Lee Hall needs to apologize to the Greenwood School District Board, and especially to board members George Ellis and Bill Clay, to the new superintendent and his family, and to the parents of Greenwood public school children. After he apologizes, he should resign from the school district as a bus driver. What other choice does he have since he is so adamant that the board is corrupt and its selection for superintendent the wrong choice for Greenwood’s children.
Let me be clear. This is not an attack on Lee Hall. Even when he left WGRM radio station amid allegations of embezzlement, I encouraged him to “keep moving,” to find a way to stay on the airways because of the need for balanced, honest dialogue of the “most pressing issues.” A short while later, he returned to the airways via WGNL radio.
But, friend or no friend, what he’s done to black talk radio in the Delta has gone from uplifting to bottom-feeding. His show epitomizes the “Willie Lynch” syndrome. While hiding behind excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches and quotations from notable black scholars such as Carter G. Woodson, Hall has singlehandedly done more to misinform and miseducate than anyone in this community. I’m not attacking Hall, but I am attacking the kind of broadcast journalism that poisons our community.
Because of his unfair and unbalanced approach in covering politics during the Greenwood municipal elections, he has done more to undermine the new school superintendent and the board — everything from organizing protests against the new superintendent to maliciously maligning the characters of Ellis and Clay — than any other individual in the community.
Using Jennifer Wilson’s non-selection as superintendent as a backdrop so that he could maintain his own financial interest with the school system, Hall failed in his efforts to manipulate the minds and votes of his listeners (frequently challenging them to call for the resignation of school board members because they selected Dr. Montrell Greene). During the Democratic primary last Tuesday, those who went to the polls made a loud and resounding choice that their vote wasn’t about Jennifer Wilson; it was about their children. While Hall might compromise his program, the people would not compromise their votes.
What did Hall do on WGNL that was so wrong? Though his listening audience is relatively small, he continuously uses the hour as a campaign rally for a select group of people who espouse and engage in race-baiting and fear-mongering. If his comments were focused on accountability, that would be fine; those in office should be held accountable. But he goes a step beyond, maliciously seeking to demean and demoralize those with whom he disagrees.
What began as a credible, legitimate forum on WGNL for the community to air its concerns has become a podium for those who declare that “white folks are only concerned about themselves,” and that blacks in office are not to be trusted because they have “skin like ours, but they don’t have our interests at heart” or because “they have been bought and paid for.” What would lead Hall to compromise his own reputation as a “voice” of the community? Perhaps the answer is in what the “voice” is saying.
Here is the rest of the story. As soon as the board’s decision to conduct a national search for superintendent was announced, the “problem profiteers” began their attacks. Chief among them was Councilman David Jordan, proudly declaring on his radio show that the board members were not “smart enough to select a superintendent, so they had to hire a search firm.” Hall picked up this theme and has been running with it ever since.
Earlier this year, the theme of the radio broadcast turned to one of race-baiting and fear-mongering. The message? “They want to bring somebody from the outside in here, somebody who knows nothing about us, our children, or the challenges they face. We already have the most-qualified person in the district.” Translation: A national search could only result in the selection of a white superintendent, and a white superintendent would mean smooth sailing for a certain group of political candidates. After all, any City Council that would appoint a school board that would select a white superintendent for a predominantly black school district had to be dismantled.
But this group didn’t see what was coming next: The board's national search found the most-qualified candidate — a candidate who happened to be black. Ironically, this posed a problem. This group could not celebrate because they needed the selection of a white superintendent to fuel the fire and to ensure that this would be a black-and-white issue.
Frequently, Hall warns his radio audience against talking or listening to those who seek to “muddy” the water. Folks, the water cannot get any muddier than it is. It has been muddy ever since community “leaders” (via Hall’s radio show) began to play on parents’ fears of “outsiders” who care nothing about their children (in the person of those who were part of the selection committee) and a person who would come in and “take over” who knew “nothing about us, our children, the challenges they face or the Mississippi Delta” — a fear that was clearly unfounded in light of the selection of Dr. Greene.
Yet, despite the outcome — the selection of a candidate who knows us and our children — Hall continues to call for the resignation of school board members.
Once a program that complimented and demonstrated the power of black talk radio, Hall’s program has degenerated to a new low that highlights the worst of any community, black or white: open disregard for opposing viewpoints.
Since its inception, I have supported and applauded Hall for his candor in honestly addressing the tough issues. Until a few months ago, I considered his a balanced show — offering the community insight into all sides of issues, informing and empowering people to think for themselves. It became obvious during the selection process for the Greenwood School District superintendent that Hall has surrendered the host’s seat to the black community’s biggest menace — those intent on promoting hatred, racism and fear-mongering.
• Troy D. Brown Sr. is a contractor with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
