By Othor Cain
Contributing writer
At her first board meeting as Executive Director of the Jackson-Hinds Library System, Patty Furr was met with a strong out-cry of opposition from some library employees and community members. “Mrs. Furr, this isn’t personal and I feel as though you’re a very nice lady. But for some of us here, Charlotte will always be our leader,” said Celeste Ramirez, an employee of the Library. “We feel as if this process was flawed and Charlotte was over-looked.”
Ramirez was referring to Charlotte Moman, assistant director for Public Service at the Jackson-Hinds Library System. Several employees felt that Moman, who after 23 years of service should have been named executive director.
In an effort to calm the public display of dissatisfaction, Furr responded that she would be glad to meet with any employee of the Library or any community member. “I want you to know that I have done nothing wrong, that I wasn’t involved in the hiring process…. The only thing that I did was apply for the job and I was selected,” Furr said. “I want to do the best job that I can here and in the best interest of this library system, it is time for us to move on and work together.”
Moving on may prove to be a difficult accomplishment as both sides are preparing to enter into a legal battle. “This really could be solved with this board. There really is no reason to take it to court,” said Charlene Priester, the attorney representing Charlotte Moman. “But rest assured we are prepared to fight for what is right.”
It was because of Priester’s presence at the board meeting that the attorney representing the board of directors for the library system asked the board to go into executive session at the beginning of the meeting to discuss their game plan for moving forward with possible legal issues surrounding the hiring of Furr.
“They don’t usually do this, but they are being advised not to talk and are being told how to deal with this issue,” said Paul Luckett, a local minister and community activist. “I’ve been coming to these board meetings for 10 years. I have not missed one of them and what they are doing is a shame before God and it ain’t right. And I will go to my death bed saying that.”
Luckett spoke out at the board meeting as soon as they returned from executive session and opened it back up to the public. “I want to go on record that this is wrong,” said Luckett. “I’m not sure why all these black people on this board are not saying anything and just sitting there like dummies.”
Harriet Kuykendall, who serves as the president of the board of directors for the library, said that the hiring practice was fair. “I stand by what we’ve done as a board and our attorneys have assured us that we were well within our rights to hire Patty,” she said. “I am not responsible for how people feel.”
Kuykendall described the hiring process to The Mississippi Link: “I formed a committee of six people. I appointed three blacks and three whites and I served as chair of that committee. When we came across Patty’s package, we all knew the search was over and that we had found the candidate that could take us to the next level. It was a done deal. I will also say that of the 13 members that are on the board, Patty received a unanimous vote of 12. One board member was out of state and did not attend the meeting. ”
The issue for some isn’t the selection of the candidate but rather the changing of the submission process. The Mississippi Link has obtained documents that reveal the position was listed as available July 1; posted May 20 and the date of closing was August 1. Yet, in a special called meeting, Furr was hired in late June and began work July 1.
“That’s the problem,” said one community supporter. “They changed the dates and didn’t give Charlotte no warning and no explanation and no opportunity to submit her information.”
When asked about the availability date of the position and the assumption that most people would read the document as if Aug. 1 was the deadline to submit application packages or inquiries, Kuykendall said, “Everyone knows that we can fill a position at anytime. We could have listed the expiration date as ‘until filled,’ but we didn’t. We did what was right and again I will say to you that our attorneys have assured us we are in line.”
Despite advice from board attorneys, board member Maggie Benson White was the only member to speak out publicly in opposition of the hiring of Furr. “I just simply feel that we were misled,” Benson-White said. She told the Mississippi Link in a July 10 interview that she thought the board was voting for an interim director. After finding out that this was not the case, Benson-White said, “I asked for a special executive meeting and I was denied. And to me this isn’t right.”
Kuykendall believes that Furr is the right fit for the Jackson-Hinds System despite the backlash that she is receiving. “Patty knows IT, she knows how to build libraries, she knows financing,” Kuykendall said. “No other candidate in house or outside of our system has that type of experience.”
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