We are mad as hell, we are sick of this happening and we need leadership.
This was the message brought to lawmakers and community leaders Tuesday night at Dupp & Swat, a local boutique and creative space in NoDa, as it hosted Going up on a Tuesday, an event in connection with #FergusonEverywhere, a nationwide response to cases of police brutality disproportionately affecting African-Americans.
The event began rather low-key as about 50 people watched a slideshow of photos from Ferguson, Missouri, by local photographer Alvin Jacobs Jr., and listened to his compelling stories from the front lines of the protests. By the time he finished, the diverse crowd had doubled in size.
The panel of local leaders included former city councilwoman Beth Pickering, N.C. Rep. Kelly Alexander, attorney Matt Newton, Corine Mack from the NAACP, N.C. Rep. Rodney Moore, community activist Robert Dawkins and Sam Spencer, the former president of NC Young Democrats. Each gave a brief overview of the success they’ve had working within the establishment and touted establishment objectives like petitions, supporting legislation (like the nondiscrimination ordinance being voted on by City Council on Monday) and bills they planned to introduce during the next General Assembly session. The crowd listened politely.
But when the question and answer period came, the young people in the audience turned up.
A woman who identified herself only as “a millenial” said, “I don’t want to be reminded of the past [presumably referring to the civil rights era]. I’m aware of it. I want to hear from our leaders what they’re gonna do about the future.” The panel seemed somewhat taken aback at her comment.
“We’re not patient,” spoke up another woman who said she’d just come from Ferguson. “We don’t have time to plan and research laws. They are killing us!”
Dr. Gloria Rembert, chair of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, was in the audience and replied calmly, “I understand the impatience of young people, but you’re not the only ones dying. Your parents and grandparents are being marginalized and killed every day.”
Michael O’Neill, a young local activist, spoke voraciously: “You’re talking about changing a dirty-ass system with clean cut tactics. The government works covertly now, and the tactics of yesterday won’t work today.”
It was clear the younger members of the audience were fired up. They asked for swift, immediate action, and in return, leaders offered meaningful, but slow-fought, legislation, asking the young people for their support.
The impasse created frustration on both sides, and I understand it.
I’ve been to Marshall Park five times this year rallying for justice. I’ll be downtown tonight a sixth time for Eric Garner. I’ve put my name on countless mailing lists being passed around at these events, and it seems like nothing ever comes out of it — not even an email. It’s disheartening. Every time I go back for another life unjustifiably taken by a police officer who receives no punishment, I have less faith I’m doing anything constructive by being there.
But what’s even more disheartening is seeing only 11 percent of young voters show up on Election Day. And knowing people on the panel are working diligently to get laws, such as that nondiscrimination ordinance, on the books, despite the fact young people aren’t paying attention nor have their backs.
While this generational divide could be detrimental to the community coming together to stand for equality and justice, it could just as easily be a unifier. If both sides listen to each other and lift their voices together in support of one another’s actions — those taken both in Raleigh and in the streets — something positive could come out of all this. Communication, even if it’s tense, can be the catalyst for a broad movement.
The young lady who had been to Ferguson spoke up again. “Kids in Ferguson didn’t sit around and have all these conversations.” Panelist Robert Dawkins replied, “And nothing has changed.”
This article appears in Dec 3-9, 2014.
I work during the hours the protest will be held in Marshall Park. Anything going on during the weekend in the day time? Devanpenegar.writer@gmail.com
Erin, this is powerful. Thanks for your reporting and incisive opinion.
Peace Malikah!!!! You make me proud to be a CUZN 😀
Does anyone have any actual evidence that the Grand Jury got it wrong, or are we just going to let an uninformed angry mob rule? If you do, please present it.
I know there are racist police officers and I know that there are police officers who abuse their authority, but I have not seen any verifiable evidence the either one applies here.
I don’t have any personal knowledge of what happened that day in Ferguson, and neither do the majority of people around the country who are protesting and / or rioting.
DLP, while Ferguson has become the most visible story and taken on a life of its own, this issue doesn’t just hinge on the particulars of that one case. (For the record, I believe that case should have definitely gone to trial, but don’t presume to know how that trial would turn out.) This discussion and these protests exist because of HOW MANY of these cases there are. I think the even more recent failure to indict the officers involved in the chokehold death of Eric Garner, (an unapproved tactic btw), in the face of clear-as-day video evidence that it was unwarranted, is an even more stark illustration of what every citizen, but especially minorities, are up against. Your characterization of any gathering to discuss this important issue as promoting “uninformed angry mob rule” is extremely insulting.
There is evidence prosecutors mislead the grand jury in the Ferguson case by instructing them to use a statute that was struck down as unconstitutional in 1985 by the US Supreme Court.
What rumbrave said above is correct. In fact, the name/hashtag “#FergusonEverywhere” is based on the idea that disproportionate & excessive police response is a nationwide epidemic.
Nothing is going to happen because the protestors are ignorant to the facts……Michael Brown was shot because he assaulted a police officer and was a criminal, he wasn’t some innocent matryr. Eric Garner died of a heart attack after resisting arrest due to morbid obesity, not because of a chokehold which wasn’t actually causing him to lose breathe—-if you can’t breathe, you can’t speak…..
The vast majority of the country is sitting back and watching the morons out protesting while rolling their eyes. Nothing is going to change because the true problem isn’t being addressed: the black community will not own up to trying to change the criminal nature of their young men. Black men commit crimes in such high numbers percentage wise as compared to the prevalence in the population. If you want to keep them from dying, then let’s start talking about how we can lower the participation in crime among their ranks. You can’t commit crimes and assault police officers and not expect some casualties along the way.
The Truth.
Writing “the truth” after you say it doesn’t make it so. But the practice is slightly amusing. Thanks for reading.
@Devan Penegar – There is a rally scheduled for Saturday at noon in Marshall Park.
The only thing amusing is your ignorance and race baiting. You look extremely foolish.
” Your characterization of any gathering to discuss this important issue as promoting “uninformed angry mob rule” is extremely insulting..”
Gatherings to discuss issues do not leave cars and buildings in flames. Rallies are one sided events intended to make people more enthusiastic for a cause. Didn’t you have them in school before the big game? Discussions of issues involve people from both sides of the issue in a disciplined debate. Your rally is just psyching up people who have no knowledge of what happened.
I am well aware that racism is not dead in this country, or in some police departments. However, each case must be tried on it’s own merits. THIS particular case is the wrong one to rally around. Do you really think the angry mob would be any different if the officer had been found not guilty after trial?
You like to talk about being afraid of the police. Did it ever occur to you that overly aggressive law enforcement might be motivated by the police officer being afraid of YOUR potential for aggression? That he might be carefully watching your body English and attitude? How do you suppose he will react to an open display of anger or contempt. Sometimes the expectation that you will be abused becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.
DLP I was referring to the local gathering described in the article and other similarly civilly-conducted meetings, not the rioting in Ferguson and not even the peaceful protests throughout the country (which I do believe deserve to be happening). Your first paragraph seems to imply that the out of hand nature of some protests invalidates or at least belittles any other discussion on the subject regardless of its merits. By saying “your rally” without specificity, not knowing what protest/rally behaviors I support and which I don’t, are you lumping every facet of this outcry into the same dismissible package?
Yes, the Brown case is not the most clean-cut of these incidents to rally around since there is plenty of doubt, but if we can agree that the larger issue is in fact an issue, I care more about that than what the spark was. I do not know for sure if the “angry mob” element would have been any different after a trial, but I would think that yes, the larger nation-wide reaction to a willingness to at least TRY an officer in a case with such uncertainty would be very different than that to a decision not to indict delivered with thinly-veiled contempt and apathy.
I don’t mean to paint your words as more extreme than they are, but your last paragraph does come across as essentially blaming the victim, not even just for their individual actions, but for the perception of their POTENTIAL actions! By phrasing it as a question you seem to be suggesting that the fear factor at the root of the issue here (both on the side of police and of minority communities) is a chicken-or-the-egg scenario, but you only offer the blame to one side. Obviously interacting with police in a polite, compliant and respectful manner is an important skill to learn and teach because of the stakes, and no matter how much police and community relations improve in the future that should remain important, but “poor attitude” or “display of contempt” should not usually be sufficient grounds for deadly force. The statistics seem to support the idea that as a white man, I can get away with a lot more of that than a similar-sized unarmed black man could.
@Thetruth erin was just stating facts. How is she racebaiting? And I think we all know who the ignorant one is
Dr. Gloria Rembert, chair of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, …“I understand the impatience of young people, but you’re not the only ones dying. Your parents and grandparents are being marginalized and killed every day.”
And they are being killed by other Blacks (most often by young Black males). None of the protesters, Black Community Organizers/Leaders or Democrat politicians want to seriously address that.
All the “Hands Up Don’t Shoot” protesters are not going to let the facts get in their way. They have too much invested in it after having caused so much damage and devastation to their own communities over the lies of a few, most notably Dorian Johnson, Brown’s accomplice in a felony strong arm robbery. There are plenty of innocent Blacks being beaten and killed very day but as their assailants are also Black, it is not worth their time. Do you see Whites exhibiting a lynch mob mentality every time a Black robs, rapes or murders a White?
No, even though it happens with a much greater frequency than the other way around.
Why is that?
Here is how they can move forward:
Admit they were lied to.
Brown was not some sweet innocent “Gentle Giant” and was in fact, a thug who just minutes after committing a felony strong arm robbery, attacked a police officer and tried to take his gun away and got shot for his actions.
See, that was easy.