By Tashi McQueen,
AFRO Political Writer,
tmcqueen@afro.com
As candidacy filing deadline for Maryland’s primary was Feb. 9, the AFRO is sitting down with said candidates to ensure residents know their options.
Don Scoggins is one of multiple candidates running for Baltimore City Mayor this year.
Q: What was your childhood like?
A: My father lived in Tulsa, Okla., my mother lived in Philadelphia. I was raised in Tulsa, Okla., during the closing days of Jim Crow. From what I can remember, it was an advantageous time. Within the Black community, which was segregated, you had everything you wanted, and we pretty much made our own decisions. You had grocery stores, Black merchants and my dad was an electrical contractor.
The schools were very good because you had teachers who were of the community and very accomplished academically. They could teach at a college level, but because of segregation, they couldn’t receive that opportunity. So, you had capable teachers at the elementary and secondary school levels. In that time, we were more unified. You had middle-class Blacks and those that weren’t quite middle class, somewhat living amongst each other. We didn’t have that internal division that we have today.
Q: Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
A: I would say my grandad was a very big inspiration. In my early years, he was an inspiration because being the president of an HBCU (historically Black college or university),which– back in those days–was a big thing. He had this big Lincoln sedan and resided in the school’s large granite presidential mansion. I saw how he did things, how people reacted to him when he talked and his influence over people– which was a big inspiration.
Q: What do you believe has been your biggest contribution to society?
A: I feel my 50 plus years involved with community and affordable housing work has been my biggest contribution to society. I have been very fortunate to have engaged professionally in work I fully enjoyed. It included military service in Vietnam, assisting the City of Danang in reestablishing its city planning department after a war with the French. After the military, I acquired many years of experience working in various local and federal government agencies, including housing and real estate management. I also helped create several non-profit affordable housing corporations.
Q: Why run for mayor of Baltimore?
A: I want to share my life experiences and professional expertise to provide better opportunities for our youth. Baltimore is a microcosm of many similar cities across the country. In my view, its residents– particularly the Black community– are being terribly shortchanged. Our youth have been neglected and are not being well educated. With this being said, Baltimore is a beautiful place. It has tremendous potential if managed competently. When blessed in life, you have a duty to try to help people– it is not an option. I am not a “go along to get along” type of person. I would rather lose being honest than succeed dishonestly.
Since I’m retired, I have the time, energy and great passion to do the job.
This article has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Tashi McQueen is a Report For America Corps member.
The post Meet Baltimore City mayoral candidate Don Scoggins appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.
