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FORUM
How communities decide
'enough is enough'
Kimya
N. Dcnni
Guest
Columnist
Over the past days
there has been peaceful
protests and some rioting
in response to Charlotte
resident Keith Lamont
Scott being yet another
black man shot by law
enforcement. The name of
the officer was released by
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police, Officer Brentley
Vinson - a black man.
There remains debate over
whether Mr. Scott was
brandishing a gun in a
threatening way to law
enforcement; or, if Mr.
Scott simply had a gun,
that he had a right to own,
hblstered (not brandishing)
since North Carolina is an
open carry state; or, if Mr.
Scott only had a book in
his hand.
The family released a
video his wife took on
Friday, Sept. 23. Parts of
two videos pertaining to
this incident were released
by Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police Department on
Saturday, Sep. 24. Despite
the release of videos from
different angles, there
remains outrage and debate
regarding why Mr. Scott
was approached by police
and was eventually shot.
While investigations
are ongoing, there has been
substantial media coverage
of peaceful protests and
some rioting. For example,
"Anderson Cooper 360"
and "CNN Tonight with
Don Lemon," both live on
CNN, have covered a great
deal over the past few
days. 1 continue to hope the
agitating and rioting is kept
to a minimum.
Unfortunately, two
protests became riots that
involved violent alterca- ?
tions between protesters
and law enforcement, loot
ing businesses, and broken
windows in apartment
buildings. For many blacks
this simply highlights
longstanding issues
between law enforcement
as well as segregation
(both socioeconomic and
racial) that has existed in
Charlotte long before
Charlotte became a tourist
attraction, an athletic
attraction and academic
spotlight.
, The perceived discon
nect between public per
ception of Charlotte and
what many blacks in
Charlotte experience is
perhaps connected to a
number of factors includ
ing how, over the years,
Charlotte has become a
"Chocolate City" that has
attracted a large amount of
blacks, including young
black professionals, in a
similar fashion as
Washington, D.C. and
Atlanta, Georgia.
This is an example of
inconsistencies and
inequalities that have exist
ed for generations and can
not be "cured" through
quick fixes. Therefore, we
will continue to challenge
these inconsistencies and
inequalities in Charlotte
and across the country.
As we already know,
healthy protest is when we
are not agitating and not
harming anyone - our
selves or other people.
There is enough violence
in the United States and
around the world. We need
to express our disagree
ments in ways that are
vocal enough to get atten
tion but peaceful enough to
maintain legality and over
all health and safety. We
know that we cannot phys
ically force our voice to be
heard. We cannot physical
ly force people to take us
seriously.
Therefore, we must
stay informed and active in
our communities. We must
remain united to keep our
communities safe and
healthy. We will also con
tinue to challenge the
stereotype of blacks as vio
lent and uncontrollable.
Instead, we are very capa
ble of having informed dia
logues and informed,
orderly disagreements and
protests. We will not be
dismissed as unreasonable
and in need of being con
trolled.
As we unite toward
social change, we will use
freedom of speech and
have peaceful, non
destructive protest. These
are healthy, lawful ways to
support Mr. Scott's family,
as well as other families,
and hold law enforcement
accountable for all investi
gations. On the evening of
Sept. 21, Rev. Dr. William
Barber said something on
"CNN Tonight with Don
Lemon" to the effect of,
"you can be anti-'bad
police' and pro-'good
police."' I agree whole
heartedly.
Kimya N. Dennis is a
sociologist and criminolo
gist with interdisciplinary
work that includes suicide
and suicidal self-harm and
mental health. Her work
reaches vast audiences
with particular emphasis
on blacks and the African
diaspora. She is on the
board of directors for
LEAD Girls of NC, The
Mental Health Association
in Forsyth County, and
North Carolina chapter of
American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention.
Hands up, hands
down! It doesn't
matter
I James
Ewers Jr.
Guest
Columnist
I was talking to one of
my childhood friends
today [Sept. 20] about the
shooting of an unarmed
African-American male in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. His
remark about the shootings
of black men by police
officers made' me realize
one thing..
These shootings will
not stop. There may be a
temporary respite .from
time to time, but the shoot
ing and killing won't stop.
This time it happened
in Tulsa, Oklahorpa.
Terence Crutcher, a black
man was stopped [on Sept.
16]. The policewoman,
Betty Shelby, hqd Crutcher
get out of his, SUV. Backup
police arrived and Terence
Crutcher was first tased
and then Officer Shelby
? shot him to death.
Of course, the Tulsa
chief of police, Chuck
Jordan, has called for a full
investigation. Of course,
Officer Shelby has been
placed on administrative
leave and of course drugs
were found in the victim's
vehicle.
Let's not leave out that
the audio tape between the
police, the dispatcher and
the police helicopter offi
cer suggested Crate her was
on something. In a search
of the vehicle no gun or
anything else that could be
used as a weapon 'was
found.
The aforementioned
steps have been pretty
much the same in the
deaths of other unarmed
black men.
Black men, pay atten
tion! Our lives are not val
ued by the larger society.
This is what I know, not
what 1 think.
We can comply with
police requests but it does
n't necessarily mean that
we, will live to see another
day.
It may sound a bit mor
bid and sad, but it is what it
is.
We have to hug our
loved ones each day that
we leave the house just in
case we don't make it
home tonight.
I &m shaking my head
in hurt and disbelief won
dering how does this con
tinue to happen. Terence
Cratcher was the father of
four children. Critics will
now try to find out if he
was a good father.
Regardless of whether
cm- not he was a good father ?
shouldn't mean he should
be shot and killed. His life
mattered to his family and
to his friends.
The United States
Justice Department is now
involved in the Terence
Cnitcher shooting. Only
time will tell us what they
will find upon further
review. The video of the
incident has been shown
aroupd the country.
Many of us have
already drawn a conclusion
simply based upon what
we saw.
Predictably, it seems
when a. black man is shot
there is always some evi
dence that we haven't seen.
Children, especially
children of color, have seen
the videos of some of these
killings. When they ask us
as parents and grandpar
? ents what should they do,
what do we tell them?
Do we tell them to keep
their hands in sight like
Terence Crutcher? Well, he
had his hands up in plain
sight and he was shot to
death.
Do we tell our children
to respect the police? Yes,
we do.
Being a law enforce
ment officer is a tough job.
The overwhelming majori
ty of law enforcement offi
cers are good people and
do a great job.
It is now time for the
police to develop some
new strategies and pro
grams as it relates to fight
ing crime.
It can't always be what
citizens must db, it now
must be what the police
should do.
Is killing the only
option? Are we to fear the
police or are we to respect
the police?
This paradigm of black
men living in fear of police
miist change. When we
leave our homes in the
morning, we want to return
to our homes at night.
So now, unfortunately,
we. will just sit back and
wait on the next time an
African-American male is
shot and killed hands up,
hands down or on the
ground by the police.
Be in prayer for men of
color around the country. .
[Note: Charlotte, N.C.,'.
resident Keith Lamont
Scott was another black
man shot by law enforce
ment in Charlotte on Sept.
20].
James B. Ewers Jr.
EdD. is a former tennis
champion at Atkins High
School in Winston-Salem
' and played college tennis
at Johnson C Smith
University where he was
all-conference for four
years.
He is the President
Emeritus of The Teen
Mentoring Committee of
Ohio and a retired college
administrator. He can be
reached at
ewers .jr56 ? yahoo .Com.
?
Free Nurse-Family Partnership helps first-time moms succeed
Amber
Draughon
Guest
Columnist
When
Laura first
joined the
Nurse
Family
Partnership
(NFP) pro
gram, she
_ was in the
midst of a
high-risk pregnancy. Laura had concerns
and fears about becoming a mother.
Laura was eager to learn more about
her pregnancy and how to care for her
child, which encouraged her to enroll in
the NFP program.
The NFP program, managed by the
Forsyth County Department of Public
Health, pairs low-income, first-time moth
ers with experienced registered nurses.
The nurse .visits a client starting early in
pregnancy until the client's child turns 2
years old.
Clients and nurses work as a team to
achieve goals, including a healthy preg
nancy, a healthy baby and increased eco
nomic self-sufficiency. A nurse provides a
client with information, support and com
munity resources needed to raise healthy
children in the Forsyth County communi
ty
Laura delivered a healthy child and
was ready to begin the next chapter in her
parenting journey. Laura and I discussed
several important aspects of care, includ
ing proper nutrition, attachment to care
givers and protection from illness and
injury.
Around 18 months, Laura became con
cerned with her child's speech develop
ment. Laura and I focused on activities to
support her child's growth and community
resources available to assist Laura.
Laura's child now receives speech and
play therapy as a result of an NIT referral.
Laura reports her child's speech develop
ment has grown "bounds and leaps" and
her child is now counting and naming ani
mals.
Laura attributes her parenting success
to NFP stating, "the knowledge and assis
tance [NFP] provided helped me become
the mother I am today". Laura has begun
online schooling for Medical Billing and
Coding and wiU graduate in September
2016.
If you ate pregnant with your first
baby and want more information about the
Nurse-Family Partnership Program, call
336-703-3185.
Amber Drdughon, RN, BSN, is a Nurse
Care Manager with the Forsyth County
Department of Public Health.
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