Conway’s new mayor has family history of breaking barriers

Barbara Blain-Bellamy spent her first night as mayor thinking about her father.

In between the hugs from well-wishers at Monday’s swearing-in ceremony, Conway’s first black mayor recalled a tall man with hands the size of baseball mitts who spent decades protecting Horry County.

Jobe Blain knew about breaking barriers, too. He was the county’s first black police officer.

“I’m as proud as I can be to be that person that followed my dad’s footsteps,” Blain-Bellamy said. “They weren’t easy, and they required a lot of work and diligence ... Just to imagine that maybe I’ve gotten some of that and maybe I know how to use it is bigger than life.”

Jobe Blain died two years ago, yet his story still resonates with his daughter. He was hired by the county in 1963 to patrol the black community in Bucksport and Atlantic Beach. He often worked alone and was given a hat, badge and gun.

He drove his personal vehicle, not a police car.

Blain-Bellamy remembers her father’s stories about overcoming the exclusive culture in the police department. There were times he would sit down at the lunch table only to watch other officers stand up and leave. Or he would offer a hearty “Good morning” that was met with silence.

Rather than protest or give in to bitterness, Blain kept up the kindness. His peers gradually warmed to him.

He retired as a lieutenant in 1991.

Like her father, Blain-Bellamy also overcame challenges, winning a City Council seat and serving as mayor pro tem in the 1990s before returning to law school as a single parent.

“That’s just a lot of moxie,” said councilman Tom Anderson. “I’ve just admired her as long as I’ve known her for that.”

After earning her degree, Blain-Bellamy worked as an assistant public defender, an assistant solicitor and as a staff attorney for two government agencies. In 2011, she opened a private office to provide legal services to poor families.

The latest test to Blain-Bellamy’s resolve was the mayoral campaign, which saw her going door to door in jeans and sneakers asking for votes.

Blain-Bellamy remembers the suspicion in residents’ eyes when they opened their front doors and were greeted by a political pitch. But she told them her story: how she grew up in Conway and returned to work there; how she was wrapping a term on City Council and wanted to be their mayor; how this was her way to give them a voice.

Many times, those questioning faces changed into expressions of understanding and support.

Although Blain-Bellamy knows black residents could relate to her, she didn’t campaign on the color of her skin or the fact that her victory would be historic for the city.

“It probably hit me the hardest tonight,” she said Monday. “I had tried my best to separate race from the race. The reality is it is a huge, towering piece of our lives because as human beings we just look every day for ways to separate us. If it’s not race, it’s age. If it’s not age, it’s class. If it’s not class, we’ll find something. … And I tried to pretend it wasn’t there, but of course I knew, if anybody did.”

Her father’s lessons, however, dealt not only with race, but also with generosity and persistence.

“That’s what he taught me,” she said. “Good things are not necessarily easy, but you just work at them until you get them done.”

This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Conway’s new mayor has family history of breaking barriers."