What Does it Take to Be a "Traditional" North Carolinian?

Guest Commentary
By: Brad Thompson, President BTA Public Relations

It seems that after 400 years, more than 250 of those in slavery, and almost 50 years since the passage of the Voting Rights Bill, and after the Savagery on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, after the loss of life of courageous Americans in not only the Civil Rights struggle but the Wars in which we participated, we still have not earned the right to be considered "American". How far do we have to go before we can be recognized as "traditional"?

House Speaker Thom Tillis has again let the "cat out of the bag" on his thinking on who represents the "true" North Carolinians. And make no mistake about it, you (minorities) are not included. No pretty words can cover the fact that "traditional" means "white only".

That offends and should not be taken lightly.

I am happy Rev. Earl Johnson and the RWCA in Wake County called attention to this with a Press Conference. They should not be the only voice heard in response to this thinking. It is understandable why the General Assembly is able to enact such repressive legislation with the "leadership" thinking as it does.

 We have come too far to turn back. "Forward Ever, Backwards never".

Brad Thompson is President, and Principal Consultant for BTA Public Relations. A former Mayor Pro-Tem of Raleigh, NC and State Director of the Office of U.S. Senator John Edwards, Brad brings to the team more than 25 years of marketing, outreach and political organizing experience. He has successfully managed marketing programs and political campaigns at the local, regional and state levels. He has extensive awareness of and relationships with principals and organizations throughout North Carolina and the Southeast and is often consulted on strategy and major policy issues, particularly those affecting the African American community. Brad specializes in new market and partnership development and in team building. Brad is a graduate of NCSU in Engineering Operations where he was a Herbert Lehman Scholar.