Ministers, activists exploit Scott's death

Ministers, activists exploit Scott's death
BY LAURA WASHINGTON
Copyright by The Chicago Sun times
November 23, 2009
http://www.suntimes.com/news/washington/1898952,CST-EDT-laura23.article


'Are the Ministers Meddling?" blared the headline on a local cable TV talk show. An investigation into the controversial death of Michael Scott has morphed into a political opportunity for political opportunists.

Scott, the Chicago Board of Education president and the mayor's go-to guy, was an irreplaceable city asset and singular link between the city's grass roots and downtown towers. After his death, the Rev. Jesse Jackson put it best when he told WMAQ-Channel 5 that Scott "had a real roots connection to Chicago, from the very low zone of pain and poverty to the high zone of the upper echelon of Chicago."

So the pain is greater when some are willing to exploit last week's tragedy for political gain. On Wednesday, in the heat of an intense and high-profile police investigation, a group of West Side ministers and community activists gathered at Holy Starlight Missionary Baptist Church to demand an independent state or federal inquiry into Scott's death. They are convinced that he was murdered.

"We believe it was a murder, but we have no idea who would want to murder Michael," the Chicago Sun-Times quoted activist Harold Davis as saying at the news conference.

Leonard Muhammad, the son-in-law of Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, added, "We want answers, and we want to know what happened."

We all do. Scott was a prominent and powerful figure. He may have had enemies. And black folks don't trust the cops, sometimes with good reason. The Chicago Police, however, were busting their badges all week to resolve the murder-or-suicide mystery. Investigators were diving in the black Chicago River, peering at surveillance videotapes, checking phone records, running down ballistics tests and turning over every piece of concrete in Chicago looking for answers.

This is personal -- very personal -- for Mayor Daley. His police department will pull out all the stops, or heads will roll. And it's ridiculous to bring in another investigative agency to tromp around in the footsteps of the cops.

Let them do their job and issue a finding.

So why the meddling? It's politics, of course. Some see Scott's death as an irresistible opportunity to get on the boob tube and take a hit at Daley, the perennial whipping boy for all that's wrong with our communities.

No surprise, but this crowd is spinning the opportunism to a whole new level.

The Rev. C.E. Robinson, pastor of Holy Starlight, told WFLD-Channel 32 that Scott's death would have a "tremendous" impact on Daley's political career, because Scott "was the guy that the mayor went to and the guy that the mayor trusted."

Activist Kublai Torre says he was a friend of Scott's, and represents "a lot of brothers on the street" who believe the school board president was the victim of a "hit." He added, according to the report: "This mayor, he feared the black man and he [doesn't have a] strong relationship with the black man. . . . Someone like Mike could relate to us out here on the street and kept a lot of racial tension down."

Riots, anyone?

Perhaps unintended, but certainly irresponsible. Ministers and activists are legitimate community representatives. But this premature and ill-advised twist is disrespectful to Scott's legacy and the communities they claim to represent.

And they are not in good company. Just take a gander at the comments on local news Web sites, where "concerned citizens" are accusing the mayor, police department and coroner of a spectacular cover-up and much worse.

Scott's death is tragic for those who loved him most. You don't honor him by throwing gasoline on their fiery grief.