Rep. Chris Hurt’s Silence Hurts Us All

By:          Gwen Blackman

When a crisis occurs, it becomes clear who stands with you.  In the wake of recordings revealing Lauderdale County Sheriff, Steve Sanders casually using the “N word” to describe Lauderdale residents, the public has a crisis of trust in its top law enforcement.  Unfortunately, Sheriff Sanders is not stepping down.  Even more disappointingly, this incident has revealed how folks who have talked a good game on equality are absent when the community needs them to step up.  This is particularly the case for State Representative Chris Hurt.

Rep. Chris Hurt

State District 82, has a population of 59,948, is approximately 34.1% Black/African-American according to Census Bureau Data.  Lauderdale County, TN, has 35.1% of the Black/African-American population;  Haywood County 51.05%; while Crockett County has a Black or African-American population of 13.3%.  Ripley, TN, the county seat of Lauderdale County, has a Black/African-American population of 59.7%.

According to recent reporting, a tape recording of Sheriff Sanders from around a year ago has exploded onto the county.  It is alleged that Sheriff Sanders, often and casually used a derogatory racial slurs when referring to members of the African-American community, as well as a residential area which is predominantly Black.  When questioned, Mr. Sanders did not deny the use of the term.  He did offer an apology stating that it (the “N word”) just slipped out.  

Although residents are protesting, Mr. Sanders, an elected official, is still employed.  Ultimately, it will only be public shame or a likely challenge from his party that will convince Mr. Sanders to do the right thing for Lauderdale County and resign.  That is why it is so important for elected officials like Chris Hurt to step up and tell Sanders to stand down. 

Mr. Hurt talked a good game last year by using his campaign funds to sponsor a table at the Freedom Fund Banquet for the NAACP.  He also did a nice photo op for the Lauderdale NAACP Youth Council on their annual tour of the State Capital.  But now, we need more than self-serving photo ops.  So, wouldn’t you expect Mr. Hurt to speak out forcefully on behalf of his Black constituents? Give a denunciation of the racist terminology used by Mr. Sanders?  Indicate that it is not the language he or any person, much less an elected official, should use when referring to anyone.   Instead, Mr. Hurt, like most of the elected officials in Lauderdale County, has been mum. He has issued no statement, made no pronouncements as to his stance on the matter.  In this case, silence equals consent.

Unfortunately though, this is now a pattern with Mr. Hurt.  There are at least two other areas where he has broken faith with his constituents.

When running for the District 82 seat, Mr. Hurt, in his 2018 campaign literature, stated the following: “Our schools and education systems will receive Chris' full support as well. He plans to fight for our fair share of education dollars, but believes our schools are best managed here at home, by the parents teachers and communities that support them.”  He assured voters that he would vote against the proposed school vouchers program that threatens our local school funding.  But once again, when it was time to move beyond campaign brochures, Rep. Hurt became an ardent voucher supporter even casting the deciding vote for the program in the House.   

Equally as appalling, he supported a bill that imposed criminal penalties on people for committing paperwork errors while running a voter registration drive.  This bill is largely understood to have been passed in response to successful efforts to register African-Americans throughout Tennessee.  The bill passed by Mr. Hurt was ultimately found to be unconstitutional and was struck down.  But seeing his silence with Sheriff Sanders, you can’t help but question why Rep Hurt would want to make TN the only state in the country to criminalize voter registration.

Criminal penalties for voter registration drives.  Breaking his promises on vouchers.  Standing silently in the face of flagrant racial discrimination. Thanks for using the campaign money for that NAACP table, but why should anyone in District 82 send Hurt back for another term?