State Rep. Harold Love has been a member of the Tennessee General Assembly
since 1968. A Nashville native, Love was born into a family of four
boys and two girls. His parents lived at 1421 Jackson St. for many
years. He grew up in a neighborhood where "every neighbor took care
of his neighbor's children," he says.
Love's parents placed a premium on education as a means of raising oneself above
poverty. "My father and mother made sure that all of the children graduated
from high school, and all of them worked their way through Tennessee State University,
then called Tennessee A and I." All of the children subsequently purchased homes
and were successful, says Love.
"It really does not matter how deep the poverty you come from; if you
have it in your mind to succeed, you can do so. There are no acceptable
excuses for people who want to get ahead. If you want to succeed,
you can."
Love, the senior black member of the Tennessee General Assembly, became
involved in activities leading toward public service when M.W. Day invited
him to help sell Big Brothers newspapers to raise money for the poor.
Day was an influential member of the Nashville Board of Trade, the black
counterpart to the white Chamber of Commerce during segregation.
"That got me involved in community needs and community service," says Love.
Love brings an acute social consciousness to the political process
which has played a crucial role in helping to "keep Love in the House"
since 1968. His social science background includes a bachelor's degree
from Tennessee State University in social studies and a master's degree
from Fisk University in sociology.
But above all, "having come from a poverty background, I am social conscious.
I always do things to make sure I address the socioeconomic conditions of the
people who are my constituents," notes Love.
When the City of Nashville annexed a part of Davidson County, extending
north to the Bordeaux Bridge (now the Martin L. King Jr. Memorial Bridge)
in 1960, it created an additional position on the city council for a black
from North Nashville. A Chicagoian, Calvin Pats, announced for the
position. Love, the national chairman of the Tennessee State University
National Alumni Association, was urged to compete for the seat. He
won and became the third black elected to the Nashville City Council.
He was also a charter member of the Metro Council in 1962.
When blacks were allowed to compete for seats in the Tennessee General
Assembly following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Dr. Dorothy
Brown became the first black person to represent Tennessee since the end
of Reconstruction in 1876. In 1968, Rep. Brown sought a position
in the state Senate but lost to attorney Avon Williams. Love was
again encouraged by his supporters to seek the House seat and was successful.
He has served continuously since his election.
When Love first ran for the Tennessee General Assembly in 1968, there
were two black House members, Dorothy Brown and M.G. Blakemore, one representing
blacks in South Nashville and the other representing blacks in North Nashville.
Charles Pruitt defeated Blakemore and represented South Nashville.
Presently, there are 12 black members in the House and three black members
in the Senate. There are 99 members in the House and 33 members in
the Senate.
While the percentage of black representation in the Tennessee General Assembly
is in line with the percentage of blacks in the population, there is still a considerable
controversy centered on black under representation in that body. "There
has been a strong surge on the part of the black rural people for representation,"
says Love. In short, "representation in urban Tennessee areas is fair; but
many blacks in rural Tennessee believe themselves to be underrepresented."
Love represents the 54th District and the State and Local Committee
in the House of
Representatives. All of the bill in the House involving financing
are sent to the Ways and Means Committee. Love is one of the senior
members of the Ways and Means Committee. The State and Local Government
Committee handles as much as a quarter of all legislation in the House,
says Love.
Love identifies several areas of concern in addressing the problems
of Tennessee in the 1990s. These "agenda items" include public safety,
black economic development, special interests, and voting. Regarding
crime and violence, he says: "Even in the most poverty situation
in the past, you could sleep out on the porch at night, you could walk
downtown at any time of night and no one would rob, rape or kill you.
You can't do that now." The fight against crime and violence must be fought
by taking the profits out of it, he says. "There is an unfortunate
feeling among people that anything you see on television is all right.
A man should be able to sell whiskey all night, or all morning, that it
doesn't make any difference ... Even if a person commits the most heinous
crime" they should not be punished.
This lack of public safety has a direct impact on black businesses
and economic development, Love says. "It is impossible to promote
the growth and expansion of black business and economic enterprise with
all of the terrorism and killings. You can't even work at a hamburger
stand without the fear of someone taking your life. It is the responsibility
of the government and everybody concerned to make sure that law and order,
respect and responsibility is pushed," says Love.
"If we don't attack violent crime, burglary and other negative
things in our community, they will continue to deteriorate. We must
stop blaming other people for our shortcomings. The white man cannot
be blamed for everything. Why do we have such a high rate of black-on-black
crime?" he asks.
There must be a "rude awakening of the population," says Love.
"The public must rise and say, 'We have had enough. We are going
to send to the House and Senate persons who will serve us, and not the
special interests.' So long as those persons in the House and Senate are
controlled by special interests, " we can forget" any meaningful reform
of the legislative process.
The people must realize that they have a stake in the political process.
"As long as they sit at home and do nothing -and expect the government
to take care of them - they can expect nothing. Those persons who
are active in the political process have a stake in government. Yet
the average person does not want to vote. He is registered, and when
a campaign comes he does not vote," concludes
Love.
Dr. James Haney, Writer
*As Seen in the "Taking Time to Comment" Column of the Metropolitan
Times,
