Talk:Charles A. McCullough II

Notability

I am struggling to see what the claim to notability is here. The subject doesn't seem to pass WP:GNG nor the WP:NPOL criteria of "major local political figures who have received significant press coverage" (and if it is being argued the subject does, what are the coverage that best indicates that?)

User:Creemama has reverted the notability tag twice, including stating "There are many Wikipedia pages about local politicians. Local politics are important. Gay and African American civil rights are important." The first sentence is just WP:OTHER so is irrelevant. No-one saying the topics of local politics or civil right aren't important, but the issue is whether the subject is sufficiently notable under WP standards.

Unless the article is enhanced or there's a good reason not to, I'll take this to WP:AFD in a week or so. Boneymau (talk) 03:34, 21 November 2020 (UTC)

@Boneymau: Thanks for working with me to help make this article better. Your comments and questions have been helpful in guiding my article revisions. After making the improvements you suggested, there are additional text and secondary sources which further demonstrate the notability of Charles McCullough as a major local politician and civil rights activist.

As to your specific subject matter concerns (WP:NPOL for McCullough and WP:GNG for McCullough’s civil rights activism), I hope a quick review of McCullough’s LGBTQIA activism as an elected member of the Montgomery County school board demonstrates how the entire article meets Wikipedia standards.

WP:NPOL

With regard to WP:NPOL for McCullough, notability is presumed for major local political figures who have received significant press coverage. This criterion has been satisfied in the following manner:

McCullough was an elected board member of the largest school district (179 total schools) in the state of Maryland. This is a county-level political office elected at-large. Montgomery County, Maryland (population 1 million) is the largest county in the state. The eight-member school board governs the 16th largest school district of the 13,506 in the United States. Due to the size of its jurisdiction, the school board has state/national policymaking influence. Being on the school board is a major local political position. Holding this position as an elected member of the Montgomery County, Maryland school board satisfies the Wikipedia standard of McCullough being a major local political figure.

McCullough was the first African American elected to his position on this county-level school board. Because African Americans were long disenfranchised by the government, it is “worthy of notice” when one is the first to attain a major local elected office. McCullough was elected with 87% of votes cast. Significant press coverage of McCullough began with his election and continued throughout his term in office. Press coverage he received was more than a trivial mention. The article cites a subset of the available press coverage from various regional newspapers (The Gazette and The Montgomery Journal) as well as national newspapers (The Washington Post and The Washington Times). These print publications covered McCullough directly and in-depth on a variety of issues. These multiple news sources are reliable publications and a mix of primary/secondary sources that are independent of McCullough, which satisfies the WP:NPOL criteria for receiving significant press coverage.

As a major local political figure who has received significant press coverage, McCullough does presumptively satisfy WP:NPOL guidelines.

WP:GNG

With regard to WP:GNG for McCullough’s LGBTQIA civil rights activism, notability for a standalone article is presumed when a topic has received “significant coverage” in “reliable,” “secondary” sources that are “independent” of the subject. These criteria have been met in the following manner:

Chief among McCullough’s several policy initiatives covered by news media was his proposal of, fight for, and passage of Resolution No. 240-1996. The policy protected the rights of homosexuals at a time when the US federal government, 41 states, and nearly all local governments did not offer such protections. Passing such protections provided a template for other school districts and government bodies in Maryland and throughout the nation who wanted to stop homosexual discrimination.

McCullough’s proposal, community backlash, and eventual passage were covered directly and in detail by several print and TV news outlets over several months. To this end, the article cites local newspapers (The Gazette, The Montgomery Journal, and The Fredrick News-Post) and national newspapers and a magazine (The Washington Post, The Washington Times, and The Advocate). Also cited are two published books (Understanding Homosexuality Changing Schools and Queering Straight Teachers) which provide a retrospective of the aforementioned. This satisfies the “significant coverage” criteria. The sources cited in this article are published newspapers, magazines, and books with strong editorial integrity allowing verification. This satisfies the “reliable sources” criteria. The newspaper articles cited are a mix of primary (i.e., reporting events) and secondary (i.e., interpreting or analyzing events) sources whereas the magazine and books are solely secondary sources. This satisfies the “secondary sources” criteria. Finally, the cited publications were not produced by McCullough nor someone affiliated with him. This satisfies the “independent” source requirement. Having satisfied all four criteria for notability (significant coverage, reliable sources, secondary sources, and independent sources) McCullough’s LGBTQIA civil rights activism does presumptively satisfy WP:GNG guidelines.

Thanks

The article goes on to highlight other civil rights matters (e.g,. fair compensation, school busing, national holiday recognition, and removal of a racist name from a national highway) for which McCullough and his advocacy work received significant media coverage further establishing WP:GNG. This media coverage includes additional newspapers and magazines than those noted above. For the sake of time, I’ve chosen to respond focusing on the first portion of the McCullough article as I feel reviewing it is sufficient enough to allay your concerns and establish how the McCullough article in situ satisfies WP:NPOL and WP:GNG standards.

Again, I appreciate you bringing your concerns to my attention. I know that you mean no ill will and your goal, like mine, is to make sure Wikipedia articles meet the standards. Thanks again for working with me to make this the best article it can be. Kind Regards. Creemama (talk) 08:46, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

I think this article would benefit from more eyes on it. However, before I do anything else I'll look further through references and do a proper WP:BEFORE. Before that, Creemama do you have any WP:COI that should be disclosed so that editors are aware of it? Boneymau (talk) 22:10, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

@Boneymau: Hi, Boneymau. No, I do not have a conflict of interest. Thanks again for reviewing the article. Creemama (talk) 00:46, 25 November 2020 (UTC)