LISC has supported collaboration between police and residents in high crime areas for years, including in many communities of color where mutual distrust runs deep. Partnership is a tall order unless all sides show a willingness to get to know each other as people—people who want to go home safe to their families at the end of the day. In an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle, Rev. Ben McBride describes this critical work in Oakland, CA, now expanding to other cities. And he’ll share more with LISC partners at our National Leadership Conference in November.
The excerpt below is from:
Community, police together must solve neighborhood problems
Originally published in The San Francisco Chronicle
Shoes.
“I don’t know what it feels like to walk in your shoes. I don’t know what it feels like to wake up every morning and kiss the people you love, knowing that your job can put you in grave danger. I don’t know what it feels like to be tasked with making split-second decisions that can change or end a person’s life.
“But I know what it feels like to walk in my shoes. And my hope is that I can talk to you about my shoes, and, in exchange, maybe you trust me to talk about your shoes; and we will find a way to come together on a journey that will connect us on a trusting path.”
This is the opening statement I’ve shared with more than a thousand police officers in my work to bridge the gap between law enforcement and communities of color. It hasn’t been easy; cynicism is high on both sides.
On the one hand, African Americans and communities of color have a history of mistrusting (and fearing) law enforcement — sentiments that are reinforced when we see footage of young, unarmed people of color brutalized and shot by police.
On the other hand, the attacks on law enforcement by extremists create unjust pain and deepen the chasm of mistrust and defensiveness in the public safety community.
Fortunately, a new effort was announced this week that aims to reverse these trends in California, bringing together communities of color and law enforcement to not only create trust but also reforms that are good for public safety. And it will start with each side bringing their honest selves. Continued[+]...
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Rev. Ben McBride, Deputy Director, PICO California
A long-time activist for peace and justice in the Bay Area, Ben McBride is the deputy director for PICO California, the state’s largest faith-based community organizing network. He is the founder of the Empower Initiative, which provides community-based, technical assistance around public safety issues. Ben has been instrumental in Oakland’s Operation Ceasefire, co-authored “Principled Policing Training with the Department of Justice-California.” and was recently appointed by Attorney General Kamala Harris to the Racial & Identity Profiling Advisory Board for California.