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So, yeah. This happened today. Let's have a little story time. (1)
2. I was invited to be a part of a community forum on Juvenile Justice and Jails in Davenport, IA, today. Scott County is considering a new Youth Assessment Center w 60+ new beds (a *really* high number, one even the state govt says is over twice what's needed in the next 20 yrs)
3. This expansion of detention facilities was not, as far as I can tell, part of the original plan, and thus sigificant portions of the community (incl. one of the county supervisors) mobilized against the planned expansion (and the millions of $$ for add'l youth incarceration)
4. I was asked to participate in a panel discussion, to talk about the intersection of race & mass incarceration, w the idea that I could put the decision under consideration here in a larger context, and point to how there's a dangerous likelihood it'll exacerbate the problems
5. Other folks on the panel inluded Davenport's police chief (who seems like he's plugged into some good community-oriented ideas), the coordinator of youth detention, a criminologist from St. Ambrose U in town, a state official from youth services planning,
6. A gentleman from a national youth justice organization, and the head of one of the community activist orgs. And me. Sooo...I talk after the youth detention coordinator and the police chief. I'm asked to address "the elephant in the room": racial disparities and incarceration.
7. So I start w the acknowledgement that although Davenport has some good initiatives underway, Iowa has its highest prison pop in the last 8 years. And we have one of the worst racial disparities in that population-we're 3% Af-Am, but *1 out of every 4 prisoners* is Black.
8. At this point, a man in the audience (there were over 100 people there, which was awesome) yells "I DON'T BELIEVE THIS. WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH SCOTT COUNTY, AND OUR JUVENILES?" As it turns out, this was the Scott County Sheriff.
9. At this point, I'd spoken for less than 2 minutes. So, off to a great start! Leaving aside the fact that *the country sheriff* didn't see how our state and national averages about racial disparities in incarceration were relevant, the interruption was unexpected and weird.
10. So I said "Well, give me a minute and I hope we'll make that clear." And continued. I then tried to continue a description about how, in many ways, policing and incarceration have racist origins, and are used in racist ways. And then the sheriff decided to weigh in again.
11. I don't remember exactly what he yelled (and he was definitely yelling at me), but it was basically "I've been in law enforcement 30 years and I'm not racist and neither are my officers and I'm not going to sit here and listen to this." I mean...dude. Fragile much?
12. Also, he was getting yelled at by other people in the audience. On the other side of the room, someone yelled for him to stand up so everyone could see who was talking. He did not stand. Others yelled "Let him [meaning me] finish." I appreciated the support.
13. I turned and looked at him, and said loudly and directly that I did not call him a racist. I did not call his coworkers racist. Those were his words. Systems are bigger than people, and I was talking about racist systems. So what's the difference?
14. I work in higher ed, I told the sheriff and the audience. We've only been meaningfully integrated for barely 50 years. It's a system with racist origins, and where racism continues. I don't like that. I don't think I'm a racist. But I. have. to. acknowledge. the. structure.
15. If every house on our street is on fire, and I come banging on your door, I'm not saying you're the arsonist. But what I *am* saying is that you need to be helping me put out these fires. If we don't acknowledge the tough stuff, nothing changes. And our street burns.
16. Then, I said, fellow white people, we have to stop weaponizing our discomfort. We have to call things what they are. We can't just say we disagree, or we're uncomfortable, and shut the conversation down. Especially when it's such a vital community issue.
17. Systems of inequality reproduce themselves until we actively intervene to stop that process. Systems are the product of choices. We have a choice here, and we must choose widely. Arguing about whether something is racist when that's indisputable is a dodge. The wrong choice.
18. I thought about going up to him after the panel discussion to talk, but decided I wouldn't. He could come to me if he wanted to talk. I wasn't going to cater to or reward the interruptions, the yelling, the disruption of the event. Another officer did come up, and we talked.
19. But the sheriff didn't. It was very clear he was a dude who was used to bullying people, shouting over them, when they made him defensive. He tried to take control, and neither me or the audience let him. And in doing so, he told his constituents *a lot* about where he stands
20. We need to have these conversations. We need to sit with being uncomfortable. ESPECIALLY if our job is public safety for an entire county. Officer McFragile is failing his constituents. And it makes me sad. But I hope he at least has something to think about now. /fin
