Springfield City Councilor Tracye Whitfield Demands Public Apology
The Willie Lynch Letter and The Making of A Slave is a speech delivered by Willie Lynch to an audience on the bank of the James River in Virginia in 1712 regarding control of slaves within the colony.
The speaker, William Lynch, is said to have been an enslaver in the West Indies and was summoned to Virginia in 1712 due to several slave revolts in the area before his visit and more so because of his reputation of being an authoritarian and strict slave master.
The Willie Lynch Letter is an account of the short speech given by Willie Lynch, in which he tells other enslavers that he has discovered the “secret” to controlling enslaved Africans by setting them against one another.
Residents and Black leaders are accusing Domenic Sarno of attempting to follow a course set by antebellum White leaders to keep Black voters divided and disparage Black leaders to the point where they lose credibility amongst Black voters.
Within the last week someone by the name of “Jason Ray” (jason_ray1122@yahoo.com) emailed a pdf document to the Springfield City Council with the header (Does Robert “Cee” Jackson have the ‘Inside Track’ to a City Security Contract?)
The document begins with a Masslive image of Domenic Sarno standing at a podium alongside a Black Springfield organization called “The Brethren.” The article implies that Sarno and Robert Cee Jackson spoke alongside each other at the Brethren meeting, not sure of the relevancy of that inference.
The document points out the following about Jackson. He received ARPA Funds from Springfield, was appointed to the Police Commission, and submitted bids for other eligible projects in the city.
The document closes with the question, will Robert Cee Jackson withdraw his company’s bid for city contracts?
Fast forward to Monday, March 6, Sarno issued the following statement in response to the document:
“This whole charade has been orchestrated by City Councilors Justin Hurst and Tracye Whitfield and ‘they should be ashamed of themselves!’ Commissioner Jackson is a beloved and well-respected community leader, especially in our African-American community. This year’s Ubora Award winner has helped out so many people, families and causes in their time of need. Under the guise of this mystery man – Jason Ray, and a few member of the local Massachusetts Senior Action group being pushed by Hurst, Whitfield and their Boston representative, they continue to try to create controversy and inflict harm to others for their own dishonest political gain. Their antics make me sick to my stomach. I proudly and steadfastly stand by Commissioner Jackson and all of the Board of Police Commission members.”
Residents and community leaders were taken aback by the Mayor’s rancorous statement, given that the document does not indicate any affiliation with the city councilors or the local Massachusetts Senior Action group, an organization predominated by African American seniors in the Greater Springfield region.
Sarno failed to mention that both the city councilors and the local Massachusetts Senior Action group have been very critical of decisions/statements that the Mayor has made regarding African Americans in the city.
On June 3, 2021, Massachusetts Senior Action Council called for the Springfield Police Commissioner to resign. In a letter to the Massachusetts Senior Action Council on May 5, 2021, Commissioner Clapprood dismissed community concerns about how the department interacts with the public and treats people of color. Both Hurst and Whitfield stood in solidarity with the organization. Early September of 2019, the Massachusetts Senior Action Council protested on the steps of City Hall, seeking improved transportation to the Raymond Jordan Senior Center and lower-cost meals, triggered a face-to-face encounter with Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who defended his efforts by dismissing their concerns.
Over the last 3-4 years, Domenic Sarno, the self-proclaimed people’s Mayor, has lost most of his support in the Black community. Once a Sarno stronghold. The Black vote in Springfield is one of the region’s most robust and consistent voting blocks, says Andrew Keaton El. Who goes on to say the widespread consensus in the Black community says Sarno is undeserving of that title, and voters must address his bigotry with their votes.
Whitfield demanded a public apology in which she says, “I’m asking Mayor Sarno for a public apology! His comments about me are simply not true and are indeed very hurtful. In addition, Whitfield said, Commissioner Robert C Jackson is a longtime friend, an outstanding community leader, and a supporter of mine! I fully support Mr. Jackson’s appointment to the Police Commission, and I personally believe that he is a great choice.
Whitfield stated that she has already contacted Commissioner Jackson to communicate that the Mayor’s statement is 100 percent untrue and defamatory. She, like many, believes that this is nothing more than another attempt by the Mayor to divide the Black community.
Whitfield says, “If you have any evidence of my involvement Mayor Sarno, produce it! Otherwise, apologize to our African American seniors and Councilors Whitfield and Hurst.” Robert Jones says, “I am having difficulty understanding how the Mayor of a city like Springfield can openly and blatantly accuse Black city counselors and, more importantly, Black senior citizens of engaging in this type of malicious behavior. This is something that White politicians have been doing to Black communities ever since black people were given the right to vote in this country.”
Domenic Sarno and his handler seem to have discovered the “secret” of setting the Black community against itself. Robert Cee Jackson is one of the Black community’s most beloved personalities. There are Cee Jackson stories everywhere; everyone knows that when you contact him, he will respond, and he will stick by you until your problem is resolved. He has a heart of gold.
Sarno is attempting to tarnish that by pitting Jackson against two Black elected officials and an organization helmed by African American Senior citizens who challenge the status quo and fight for what they believe in. It is easy to assume that Sarno and his staff thought they would kill several birds with one stone.
Whitfield has complained publicly and privately about numerous occasions in which the administration was uncooperative and derelict in their responsibility to be transparent, especially regarding the distribution and awarding of city contracts. Having worked there for 12 years, I can validate her complaints.
Then this happened:
March 8, 2022 at 12:05pm, the members of the Springfield City Council received an email from Jason Ray stating the following – The Mayor is making a false accusation against Hurst and Whitfield. I’ve never met nor spoken to either of them. They are wholly unrelated to my work with my employer (one of the competing security companies for the library contract.).The Mayor is connecting dots where there is NO connection to divert attention from the corruption.
Sarno operating under an antiquated school of thought failed to recognize that this isn’t 1712 and that the Willie Lynchs of the world are not smart enough to elicit the same responses they had in the 18th and 19th centuries. The days of Black public infighting ends here.
Domenic Sarno is desperate and knows that he has lost his last major influencer in the Black community and the only way to make up for the loss is to keep the Black vote divided.
Focus people focus! It is time to revoke Sarno’s cookout pass and vote for a new mayor to represent the people.
