Focus on violence, Black Lives Matter at Va. Shore forum
Around two dozen Bayview residents, most of them young adults, met July 22 to discuss how to respond to recent incidents of violence against blacks reported around the nation.
"We're seeking solutions here," said community activist Alice Coles, "I notice that in the 20 years I've put in here at Bayview, most everything that I've learned was from the ideas of other people ... Change came from the ideas of other people."
Recent incidents where police officers were acquitted in cases involving killings of blacks and additional deaths in the meantime have increased tensions in communities around the United States.
Event coordinator Kwame Benton handed out T-shirts sporting the Black Lives Matter logo as people entered the meeting room at Bayview Citizens for Social Justice.
It was the first of what organizers hope will become regular meetings in the community to talk about the causes of and potential solutions to violence against blacks, including police killings.
"Definitely know that you are welcome here in the community — this is what the center is for, activities like these, and to be able to give our citizens a voice," Niketa Coles told participants.
The meeting started with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the Lord's Prayer.
Alice Coles, who serves as director of the Bayview Citizens for Social Justice, said the Black Lives Matter movement "is something that erupted over the years. It could probably be traced as far as when blacks first came to America in 1619 ... How deep that is, you will not change it in one day."
"What I want to get out of this meeting is some ideas of where we should go with this," she said, adding," If it's deep enough, I will be able to help raise funds, put on special events as a nonprofit and ask my board can you take it on by way of a resolution."
If that happens, the young people who called for the meeting would take the lead, "but we're going to walk real close behind them, so that they don't go out in harm's way," Coles said, adding, "We're going to keep it peaceful, we're going to keep it brilliant, because all of our ideas count.
"At the end of the day, I just want you to help me find out what has caused these things to happen and who should be involved in getting them right," she said.
The room had large sheets of paper posted on the walls for participants' ideas about various topics related to the causes of violence— including things like misunderstandings over ways people of different races communicate or dress; the need for education; stereotyping; and issues involving police.
"I know it's no one single cause," Coles said.
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One participant, Tamika Nottingham, recounted a recent incident in Portsmouth, where she lives now, where a police officer told her to move on when she and her daughter were sitting in their car parked in front of their own house. "He thought we were hanging out in front of this house."
The policeman pulled a gun at one point, when a male companion came out of the house.
Another woman talked about how she speaks frequently with her son about how to respond if stopped by police.
"It's a very simple thing to determine if something is based on race — is it happening to your race in a disproportionate rate, or is it equal? Then you know race is a key factor in it. More black people are killed by officers than anybody else right now; therefore you know race plays a part in it," Nottingham said.
"It's not that we're saying all lives don't matter; black lives matter equally — we are equally just as valuable to the country as everybody else," she said.
Nottingham in anticipation of the meeting sent a list of questions to Northampton County Sheriff David Doughty about various scenarios involving interactions with the police, for example how people are expected to respond when an officer pulls them over for a traffic stop.
She read aloud the questions and Doughty's answers to them.
One question was about whether the sheriff's office has an established method for internal audits based on racial, ethnic or gender complaints.
"In many of the cases across the nation, the officers who shot several of the victims had existing complaints against them stemming from racial profiling, hate speech, and other racist acts. If those departments had removed those officers, then perhaps some of the victims would still be alive. Do the local county and state police have a process where those complaints are taken, reviewed and action taken?" she asked Doughty.
Doughty told her in most cases law enforcement departments have their own internal affairs officers that handle complaints, and that the sheriff's office has a chain of command structure that handles citizen complaints and evaluations.
If the complaint is of a criminal nature, another agency, typically the State Police, is asked to handle it, he said.
"I agree with the fact that officers found responsible for the issues listed above should be removed from duty," Doughty wrote.
Formal complaints can be filed in Northampton County using a form available at 5211 The Hornes in Eastville and which will be made available on the department website.
"You don't have any better power than putting something in writing," Nottingham said.
"He wanted to stress that he's very interested in continuing to have positive relations in the community and that he's very interested in collecting additional questions and sitting down...and going over the questions" and meeting with the community, she said.
After more than an hour's discussion, the group decided to meet again, likely on a monthly basis.
Additionally, Alice Coles volunteered to monitor Board of Supervisors meetings and let the community know about upcoming issues.
Coles commented as the meeting concluded, saying, "This is my first time in almost 10 years I've seen this age group come together...and come with interest — and not only did you come, everybody's ideas count."
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