maelstrom of controversy surrounding BSCC where several employees have been indicted on charges stemming from financial irregularities at the two-year school on Broad Street. Federal and state investigations are on-going.
CCC suggested Kennedy "be allowed to retire gracefully" after she oversees BSCC's return to compliance with standards set by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
The manner of Kennedy's departure from BSCC was recently addressed in a talk with Gov. Bob Riley, Thomas E. Corts, interim chancellor of Alabama's two-year college system, and state School Board Member Randy McKinney of Gulf Shores. CCC wants to be "at the table" in addressing the interim leadership at BSCC.
Tentative plans to bring civil rights leader Jesse Jackson to Mobile to rally support for Kennedy were reportedly put on hold, according to sources. Jackson's prospective appearance was reportedly arranged under the auspices of the NAACP which has a series of major events scheduled here in coming months.
Belle said he and other CCC representatives were aware of talks with Jackson to visit Mobile to address hard feelings in the black community over the negative portrayal of Kennedy, but the CCC had a philosophical difference in approach..
Belle said the CCC would prefer to address issues in a cooperative spirit rather than through high profile confrontations.
“We’re not interested in bringing personalities such as Jesse into town,” Belle said. “We would rather work with those who can help us make a difference. We don’t want incendiary personalities to come to town and separate us. We are about bringing Mobile together, not dividing it.”
Belle said the CCC’s mission on behalf of Kennedy was relative “to her final chapter (at BSCC) and how to close it out, how she can be allowed to leave with grace and dignity.”
Kennedy’s retirement is secure, said Belle, but she would like to leave with the SACS probation lifted as well as “the cloud hanging over her legacy and her name.”
Kennedy, 62, wants the decks clear so the “ship can sail on,” said Belle.
Of 20 SACS violations, BSCC has reportedly corrected 16 and should address the remaining four by May or June. However, the state Board of Education is set to meet later this month and, according to sources, there is sentiment to sack Kennedy.
A potential compromise was raised in which Kennedy would step down as BSCC president but remain as an employee until the school's good academic standing was restored, according to a participant.
Wrongdoing should not go unpunished, the CCC members said, and it was not their intention to suggest that anyone escape accountability for his or her actions.
Kennedy herself has been neither linked nor charged with any illegalities.
Kennedy was in a meeting Tuesday afternoon, according to her secretary, and not immediately available for comment.
Among CCC's concerns, according to its spokesmen, were education, economic development and clergy relations. "Economic empowerment" in the minority community and the relocation of various training programs from BSCC to the Brookley Industrial Complex are items of immediate interest, they noted.
Forward Mobile members were able to reassure CCC that the two-year school system was now less inclined to move training programs, such as welding, from existing facilities. Corts prefers to use existing facilities to address the needs of the business community and, in fact, specifically to involve businesses in curriculum development.
Ali noted the historical difficulty of black businesses in acquiring bank loans. Seifert, pointing out that the most dangerous loans a bank makes are to start-up businesses, agreed to organize a committee of bankers to meet with CCC representatives to explain the instruments that are available and how best to pursue them.
CCC, according to its representatives, would like to foster a climate throughout the community that leads to such success stories as that of Christine N. Taylor, who is in the midst of rising from the area's public housing projects to Alabama Power's management training program. Forward Mobile members agreed to cooperate with CCC in its efforts to lead entry level workers to full-fledged careers. Raine pledged to assist CCC in learning about available entry level jobs and existing training programs administered by Mobile Works and other organizations.
Belle said the CCC, “birthed out of the struggle of Dr. Kennedy and Bishop State,” was now evolving into “a coalition of diverse African-American groups, agencies and organizations, in essence under one umbrella, to maximize our strength, power through (unified) strength.”
According to Belle, CCC will ultimately become “an African-American think tank to work with our city to make it better, especially on minority causes and interests.”
Forward Mobile meets monthly.
