In the five months since taking office, Mayor Friday Ellis’s administration has struggled to establish an effective working relationship with Monroe’s black-majority city council. This growing divide presents a challenge that, while difficult, is not insurmountable for a white mayor leading a predominantly black city.
Monroe’s history offers instructive examples of cross-racial cooperation in city leadership. The city’s three black mayors demonstrated that effective governance across racial lines is possible. Mayor Abe Pierce, III set a powerful precedent in 1995 with his motto, “Together we can work it out,” consistently choosing collaboration over confrontation with the white community. Similarly, Mayor Jamie Mayo’s tenure was marked by such extensive cooperation with the white community that it occasionally strained his relationship with his Southside constituency.
The current administration, however, has yet to find this delicate balance. Ellis’s vision for Monroe, while ambitious, appears to lack a crucial component: the inclusion of minority enterprises and advancement as equal partners in the city’s growth. This oversight has pushed black city leaders into an adversarial position, manifesting in the council’s resistance to department head appointments and opposition to the proposed sales tax.
The blueprint for successful inclusive leadership exists. Former mayors Dutch Morial of New Orleans and Maynard Jackson of Atlanta demonstrated how to foster city growth while ensuring minority participation. Rather than accepting insufficient minority representation in development, they actively worked to create minority corporations, contractors, and business opportunities. Under their leadership, minority businesses grew in lockstep with their cities’ expansion.
Mayor Mayo’s eventual electoral defeat, despite 18 years of significant economic development, serves as a cautionary tale. His administration’s failure to secure meaningful minority participation in major projects ultimately cost him crucial minority support.
The message to Ellis is clear: Monroe’s minority community seeks a seat at the table. They don’t oppose his vision for progress; they oppose the lack of aggressive effort to ensure minorities benefit from that progress. Until Ellis demonstrates a commitment to minority inclusion, he can expect resistance even on routine matters.
The path forward requires Ellis to proactively incorporate minority participation in all major initiatives. Whether pursuing a hockey team, an Amazon facility, downtown development, or Amtrak service, he must work deliberately to ensure minority stakeholders benefit from these opportunities. When the minority community sees evidence of his behind-the-scenes efforts to secure their participation, he will find unprecedented support for his initiatives.
As the saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Ellis’s challenge – and opportunity – is to ensure the black community’s boats rise with the tide. If they lack boats, his administration must help build them.
Success in Monroe’s current political landscape requires not just vision, but inclusive vision that actively creates pathways for minority participation in the city’s growth and development.
