JAMES, from Page 5

reason they are not participating is that they have been so discouraged that they have given up or convinced it’s not worth even trying.

The difference is that now there are people on the inside to make that happen, and we need to put together the people and organizations to plug into it.

The elections of Norm Rice and Ron Sims have changed the complexion of the city, but now we must take this opportunity to create the first fully integrated governmental process in the nation. That should be our vision — because anything less would not be worthy of Martin Luther King Jr. or the county that bears his name.

CHARLIE JAMES has been an African-American-community activist/writer for more than 35 years.