Do you think that the Rev. Al Sharpton’s march on Washington, D.C., on Dec. 13 will be effective in bringing about change? Why or why not?
The coming march on Washington, D.C., with Al Sharpton will not necessarily bring about change. However, it will keep the focus on the injustices that African Americans continue to endure at the hands of police. Therefore, the march is a good thing but in the long run what will really be accomplished? We have marched, we have cried, we have died — and unfortunately the same result continues to plague our community. A better utilization of time would be to show communities how to manage and run the areas in the country they live. That means workshops need to be created that shows communities how to run their towns, cities and states. Much of the issue in Ferguson, Missouri, is the fact that you have non diverse police force policing a majority African American community. The relations have been strained for years there, and when you have an incident like the Mike Brown murder, the emotions and frustrations come to the surface searing with historical contempt. You cannot wait until a murder to have a conversation; this country must be more open to engaging the African American community. Until then, we will continue to see deaths occur in our community that go unpunished. So, is the march on Washington, D.C., with Al Sharpton at the head a good thing — I’ll wait to see what happens after the march — we’ve spent too much shoe leather recently that has not resulted in true change in the American justice system.
