In our new weekly feature 12 Rounds, leaders will answer 12 questions — some light, some heavy — from our Publisher and CEO Henry Sanders to help the community understand them, what they do, and why. Today: Madison Common Council candidate Charles Myadze.
Iorfa “Charles” Myadze graduated from Madison LaFollette High School and has lived on the North Side for more than 10 years. He has worked as a product tester at Goodyear/Continental in Sun Prairie for 23 years. He’s also studying business management at Madison College. He is running against incumbent Rebecca Kemble to represent District 18 on the Common Council.
What advice would you give someone who is a person of color not from Wisconsin who is thinking about moving to Madison? Bring winter boots and a shovel! Seriously, I would tell them to be prepared to have their assumptions challenged. One might think a major university town with a history of fighting for social justice would not have racial tensions. We do have challenges here – and we are actually just really starting to grapple with them. Madison has addressed some of them in the past theoretically, and now is actually confronted with them. I’d also tell them to get connected with the incredible network of African American leaders I am proud to call friends – such as Everett Mitchell, Barbara McKinney and so many others.
Name three songs that accurately reflect how you’re feeling.
I think the playlist of 2021 to me would be about my kids and me being a father. Perhaps a better answer would be songs about elections or voting, but the reason I am running for alder is because of my kids. I want them to live in a community that they can live, work and raise their family and reach their God-given potential. The three songs I choose are:
Optimistic by Sounds of Blackness
The Anthem by Praise and worship team
Made a Way by Travis Greene
If you could go back in time to any point of life to tell yourself something, what age would you go back to and what would you tell yourself? I would tell a young foster child that everything will be okay. Through the help of some amazing human beings – such as my foster mother – I came through some tough times learning valuable lessons about the value of hard work, the power of faith and the acceptance of a helping hand or boost up from adults who have the skills and abilities to help vulnerable youth. I’ve tried to share those lessons with the young people I coached on the LaFollette wrestling team or read to at Mendota Elementary during Black History Month or with my kids almost every hour of the day.
What did you learn about yourself in 2020? I learned that I raised three incredible children who have all been adaptable, kind and positive during one of the most difficult periods in recent history. I am so in awe of their ability to adjust to online learning, limit how they see their friends and change how they learn, grow and relate to their peers. While the pandemic has been so hard on many – economically, psychologically and personally – it has also been rewarding allowing us to focus on what matters and for me that is my kids.
At this point of your life do you feel you have found your purpose? If so, how did you figure out your purpose? Yes – I think public service is a calling. I found this purpose after years of being a father, coach, citizen, NAACP member, church member and Union Steelworker. I never had an inkling that this son of a Nigerian immigrant would run for office. After serving on the City of Madison Public Safety Review Committee and the Body Worn Camera Feasibility Committee, I witnessed interaction between factions of our community that led me to the place where I felt we need more common sense approaches and spirit of healing to tackle our problems. My purpose is just that – public service focused on common sense and healing.
There is a lot of division around the issues of race in politics. What can we do to lessen those divisions? First, everyone in the community needs to have a seat at the table. Second, everyone needs to respect each other’s opinions and experiences when they voice them. Third, we need more empathy for those experiences. Fourth, we need less talk and more action.
Your opponent is endorsed by the Green Party and by the Green Party 2020 Vice Presidential candidate, as well as the Democratic Party of Dane County. What party do you affiliate with, and is that important for local nonpartisan races? I am a proud Democrat who has been a member of the Steelworker union for 23 years. My kids were little when Barack Obama was first elected President. His election was awe inspiring to me, another son of an immigrant. I am beyond thrilled that Kamala Harris is the first woman of color to serve as Vice President. While this council election is non-partisan, I do think it is important to know that my opponent is a self-described anarcho-syndicalist. She has publicly said she supported Jill Stein in 2016, which to my mind helped put Donald Trump into the White House. We need common sense solutions to our problems in order to heal our community.
Being a Black man in Madison, which has some the highest racial disparities in the country, why run for office? Precisely because of that disparity. Our disparities are embarrassing. We need Black people at the table, making decisions, bringing our lived experience and history to every decision that gets made. Disparity, police reform, the need for affordable housing, taking apart systemic racism…these aren’t theories for me as they are for some. Running for office and serving in government is one way to make change that we so desperately need.
New Edition or Boyz II Men? New Edition
What do you think is the biggest challenge of being a Black father in 2021? Where do I begin? I think it is worrying about your kids when they are out of your sight. The social pressures are immense, the dangers are real, and the obstacles are many. My challenge is balancing my desire to protect them 24/7 with their need for the freedom to grow into adulthood.
Who is your favorite athlete of all time and why? Muhammed Ali. This exercise is called 12 rounds – and most of his opponents never made it that far! I respect his courage. I admire his talent. As a wrestler who coached young people in the sport, I recognize the discipline required to train, stay on your strategy, engage your opponent strategically, and keep your eye on the prize. Muhammed Ali is a national treasure for both being “the Greatest” and being a great human being fighting for what he believed in outside of the ring.
What is your favorite thing to cook for your family? Pounded yam and egusi soup, an African dish from Nigeria. We ate that all the time while I lived in Nigeria. I make it all the time.
