ROCKINGHAM — Commissioner Ben Moss, who is running for his third term on the county’s Board of Commissioners, announced Wednesday that he had ordered his staff and supporters to stop campaigning in front of the early-voting polls at the Richmond County Extension office, citing “intimidation tactics” from candidate Tavares Bostic.

At issue is Bostic’s donning of a black hat with a white “X” embroidered on the front while the staff of both candidates spoke to voters outside the polling location Tuesday. Moss, a Republican, interpreted the hat as a reference to the controversial 1960s revolutionary Malcolm X and condemned Bostic as racist for wearing it.

Pictures apparently taken by a voter and sent to Commissioner Herb Long, a Democrat also running for re-election, show Bostic in front of the polling location Tuesday, wearing a grey shirt and a backwards black hat bearing a white “X.” Bostic, 33, also posted a video on Facebook around 3 p.m. Tuesday, showing him wearing the same gray shirt and backwards black hat at the polling place.

“We will not be back at the polls around Mr. Bostic and his intimidation tactics,” Moss, 38, said in an email to the Daily Journal on Wednesday following a now-deleted Facebook post announcing the decision not to campaign outside the polls. “I will not subject my supporters to such treatment.”

Both campaigns said no altercation occurred between the candidates’ staffs or supporters Tuesday and that no threats were made by anyone associated with either campaign. When asked via Facebook whether anything was explicitly said or done to make his supporters feel unsafe, Moss said Bostic’s presence promoted “Just not a warm, fuzzy feeling.”

Bostic, a Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday that he did not own any clothing bearing the name of Malcolm X and “rejects any affiliation to organizations and/or entities that practice or promote divisiveness.”

In his early 20s, the former Malcolm Little said he changed his surname to “X” to represent his lost African name.

Bostic wrote in a text that he wore the “X” hat to represent “the unknown” and said it was “IN NO WAY TIED TO ANY PERSON, ANCESTOR, TIME FRAME, ENTITY.”

“As I stand at the polls day in and day out, the beauty of it all is that I will have no clue what will happen until the end, and right now it’s all unknown,” Bostic said, explaining the significance of the idea of “the unknown.”

A 1992 Los Angeles Times article describes the appearance of such hats as beginning the previous year and says they were popularized by director Spike Lee, who released his critically acclaimed film “Malcolm X” in November 1992. The article quotes a Jeffery Tweedy, a business partner of Lee, saying Lee wore the hats to “make people aware of how great this man (Malcolm X) was.”

In Facebook messages to the Journal, Moss said: “Malcolm X stood for segregation and black supremacy. Also was a self-proclaimed communist from my knowledge.”

“I guess I understand the quote on (Bostic’s) signs now, ‘Our time, our fight,’” Moss said. Asked to clarify what he meant by the reference to Bostic’s slogan, Moss said, “I don’t really know if he meant black people, but I am led to believe he supports violence” based on the often-violent rhetoric of Malcolm X.

While a member of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X referred to white people as “devils” and was outspoken in his opposition to Martin Luther King Jr.’s calls for racial integration, but after leaving the Nation of Islam and converting to orthodox Islam, he began to promote a broader idea of human rights as a way to combat racism. He also renounced segregation. He is quoted in “The Autobiography of Malcolm X: as Told to Alex Haley” as saying, “The true Islam has shown me that a blanket indictment of all white people is as wrong as when whites make blanket indictments against blacks.”

A 25-year-old Malcolm X wrote a letter from jail addressed to President Harry Truman, in which he declared himself a communist. The FBI kept surveillance on him, suspecting him of communist associations after he rose to prominence. A Google search for explicit statements by Malcolm X of being a communist other than that letter and a search for evidence of being a member of the Communist Party turned up no results.

In his statement Wednesday afternoon, Moss said he questioned whether Bostic would support all races if elected to the Board of Commissioners.

“It saddens me to know our local Democratic Party would support such a candidate. Mr. Bostic is very educated and understands what his hat means to other people,” the statement read. “How would he feel if another candidate wore something very offensive to his race to the voting polls? Will he support all races in the county if elected? I seriously question that now.”

Long said Wednesday that he had received multiple calls from voters concerned about the hat in question and said he agreed with a voter who felt the hat was racist.

“For (Bostic) to have the b—-s to do something like that at a polling place, I don’t get it,” Long said. “We don’t need that in Richmond County.”

After being reached for comment by the Daily Journal Wednesday, Bostic posted a video on Facebook in which he referred to “ridiculous rhetoric” by unnamed politicians who he said were trying to create “distractions.” In an emailed statement Wednesday, Bostic said that he was brought up “not to treat people unfairly due to race, religion, creed or political affiliation” and called Moss’s comments dangerous and potentially slanderous.

“I am deeply troubled that in a time when the county’s focus should be on jobs, fiscal responsibility and safety, Commissioner Moss would look to use sensationalist propaganda in order to create some political advantage,” Bostic said. “I have praised Ben in the past for being a reasonable man.

“While I’m uncertain of his trouble with me, I do add him in my prayers and hope that if he and I are both fortunate enough to be elected, we can be humanitarians first, converse about our differences and help build a better Richmond County.”

Contributed photo This photo, apparently taken by a voter Tuesday and sent to Commissioner Herb Long, shows commission candidate Tavares Bostic wearing a black hat with a white “X” on it while talking to a woman (who has been cropped out) in front of the early-voting location. Commissioners Ben Moss and Long have called the hat racist because of their belief it is associated with Malcolm X.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_BosticHat2-1.jpgContributed photo This photo, apparently taken by a voter Tuesday and sent to Commissioner Herb Long, shows commission candidate Tavares Bostic wearing a black hat with a white “X” on it while talking to a woman (who has been cropped out) in front of the early-voting location. Commissioners Ben Moss and Long have called the hat racist because of their belief it is associated with Malcolm X.

This screenshot shows candidate Tavares Bostic in a video he posted to Facebook around 3 p.m. Tuesday. In it, Bostic wears the same shirt and hat as in the photo sent to Commissioner Herb Long.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_BosticHat-1.jpgThis screenshot shows candidate Tavares Bostic in a video he posted to Facebook around 3 p.m. Tuesday. In it, Bostic wears the same shirt and hat as in the photo sent to Commissioner Herb Long. Screenshot captured by Gavin Stone
‘X’ hat sparks back-and-forth on racism, slander

By Gavin Stone

Staff Writer

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674 or [email protected].