Since my editorial has expounded quite adequately on why Houston was eliminated from American cities vying for the 2012 Olympics (See Page 2), I was searching for other news and issues to analyze when I heard a very familiar voice call into Maurice Hope Thompson’s Saturday morning talk show on KTSU radio (90.9 FM), to extol the virtues of heavenly Houston’s amenities and salute the effort of the hard working 2012 Olympic Foundation.

“I was part of it, so I’m in a position to say that they did a outstanding job,” explained the familiar voice that praised a deal that the Olympic officials shouldn’t have been able to refuse. The voice was that of Rev. Jew Don Boney, the term-limited District D City Councilmember and one of the most active Mayor Pro Tems in the city’s 165 year history, who I hadn’t heard much from since he ran out of time to do all of those amazing things that he promised to do if he ever got in a position to make a few decisions on behalf of the poor, downtrodden, disenfranchised people who thrice voted for him in overwhelming numbers. I think Boney did a reasonably good job during his six-year tenure.

But I might be a bit bias since he didn’t mince words when he spoke at an Acres Home Citizens Chamber of Commerce Network/Luncheon a couple of years ago. He didn’t sugar coat the problems facing African-Americans, therefore I found him to be not only a dynamic guest speaker, but also a very enlightened one.

In fact, he sounded like the same old Jew Don that has always preached Pan Africa economics, although there were days he was so poor until the only pan he could be associated with was the kind beggars handle. History certainly reflects that Boney indeed, earned the trust of his underserved community when after several failed and heartbreaking attempts, was finally elected to a public office.

Almost immediately his rabble-rousing supporters started accusing their once fearless leader of being part of a system he had fought against for so many years. Initially, he tried to explain to his fellow militants, “I use to have to beat on the tables or even jump on top of them to be heard. I’m sitting at the table now, so all of that isn’t necessary. I haven’t changed. The circumstances have changed.”

This is what came to mind while listening to him explain why the International Olympic Committee’s search team rejected Houston. “We had an excellent package. The proposal was well put together, so we weren’t rejected for lack of preparation,” Boney said.He spoke on behalf of Houston’s 2012 Olympic Foundation, but he never answered the question that a caller asked McCoy McLemore, the former Jack Yates and NBA player who was on the publicity committee. “Why didn’t your committee include all of the citizens?,” the caller had asked McLemore earlier. “We did,” McLemore answered.”  Although it’s a moot point now, I couldn’t help but think, “The hell you did.” McLemore has always played team ball with Houston’s movers and shakers, therefore he only said what they expected him to say.

He has found himself a comfortable niche inside the system, just as the Howard Middletons and other Black faces in high places, therefore he had no choice but to judiciously deny the fact that the “Good Old Boy” system historically has excluded the minority community in general and poor minorities in particularly…. until they need our votes. And even then, we are included as an afterthought, or if our media anointed Black leaders raise hell because they’re left out of the loop.
I’m only seeking an answer for our readers, who want to know, “What’s Jew Don Boney doing these days?” Boney appears to have distanced himself from the more militant element, which includes the National Black United Front, the organization he virtually breathed life into. But was it political expediency or at the behest of the group that was left in the capable hands of Kofi Tarharka?

We also know that Boney isn’t one of the mainstream media’s favorite people. Angry White males never forgive or forget, therefore Boney’s 10-year battle to beat the system on behalf of Clarence Brandley will always be a political albatross around his neck. Then again, it seems that somebody up there still likes Boney, insofar as they threw him a bone when TSU’s Pricilla Slade hired him as interim director of the Mickey Leland Center on World Hunger and Peace, in spite of mild protests from both sides and the middle.

I keep hearing that he is going to be used to torpedo Rep. Sylvester Turner’s bid for City Hall, but I hope that he is smart enough not to allow himself to be used as a pawn.   If I were one to use sports vernacular, I might say that Boney is a man without a team right now. As far as I’m concerned, he played very well on our team, and was invaluable to Mayor Brown’s administration, although he didn’t visibly support the Black community’s more militant citizens.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he wasn’t just a little peeved at his old gang for not understanding how well he played the political game at their behest. Unfortunately, conservative and liberal Whites can’t afford to totally trust him; because they are politically astute enough to realize how well he played the game.

Could Boney’s detractors in the Black community be making a mistake about him long being a valuable asset for us in the past, one way or another? I see him as more or less a free agent and his future is negotiable.