Above: Karen Johnson of Olympia is spearheading the Black Alliance of Thurston County.
by Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com
Many individuals and community groups are working
harder than ever on issues and conversations about race, racism and police
issues ever since the Olympia police officer involved shooting of two young
African American men on May 21.
An Olympia Police Department shooting review board
issued its conclusion earlier this week that no policies had been violated by
Officer Ryan Donald during the incident. Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts
reviewed the board’s decision and concurred.
The Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office is pursuing assault
charges against the men, Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin. Subject to change, their
pre-trial date is scheduled for November 4.
Along with over 30 other community members, Dr. Karen Johnson,
Olympia, spoke out in front of the Olympia city council about the shooting on May
26.
“I was invited
to come to that meeting to speak about these issues from my perspective. So, I
accepted the invitation. I went to listen to what others had to say and spoke
my truth.”
Johnson read the poem, “The Cold Within,” by James
Patrick Kinney, and said that she fundamentally believed that she was there to
speak because of unconscious bias on the part of Officer Donald. She referred
to a book published in 1952 called, “The Invisible Man,” by Ralph Ellison, which talks about the phenomena of not seeing or hearing people of color.
“….We, in this city, have an opportunity…. In the
words of a book by Dr. King, ‘Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?’ I
would encourage us to go ‘community.’ Build a place where people are heard,
valued, and respected, and then it doesn’t matter what the color of our skin
and we can really live out the content of our character,” concluded Johnson.
Later, she and a group of African American community
leaders formed the Black Alliance of Thurston County.
The Black Alliance of Thurston County has met with
Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts several times since the officer involved
shooting and issued a press release on September 2 calling Thurston County Jon
Tunheim’s decision to not charge the police officer as “lawful, yet
unjust.”
Drawn by her faith to a life of service, Johnson is
also president of the Olympia Capital Centennial Rotary Club, whose vision is
to reduce homelessness in Thurston County by 50 percent by 2020 and to put a
book in every child’s hand.
The Rotary motto is to put service above self and
Johnson lives out that motto. The Rotary group has given substantial financial
support to the Family Support Center, SafePlace, South Sound Reading, Madison
Elementary School for after school enrichment programs, and more.
For her day job, Johnson is employed as a strategic
initiatives executive for Washington State’s Department of Social and Health
Services.
“Chief
Roberts asked me, probably towards the end of July, to set up a meeting with Black
leaders of Olympia and Thurston County to discuss plans for holding community
conversations about race and racism, more than just within the police
department. In that meeting, we also talked about addressing implicit and
explicit bias and the use of body and dash cameras,” she said.
“Fundamentally, while body and dash cameras will be
helpful to record excessive use of force, cameras alone won’t solve the
problem. Case in point, in July 2015, we
watched Eric Garner get beaten to death…and the Staten Island grand
jury decided not to indict the officer. Recordings alone won’t stop the behavior.
We have to deal with the unconscious bias that automatically and unconsciously
results in the merciless beating, unjustifiably shooting and killing of Black
and brown boys and men at a higher rate than white boys and men.”
Asked whether or not the Black Alliance is commenting on Officer Donald’s actions, Johnson said the Black Alliance officially
informed Chief Roberts that the comment he made after the shooting, that race
was not an issue, was not helpful.
“Since our subconscious controls 96% - 98% of our
perceptions and our behaviors, and since we live in a country where it was once
lawful to enslave, lynch, beat and kill Black men simply because they are
Black, we can only wonder whether Officer Donald’s behaviors and perceptions
would have been the same if he had encountered two young white males. It is
time to have the public dialogue since this behavior has been occurring across
the nation,” Johnson explained.
“We’ve had several conversations with Chief Roberts about
addressing implicit and explicit bias among the police officers….We envision police
officers and community members participating in fair and implicit bias training.
We will use the information we learn from these trainings to frame community
conversations around unconscious bias, institutional and structural racism and
concrete steps police officers can take to systematically ensure that their
behavior results in Black and brown people receiving ‘guardian’ instead of
‘warrior’ treatment from police officers, ” said Johnson.
In a May press conference, the Thurston County
Prosecutor Attorney Jon Tunheim stated that police officers cannot be
prosecuted for excessive use of force under Washington State law when they
operate in “good faith and without malice.”
In a statement issued on September 2, the Black
Alliance called the standard imprecise, immeasurable, and impossible to
prove.
Johnson said the Black
Alliance will work to change the state law.
“Now is the time to set precise and provable legal
standards when dealing with human life. It’s
time for us to speak up and step up to change this law and other laws,
statutes, policies, procedures and practices until it becomes self-evident…to
all…that all people are indeed created equal and endowed by our Creator with certain
unalienable rights: the opportunity to live an abundant life, liberty without
oppression, and the opportunity to pursue happiness.”
Asked about the internal review process by the
Olympia police department, Johnson said, “We plan to question the whole police
review process, especially as it relates to deadly force. The recent internal
review process led by the Olympia police department basically requires law
enforcement officers to sit in judgment of each other. This does not provide the public with true
police accountability. It is time to
change the relevant laws, rules, and civil service procedures governing police
conduct. It is time for independent
oversight and review of police conduct in cases where excessive use of force
may have occurred.”
Little
Hollywood noted that Johnson has not attended any meeting of
the city’s Ad Hoc Committee on Policing and Community Relations.
“There are many voices and many groups addressing
the issues they see as important. The Ad Hoc group has its charge and we have
defined our charge. We will connect with them when it makes sense to do so,”
she said.
“Soon, we
will hold a community meeting to talk about why we formed, what we are about,
what we seek to achieve, and invite others to partner with us to take action
and be a catalyst for change. The May 21 incident may have been
the catalyst that brought the Black Alliance of Thurston County together…but it
is not what keeps us together.
“….Just look at any statistic…educational
achievement, suspension and discipline rates, incarceration rates, home
ownership, employment, health disparities, board rooms…Black people are either disproportionately,
adversely impacted or severely underrepresented or non-existent. So, although
all lives do indeed matter, this is a situation that we believe is our
responsibility is to change…to be that village that helps Black people achieve
optimal excellence and prosperity.
“Now is the time and Thurston County is the place…We’re
not doing this work for show, for the press, or for personal ambition. We’re
doing this work because our foremothers and forefathers have shed too much
blood to get us where we are…We must take up the mantle for this generation
and the generations yet unborn,” said Johnson.
As for next steps, Johnson said, “We’ll be meeting
with Chief Roberts to discuss the internal review process, to define the
parameters of a deadly use of force citizen advisory board, connect with the
facilitator who will be conducting the fair and impartial trainings and to schedule
our police and community forums around race and racism.”
“It is time for the people of Thurston County to
help the Olympia police department achieve its mission: to consistently earn
the trust of the residents and visitors to our community. The department will need
ongoing investments in training, technology, and solid community partnerships.
The Black Alliance of Thurston County stands ready to support them in this
important work.”
The
Black Alliance of Thurston County is committed to building trust and promoting
fair and impartial policing in Thurston County.
They support courageous and respectful conversations between communities
and law enforcement about race, ethnicity, and income status.
Above:
Karen Johnson carries the United States Constitution with her at all times.
Here, she is reading the 13th Amendment.
The Cold Within by James Patrick Kinney
Six humans
trapped by happenstance
In bleak and
bitter cold.
Each one
possessed a stick of wood
Or so the
story’s told.
Their dying fire
in need of logs
The first man
held his back
For of the faces
round the fire
He noticed one
was black.
The next man
looking ‘cross the way
Saw one not of
his church
And couldn’t
bring himself to give
The fire his
stick of birch.
The third one
sat in tattered clothes.
He gave his coat
a hitch.
Why should his
log be put to use
To warm the idle
rich?
The rich man
just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he
had in store
And how to keep
what he had earned
From the lazy
shiftless poor.
The black man’s
face bespoke revenge
As the fire
passed from his sight.
For all he saw
in his stick of wood
Was a chance to
spite the white.
The last man of
this forlorn group
Did nought
except for gain.
Giving only to
those who gave
Was how he
played the game.
Their logs held
tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of
human sin.
They didn’t die
from the cold without
They died from
the cold within.
