Commissioner Smith Believes Burke County Is Being Infiltrated by Communists?
For Commissioner Phil Smith, the words social justice, equity, cultural competency, and humanism are alarming. Burke residents think otherwise.
BURKE COUNTY, North Carolina—In a pre-agenda meeting on January 3rd, recently elected County Commissioner Phil Smith revived rhetoric reminiscent of 1950s McCarthyism, a time during which efforts to bring about positive social change for marginalized people were met with the full force of what came to be known as “the Red Scare.”
During this meeting, Chae Moore, a public health education supervisor for the Burke County Health Department, presented on the 2022 Community Health Assessment, a tool designed to “give insight to community members and shareholders on the current health status of the community,” she says.
According to the associated survey, the most pressing health concerns in Burke County are mental health, obesity with risk factors, substance abuse disorder, lack of affordable housing, health literacy, cultural competence, and transportation.
When discussing community issues with mental health, Moore explains that “cultural competency is something that is going to have to be looked at. Different cultures view mental health differently.” She goes on to cite an example from a participant in one of their surveyed groups who noted that the Hmong community tends to be reticent in talking about mental health, for instance.
Commissioner Smith Reacts
Following her presentation, newly minted Commissioner Smith took the opportunity to channel what has become a staple of reactionary politics over the past few years. Citing documents from the presentation, he latched onto phraseology from the Health Department equity team’s documents, including “cultural bias,” “health equity,” and “cultural competency in healthcare.”
“Just coming from an old conservative who knows a little bit about the Constitution and used to teach Western Civilization,” he continues, “that sounds a whole lot like critical race theory and social justice, which are two tenets of communism and Marxism.”
He then draws attention to the Health Department’s partnership with Work 4 Change, which describes itself as “a consultancy of social scientists, thought leaders, digital storytellers, and skilled trainers.” According to their website, the group’s “approach is embedded in social justice, humanism, and equity,” centering “the common good, worker dignity, fair rights and responsibilities, and assistance to the most vulnerable in every working partnership we engage—no matter the need.”
Commissioner Smith apparently is concerned by their commitment to social justice, humanism, and equity, saying, “These words sounded the alarm to me.”
He then fixates on their humanistic approach for a moment.
“Humanism is a belief that God has no place in society,” he continues, “that man can solve all his problems by himself. And things like that. That concerns me a little bit.”
In response to his worries about who hired Work 4 Change, Moore explains that the Health Department received a grant through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Fall 2022. As part of this grant, internal staff were required to receive equity training, she says.
It could easily be argued that this training is closely connected to the department’s work toward improving cultural competency, among other needs in our community.
“We all interact with the public differently,” Moore says. “We want to create an environment at the Health Department that anyone, no matter where they go within the County, and [if] they are mistreated for any reason, that they come to us, that they receive the best care possible. That’s really the bottom line of what we’re trying to get at.”
‘What is your knowledge of communism and Marxism?’
Commissioner Smith’s protestations have been met by strong pushback from Burke County residents, including direct confrontations at the public portion of the commissioners’ regular meeting on Tuesday January 17th.
Jane Cantwell addressed Smith: “What are you afraid of? What undercover spies have infiltrated Burke County Health Department? Who are the enemies of the people? And what is the origin of your fear?”
“This unprovoked attack on the health assessment report sounds a whole lot like another Red Scare, similar to what happened in America after World War I. And then again in the 1950s during the McCarthy era,” Cantwell says, a 15-year Morganton resident who also revealed to the board that she grew up under Soviet-era communism.
“Those were dark times in our country’s history,” she continues. “Will our grandchildren read in the textbooks about the Red Scare of the 2020s? But let me ask you again. What is your knowledge of communism and Marxism?”
Whatever Smith’s experience may be in teaching so-called “Western Civilization,” his reactions to Moore’s presentation suggest to me he has done limited reading of the scholarship relevant to social justice, critical race theory, Marxism, communism, or equity.
Furthermore, his talking points sound unnervingly similar to ones we’ve heard from reactionary activists and politicians across the United States the past few years.
In what should enhearten change-oriented residents of Burke County eager for meaningful progress, Smith’s politically motivated interrogation of Moore provoked a few letters to the editor published in the News Herald, each critical of the commissioner’s language.
‘Humanists stress the value and goodness of all human beings.’
Paul Rasmussen castigated Smith’s notions regarding humanism.
“I don’t know why Commissioner Smith also used his time to denigrate humanism,” he writes. “Humanists stress the value and goodness of all human beings, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems. Smith seems to think humanists are anti-God.”
For Rasmussen, Smith’s critique of humanism hit too close to home.
“Does the Commissioner know that the Morganton Humanist Alliance has been regularly cleaning the stretch of Sanford Drive between the Post Office and Grace Ridge for years? I dare you to tell my wife of 50 years that she doesn’t believe in God when she returns from her volunteer trash-cleaning wearing her high-visibility vest and muddy boots.”
‘I doubt he could even give a cogent definition of the two terms.’
John S. Flood Jr. expressed an ironic dismay at the commissioner rejecting the ethos of equity.
“I doubt Commissioner Smith was actually trying to ferret out the Marxists at the Health Department or uncover clandestine classes in CRT,” he writes. “I doubt he could even give a cogent definition of the two terms. No, he was just employing the old reliable practice of denigrating others through the use of politically reactive slurs, powerful because of fear and ignorance. I am surprised he did not also roll out the more current slur by calling the Health Department Plans ‘Woke.’”
‘Mr. Smith reminds me of the 1950s McCarthyism.’
D.J. Maher of Valdese was aghast at what he read in the News Herald detailing Commissioner Smith’s comments.
“Mr. Smith reminds me of the 1950s McCarthyism,” he writes. “Red Scare–’Communists were everywhere!’ It got so bad that school children were told that ‘You can’t trust anyone; even your parents.’ Children were instructed that if their parents were acting suspiciously, the child was to report the parents to the authorities.”
‘Jesus Christ in Luke 4:18 speaks much more to equity and social justice than anything said by Karl Marx.’
In his letter to the editor, Seth Collings Hawkins, a physician who is currently a graduate student in public health, stressed the importance of cultural competency for improving healthcare outcomes.
“We take care of people from a wide range of cultures, many of whom are disinvested and underheard. Integrating equity and social justice do not inherently make something communist or Marxist,” he writes. “These concepts are, however, endemic to public health training, and appropriately so.”
He further challenged Smith’s suggestion that social justice, equity, and cultural competency are anti-Christian or anti-God.
“Taking a stand against equity and social justice is a curious take for a county politician and former Western Civilization educator,” he continues. “In terms of historic figures in Western Civilization, to me, Jesus Christ in Luke 4:18 speaks much more to equity and social justice than anything said by Karl Marx.”
It remains to be seen how persuasive these responses will be to other Burke County residents and whether they will find open hearts. Smith’s posture is certainly not alone in Burke County, a region that’s been infamously Red (of the Republican variety) for decades.
However, the outrage and righteous indignation directed toward Smith should give our community reason (humanistic, or otherwise) to hope that more marginalized people in Southern Appalachia will encounter more equitable treatment in healthcare and beyond.
And that’s a welcome thought.