Violence and Race: Citizen Panel Explores the Issues

Paula Thornton Greear, Senior Vice President of External Affairs, Chicago Urban League
Paula Thornton Greear, Senior Vice President of External Affairs, Chicago Urban League

Violence and Race: Citizen Panel Explores the Issues

By Lisette Gushiniere and Chelsea Johnson

During a panel discussion hosted by the Chicago Citizen Newspaper Group Inc. entitled, "Violence and Race Relations in America: Where Do We Go From Here?" a group of panelists came together to discuss numerous topics under the banner of violence and race relations in the US.

The panelists touched on numerous issues commenting on everything from black-on-black crime, to police brutality and excessive force, to black economics and race relations in America. The panel discussion was held at the Chicago Citizen Newspaper Group Inc. located on 806 East 78th Street and was streamed live on Facebook and Periscope.

The discussion was held on Friday, August 5th as news broke about the release of a videotape concerning the shooting death of Paul O'Neal by Chicago police. The date of the discussion was also significant since it fell on the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic march in Marquette Park fifty years to the date. At that time, Dr. King had become the victim of violence as he marched for fair housing with 700 other protesters in the park.

In a room filled to capacity, panelists broke down the topic of violence by first looking at behavioral issues associated with violence.

Responding to a question about black-on-black crime, Reverend Dr. Derrick B. Wells,the senior pastor at Christ Universal Temple, emphasized the importance of righteous thinking. At his church he teaches his congregation how to live better lives through the renewing of their minds.

"When we see young men and young women who do not understand who they are, who don't understand what they are capable of and who perhaps even have a sense of hopelessness and despair...they need something to help them shift how they see themselves and how they see their environment," Wells said.

People facing this situation need a, "sense that they can do better," he added, so that they can change the condition they are in.

"As someone who grew up in a single-parent home, one of the things that I did was identify with examples of people who were doing what I wanted to do," Wells said. After that, Wells added he began to model his thinking and behavior after those people. Wells often shares his testimony and describes himself as a "one-time dancer with trouble" who grew up "un-churched." He attributes a change in his behavior to nothing other than the "presence of God" within him. During the panel discussion, his message of hope and inspiration revolved around the idea that people can arrive at a different place even if the situation looks hopeless when they change the way they think.

"Just because I was surrounded by certain people and certain things and certain conditions, I came to the realization that I did not have to stay there," Wells said. "That I believe is one of the things that will help our community come out of the conditions...we should remind ourselves of not settling for the conditions as they exist,” he explained.

While Rev. Wells was discussing the spiritual steps needed to change one's condition, Dr. Carl C. Bell, MD, addressed the topic from a scientific standpoint and discussed how fetal alcohol exposure is devastating the black community. Fetal alcohol exposure occurs when a woman drinks while pregnant. Alcohol can disrupt fetal development at any stage during pregnancy- including the earliest stages and before a woman knows she is pregnant, according to niaaa.nih.gov, the website for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The website points out that drinking during pregnancy can cause brain damage, leading to a range of developmental, cognitive and behavioral problems, which can appear at any time during childhood.

Bell said sometimes women engage in social drinking before they even know they are pregnant, especially during the four-to-six week mark. While social drinking may be acceptable when a woman is not pregnant, Dr. Bell said drinking while pregnant is never acceptable.

Brain damage caused by fetal alcohol exposure is causing many problems in the black community and the issue is cropping up in various ways including problems associated with mental health, healthcare and corrections. Historically, Bell added, Native Americans, like blacks, have experienced a similar fate as it relates to alcohol where the destruction of entire communities has occurred due to abuse of alcohol.

At Jackson Park Hospital where he works, Bell added he's observed four out of ten patients have been diagnosed with fetal alcohol exposure. People who have brain damage which results from fetal alcohol exposure are “all over the African-American community,” he said, and the impact has been longstanding.

Bell, who has studied the sociological, psychological and spiritual causes of violence since the 1970's points out that the number of liquor stores in the black community has made the problem worse.

Additionally, more blacks suffer from brain damage due to fetal alcohol exposure he says, than whites, adding, the effects of fetal alcohol exposure result in things like explosive tempers, children who can't learn, people who lack social judgment and other fall outs from the condition.

On the other hand, Bell pointed out, that while these statistics are very real in the black community, police officers who react improperly aren't “off the hook” for what they do since “micro-insults” and “micro-aggressions,” are the result of people making “assumptions” about others based on racial stereotypes and “racist” behavior. Bell said, this type of behavior can lead to unlawful killings at the hands of racist police.

Reverend Dr. Leon D. Finney Jr., president of the Woodlawn Community Development Corporation, Community Organizer and Pastor of the Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church referenced a series of facts in 1971 pointing to a long history of problems between the police and the black community.

Back then, there was no Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Finney said, but the organization exists today. The FOP inserts itself into the disciplinary and accountability process in situations like the Laquan McDonald case, he said, where the labor union ensures officers like Jason Van Dyke have a job even though they have been suspended from the force. Van Dyke, who is being charged criminally with 17year-old McDonald's death, was suspended without pay since he was charged with first-degree murder in November, just hours before the court-ordered release of a controversial video depicting the shooting. Members of the public became outraged when the FOP hired Van Dyke to work as a janitor and demonstrated against the decision. Recently, a Cook County judge who barred Van Dykes attorneys from reviewing protected juvenile records detailing the state ward's childhood, said she was “troubled” by the request.

The problem with the police, “didn't start with Rahm Emanuel,” Finney said during the panel discussion, adding, the public needs a States Attorney who is, “willing to uphold the constitution of the United States of America,” adding perhaps the Justice Department and maybe a special prosecutor will help to resolve the black community's problem with the police. The community has to be willing to stay on top of these issues for the “long haul,” Finney said, in order to affect real change.

Pastor Richard A. Wooten, executive director and founder of the Gathering Point Community council said the FOP is one of the biggest problems in the system, adding, there's a problem when officers behave with impropriety and the FOP plays a part in sweeping the issues under the rug.

Commenting on his experience as a retired police officer he added, “People asked me why I retired at an early age, and I told them I just had enough. We get tired of being treated like a 2nd class person on the job when you’re trying to help the people in the community.”

After 23 years on the force, splitting his time in between Englewood and the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood, Pastor Wooten was booed at his retirement party because he had been an outspoken member of the force.

He emphasized the importance of the community embracing and supporting their black officers because he said they are not receiving the support and understanding they often deserve in their precincts. This factor especially, as Wooten pointed out, makes it extremely difficult for black officers to speak out on corruption or wrong doing within the department for fear that they will be forever be labeled as a 'trouble-maker'.

“With black officers, it’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t mentality,” when the community doesn’t want to accept you, and neither do your peers, it puts black officers in a precarious situation, Wooten explained. He continued to stress the importance of representation of African-American police officers on the force as black people push for change.

“It's hard being a police officer and being black,” he said. “But it feels good when your people accept you and you are able to work with them. And that's what we need more of. We need that relationship,” he added.

According to a NYT/CBS poll, the number of people who believe that race relations in the country has gotten worse has increased since last year.

While some issues around race relations have changed over the years, many things have not, said William Natale, regional director of Public Affairs-OH/IL/CO/Miami Media Schools. Another panelist participating in the discussion, Natale is also author of the book, “1968: A Story As Relevant Today As It Was Then.”

Natale stressed the importance of education and the need for police officers to receive training so that they can begin to understand the perspective of other officers. He commented on a program called, “Second Step” in Baltimore which teaches children how to work out conflict. But the funds for that program “dried up” Natale said. “Why is that,” he asked?

The conversation moved to black economics, when Monique Smith, the moderator of the program, asked panelists to respond to the argument that suggests blacks would engage in less violent activity if there were more jobs and greater opportunities for entrepreneurship.

She asked if blacks supported other black businesses enough and if black businesses are failing because of a lack of support by other blacks or because they are subpar?

Entrepreneurship has been shaped by slavery and institutional racism, said Melinda Kelly, executive director of the Chatham Business Association, adding, black businesses have had a difficult time of making it into the “mainstream.”

If small businesses in low-income communities receive access to mainstream opportunities, communities can be transformed, she said. “The problem is making sure that our businesses are not only locally operating,” but are a part of the United States global economy, she added.

According to www.americanexpress.com, black business growth has skyrocketed, but continues to lag behind due to a lack of entrepreneurial education, the need to achieve the necessary resources to compete with larger corporations and the need for greater to financing.

Paula Thornton Greear, senior vice president of external affairs at the Chicago Urban League and panelist during the discussion, supported those figures.

The issue of failing black businesses is “complex” said Greear, adding, the blame can't lie solely on the shoulders of black entrepreneurs. “There's a lack of access to capital for black businesses,” which is why many find it hard to sustain.

At the Urban League, “we have hundreds upon hundreds of young entrepreneurs who want to start their own businesses...start their own thing, but there's no capital there for them.” Greear said. These dreams collapse within the first couple of years because they lack support.

“When we talk about violence, one of the things the Urban League is doing, we're looking at the foundation of what makes this happen, what is the root cause that's leading to this violence? We have to look at it from the standpoint of education. We have to look at it from the stand point of employment and we have to look at it from the standpoint of asset building,” she said.

“Each of us individually and collectively has a responsibility to change our narrative,” Greear stated. “But I will say this, we have to be able to have these conversations about jobs, education and actually about racism.” A new dialogue about racism in this country, in Chicago has to happen, “now,” she said.

“We have to have it with those who do not agree with us and we have to have it again and again and again...we have to hold the police accountable as well as our legislators, adding, there's another side to that. “They have to want to be held accountable,” she stated.

“So every day, in every way, we need to raise our voices. Every day in every way, we need to be holding them accountable. And every day and in every way, we need to be shaping our own narrative. Blacks have to change policy by voting, and that means the youth as well, and paying attention to not only the presidential election, she added, but to all elections. Blacks will never be able to push conversations for change forward, she said “until we begin to unify,” because that movement becomes a much stronger movement as people work towards change, Greear stated.

Congressman Danny Davis, an elected official for over 30 years and currently the U.S. Representative for the 7th Congressional District of Illinois, commented on how power works. "How do we obtain power," he asked? "Because the people with power can do things and they decide things. People make decisions based on the power that they have," he said. "Do all the good you can, for as many people as you can, for as long as you can and try to understand it the best you can. That's where I think we've got to go."

Participants on the panel included: Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-Illinois, 7th); Melinda Kelly, executive director of the Chatham Business Association; Willaim Natale, regional director of Public Affairs-OH/IL/CO/Miami Media Schools and Author of the book, "1968- A Story As Relevant As Today As It Was Then"; Dr. Carl C. Bell, MD; Rev. Dr. Derrick B. Wells, senior minister at Christ Universal Temple; Paula Thornton Greear, senior vice president of external affairs at the Chicago Urban League; Rev. Dr. Leon D. Finney Jr., president of the Woodlawn Community Development Corporation, community organizer and pastor of the Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church and Pastor Richard A. Wooten, executive director and founder of Gathering Point Community Council.

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