BOV Member Involved in Local Controversy

BOV Member Involved in Local Controversy

United States -- Race relations

A newspaper article written by Michael A. Mello regarding a controversy involving University of Mary Washington's Board of Visitors member, John G. Castles

Mello, Michael A.

Mello, Michael A. "BOV Member Involved in Local Controversy." The Bullet (VA), March 28, 1978.

HIST 298, University of Mary Washington

1978-03-28

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English

Fredericksburg, VA

The pages of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star have recently contained a controversy involving John G. Castles, a member of MWC's Board of Visitors, the highest operational decision-making body of the College. Castles is also a member of the four-man Caroline County Board of Supervisors. The controversy arose out of comments he made about the low income residents of Caroline County. The Free Lance-Star quoted Castles as saying, "Even if there were more jobs, I question whether (unemployed) blacks would work . . . Blacks have two preoccupations—recreation and education. They think keeping kids off the streets and giving them a shiny new building will turn them into Phi Beta Kappas. They don't have to foot the bills—it's easy to demand things." Castles, in a letter to the Fredericksburg newspaper, replied that his "comments about unemployed applied equally to blacks and whites" and accused the newspaper of distorting the entire matter.

The issue appears within the context of a three-part series of articles on Caroline County written by Free Lance-Star staff writer Spencie Love. Love, a graduate of Harvard University, wrote in the final segment of her story that the three white members of the Board of Supervisors, "hold similar views on county problems, such as poverty and unemployment, and see the county's blacks—the major victims of both—as largely responsible for their situation." Castles went on to say that Caroline County's industries were, "compatible with the labor force—no one wants to work . . . I think the county would be attractive to (outside) industry, but there's not a reliable work force. Even if there were more jobs, I question whether (unemployed) blacks would work."

Love also wrote that, "Castles sees the county's blacks as a unified political force—he said that Luther Morris represented the county's blacks, and would 'do anything they tell him to do.' . . . Suggesting that blacks complained more than the 'people paying the most taxes,' Castles concluded that black leadership showed a lack of intelligence and candor."

Castles, who "prides himself on his candor," was quick to respond to Love's articles. In the March 22nd issue of The Free Lance-Star, Castles wrote that Love "left no stone unturned in an effort to paint the white board members as insensitive, bigoted, plantation owners, lording it over the less fortunate citizens of the community . . . My comments about those who pay little and demand much applies to all races and not just blacks as Ms. Love would have you believe. She knows that my remarks about the emphasis on new school buildings with its lack of results on the learning capacity of its occupants applies across the board. But doesn't it serve her purpose so much better to apply it only to blacks? My comments about unemployed applied equally to blacks and whites, but if put properly in that light wouldn't create animosity, would it? Working blacks and whites have little respect for either race who won't work."

Castles' letter included a personal attack upon the author of the article series. Castles charges Love with "a communistic distaste for anyone who has the audacity to own property" and suggests that this "communistic distaste" is the result of "a Patty Hearst guilt complex . . . Or maybe her earlier journalistic experience as a reporter for the Afro-American Newspaper" was the cause of her "biased, inaccurate, misquoted, quoted-out-of-context and sensationalistic reporting." Castles further writes that Love, "has done her best to create dissension on the one hand and racial disharmony on the other. (She) obviously thrives on disharmony." Castle Concludes, "as for Ms. Love, the honeymoon in Caroline is over. She has been unmasked for what she really is. A holdover from the civil disturbance marchers of the '60's. Frustrated with no place to march she's turned to the next best thing, the press, and become a journalistic trouble-maker instead of the charging crusader she thinks she is. As The Free Lance-Star has become increasingly more liberal, its coverage of news events has become increasingly less reliable.

In a nine-point rejoinder to Castle's letter, The Free Lance-Star asserted among other things that 1) Castle's "comments on unemployment may have applied, as he contends, to both whites and blacks. However his quote ended: 'Even if there were more jobs, I question whether (unemployed) blacks would work.' " 2) The "series did not depict the white supervisors as 'insensitive, bigoted plantation owners.' The series simply quoted them. Any such inference is Mr. Castles', not ours." 3) Castles' "baseless allegations concerning what he calls our reporters 'communistic distaste' and 'Patty Hearst guilt complex' are not only without foundation but also irrelevant."

Castles, in a telephone interview, stated that he felt it "incredible that this land-use issue has been presented in such a way as to give it racial over-tones. My comments had nothing to do with race; they applied to whites as well as blacks. There are just a lot of unemployed people who won't take a job even when it's offered." On the school issue, Castles reiterated his point that the problem is more than financial: "you need more than money. You need motivated students, quality teachers, and responsible parents. With those things, you could learn in a barn. Without them, you couldn't learn in the Taj Mahal."

Castles acknowledged that his attack on Love was partly "personal," but he felt "it was justified. I went to the paper first, but they made no effort to ameliorate the situation. A free press must be a responsible press. Responsibility must go with anything. Castles plans to clarify his position with a second letter to The Free Lance-Star.

Since John Castles is a member of the 12-member MWC Board of Visitors, this issue has sparked much interest among students and faculty of the College. One student remarked that she was "appalled" at his comments. "If this man is a racist, he should not be on our B.O.V. How will this look when we apply for federal funds, having a man on the most important and powerful official body on campus making disparaging public statements about the unwillingness of Blacks to work?"

Castles was appointed to the Board of Visitors in 1976, by Virginia Governor Mills Godwin. The Board perceives its duties as including "the carrying into effect the statement of Institutional Purpose." This statement states that the College is obligated to pursue its polices "without regard to race, sex, creed, or national origin." The Board is the "governing body of Mary Washington College."

The Virginia law which created the Board in 1972 listed its duties as follows: "Control and expend the funds of the College . . . make all needful rules and regulations . . . appoint the President . . . and all teachers and fix their salaries and provide for the employment of other personnel as required, and generally direct the affairs of the College."

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