Black History Month 2012: Spotlighting a few key players in the Democratic National Convention 

When the Democratic National Convention comes to Charlotte in September, the symbolism will be unmistakable: Mayor Anthony Foxx greeting President Barack Obama on his way to re-nomination for the highest office in the country. To some, that image may conjure up the fulfillment of the American dream; to others, it may seem like the end of the world. But Black History Month is a time to set politics and partisan differences aside and note the progress we've made. And yes, though problems persist, there is progress.

This is North Carolina, a state where in a bloody coup d'état in 1898 — the only one in U.S. history — mobs of armed white supremacists overthrew an elected local government of blacks and whites, burned a black newspaper office and ran out of town those they didn't murder. The heroes were Republicans, drawn to the party of Lincoln, and the villains a Democratic establishment supported by the state's institutions and newspapers.

This is North Carolina, where decades of Jim Crow followed, limiting the vote and equal access to jobs, homes and education to just some of its citizens. Through the efforts and sacrifices of civil rights pioneers, progress was made. And when President Lyndon Johnson and the Democratic Party became the symbol of civil rights legislation, the racial dynamic of party politics changed.

Foxx is the second African-American mayor elected in Charlotte. The first, Harvey Gantt, is a one-man timeline of the success and stumbles on the way to 2012. You can track Charlotte's progress from Gantt's architecture career and two terms in the mayor's office, between 1983 and 1987, through his two rancorous and hard-fought Senate races in the 1990s, when GOP opponent Jesse Helms' negative, racially targeted campaigning helped refine the tactic.

When I spoke with Gantt for a story in The Root, he told me: "I remember saying when I lost the race to Jesse Helms, the really emotional race ... I have this strange feeling that he's a dying breed, and even in North Carolina we're going to see different kinds of politicians win statewide who are going to have views that are going to be more reflective of where I am than where Jesse Helms is."

Gantt has been active in the community and in convention efforts; the 35,000 expected convention visitors will see his name on the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts & Culture.

He was mentor and inspiration to Foxx, whose name is now being mentioned as a possible gubernatorial contender. No one doubts the convention will be a showcase for his future ambitions as well as for the city of Charlotte. As Foxx told me for The Root article, "We're all ready to move beyond race. I just don't think we know quite how to do it. We get shown how to do it in spots. The president's example is taking us some part along the way there. And I think, maybe in my little corner of the world, maybe I help that some, too."

Remnants of residential segregation in Charlotte can be traced in long-discredited restrictive covenants, and the achievement gap in schools persists, though measured in income more than race. The problems have not disappeared, but evolved, and require more complex solutions.

As the Democratic National Convention increasingly comes to define Charlotte in 2012, some of the progress celebrated during Black History Month can be seen in the diverse group that has moved into town for the duration or — in some cases — even longer.

Marilyn D. Davis

The words and faces flash by on the digital photo frame on Marilyn Davis' desk: congresswoman and presidential hopeful Shirley Chisholm; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; quotes from W.E.B. Du Bois; a tribute to journalist and activist Ida. B. Wells; the Little Rock Nine; a portrait of the first African-Americans elected to Congress during Reconstruction; a determined Fannie Lou Hamer, the civil and voting rights activist and former sharecropper whose Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party challenged the all-white Mississippi delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City in 1964.

Davis said she owes a lot to "the trailblazers who have come before," and especially admires Hamer, who said she was "sick and tired of being sick and tired" when she tried to register to vote and was beaten because of it.

"Here I am sitting in this position," said Davis. "I'm sure she never envisioned that when she went to the convention."

The position Davis refers to is her job as director of constituency outreach for the Democratic National Convention Committee, where she is responsible for engaging key constituent leaders of the Democratic Party, such as: African-Americans, women, Hispanics, Asian Pacific Islanders, seniors, youth, rural Americans, Native Americans, progressives, unions and business.

For Davis, 40, working in Charlotte is a homecoming. She grew up in tiny Chapin, S.C., where her parents, who went to segregated schools, still live. "For us, Election Day was a big day. I didn't go to school; they would go out and vote," she said.

"In the evenings we would gather around the TV and watch the results." When reporters would stand in front of the capitol or White House, Davis wasn't sure if it was the journalism or politics that intrigued her most. She majored in mass communications before earning her degree in government and international studies from the University of South Carolina. "It was the political activism, the opportunity to advocate for others."

Davis' work took her to Washington and across the country, from chief of staff for Congresswoman Karen Bass of California to deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

When she left South Carolina, Davis' world was black and white. "So when I came back to Charlotte, I was really surprised at the diversity here," she said, "I thought, wow, this is really a progressive city." She has settled in Uptown with her two dogs — a Yorkie and a Maltese — and is impressed with "how clean the city is" and the number of "doggie stations" here.

Like many people working on the convention and host committees, Davis doesn't have much free time. She finds comfort in her faith, and attends church online or at Friendship Missionary Baptist. "I try to listen to gospel music every day," she said. Israel Houghton's "Moving Forward" is a current favorite.

And sometimes, Davis will drive the two hours to visit her small Methodist home church in South Carolina. "It was our community center, where we went to not only learn Bible study and sing in the choir but to learn about black history," lessons she remembers each time she glances at the digital gallery on her desk.

Courtney Counts

When it comes to recruiting, training and managing more than 10,000 volunteers for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, does Super Bowl experience make it any easier? Courtney Counts is the person to ask. The director of volunteer operations for the convention host committee, Counts served in a similar role for the North Texas Super Bowl XLV host committee, where she assisted in the volunteer operation during the week of, and leading up to, the NFL's biggest yearly event last year in Arlington.

With a convention, "there are a lot more moving parts, a lot more people involved," said Counts, 27. "The convention happens every four years; it's four Super Bowls that happen every day for a week."

But, she added, "What I honestly love is the big event."

The volunteer operation promises to get a lot bigger with the formal launch in a few weeks. While more than 5,000 people have reached out so far, a volunteer management system will create a detailed profile, "to tell us who they are, what languages they speak, T-shirt size," said Counts. "Then we'll be able to start putting them in different jobs."

Though the Orlando, Fla., native moved from Dallas for the job, Charlotte has been on her radar for a while. Counts' father is from Winston-Salem and she grew up visiting the state. "I love the Uptown area," she said. Counts, who completed her graduate internship in sports marketing at ESPN Wide World of Sports, also knew ESPN Regional Television was located here.

Working on the convention has reminded Counts, who majored in political science at Florida State University, "why I fell in love with politics to begin with" as a seventh grader assigned to follow the 1996 elections. "Government becomes this far-away entity that doesn't feel real. The more you become involved in the process, the more it becomes real.

"I wasn't part of the civil rights movement, but I understand what it was and how much people went through to give me this opportunity," said Counts, who said she wants the volunteer pool to reflect the diversity that also attracted her to this region. "We are here to truly present Charlotte to the world."

Not just during Black History Month but throughout the year, Counts' parents always made sure she and her brother read the stories of civil rights leaders. She especially admired Thurgood Marshall — an attorney like her father — as someone who "worked within the confines of the law to bring about change." Through those stories, she said, "I got the strength to realize that I could have the career that I wanted."

Counts is now reading Black Woman Redefined: Dispelling Myths and Discovering Fulfillment in the Age of Michelle Obama, by Sophia Nelson, and said the First Lady is "such a great example of what so many black women want to be," an affirmation that you can have husband, children and career.

Travis D. Dredd

When Democratic National Convention CEO Steve Kerrigan asked his chief of staff, "What's your management style?" Travis Dredd had his answer ready. The Marine vet said he told Kerrigan, "I bring it straight from my military days" when the goal was "to keep everyone focused on the mission first — what it is you want to accomplish." According to Dredd's rules, the next step is to keep troop morale high and to make sure the people who are part of the organization have the resources they need.

Dredd was recalling the conversation in his office, which is decorated with mounted photos from the 2008 inauguration. There are plants in the window — a "little bit of California" for the Los Angeles native — and artwork with the messages of hope and progress. The veteran of three previous conventions told me his term in the military was "probably the first time that I really had a chance to experience where different communities can come together toward one primary goal."

Now Dredd keeps the moving parts going as the convention date of Sept. 4 nears: "The tempo is definitely increased." Sometimes in a city the size of Denver or Charlotte, he told me, "You think it's not quite prepared for what's coming. But Charlotte under the leadership of Mayor Foxx has been well prepared from day 1." The 40-year-old shares an April 30, 1971, birth date with the mayor, and they've joked about having a joint celebration.

Though Dredd and his fiancée, a Durham, N.C., native, haven't had time to venture far from their Uptown home — the Dandelion Market is a favorite nearby hangout — Charlotte might be competition for the West Coast when the couple looks to the future, he said.

Dredd is from a family of six boys, where he was not the athlete. "My mother would say I always had a spirit of bringing people together," he said, from the time he was class president in elementary school. An early supporter of the Obama campaign, Dredd worked as a volunteer in California. In 2008, he joined the Democratic National Convention Committee, and served as the deputy CEO for convention hall operations. He managed the inaugural team for Vice President-elect Biden, and since then has traveled to South America and Europe doing advance work for the president and vice president. Recently, Dredd served as a special assistant to Secretary Steven Chu in the Department of Energy, and moved to Charlotte from Washington.

Reflecting on Black History Month, Dredd talked about the power of the image of the president speaking in Bank of America stadium. "It's going to be a very significant moment," he said, "a great visual of progress. This is where America's headed."

Dredd acknowledges that others may not look on this as progress. "America's full of diversity; it's got a lot of different people with a lot of different opinions," which he said is fine. But he added that we now have the possibility of not just an African-American president, but a person: "His name is Barack Obama." And that's part of history. "You can look forward to a dream that you have," he added. "Your dreams become more real."

Robyn Hamilton

In the ceremonies and celebrations leading up to the inauguration of President Obama, one moment stood out for Robyn Hamilton. As she watched a televised concert on the National Mall, someone walked onstage with a bald eagle — that very American symbol. And as the man started to sing "America the Beautiful," she recalled, "the eagle just spread its wings. Something about it brought me to tears."

Hamilton, a proud veteran of the Army (as a military analyst) and Air Force (as a social actions specialist), had sung the words plenty of times. But sitting with her own family and looking on as the camera panned across the newly elected president and his family, "for the first time, I really, deeply believed," she said. It was "a life-changing moment"; it happens when you realize "the world of possibilities."

Since July, Hamilton, director of business relations for the Democratic National Convention Charlotte host committee, has been expanding the possibilities for regional businesses with an interest in the convention. "My position is actually unique, one of the very first times there's been a staff position," she said, "to make sure we're being as inclusive and intentional as possible about including the local business community."

Hamilton has been speaking with small business groups, women and minority organizations, real estate professionals and chamber gatherings. The conversation goes both ways, as groups in Lake Wylie, Matthews and Monroe want to know what's being planned, how the convention will affect their communities and businesses, and what the legacy will be after the first week of September. The most effective tool has been the vendor directory at www.charlottein2012.com; it has resulted in work for local businesses and partnerships with larger firms.

"I've been working with small businesses for 20-plus years," said Hamilton, who has served as the president and CEO of the Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Council, helping them "to take advantage of whatever the opportunities are."

Growing up in the "tight-knit," predominantly African-American Montbello neighborhood in Denver, Colo., Hamilton said, "We thought we were the wealthiest kids on the planet." She met her husband-to-be in second grade. "It was that kind of neighborhood," she said.

Since then, she has worked for the African American-owned Citizens Trust Bank in Atlanta and with the U.S. Department of Commerce, studied Native-American businesses at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and earned an MBA from McColl School of Business at Queens University, where she was a distinguished Leadership Charlotte fellow.

Hamilton, 42, has been in Charlotte for about 10 years, and active in outdoor activities with her family on their farm of about a dozen acres. "I've always had an affinity for horses," she said, though with convention planning, she hasn't had much time to ride Blue.

She left Montbello years ago, but never forgot "the gifts given to me," she said. Or the lessons learned. "Don't take the ride if you're not willing to give one. Be grateful and thankful and humble that people are investing in you and have expectations of you. Embrace that and live up to that."

Mary C. Curtis is an award-winning Charlotte-based journalist and contributor to The Washington Post, The Root, NPR and the Nieman Watchdog blog. Her "Keeping It Positive" segment airs Wednesdays at 7:10 a.m. on Fox News Rising Charlotte, and she was national correspondent for Politics Daily.

Read her historical piece at The Root:

www.theroot.com/views/gauging-politics-and-progress-new-south-0?page=0,.