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 socio-economic 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,
