The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday evening fell into chaos after two county commissioners blocked an effort to pass a Pride Month Proclamation. The dissenting members of the board — Chairman George Dunlap and board member Elaine Powell — blocked the proclamation being added to the agenda, which requires a unanimous vote from all nine of the elected officials.
Proclamations, historically, are passed unanimously and without scandal or debate. They also usually are used to recognize something of historical significance or a holiday of some kind. In fact, the county commissioners have issued Pride Month proclamations in past years.
This year, Commissioner Pat Cotham was the commissioner who put the motion to declare June Pride Month for Mecklenburg County. She said when she sent the proclamation to the county clerk the Friday before the meeting, her request was denied.
Dunlap claimed Cotham didn’t “follow the rules” for placing the Pride Proclamation on the agenda, citing agenda items need to be filed 11 days before meetings.
Cotham rejected Dunlap’s statement. Rather, she offered that in the decade plus she’d been on the board, commissioners submitted agenda items as late as the Friday before the meeting, which is what she did.
“We have more than 100,000 residents in our county who are LGBTQ. They need to know that we have their backs and we honor them,” she said.
Commissioner Vilma Leake echoed Cotham’s sentiments, saying the importance of recognizing the LGBTQ+ community and acknowledging them as a part of Mecklenburg County outweighed the need to maintain supposed “rules.” She cited her own son, who was gay, bullied throughout his life and died at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
“If you believe in the right thing, do the right thing,” Leake said.
Dunlap replied by suggesting this decision was about maintaining precedent, not about making a political statement.
“It is not only the chair’s responsibility to know and understand the rules,” he said. “It is each member of this board’s responsibility to know and understand the rules.”
Powell, who voted with Dunlap to table the proclamation, said she voted with him because she believed he was being painted as a villain.
“He’s just trying to follow the process,” she said.
Members and supporters of Mecklenburg County’s LGBTQ+ community came out to voice their disappointment in the outcome of Tuesday’s debate. One of the speakers during the public comment period was Cameron Pruette, the deputy director of The Freedom Center for Social Justice.
“At a time when some elected officials call LGBTQ people filth, we need allies more than ever. We are afraid,” he addressed the board on Tuesday evening. “My community cannot wait — we cannot yield because of the status quo. We ask to be recognized, we demand to be recognized and we stand with everyone else who needs to be heard.”
Dunlap, a registered Democrat, has widely avoided talking about LGBTQ+ issues. However, one topic he is passionate about is his faith, according to the chairman’s active reelection campaign website. A proud member of St. Paul Baptist Church, his biography states Dunlap has “served on the board of directors for 19 years,” serving as chair seven of those years. He also is listed as a Deacon Emeritus.
St. Paul’s Baptist Church is located on 1401 Allen St. and is affiliated with the National Baptist Convention USA, the largest predominantly Black denomination in the United States. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the Convention asked Military Chaplains “not to participate in any activity that implies or condones same sex marriage or same sex union.”
Prior to that in June 2012, Julius Scruggs, then President of the Convention, wrote a letter opposing then President Barack Obama’s tatement of support for same-sex marriage.
“The National Baptist Convention, USA, Incorporated does not dictate to its constituent churches what position to take on issues because we believe in the autonomy of the local church,” Scruggs wrote. “However, the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. affirms that marriage is a sacred biblical covenant between a man and a woman.”
It’s important to note that today, the National Baptist Convention USA doesn’t have an official stance on the issue of same-sex marriages. Rather, policy now leaves the decision to each individual church.
It’s unclear where St. Paul Baptist Church stands on the issue, as the church’s website and social media channels don’t indicate if the church is LGBTQ+ friendly or not.
In an interview with Qnotes after Tuesday’s board meeting, Pruette recalled Dunlap never sponsored or proposed recognizing Pride month in previous years, although he has always voted for approval of the proclamation. In addition, Pruette’s attempts to connect with Dunlap for any county business or policy related discussions have consistently gone unanswered.
“George Dunlap is not a leader and has never been a champion for our [the LGBTQ+] community,” Pruette said.
Ra’Shawn Flournoy, who has served as an openly gay pastor in Charlotte and is the Executive Director of Quality Comprehensive Health Care, took to Facebook to express his disappointment in Dunlap, calling him out by name.
“This decision seemed to be more of a political maneuver rather than a genuine effort to support the community. We appreciate the efforts of Pat Cain Cotham and Vilma Leake for standing up as true advocates for the community.
“If leaders at the national, state and other county levels were able to make it happen, there is no reason why it couldn’t have been achieved within our county commission as well.”
Dunlap announced last Thursday he would be stepping down as chair at the end of this year, though he is running for reelection unopposed for the county’s 3rd District.
While the proclamation will not move forward, the majority of commissioners – save Dunlap and Powell – acknowledged the importance of the recognition, signed the document and passed it along to leaders in the LGBTQ+ community. Reportedly the Charlotte City Council plans to pass a proclamation recognizing Pride month at their next meeting.
