AUGUST 12, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A9
FORUM,
continued from Page A1
diverse community. The event
was held at Keizer Civic Center
Wednesday, Aug. 3.
Discussions ranged from the
relationship between minority
communities and police to
broader topics of the black and
minority experiences and what
it can be done to change the
status quo.
Benny Williams, president
of the Salem-Keizer branch of
the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored
People, said that moving to
Salem 15 years ago was a
shock because of the lack of a
signifi cant African American
community.
“All of us here have a place
outside of home where you can
look around and see people of
your own ethnic background.
It creates not for the adults, but
VISION,
continued from Page A1
Road, he said, a renovated
space such as the current re-
development at Schoolhouse
Square will go for about $1.50
per square foot and existing
tenants have already fl ed.
“With a redeveloped space,
you’re looking at $2 or more
per square foot,” Nash said.
Nash also cited the need for
additional parking along River
Road as a possible barrier be-
the young people, a sense of
our community,” Williams said.
“The lack of African American
faces in the job setting, civic
life and just living here can
be upsetting … and when we
see young black men being
killed while in restraint, it’s
disturbing.”
Navneet Kaur, a member
of the local Sikh community,
said her status as a minority has
likely held her back. Despite
earning a master’s degree in
English, she has never been
offered the opportunity to
teach English courses in a high-
level classroom.
“I’ve been followed in stores,
passed in queues and told to go
back to where I come from,”
Kaur said. “When confronted,
I try to look for reasons other
than the race reason, and I’ve
yet to fi nd that. I’ve more
often questioned my skills and
wondered if I was good enough.
It’s made me wonder if there is
more I had to do to get where I
dreamed of getting.”
Rev. Jose Dominguez, of
Keizer’s Light of the Valley
Church, said that education
is needed to “break down the
barriers of fear and cultural
differences.”
Dominguez
cited
the
actions of former Marion
County Sheriff Raul Ramirez
as one example of the type of
education that was needed.
When local offi cers and
deputies noticed a spike in
the number of citations for
driving uninsured or driving
without a license among the
Latino population, Ramirez
commissioned a set of Spanish-
language driver training videos.
“We’ve invited our colored
brothers in the door, but we’ve
failed to give them the keys.
We haven’t trusted enough
to give the keys to the door,”
said Dominguez. “It takes time,
effort, energy, and most of us
would be willing to sit down
and talk about the issues no one
cause it would require remov-
ing existing assets and starting
over.
“Creekside (Shopping Cen-
ter) is a perfect example. It’s not
safe, (has) poor functionality,
(and it’s) hard to get in and out.
If you want something done,
the city should buy it, scrape
it and then sell it. You’re going
to lose $2 million, but imme-
diately the market demand will
be there,” Nash said.
Keizer Community Devel-
opment Director Nate Brown
added that a small, local gov-
ernment like Keizer simply
doesn’t have the funding avail-
able to free a property like
Creekside of the perceived en-
cumbrance.
“The dollar values a pro-
gram like this would require
are so high, they are going to
be offensive,” Nash said. “It
might be something to work
toward long-term, but we
need a different solution in the
short-term. My advice would
be to start hoarding money
now that you are going to give
away.”
Ask Mr. Trash
Q. Where do I take all this stuff?
©1986
A. Your local garbage hauler is able to offer a special, one-time, delivery
and collection of a 3 yd. garbage container for a fl at fee of just $90.30.
(Additional dumps are only $64.05) The container can be scheduled
anytime Monday through Friday, and you can keep it for up to a week! Call
our offi ce today to schedule yours. (Please observe safety and disposal
guidelines; 1000 lbs. max; no hazardous or State regulated waste - certain
items may need to be handled separately. Call our offi ce for details.)
Serving Keizer for Nearly 50 years!
LOREN'S
VA L L E Y
SANITATION & RECYCLING SERVICE, INC.
RECYCLING & DISPOSAL, INC.
503.393.2262
503.585.4300
wants to talk about.”
A second panel of local
public safety offi cials and
Marion
County
District
Attorney Walt Beglau, fi nished
out the evening. Chief John
Teague, of the Keizer Police
Department, wasted no time
in getting to the heart of the
matter.
While
the
audience
in attendance was more
diverse than is typical for
civic gatherings, white faces
dominated the crowd.
“About 30 years ago, I
knew a very handsome, very
intelligent and well-spoken man
and he told me he saw a black
person every time he looked
in the mirror. Being black was
a liability. That day or the next
day or the next week, the color
of his skin, that immutable
characteristic, was something he
was going to have to overcome.
That’s something we as white
folks will never experience,”
Teague said. “If you live under
the narrative that you’re going
to get shot and killed, going
along to get along isn’t going to
change anything. It’s incumbent
upon white people and white
cops to make the fi rst step
toward changing it.”
Marion County Sheriff
Jason Moore added that police
trainings are now threaded with
discussions of procedural justice
and police legitimacy.
“That means we are trying
to give people a voice, listening
and not coming into situations
with preconceived notions,”
Moore said. “ We’ll walk away if
(our presence) is going to cause
more harm than good, and
we’re trying to empower our
frontline offi cers to make those
decisions.”
Salem
Police
Chief
Gerald
Moore
expressed
disappointment at having to
have meetings like Bridging
the Gap, “When it comes to
race relations, why can’t we
get it right? We can’t predict
the future, but in a community
our size, something bad is
going to happen, but we’ve
set up a system that will help
us deal with the anger and
the confusion. Picking up
the phone and talking with a
friend is going to make a big
difference.”
tough questions,
no easy answers
In addition to providing insight on race relations and mi-
nority experiences in the Salem-Keizer area, members of the
panels at Bridging the Gap answered questions from the au-
dience. Below are a few of the highlights from that portion
of the evening.
Questions asked of the community panel
Question: How are you speaking to your children about
the violence?
Rev. Michael Weaver, Free Church of Oregon: I’m
a father of seven and it starts with listening to our kids, lis-
tening to what concerns them. Their number one means of
consuming news is their peers, that’s where their opinion is
formed, and if we are not talking to our children honestly
and openly then we miss a huge opportunity. Too often we
address our youth as if they are incapable of understanding
and we miss an opportunity to really hear.
Q: Is the preconceived notion of police a form of preju-
dice?
Benny Williams, president of Salem-Keizer
NAACP: We’ve heard as citizens that police have a code of
silence that when issues come up, the community asks how
can that be. If we look at one of the young men who has
been killed, if we see that he’s been properly restrained, how
can it be that no one is held accountable? The police chiefs,
superintendents need to be able to show in a more open way
that they are policing their police.
Q: What do we do now that the time to talk has passed?
Weaver: As a community, we have pacifi ed what we know
to be true for a very long time. as parents. Community starts
at home, how we as parents raise our children. Begin the
conversation at the parent level. Let’s educate our children.
Q: How do allies support our communities of color with
regards to deep systems of discrimination?
Williams: The change we’re talking about is removing
the fear and apprehension and the reasons why we think we
are not equal to one and other. It’s not rocket science, if the
heart and the mind is open and honest we can have better
relations than what may be the case.
Questions asked of the public safety panel
Q: If you have a fi rearm and it is registered, how would
you handle this during a traffi c stop?
Chief Gerald Moore, Salem Police Department:
You need to let the offi cer know that you have a fi rearm and
keep you hands on the steering wheel. They may ask you to
step out and secure the fi rearm. And you need a concealed
handgun license.
Q: Do you think differently or feel differently when you
pull over a person of color?
Sheriff Jason Moore, Marion County: There is no
monolithic person of color. There are a lot of other earmarks
I’m looking for like criminality or lack of care or concern.
My bias is making sure there’s a really good earmark.
Q: How can police raise the level of awareness regarding
implicit bias?
Moore: About four or fi ve years ago, we learned through
the Oregon Innocence Project that people were being
wrongly convicted through faulty eyewitness accounts.
Overnight, Oregon law enforcement changed. Cops want to
do the right thing, we’re eager for this advice.
BETTER THAN NEW
WITH A CLASSIC TOUCH
BEFORE
AFTER
FREE
ESTIMATES
503.393.2875
remodelkeizer.com
CCB#155626
EXPERIENCE
• PROFESSIONALISM • TRUSTWORTHINESS