Over 100 protestors — comprised of members of the Children’s Defense Fund’s New Abolitionist Association, Puncture the Silence, and the Ohio Student Association — converged on City Hall on Monday night (Dec.1) to demand changes in a number of police protocols and procedures. The loud — but peaceful — group first stood on the steps outside of 601 Lakeside Avenue, chanting phrases, but one in particular stood out: “Look for evil, follow the money.”
They eventually took their demands inside to City Council chambers where they interrupted the meeting to make their reasoned demands, such as establishing a citizens review board to replace the department’s Internal Investigation Unit, and the immediate implementation of body cameras for police officers. They also called for the immediate dismissal of Public Safety Director Michael McGrath and the indictment of Timothy Loehmann.
Similar protests have been occurring in cities all across the country, and the same night a loud group of protesters interrupted Attorney General Eric Holder’s speech about the state of relations between police and local communities at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the church where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once was the pastor. About a dozen people in the audience suddenly stood up and waved signs with messages such as “Stop lying to the people” and chanting, “No justice, no peace!”
Just as in Cleveland, police officers moved in to eject the protestors from the building. But that’s where the similarity ends.
In Cleveland, as the protestors were being ushered out, a few people in the audience began applauding; by the time the last of the protesters were being removed, virtually everyone in the audience was showing their approval by standing up and giving them a rousing round of applause.
The only people sitting on their hands were the elected members of City Council, who sat either stone-faced or with a look of total bewilderment. The only member of Council to mouth words of encouragement was Ward 14’s Brian Cummins.
Now, contrast that to what happened in Atlanta. When some in the crowded church began expressing displeasure with the protestors, Holder said, “There will be a tendency on the part of some to condemn what we just saw but we should not. What we saw there was a genuine expression of concern and involvement. And it is through that level of involvement, that level of concern, and I hope a level of perseverance and commitment, that change ultimately will come. And so let me be clear, let me be clear, I ain’t mad at ya.”
Spoken like a true statesman.
In the 1960s, former Black Panther Eldridge Clever said, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” While a couple of councilmen later got up and decried the shooting of Tamir Rice, they should have been standing up applauding the protestors right along with the members of the audience. And then they should have walked out into the hallway and spoke with the activist/citizens afterwards, asking them how they could work together to bring about positive change in the police department.
There’s a crass (but astute) political axiom: When an elected official sees a parade or a protest forming, he or she should jump out front and act as if they’re leading it. Indeed, another aphorism also applies: Members of Council should lead, follow, or just get the hell out of the way. Judging from the deer in the headlights look on most of their faces, I strongly suggest the latter course of action. These young folks are taking no prisoners.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.
One Response to “MANSFIELD: Taking No Prisoners”
Kevin Cronin
I attended the 12/1/14 Council meeting and thought the protesters were persistent, determined and elegant. It was like a wave. Two stood to shout a solution and as they were taken away, three others stood with another desired outcome, then another and yet another. They dominated the meeting, peacefully and respectfully, for several minutes with a series of solutions and positive outcomes. Clear, persistent and determined. The energy of youth.