Karen DuBois-Walton and John Lewis on “Dateline.”
The painful revelations of police violence against African-Americans have also unleashed hope, in the view of two New Haven community leaders.
People are protesting. And protesting. Which means positive change may follow.
So said Karen DuBois-Walton and Pastor John Lewis Friday, on the cusp of a weekend of anti-police-violence protests planned in communities throughout Greater New Haven.
“I cannot be in this moment and not have faith and hope,” declared DuBois-Walton, executive director of Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of New Haven and leader of multiple civic initiatives in town.
“The protesters are bringing me life and joy. Young people are bringing me life and joy.”
DuBois-Walton noted that sustained protest after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, led to deep changes in police policy there, and then this week the election of the first female and first African-American mayor of that majority-black community. As a public figure, as a parent, as a participant in protests like last Sunday’s march onto I‑95, DuBois-Walton said she has seen an understanding of and commitment to racial justice among young activists that could produce similar change here.
“They are light years ahead of where I was at their age,” DuBois-Walton remarked. “Their voices are powerfully leading.”
Lewis, pastor of Dixwell Avenue’s Christ Chapel New Testament church and a nonviolence trainer for both police and community groups, drew a parallel to the civil rights protests of the 1950s and ‘60s.
“They boycotted the buses for 365 days [in Montgomery, Alabama]. They were walking in the rain,” and changed the law, Lewis noted.
“These young people [today] are committed to change. Continue on to protest! People protest. Boycott. Shut things down. Block the highway. Do what needs to be done.”
DuBois-Walton and Lewis shared those observations and prescriptions for change during a joint appearance on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven.”
Paul Bass Photo
Black Lives Matters’ Ala Ochumare leading marchers through downtown to I-95.
“Protest allows us the opportunity to think broadly about other possibilities” and “dream” about long-term change that “respects people’s humanity across race, across socioeconomic status, across sexual orientation” and able-bodiedness, DuBois-Walton noted.
About segregated housing, for instance, in suburban towns: “Those holding Black Lives Matters [signs] — will they be at the zoning meetings” speaking in favor building affordable housing “so people can afford to live” there?
About policing, for instance: How to shift policing from a military “war zone” approach and shift resources to addressing root problems of poverty and violence.
Lewis spoke of the need for police to see their jobs as a community mission, not a “paycheck” or occupation assignment.
Click on the play arrow for the full episode of WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” with Karen DuBois-Walton and John Lewis, including comments from listeners.
I applaud the ideas put forth in this article. We need to support systemic changes in every corner of our society to reduce discrimination in all it's forms in every segment of society. Policing, housing, medicine, food, jobs, mental healthcare, addition services, education, everyone should have equal opportunities and access and treatment and care and involvement in every segment of society no matter who you are.