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The #BlackLivesMatter
movement, created in 2013 after the acquittal of George
Zimmerman for the death of Trayvon Martin, is “pushing and
engaging elected officials to consider the role of the state
in perpetuating anti-black racist policies,” according to
Patrisse Cullors, the movement’s co-founder.
At the
center of the movement’s strategy is a “fight for policy
reform,” that grows out of Cullors’ assertion that the
Democratic Party has “milked” the votes of African Americans
without a serious commitment to address the racial
disparities and injustice that reflect “America’s systemic
hatred against Black people.”
In
addition to policy reform, local coalitions such as that of
Center of Hope, Brother Washington Muhammad, co-facilitator
for the Community Solidarity Response Network of Toledo and
Black Lives Matter Toledo activist Julian Mack, will be
focusing on accountability from elected officials during the
current and upcoming election cycles.
On August
11, 2015, The Board of Lucas County Commissioners approved a
Resolution in Support of the Black Lives Matter Movement,
the first local public entity to do so. I caught up with
Tina Skeldon Wozniak, the Board’s president, to discuss the
County’s recent commitment.
Perryman:
I received a copy of Lucas County’s resolution in support of
Black Lives Matter.
It’s a
nice document and I hope it will have some real impact.
Skeldon-Wozniak:
We’ve got a lot of work to do with this society and this
resolution and the meetings around town, both Toledo, Lucas
County and the country, show that we can’t shy away from the
conversation. The reason that the Board of County
Commissioners did the resolution is because we recognize
that there’s a lot of disproportionality in the way persons
of color get handled, whether it’s from traffic stops to
bookings in the jail, and so we don’t want to shy away from
it. We think we’ll be a better community if we don’t shy
away from ongoing discussions and dialogue to help each of
us gain more self-awareness and do a better job at
recognizing our own biases and feelings and we can do better
and we want to encourage that approach.
Perryman:
I think that it is important to acknowledge that we all have
some inherent biases that arise from various types of
privilege or just from the cultural biases that we’ve grown
up with that affect us. I think the first step toward
alleviating a lot of these problems is acknowledgement of
the fact that we do all have them.
Skeldon-Wozniak:
It takes a lifetime of learning to change old ways and old
ways of thinking and the only way to improve the way…first,
you’ve got to take responsibility for yourself and then
you’ve got to continue having opportunities to be open and
not shy away and not allow for people to be treated
differently based on the color of their skin. We want to
hit this head on and we want to learn from those
particularly in the clergy that are leading the way as
Center of Hope is doing and your event on Sunday where you
were having a frank discussion with the entire community.
Perryman:
And I certainly applaud your action, and so what’s on my
mind is how do we translate this resolution, how do we
translate the slogan Black Lives Matter into tangible
solutions? And also, how do we get those closest to the
impact of the tragedies and disparities as the first people
at the table involved in finding solutions?
Skeldon-Wozniak:
Yes, you reminded me that that is what impacted me so much
in your sermon was when you brought it down to imagine from
the standpoint as a mother, and for me I am a mother of
three sons. And, imagine as a mother burying your child due
to something like not having the proper lights on in your
car or missing a license plate. And then, because of
something that could’ve been prevented, and instead of
having dinner with your child, you’re burying your child.
When you said it that way, that was so meaningful. You broke
it down to a real, true family situation and then you just
think of the horror and terror and the sadness and the grief
a mom would feel burying her son or daughter, and it just
really, it really, it really took it to my core.
That’s
why this is so serious and so important, is that these are
our children in our community, and if it’s not mine it’s
someone else’s, and that’s why we should work so hard on
this issue. And one way that we’re working on it, Rev, just
one way - there’s many ways, but one way we’re working is to
address the disproportionality in the criminal justice
system. Because, if we say we’re building a new building we
refuse to say that we’re only building a building. We’re
also changing the criminal justice system and improving the
system and helping people not go to jail if they need
treatment or not stay in jail if they could be out on some
sort of program where they can get diverted and still take
care of their children and still go to work and not become
labeled as someone that has a criminal history. So that’s
just one area where we can work on it and the tangible
change.
Perryman:
Well, we and other members of the community certainly hope
to work with you to reduce, if not eliminate entirely, a lot
of these disparities that go on in the criminal justice
system as well as health disparities and disparities in
educational outcomes. It is the people at the root of the
impact of the problems culturally, economically and
otherwise who are THE best people to design and implement
strategies to solve the problems that impact them.
Skeldon-Wozniak:
I know one thing. The Commissioners don’t want to do it
without taking the advice and the teamwork of the entire
community.
Perryman:
Yes, and it won’t work unless they do. So, I think that this
resolution sets the tone for going forward to make sure, or
ensuring, that Black Lives Matter also.
Skeldon-Wozniak:
Yes, yes Rev, that’s perfect.
Perryman:
Okay. I’d like to share the resolution with the Truth’s
readers.
Skeldon-Wozniak:
Alright, thank you.
Here is a copy of the
Lucas County Board of Commissioners Resolution in Support of
the Black Lives Matter Movement:
Date: August
11,
2015
Resolution No.
15-629
Title:
Resolution
in Support
of the
Black Lives
Matter
Movement
Department/Agency:
Commissioners
Contact: Lindsay
Below,
Executive Assistant
Summary/Background:
The Board
of Lucas
County
Commissioners
upholds the
ideals of
equality
under the
law,
racial justice
,
and human
dignity for
all. The
recent
deaths of Eric
Gamer,
Michael
Brown,
Freddie Gray--and
many other
citizens,
compel questioning of
whether or
not equal
justice
under the
law is
possible
for people
of color
-
particularly those
who may
be economically disadvantaged. These
deaths
reveal a growing social
economic
division that
threatens the
current and
future well-being of
people of
color and
society as
a whole.
Law enforcement
officers
are bound
by duty
to protect
the public
in a
manner
that is lawful,
honorable
,
and professional.
We
recognize that
police
departments across
the nation are
striving
to engage
in
constructive
dialogue and
good faith
efforts to
improve
relations between
officers
and communities
of color
and young
people.
However,
racial profiling remains
a very
serious
issue and
improvements must be
made to
protect the
lives and
civil
liberties of
our citizens.
Lucas County
wishes to
express
solidarity with
the
thousands of
men and
women
throughout the
nation who
are
peacefully expressing their
outrage and
frustration
at the
deaths of
unarmed people
of color.
We must respect and
encourage
the understanding
of the
experiences and traditions of
our
county's
many populations and cultures.
We must
work to
eliminate
racial and
ethnic
disparities,
support efforts to
promote
racial equality,
and fight against
institutional
racism
.
Budget
Impact:
None
Statutory
Authority/ORC:
NIA
Commissioner
Gerken
offered
the
following
resolution:
WHEREAS
,
in consideration of the
above,
NOW,
THEREFORE BE
IT
RESOLVED
by
the Board
of County
Commissioners
,
Lucas
County,
Ohio,
that:
Section 1.
The Board
encourages
citizens to
engage
in
dialogue around
the
concepts of
equality
under the
law,
racial justice
,
and the
fight
against
institutional
racism.
Section 2.
The Board
does herby
support the
Black
Lives Matter
Movement
along with
Black Lives
Matter
forums,
community meetings,
and peaceful
demonstrations
and encourages
all
citizens to
participate in this
powerful
movement
and to
treat
people of
color
equally and
with
dignity.
Section 3.
This Board
finds and
determines
that all
formal
actions of
the Board
concerning and
relating to
the
adoption of
this resolution were
taken in
an open
meeting of
this Board and
that all
deliberations of this
Board that
resulted in
those
formal actions
were in
meeting
open to
the public in
compliance with the
law.
Section
4.
This resolution
shall
be in
full force
and effect
from and
immediately upon its adoption.
Action
Taken:
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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