During its annual legislative retreat last fall, the Congressional Black Caucus invited Karen R. Carter and other rising stars on the African-American political scene to participate in a panel discussion on America's emerging black leadership. The session later drew a rebuke from noted black political columnist Ron Walters, who accused the panelists, composed largely of New Democrats, of dishonoring the civil rights tradition and regarding it as a burdensome relic.
Carter, who has represented New Orleans in the Louisiana House since 1999, says such characterizations are far off the mark.
"What happened at that event was an open line of communication between generations and it was accepted with open arms by the elders of the African-American community," she explains. "I was raised in that community and have deep respect for those who came before me."
But Carter, 33, also adds, "I am not afraid to sit in conference rooms" with members of the older generation of leaders "and agree to disagree."
Like those who came before her, Carter says her initiatives in the legislature are grounded in the values of opportunity, diversity, lifelong learning, and family. Yet, she is not shy about employing different means than those favored by her predecessors to achieve the same ends. On education reform, for example, she has been a floor leader for legislation sought by Republican Gov. Mike Foster (an ex-Democrat). This spring, she will work hard to win passage of a Foster-backed bill that would transfer control over chronically low-performing public schools from school boards to universities or distinguished educators. "It's controversial, but it's important that we do something other than maintain the status quo," Carter argues. "The schools in Orleans Parish are in deplorable physical condition and aren't providing the level of service that taxpayers rightfully should expect. We need to make drastic changes in our public education system and this is a first step."
Carter has also been a champion of welfare reform, persuading her colleagues in the legislature to spend state funds more wisely to promote family stability and ease recipients' transition from welfare to work. "When I was elected, we were focused on cash payments, child care, and other traditional welfare programs," she said. "But those alone aren't enough to help someone become self-sufficient." By heightening fellow legislators' awareness of positive developments in other states, she helped win passage of legislation in 2000 addressing such needs as workforce readiness and transportation, housing, and energy assistance. "You need to evaluate a recipient's total condition and figure out everything they need to become self-sufficient, the total package of resources needed to direct them onto the right path," Carter says. "In the past, we weren't directing them onto that path."
Last year, Carter also helped persuade fellow lawmakers to pass a proposed constitutional amendment, subsequently endorsed by the state's voters, eliminating the state sales tax on food, utilities, and prescription drugs in exchange for an overall increase in state income taxes. Noting that sales taxes burden lower-income people disproportionately, she says winning passage of the amendment was "a matter of fairness and equity among classes." Lawmakers also endorsed Carter's proposal to increase the state's cigarette tax by one penny to raise millions of new dollars each year for addiction treatment. A substantial share of the revenues will be devoted to gambling addiction, which Carter notes is a growing problem in the state.
"There's no question that I consider myself an emerging black leader," Carter says. "I just don't believe there's a need to draw such a stark distinction between old and new. In every arena, you have generations, transitions, the end of one era and the beginning of the next. So it's natural that you will have a different style of leadership for different times as societal values change."
