FERGUSON AND THE MEANING OF NO TRUE BILL

 

Who will believe in the Justice System after the prosecutor for St. Louis County defended the No True Bill for the indictment of Officer Wilson, who admittedly shot an unarmed Black man, Michael Brown, killing him.

 

This is what I heard when Mr. McCullough gave his press conference. 1. Michael was shot outside of Officer Wilson’s car by Officer Wilson, 2. Michael Brown ran away from the car, 3. Officer Wilson gave chase, 4. Brown stopped running and turned around, 5. Browns hands were visible and held no weapons, 6. Michael was unarmed, 6. Officer Will shot Michael Brown four more times killing him.

 

The question that everyone is asking is how there is no probable cause for a crime. Mr. McCullough weakly said that the physical evidence did not match the testimony. He did not say how the physical evidence that Michael Brown was unarmed and shot twice while at the car and four times after running from police was evidence of no crime. The testimony of witnesses had a consistency, Michael Brown tried to run away after being shot and he was unarmed. When he stopped running his hands were visible.

 

There is outrage through the country and within Worcester. On the night of the No True Bill over one hundred demonstrated at Worcester City Hall. At least two more demonstration are planned for November 25, 2014. A movement of people is needed just to effectuate temporary changes for the better. However because of the systemic issues, the whole justice system might have to be changed.

 

Ferguson MO reminds me of the killing of Cristino Hernandez by the Worcester Police in 1993. There was an inquest into his death. The judge ruled that there was no crime, but he also ruled that the police used excessive force.  Even with this ruling the two officers who killed Mr. Hernandez were never disciplined, let alone fired. However based on the excessive force ruling the family of Cristino Hernandez sued the City of Worcester for wrongful death. This is a possibility for the Brown family.

Brown tried to run away after being shot and he was unarmed. When he stopped running his hands were visible.

 

There is outrage through the country and within Worcester. On the night of the No True Bill over one hundred demonstrated at Worcester City Hall. At least two more demonstration are planned for November 25, 2014. A movement of people is needed just to effectuate temporary changes for the better. However because of the systemic issues, the whole justice system might have to be changed.

 

Ferguson MO reminds me of the killing of Cristino Hernandez by the Worcester Police in 1993. There was an inquest into his death. The judge ruled that there was no crime, but he also ruled that the police used excessive force.  Even with this ruling the two officers who killed Mr. Hernandez were never disciplined, let alone fired. However based on the excessive force ruling the family of Cristino Hernandez sued the City of Worcester for wrongful death. This is a possibility for the Brown family.

 

The issue of race is to a large extent significant. There is a stereotyping of dark skin people and lower income people. The stereotype is that we are dangerous and our lives are not important. White cops and to a certain extent Black cops do not see us as people, but as targets. The laws give these policemen the license to kill us with impunity while on the street.

 

This license to kill us has to be taken away. In many ways it is like the “stand your ground “laws which allows cops and others to kill anyone when they “believe” their life to be in danger.  That standard should change to someone’s life “actually” being in danger instead the “belief” that someone’s life being is in danger.  It would make the killing of the twelve boy in Cleveland by the cops a crime, as the cop who shoot the boy life was never in danger. 

Worcester Library Reaches Out to Great Brook Valley and Diverse Communities

Worcester Library Reaches Out to Great Brook Valley and  Diverse Communities

When I visited the Worcester Library branch location in Great Brook Valley (GBV), I did not know exactly what to expect. The trip there has made me more of an optimist about the human condition. Going up Tacoma St., I noticed right away the relatively new outdoor stairways of the Curtis Apartments that took the edge off of the jail house look they have.  I also noticed how clean the streets were and well-kept was the landscape. The grass was still green.   So impressed were we that my wife and I passed right by the sign for the Worcester Library branch located at 89 Tacoma St. and we had to turn around.

The library is located in a row of apartments the construction of which reminded me of the barracks that military families used to live in during the 1950s and 1960s. When I saw them previously, they had an ugliness about them. Nonetheless the apartments were functional and efficient.  With the recent faux gabled roofs the row apartments are better looking, almost like town houses.

On the way into the library, its apartment unit was about 20 yards from the street, I waited outside and talked to passerbys about the library. People were friendly and talked freely; because of this, I assumed that many people in GBV were not born in New England with its culture of mind your own business.

The first person I spoke with was Carol. She said that she uses the branch library, taking out books and going on the computers located there. Xavier, a fifteen year old young man who lived most of his life in GBV, said that he knew of the branch library, but he did not have any incentive to go inside. He said he did not understand its draw. He did say that he might check it out eventually.  

A teenage young lady and her friend stopped and talked. Angelique said that the library was a good place and she uses it often, but they did not go in. Because of my low vision I asked Angelique to show me which door was the entrance to the library. She seemed surprised. She pointed to the brown door immediately to my right and there was a small green sign on the door that read Worcester Public Library.  The best I can say about the door and the sign is that they were unpretentious and plain. They certainly were not eye catching. Opening the door a wonderful sight revealed itself, a warmly lit room full of children and some adults reading, using the computer, and doing homework.

I was greeted by the staff at the Library, Sheila, Marilyn, and Polly. Truth be told they were warned by the publisher that I would be visiting, although the staff said that they did not know on what day I would arrive.  Polly is the Head Librarian and she was manifestly proud of the Library and its services. The library is open weekdays from 2 PM to 5 PM and to a large extent it is an afterschool venue for children. There seemed to be about 40 people in the library while I was there. Polly said that was 40 people is a daily average. Most of the patrons were using the computers or waiting to use the computers.

Almost all of the people using the GBV library were, when I was there,  Black or Latino, reflecting the population of GBV. The staff is mostly White. The air of family and friendliness made me forget about the problems outside of the library. It was a refuge that made me want to stay to closing. There was a nostalgia for the branch library in Philadelphia which I used as a kid before I became aware of the world’s problems.

Among the children, there seemed to be a cooperative educational process going on, as a child computer user would ask his peers about how to accomplish certain computer function. When they ran into a very difficult problem, they would then seek the library staff’s aid. These children were eager to learn and to help each other. I am sure it made the staff happy to help in this process.  The staff also had a Story Time program in which books were read aloud. Two computers had educational program software; one for younger children and another for older kids. I imagine it would be the dream of any elementary school teacher to work there. The role of librarians in the education of children is something that deserves addition print.

Having low vision I wrote in very large letters and Polly noticed. She began to describe the services the main Worcester Library has for blind people. At first I thought she was speaking about the children, then I realized  she was speaking directly to me about my handicap. She said that she finds it satisfying to help people. It was satisfying to interview this kind person. I told her that I would take her advice and look at the services for the blind found in the main library.

The staff said that children also borrowed many books and they pointed to the shelves of books that they were setting up. There was a computer terminal near the shelves that allowed the quick referencing of books. It was all impressive and a delight to see these things in GBV. The Head Librarian, Polly,  spoke of how books could be ordered region wide from the inter library lending system. The book most often borrowed contemporaneously is a fiction book which is popular among pre-teens.  Polly said that the library does not promote the books, per se, but helps the library users to borrow from the main library or a library in the region. She said that she was not entirely sure how a book becomes popular, but she suspected word of mouth at schools.

Adults also use the library and its computers. A lady, Ada, seemed to be doing research when I asked her if I could take her picture. She said yes, but with a condition. I had to mail her a copy of the picture via the library. I agreed. All users of the library computers are limited to thirty minutes at a time and it is first come first serve. Like all library services the GBV Branch is open to the public.

The library has a good rapport with the Worcester Housing Authority which not only provides the space, but also maintains the property. It performs repairs such as maintaining the water and heating systems. I interviewed Worcester Housing Authority Director, Raymond Mariano, about his support for the GBV Branch Library. He said, as he always does, that he grew up in Great Brook Valley.  He felt that the mobile book truck was inadequate for the residents. The truck only came once a week and it did not have the programs or services that a stationary library branch could offer. It seems that the residents of GBV are being well served by Mr. Mariano’s support of the GBV Branch Library.

The new Head Librarian at the Main Library on Salem St. did not get an opportunity to return my call, but I am sure she was busy learning her new duties and solving other problems. I was able to talk with Messrs. William Coleman and William Belcher, both of whom are on the Worcester Library board of directors. Mr. Coleman and Mr. Belcher gave glowing praise about how the Worcester Public Library is reaching out to the diverse communities of Worcester and about the GBV Branch in particular.  Mr. Belcher added that he supports the good job being done with the book mobiles.

At the NAACP Housing Discrimination meeting on November 19, 2014, Michael Ortiz from the Housing Development Office of the City of Worcester, spoke about how the City of Worcester is developing additional housing for its residents. During his talk he mentioned he grew up in Great Brook Valley, like Mr. Mariano. Mr. Ortiz said that Great Brook Valley is like a gated community.  He meant this in a positive way. Like gated communities GBV has just one main entrance. It has its own health clinic, store, day care, and library. The gem in that gated community is the Worcester Public branch library. 

http://www.mass.gov/governor/pressoffice/pressreleases/2014/0702-domestic-workers-bill-of-rights.html

Worcester MA Voices of Ferguson MO

 

Panelist: Keesha, Fiona, Gordon, Sonya, Robert, Michael

Ferguson discussion comes to Clark

LaTanya Buck spoke both as an activist, and a mother at the "Voices of Ferguson/Voices of Worcester — Mediating Peace in our Community: Creating Safety & Responsibility for All" event at Clark University on Saturday. (MICHELLE SHEPPARD)

By Richard Duckett TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
richard.duckett@telegram.com

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US cities brace for protests off Ferguson decision

WORCESTER — Two prominent educators from St. Louis who were featured speakers at a "Voices of Ferguson/Voices of Worcester" conference at Clark University on Saturday said there is great anxiety in the St. Louis suburb as a grand jury deliberates the case of the white police officer who killed an unarmed black teenager.

However, the tension is less about whether the St. Louis County grand jury will indict Officer Darren Wilson for shooting Michael Brown after ordering the 18-year-old and a friend to stop walking in a street in Ferguson on Aug. 9. Rather, it is about what will happen after the decision is announced. Protests erupted in Ferguson after Mr. Brown's death.

The grand jury decision could come any day. There are reports that law enforcement authorities are preparing thousands of officers to be ready.

"It's a high anxiety moment that is causing even more fears for people," said Stefan Bradley, an author and professor at St. Louis University. "In my mind this is as close to hysteria as I've ever seen."

For the decision itself, "I think we all know what's coming down but it's a matter of waiting," said LaTanya Buck, director for the Center of Diversity and Inclusion at Washington University in St. Louis. "Speaking for myself, I don't envision a positive outcome is what I'll say. And I'm fearful for what that means to the St. Louis community and for what that means to the black community," she said.

"I would say that people have the sense that Officer Wilson won't be indicted," said Mr. Bradley. There are many African-Americans who have come to expect police officers to be found not guilty at trials in related cases, Mr. Bradley observed. "But the part that cuts the deepest is that this officer won't go to court at all."

The governor of Missouri has appeared flanked with police officers, emphasizing the need for safety, Mr. Bradley said.

"That indicates to me there will not be an indictment and people should prepare for a police force that is more prepared for protesters — and that is frightening."

Ms. Buck and Mr. Bradley were being interviewed prior to the opening of Saturday's daylong conference organized by the Peace Studies Program at Clark University. "Voices of Ferguson/Voices of Worcester — Mediating Peace in Our Community: Creating Safety & Responsibility for All," included lectures by Ms. Buck and Mr. Bradley, workshops, and a panel discussion about racism and the exploration of non-violent responses. The 150 people in attendance were also working on a "Worcester Declaration Against Racism."

Could Ferguson happen in Worcester?

"It could happen, yes. Race issues are all over the world. But we want people to be aware of it and do whatever they can to prevent it," said Jude Fernando, professor of international development at Clark University and director of the Peace Studies Program. "We're looking to the future. Yes, there is a problem, and what do we do about it?"

In conjunction with the conference was an exhibition titled "Tombstone Exhibit" put together by two medical students at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The exhibition has more than 40 tombstones representing real stories of young men of color who were unarmed but killed by police nationwide.

Solange Bayard said she and Jasmine Khubchandani were talking about the shooting of Mr. Brown in August and felt helpless and "frustrated that people weren't outraged." As they researched the subject, they found many similar instances and came up with the idea of building tombstones for them.

"It was a lesson for us. We dug into newspapers — local stories untold in the mainstream. All of the men were unarmed," Ms. Bayard said. "Building the tombstones was our reality," said Ms. Khubchandani.

Ms. Buck and Mr. Bradley were moved by the "Tombstone Exhibit." "This is the build-up," Mr. Bradley said of the exhibition's stories. "Michael Brown is the spark."

The "Tombstone Exhibit" will be at the College of the Holy Cross on Wednesday. Ms. Bayard and Ms. Khubchandani said they would like it to become a traveling exhibit.

Contact Richard Duckett at Richard.Duckett@telegram.com 

Ferguson and the Public Review of the Worcester Police

Public Review of the Worcester Police

The rebellions in Ferguson MO regarding the killing of Michael Brown by the police have been the cause of some talk about a civilian review board for the police in Worcester. A civilian review board is good public policy as all public agencies need an effective periodic review of its work.  Police misconduct is an indication of the effectiveness of Worcester policing and law enforcement. There is today no real review of the Worcester Police Department’s work, whether that work is useful, ineffectual, or bad failure. There are no meaningful statistics collected or kept and what information is kept is not available to the public.  Who can say if there is racial profiling or other type of bad policing?

The City Manager in theory reviews the work of the police department, but as we know from the past such reviews by the Manager are just rubber stamping of what the police Chief provides to the Manager. The Manager is supposed to be the “civilian review” of the police. He objectively is not.

We in the public are not able to have an objective opinion of the work or failings of the Worcester Police, as we just don’t have enough information or transparency. I went to a Worcester Human Rights Commission meeting recently and the good people there were reviewing a quarterly report of complaints brought against the Worcester Police. The report was cryptic, part of it being in code. The code was for the type of complaint. The Commissioners had a hard time with the report. Even if they could have figured it out; the Worcester Human Rights Commission could not release their findings without the permission of the Manager. To be effective a review of the police should be independent and free of conflicts of interests; the City Manager is certainly conflicted about anything negative about his administration.

Before going further I need to make full disclosures: I have been arrested four times, I have worked on the Justice for Cristino Hernandez Committee, I have relatives who are police officers, and I know that many cops are good people. I have an open mind on the issues.

In Worcester public review of the police will take a form that might be different from anything else. Certainly it would be different than the Civilian Review Board found in Cambridge MA. Worcester once had that type of review board which was a part of the Worcester Human Rights Commission. It had the power to investigate complaints against the City of Worcester. In 1980s the Police Department rammed through a charter change that prevented the Worcester Human Rights Commission from investigating any complaints against the City. It cannot even issue any report of any type without the approval of the City Manager.

The review of the police in Worcester will likely take the form of a nongovernmental agency that takes complaints against the police, helps complainants with their cases, and issues reports. To some extent these needs were performed by the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, when Ron Madnick was executive director. It still does work in this area, recently winning a case against the City in Federal Court. Chris Robarge and the attorney Beverly Chorbajian were significant protagonists for the plaintiffs, but that is a story for another day.

Hopefully the talk of a public review of the police precipitated by the rebellions in Ferguson MO will result in the good public policy of civilian review of the police in Worcester MA, a rational outcome of the repeating story of Ferguson MO.

                                                       Anti Noose Rally 7-25-14

THE LYNCHING NOOSE AT THE WORCSTER POST OFFICE

For several generations the Post Office has been a means for Black people and others to move from poverty to the middle class.  My relatives and friends worked there and went from the poverty of the Great Depression to owning homes. My postal carrier today is personable and we exchange pleasantries every time we see the other; I look forward to the mail.  It came as something of a shock to find out a hangman noose was visibly displayed in the Post Office at the Denholm Building from November 2013 through the Summer of 2014.

I was reassured that the NAACP and others called for a rally against the hangman noose’s display and an investigation against those responsible was initiated in the Summer of 2014.  This reassurance that the universe was righted turned to cynicism when it was published recently that the United State Postal Service and the Federal Attorney General’s Office ruled that no law was broken.

It sounded a lot like the double talk that the police provides to us every time it kills an unarmed man.

Please do not take this essay as an attack on the Post Office; it is not. One of the reasons that the Post Office is hated by conservatives is that the Post Office has a large proportion of so called minorities working there with representation by a strong union.  Several of the clerks at the Denholm Building office are Black.  I have worked in situations when I felt discriminated against, but I held my tongue. This noose can be seen as divisive issue not only for the public, but also as a hostile work environment.

The Post Office is being attacked from within when the bosses farm out the good jobs to minimum wage places like Staples.

The United State Postal Service should make public their investigation and their analysis of why no law was broken.  Working in the legal industry I learned that many officials and decision makers think we are ignorant and can be blown off with a few high sounding words. I for one want to see in writing their ruling and analysis. From this we can then make the appropriate changes to laws and policy.

The NAACP and others will hold a meeting for the United States Postal Service officials  to explain why it is making no comment about any discipline given to  the supervisors who for months knew or should have known that hangman nooses are “ inappropriate” and did nothing. These details should also be made public and the United States Postal Service policies be reviewed.

In the recent elections neither Baker nor Coakley paid much more than lip service to the Black people in the State. I did not hear any thing about the so called school to prison pipeline or disparities in employment. In contrast I expected much more from President Obama, Attorney General Holder, and a Postal Service that many Black people and others found to be an effective way to the middle class.  I am going to the meeting and expecting to be given the same double talk when the Postal officials meet with the NAACP and the public.

                                                                                                             THE GIRL WHO DRESSED UP IN KLUXER COSTUME.

A girl dressed up in a KKK costume during a Halloween event at Worcester Technical High School on October 30, 2014.  This is the same high school that President Obama honored and attended its graduation ceremony in Spring 2014. Her dressing in the Kluxer robes and hood caused much upset in the Worcester and Boston areas. There was a report of it on the Boston TV.

The girl technically did not violate any policies as the Halloween event costumes were to depict great villains. Admittedly the Ku Klux Klan is great villains guilty of murder and terrorism. Their klaverns are still on the Southern Poverty Center’s list of hate and terrorist groups. The very image of them is offensive to most people in Worcester and Boston areas.

I spent a good part of my adult life fighting against the Kluxers and the Nazis; we opposed the Nazis’ use of the Worcester Public Library as a meeting location.  So I think I can speak with some experience. The girl in the KKK costume is a child who followed school policy that was not at all clear. The school policy was confusing and it is that policy that needs correcting and not the child. When the policy is clear then the children will have the guidance they need to make good decisions. Children cannot be expected to make nuanced decisions between what is bad and what is offensive without guidance from adults. It is the school authorities who should have known better, albeit knowledge that was hard to obtain beforehand. The School Department’s policy on anti-racism and anti-discrimination is not well known to the public and there should be some discussion with the public about it.

The policy for great villains or heroes should be clarified to exclude characters that might be offensive. Of course this is a restriction of expression, but there are times political correctness makes good policy.

When my kids went to public school Halloween costume events occurred in elementary school, not in high school. My own memories were that it was fun dressing up for grammar school events. I wanted to be more mature in high school and dress the part, if only to impress the girls. Perhaps there should be restrictions on Halloween costume events in high schools.

The Worcester Public School is run by Dr. Boone who has shown competence in matters such as this. I sometimes think that she does not do as much as she wants, because of local politics. I do think that she will have an honest review of the Worcester School Department’s policy as was promised in its press release. I hope Dr. Boone does not wait for things to blow over without doing this review. I also hope she makes it and all policy changes public.  The girl in the KKK costume was a preventable event and I hope the School Department finds the right policy to ensure no further embarrassment to the students, itself, and to the City.