Lowndes County District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks is threatening to sue the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau if the board does not pay the second half of a $7,500 grant it awarded for the local Juneteenth festival.
CVB board members refused at their monthly meeting Monday to pay the remaining $3,750 from the grant. Instead, the board voted to request Brooks’ presence at its October meeting to discuss concerns about an elected official being affiliated with the event.
Brooks has long been involved with the festival, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. He said he thinks Juneteenth is falling victim to two CVB board members — Rissa Lawrence and Mark Castleberry — picking on African American-led festivals.
“It’s strictly racial and political on the part of Rissa Lawrence and Mark Castleberry,” Brooks said. “Those are the two that have fought these black festivals, and I think all the black elected officials have gotten sick of it. If I’ve got to go by myself, I’m prepared to forego the money and sue them.”
Juneteenth celebrates the freeing of black slaves in the United States following the Civil War.
Board members’ concerns are rooted in the CVB’s ethics policy, which states elected officials cannot “request or directly/indirectly receive any public funds received by the CVB, nor will they have any financial interest in any event funded by the CVB.” The policy goes on to state elected officials’ names cannot appear on any required document for a funding request to the CVB.
CVB Executive Director Nancy Carpenter told The Dispatch on Thursday she recommended the payment to the board for approval. Carpenter said Brooks had not appeared before the board this year to request funding and had not signed any checks for the event.
Still, board members, led by Lawrence and Castleberry, expressed concern at Monday’s meeting, and opted to call Brooks before the board next month.
Brooks, on Thursday, said he’s willing to escalate the situation to get the money.
“If they want to be arbitrary and capricious, I’m prepared,” he said. “If they don’t give me the rest of the money, I’m going to get an attorney and we’re going to sue the CVB because black elected officials are sick and tired of being handled by some members of the board.
“They’ve got an executive director. If she recommends it, they should go along with it,” he added.
Lawrence declined to comment when reached by The Dispatch on Thursday. Castleberry said only that his concerns are based in the ethics policy, rather than any racial issues.
Carpenter said she does not think race played any role in the board’s decision.
“I have no reason to believe that anything is racially motivated,” Carpenter said.
Brooks didn’t deny his involvement with the Juneteenth festival, which he’s assisted with in various capacities since it began. However, Carpenter said his involvement alone doesn’t mean the board can’t fund the rest of the grant.
“It does not say that he cannot be involved as a volunteer — it doesn’t say that,” Carpenter said. “He did not come before the board, he did not ask for the money and he did not sign the checks.”
Cindy Lawrence, who is chairperson for Juneteenth, also declined to comment on Thursday.
Roast-N-Boast
A longtime annual barbecue-cooking contest will move forward without CVB funds, after board members raised concerns the organization might donate its grant money to another nonprofit.
The 14th annual Roast-N-Boast begins at 5 p.m. today at the Columbus Fairgrounds on Highway 69 South and will continue at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Organizer Mike Law said the event, which regularly draws about 2,500 people, will open with a salute to local first responders this evening.
Roast-N-Boast requested $5,000 from CVB. The board did not approve the payment at Monday’s meeting, Carpenter said.
CVB board members want Roast-N-Boast organizers to explain why they should approve a grant request to fund the event after questions arose about the event’s donation to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Carpenter said board members have concerns about approving money for an event that appears to then go to another organization. She said she recommended payment to the board, but concerns over Roast-N-Boast’s advertising material promoting that proceeds will go to St. Jude sparked the concerns.
She said there was also concern about a Roast-N-Boast representative not mentioning CVB during a recent interview with WCBI, even though the CVB logo is included on marketing material for the event.
“I just feel like it was a great misunderstanding,” Carpenter said.
Law said Roast-N-Boast has donated proceeds to charities in the past without any problem. He said organizers use CVB money to cover the costs of hosting the event.
“Their concern is ‘Why should we give you money when you give our money away to someone else?'” Law said. “Their money helps us get this thing kicked off. We have to provide power, pay rent at the fairground — it costs a lot to get this going.”
Law said Roast-N-Boast is still working to mend the situation with CVB. Without the funding, he said the Roast-N-Boast nonprofit organization will have to dip into funds raised from other events throughout the year.
“Every year there’s been a Roast-N-Boast, which has been the last 14 years, we choose a charitable organization to make a donation to,” Law said. “None of this has been intentional. We’re still working diligently with the CVB.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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