Reimagining Policing for the Good of All

[Music]

[Applause]

to walk through life in america as a

black man

is to feel expendable and to feel like

prey

at eight years old my father was pulled

over and pulled out of his car

the police officer turned his attention

to me and said

get your little black ass out of the car

and on the ground

at 12 years old i was repeatedly beat

with a policeman flashlight

as he yelled i hate you you black son of

a [ __ ]

at 15 i was thrown to the ground

my pockets were ripped open because they

thought

i was selling drugs

the officer then threatened me and said

i should throw you in the back of my car

and dump you in the delaware river

you’ve heard similar stories but these

are my

stories i’ve only had three positive

experiences with

police officers out of my 40 years on

this earth

and what has been normal has long been

unacceptable

but i find myself in a time when there’s

an opportunity

we can burn down the school to prison

pipeline

and change what policing and the justice

system

has become undeserved killings of

innocent people

gratuitous arrest of black men

handing out life sentences like

candy as if throwing away a life is a

solution

to generations of system and justices

i know this system firsthand

you see my parents were both young when

i was born

and so i was raised by my grandmother

my grandmother had nine children

and there was 15 of us living in a

three-bedroom house

some were on drugs some were alcoholics

some were in and out of prison and some

even dulled their pain by torturing me

and making me understand that i was

nothing

i was abused physically and emotionally

daily i was bullied

beat up and put down

i can recall one time sitting on a

blanket reading a

history textbook and someone came

up behind me and pulled my pants down

and said i should rape you

this was from my most cruel and frequent

abuser

at 12 years old i wanted to die

and i knew exactly how i was going to do

it

and i would set my soul free

one day my uncle put an ak-47 in my

hands and asked me how

did i feel i said i feel like god

there was a power knowing that once

in my life i was in control i went from

being an abuse victim

to hurting innocent people

because of the vicious cycle of pain

that was inflicted upon me pain

fostering more pain

i was a talented track athlete

with all of the accolades but i could

not

escape my situation until i was 18.

i was taken to the train station by my

mother

and my grandmother who knew

i had a chance at a better life

with the new start i was giving

one suitcase one ziploc bag full of

money

and told good luck as luck would have it

i would end up in north carolina

in north carolina i had three children

i was married divorced

homeless sold drugs

i did everything in my power

not to go back home but more importantly

to stay in school

you see school for me was a safe space

it allowed me to see the future i

received my bachelor’s degree in 2007.

and between 2010 and 2011

i met and married the love of my life

shaqiro

and we had a son kj

and in 2012 my family and i moved to abu

dhabi

where my wife took a job in the

government schools

and i was finishing up my master’s

degree to become an english professor

we lived in abu dhabi for five years and

had many beautiful experiences

and my youngest son amir was even born

there

but out of all the lessons that i’ve

learned

while living there the one that impacted

me the most

was my interaction with the abu dhabi

police officer

you see i was 7 553 miles away from home

but still filled with the fear that

comes with

interacting with police officers and

being a black man

will i be killed if i make a sudden

movement

will i be arrested if i don’t understand

his commands attempting to soothe myself

i closed my eyes and i counted

i hear a tap on the window i rolled my

window down

and the officer said hello my friend

how are you he extended his hand for me

to shake

i did not know how to receive his words

or his actions and i asked

why did you stop me he said because you

look lost

you see the world looks different when

you feel like people see you

and respect you respect was the key

i am now back in america

working in marin city and education

marin city is the only identified

pocket of african americans in a county

of mostly white affluents

but like many others i’m hurting right

now

and especially scared for my two younger

sons who have autism

will they be killed if they don’t

understand a command

or will my fourteen-year-old who is six

two

be viewed as a threat because of his

skin color

and his size nothing

is more emotional than knowing that you

are at risk

every day of being killed by a police

officer

because of your skin color it does not

matter

if you are in your home asleep

or playing in your front yard there will

come a time

when i am questioned how i am able

to live in this neighborhood

especially in today’s climate african

americans are often asked by

well-intentioned white people

how can we fix this problem

but how can african americans fix a

problem that we did not create

and many in power still don’t

acknowledge i wish this was a time

for talking it out but it’s not

it’s a time for action we must change

the point of reference

in the narrative between law enforcement

and communities of color we must now do

the hard work

a disrupting systemic racism but we have

to admit

the issue starts at the top

in my work in marin city i see

possibilities

in my role as the community school

manager of the sausalito marin city

school district

we have created the marin city public

safety initiative

this initiative is to help strengthen

relationships

between communities of color and law

enforcement

historically black residents of marine

city have made

countless statements of being racially

profiled

now is the time to reinvest resources

and right past wrongs

that were caused by law enforcement

and racial interactions through this

initiative

law enforcement will host monthly

courageous conversations

to address both past and present

racist encounters various law

enforcement agencies such as the

southern marin fire district

have agreed to host civic engagement

workshops for our youth to discuss

how local and county government operates

and the department of probation has

agreed to host

job fairs networking events

the sausalito police department and the

marin county sheriff’s

have agreed to host cpr and first aid

training

for anyone over the age of 14 that lives

in marin city they’ve also committed to

local law enforcement

doing internal training on how

law enforcement interacts with

african americans who have developmental

disabilities

or who may be having a mental health

crisis

in addition to providing crisis centers

so instead of arresting someone who has

a substance abuse problem

they will be referred to the crisis

center

to receive treatment this has resulted

in county-wide support and recognition

from the marine county board of

supervisors

on how to bring law enforcement together

with communities of color

to create communities that are

self-sustaining

and safe we are working towards a

reimagined

community creating programs for the

inner being

to manifest itself outwardly

such as yoga meditation

healing circles for men and women and so

much more

teaching individuals how to look inward

for value

and changing their life by developing

a different emotional skill set here’s

the thing

i am a black man who has been brutalized

by police

i have not given up hope on myself

my community or humanity

i choose to stand in the gap

and see the good in people during this

unrest

there is a commonality on both sides

the community is using its collective

voice to demand

change and i mean demand we know

there are thousands of police officers

who are fed up with their fellow

officers abusing their power

but they must stand up and be active

and disrupt the system from within

there’s a desire for real change to

dismantle the system

which is not working

to provide life-changing

and life-giving opportunity

to a system that insists

on taking lives as a solution

it is my hope to share what we are doing

in marin city

to start the discussion in different

cities

in different states around the country

do you have the courage to stand with us

i’m betting you do

i am working towards an outcome will you

join me

thank you for listening peace

[Music]