In Response to #Ferguson

I spent yesterday, like so many of my friends and family, wavering between deep sadness and deep anger. I understand that, because I was a witness to a family member being brutalized by a police officer, I have a different perspective than those who have not either been the victim of police brutality, or a witness to it. I would like to think that I would still have the same passionate feelings, whether or not I had this experience.

I recently read the book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. If you haven’t read it, you might want to get a quick intro to him by watching his TED talk:

I was attracted to Just Mercy because Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness highly recommended it – and this book had in many ways changed my path as a person and an artist. What Stevenson makes clear, from the very beginning, is that without COMPASSION – we, as individuals, as a country, as a universe – can never fully thrive. So, the first action I am taking in response to Darren Wilson not being indicted, is to work on strengthening my compassion for others in everything I do.

From there, I wanted to share with you some of the other tools I’ll be using in the next several months to fulfill my need to ‘walk the walk’ and go beyond the conversations I’m having with like-minded people:

1) I’m reaching out to the Center for Policing Equity at UCLA. I appreciate their approach to having law enforcement collaborate with social scientists in promoting “police transparency and accountability.” I will volunteer what resources I have available to supporting their work.

2) I am taking a compassionate, rather than a judgmental, stance on those who committed acts of violence in #Ferguson last night. While ultimately I’m not sure whether violent acts targeting non-offenders will help improve the situation, I, with the privileges I have, could not look into the face of a poor, young Black or Brown person and tell them how they should react when they are reminded, once again, that their bodies, their thoughts, their entire beings and communities don’t matter. I also think there is a middle ground between peaceful protest and unbridled violence – and that it is within this place that we often see lasting change.

3) I’m going to revisit my educational materials for One Drop, and make sure they address Ferguson, Mike Brown, Jr., and so many other men and women who have been mistreated and/or murdered by the police. I’ll be using the Zinn Education Project’s excellent guide: Teaching About Ferguson and also this terrific crowd-sourced google document (which I will be adding to soon): Ferguson resources, crowdsourced in real-time by educators (thanks Abby Brown-Steinberg for the link!)

I’ll also continue following the #FergusonSyllabus hashtag on Twitter – which has been wonderful in providing me with a community to give and get support.

4) I’ll ask YOU – in the post-show Q&As, in our continued conversations, in the comments below, to share how you are reacting, coping and moving towards lasting change so that everyone can live peacefully, with justice, and with love.