The District Chronicles

Issue date: 10/12/08 Section: Cover

PHILADELPHIA (NNPA) - While many across America consider Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin some kind of phenomenon, many Blacks in Alaska see the governor of their state as a person not interested in the inclusive posture of her predecessors.

"Blacks don't have the levels of access to the governor and state commissioners as with past administrations," said attorney Rex Butler, an Alaska resident since 1983. "It seems the posture of Palin's administration with Blacks is: Don't need them - don't worry about them."

Eleanor Andrews, board chair of the Anchorage Urban League, said she is unaware of any programs or outreach to Alaska's Black community by Palin.

"It's not a disengagement, it's just no connection. She does not have relations with African-Americans," said Andrews, a businesswoman and 44-year resident of Alaska.

Alaskan Blacks fault Palin for not hiring African-Americans for her administration, dismissing Blacks from government posts and spurning repeated requests to meet with Black leaders to discuss issues of concern.

Palin's increasingly rocky relations with Alaska's Black community seeped down to the "Lower 48" weeks ago, following an Internet posting by the president of Alaska's African-American Historical Society, Gwendolyn Alexander, who detailed controversies such as Palin's staffing practices, Palin allegedly stating she "doesn't have to hire any Blacks" for major projects and her refusal to attend that state's major African-American celebration - Juneteenth.

Palin denies telling Black leaders she did not intend to hire Blacks in her state where African-Americans comprise 4 percent of the population.

Palin, through spokespeople, defends her staffing record, citing that top aides and advisers include a Filipino, a Korean and a person of mixed African-American ancestry.

"I'm African-American and I am a big rebuttal to those charges," said Bill McAllister, Gov. Palin's press secretary and former broadcast journalist.

"She is not averse to hiring African-Americans," said McAllister, who joined Palin's staff two months ago. McAllister said Palin's office "never" compiled statistics on minorities in her administration.

The Rev. Alonzo B. Patterson chuckles at Palin's claims of being color-blind, saying she's "not sensitive to having African-Americans in her administration."

Patterson, who's worked closely with previous governors, mayors and other elected officials during his 45 years in Alaska, feels Palin has "totally departed from the past practices" of previous Alaska governors.

Continued...

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