Public comment round I has concluded, we are now moving onto agenda item #1 - Community Panel of #JusticeForFloyd demonstrators sharing their first-hand experiences of what they saw in response to demonstrations.
Powerful testimonial shared by our first panelist about his experiences of living while Black and a reminder that so-called progressive places like Seattle are not immune from the bias that harm Black people in other parts of the country.
Our 2nd panelists reminds us: Saturday's peaceful protest started peacefully, stayed peaceful, and ended peacefully. Shares there were bad actors who co-opted demonstrations and used them as a cover to behave poorly.
Our 3rd panelists starts their testimony by sharing a personal observation of how SPD shows up at Black-organized demonstrations: there are perceptions of aggression and living in a police state. Why is exercising our rights and speaking our minds met with tear gas?
Now we are joined by Coach Dom - he shares firsthand reports of people witnessing vans of people joining Saturday's crowds but not the actions that brought people together. Recalls seeing the person with the AR-15 and thinking "what would've happened if this kid was Black?"
Why are our kids being pepper sprayed? It breaks my heart seeing kids of all colors using their voice and to stand up and being pepper sprayed, pushed, gassed. They are brave and we should recognize that. I know good officers who should be taking the lead on all of this.
Our final speaker of this panel shares this is excessive, seeing children gassed. It's really intense, seeing everything that I've seen. Restraint can be shown for someone picking up a gun, all I could think about was Tamir Rice who had a toy in his hand.
They share what another panelist said: the City shut down. How were people supposed to get home or get out with no transit? We had to rely on mutual aid. City workers used their badges to help get us out. This feels like a police state.
Our community panel:
- Willard Jimerson, United Better Thinking
- Omari Salisbury, Converge Media
- Nestie Tjirongo, film maker/member of Seattle Film Task Force
- Dominique Davis, Community Passageways
- Evana Enabulele
Thank you all for your accounts and using your voices.
Thank you, Omari, for closing this panel with an important question of Council's role in determining what kind of City we will be and the leadership needed for that. I will take this question to heart.
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