Greenville Democrats prep for future by celebrating legacy of three trailblazing women
Greenville County Democrats are primed for a busy road ahead once presidential hopefuls start parachuting in for the first in the nation Democratic primary in 2024. But before the frenzy begins, it was time, as they put it, to celebrate how they got there.
On a balmy Sunday afternoon, the new generation of Democratic leaders gathered at Unity Park's welcome center to celebrate the legacy of the old guard.
Three Democrats, former Rep. Leola Robinson-Simpson, County Councilwoman Xanthene Norris and Greenville County Probate Judge Debora Faulkner, stepped down after serving the state and the county for over two decades. While Norris and Robinson-Simpson announced their retirement from office last year, Faulkner ran in the 2022 elections and lost to Republican Chad Groover.
About 50 attendees sat at big round tables around the three. A latticework of relationships also encircled the room. County Councilman Alan Mitchell and Rep. Wendell Jones, who succeeded Norris and Robinson-Simpson, as well as Faulkner's predecessor, Diane Smock, took turns highlighting the careers of the three women between tearful glances. Everyone seemed to know everyone in the room and had for generations. Norris joked about it.
“I looked at you when you were little and have grown up now,” she said to the attendees, which included Robinson-Simpson, who she's known for 61 years since Norris was Robinson-Simpson's homeroom teacher at Sterling High School.
Laughter, silence, and a toddler’s coo punctuated the telling of anecdotes. Each woman thanked the room for the veneration and encouraged younger Democrats to be more active, to run for office and prioritize the voices of the disadvantaged.
Norris, who’s known for a long crusade to rebuild a pedestrian bridge in Greenville’s Southernside community, was instrumental in pushing the county to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The county declared the day a holiday in 2006, two decades after it became a federal holiday.
Robinson-Simpson sat next to her son Shakir Robinson at the table beside Norris. The veteran lawmaker carved her place in history at 15 when she sat at a "whites-only" lunch counter at the Kress Variety Store and was arrested.
Her detention launched the landmark case Peterson vs. City of Greenville, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the city’s laws mandating segregated lunch counters were unconstitutional.
"Whenever we protested, this was home, this was the place we loved,” she said. But she said she realized that one could not protest the way they did during the civil rights struggle. “Back then we could protest, and we could get things done when those cases went before the high courts,” Robinson-Simpson said.
“But there are still voices out there that are crying out in the wilderness,” she said.
After stepping down from office, Robinson-Simpson said she focused her energies on the Center for Educational Excellence in West Greenville. It is a support space she conceived for at-risk teenagers who needed support and guidance after school.
On her checklist right now? The hunt for a van to help children get to the center, as well as more sources to fund the program.
County Democratic Party Chair Amanda McDougald Scott said stories of their competence and work for Greenville County were important for the party to celebrate. It was more so considering the politics of a state that has remained a Republican bastion for decades and is set to be the first in the nation to host the Democratic primary.
More:SC Dems: Being first primary in '24 could be big boon to economy, voter turnout
“And then judge Faulkner, unfortunately, did not win re-election," McDougald Scott added. "We knew that we really needed to circle around her, support her and lift her up and show her how important and special she is to all of us.”
Diane Smock, Faulkner's predecessor, said Faulkner had the quick wit and sense of humor to bring lightness to a job that was often heartbreaking.
“One of her most amazing accomplishments is that she kept the court open throughout the pandemic when she and her staff literally stayed on the sidewalk to provide vital service,” Smock continued. “Greenville County was the only probate court in the state to do so.”
Faulkner was a probate judge for 24 years and helped Greenville residents navigate major milestones and life events, from marriage licenses to last wills and testaments.
Faulkner was part of the SC Supreme Court Task Force created to determine the best ways to serve the aging population in the state. She is also known in the probate circles for her technological innovations, such as establishing the Probate Attorney Web System, a digital database that can be accessed by attorneys.
Before she became a judge, she was an attorney with the Legal Aid Society and ran her own practice.
"One thing you can write down in the book of things that are undeniable and that is − losing is hard," Faulkner said. "But I knew when I ran for office, it was going to be a challenge. Worse than losing− and there is something worse than losing," Faulkner said.
She paused.
"And that's giving up and that's forfeiting an opportunity."
Devyani Chhetri covers the South Carolina State House and is a watchdog SC government reporter. You can reach her at dchhetri@gannett.com or @ChhetriDevyani.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville Democrats celebrate legacy of three trailblazing women
