“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In modern society, officials are elected by the people based on more than just experience and ability, they are voted in based on trust. Whether it’s an incumbent or someone new, constituents go to the ballot box each year with the belief that the people who are voted into office have their best interests in mind. This was the hope of many within Black and Brown communities when the Prince William County Board of Supervisors became more progressive and diverse than ever before.

When longtime police chief Barry Bernard announced his retirement earlier this year, the hope was that his replacement would be someone who represented the county’s rapidly growing majority “minority” demographic composition. Unfortunately, it became more of the same as Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, was voted in by a 7-1 margin to become the new chief in Prince William County.

One only needs to skim Newsham’s controversial record to understand the folly in this decision. It is well known that DC has celebrated the news of his leaving, while it has created outrage in PWC. Once again, it seems as if our elected officials who publicly declared “Black Lives Matter,” have voted in a manner that represents anything but.  Statements in a meeting when the cameras are on is one thing, but when the opportunity arrived to reflect those views, there was a failure across the Board.

Newsham’s history has been littered with both failures in judgment and execution, which has led to an unprecedented loss of life among Black youth in the nation’s capital. This, among many other failures, is what many believe will also happen in Prince William County, and it is up to those in charge to right a wrong before it’s too late.

Do Black and Brown Lives only matter with appearances? Or do they only matter only with receiving their votes? Based on the overwhelming support of Newsham by our elected supervisors, Black and Brown communities must wonder just exactly whose best interests were in mind.