Glass City Jungle

The one thing that Hicks and Alexander share is they died at the hands of another person in Toledo, Paul Hubbard is alive and well but faced media attention of his own related to an unpaid Small Business Association loan. All three are among the topics covered in this week’s Sojourner’s Truth. Ironically, while Reverend Donald Perryman focuses on both Alexander and Hicks, in Sad Contradictions and Bright Hopes part of what he states is demonstrated in this week’s Truth, most of the focus is on Hicks, not on Alexander:

Unlike in the Hicks tragedy, where the gun’s trigger was squeezed by hands of those from outside the community, for those who died at the hand of people who looked like them, there have been no press conferences asking for an inquiry or investigation. There have been no black shirts of solidarity for the black victims like the support shown for the Jena 6 who allegedly committed crimes. There was no public expression of anger or black outrage in Toledo for the violent injustices perpetrated against blacks by other blacks or for the young black men who continue to die over crumbs at the hands of other African-Americans.

Fletcher Word has an article on the death of Linda Hicks, Group Home Resident, Linda Hicks, Shot to Death by Toledo Police Officers, some of the questions raised here are being raised by others and are a part of that recommended article, one specific portion:

How long did the officers attempt to engage Ms. Hicks regarding her agitation before she was Tased? Is it correct she was Tased on top of bed clothing when that would not be effective? Why did the officers not back off and call for assistance if needed to physically restrain Ms. Hicks? Why was there such urgency to recover alleged weapon when the officers knew Ms. Hicks was psychotic and not able to respond immediately to questions? – Dvorak.

Then Lafe Tolliver also focuses on the death of Linda Hicks, I’m Mentally Ill….Go Ahead and Shoot Me!!. The contrast between the message Perryman delivers versus Tolliver is impossible to avoid noticing.

Curtis James was murdered on December 20th, most likely after this week’s Truth went to print; his killer was caught, 19-year-old Jerome Nobles, it’s not known as I sit to write this how many of the 31 people who were murdered in Toledo this year were black or white or what the race of the murderer was. Which takes me back to Perryman’s article:

The questions are many. Why do young black males kill each other? Why doesn’t the system work for so many? Why is the relationship between the black community and the police so fragile despite a mutual need and dependence? How can poverty be eradicated? How can opportunities be increased for more young people? How can all Toledoans feel safe including those good people in neighborhoods besieged by crime?

Of course, there are no simple solutions. But until all of us realize that we are all connected, decide enough is enough, and demand a taskforce, summit or some other process that deals with the problem, the unnatural tragedy of black violence will continue to be normalized and eventually like being in the rain, “at some point we will all get wet.”

I also recommend the article also written by Fletcher Word on Paul Hubbard and the other three directors appointed by Mayor-elect Bell, Mayor-Elect Adds Four More High Level Positions … Then Drops One. Hubbard states that he was never formally interviewed nor even provided a resume, so the issue related to the $50,000 SBA loan never came up:

On Wednesday, December 16, during a Bell fundraiser, said Hubbard, Bell asked him to take the position on a permanent basis. Again, Hubbard agreed. As a result of these overtures, Hubbard never submitted an application or resume for the position, nor was an interview ever held.

As for financial issue, the $50,000 SBA loan was extended to Hubbard and two partners several years ago in order to assist in the opening of a Captain D’s restaurant on Laskey Rd. After two years, the restaurant closed and Hubbard’s two partners declared bankruptcy, leaving him with the entire debt.

According to Hubbard, he and his attorney worked out a payment plan with former city Law Director John Madigan that was not recorded in the Hubbard file.

“If [Bell] would have waited until Monday [to make the announcement], my attorney would have confirmed the fact that everything had been worked out, or we could have worked out a new agreement,” said Hubbard in a statement released over the weekend. “It’s unfair … to ask me to take the job then make the statements they made about honesty when we never had a meeting or sat down to discuss the position. This situation could have been handled more professionally and the SBA loan problem could have been resolved in a win-win manner.”

This raises some interesting questions, why was there not a formal interview process? Why was there not an opportunity for Hubbard to explain when the loan issue was raised? If there was indeed a payment plan worked out with the City, why wasn’t that in the file and why did no one in the Law Department inform Mayor-elect Bell? One also wonders why Hubbard was not included in the bankruptcy and was left the person responsible for the $50,000 SBA loan, which raises questions of it’s own as to how do two partners skate and one gets left not only holding the bag but ends up losing a job over…