November 19, 2014
glorila nò (Dbserucr
Page 7
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A Sweet Touch to a Food Justice Project
To grow,
strengthen and
produce
V ivian M. L ucas
If y o u ’ve n e v e r
eaten a sweet scup-
pernong grape, you
have missed an unforgettable
treat.
One of my fondest childhood
memories is of enjoying the small
deliciously juicy bronze globes
grown in my grandparents’ yard.
Under a huge living canopy cre
ated by grapevines growing on
hidden trellises, my sisters and I
would pick grapes and eat to our
hearts’ content.
It never occurred to me that
over 40 years later I ’d buy these
by
wonderful Southern delicacies
for a price of almost 10 cents
apiece! So when one o f the
neighbors of the Franklinton
Center at Bricks, a United
Church of Christ Center
for Education and Social
Transformation, recently
offered cuttings from her
scuppemong grapevines, I
jum ped at the chance to add a
small vineyard to the center’s 5-
acre garden and acre-sized or
chard that help provide healthy
food to families living in the east
ern North Carolina area where
the center is located.
“A vineyard will put a natu
rally sweet touch to the food
justice project,” I thought.
As the gracious neighbor be
gan to clip cuttings from her
grapevines, I noticed something
unique. The small branches were
cut from the vine, but they re
mained attached in other areas
o f the branches. Upon close
examination, I saw that young
tendrils from one branch had
grown long enough to attach
themselves and curl around other
branches to stay connected to
the grapevines.
I learned that what had be
gun 10 years ago as four small
grape plants had grow n to be
com e a 20-foot long and 4-foot
w ide grape arbor by making
in tr ic a te c o n n e c tio n s th a t
helped to produce hundreds of
th o u s a n d s — p e rh a p s m il
lions— of grapes. To help the
plants becom e m ost fruitful,
the ow ner had cared for the
grow ing grapevines with trel
lises and had pruned and trained
the branches to reach w ithin
their surroundings to help them
m ove them selves upw ards.
As the tendrils wrapped them
selves around the branches and
vines, their grips had become
strong enough to support the
continual growth process. This
reminded me of the way chil
dren and youth grow within the
context of family, school, com
munity and church.
Young people seek support,
training and education to grow,
strengthen and produce. It is our
responsibility as those who have
benefitted from the gifts, leader
sh ip , and c o u ra g e o f ou r
foreparents and community in
stitutions, to give our children
and youth something they can
“wrap their hands and minds
around.”
We must build upon the work
* completed by those upon whose
shoulders we stand. We must
make connections to ensure that
our systems are strong. We must
repeal unjust laws and enact just
legislation that helps us work in
unity to build new and exciting
infrastructures.
It is our jo b to set fair p o li
cies and lovingly and w isely
teach our children and youth
how to navigate in ways that
successfully help m ove these
young people upw ard and for
ward. Are we doing our best to
m ake the future fruit of our
youth sw eet and ju st or just
bittersw eet?
Vivian M. Lucas is director
o f the United Church o f
Christ’s Franklinton Center at
Bricks in Whitakers, N.C.
Police, Brutality and the Prevalence of Racial Bias
Increasing trust
between police
and the
community
B en J ealous
W hat is com m unity
policing? In the wake
o f increased shootings
in Ferguson and around the
country, there has been a re
new ed public interest in the
role o f police, the extent of
police brutality, and the preva
lence o f racial bias.
These are not new issues,
and in fact a num ber o f organi
zations have been w orking for
decades to increase trust be
tw een law en forcem ent and
the com m unities they serve.
A m ong these is the N ational
C oalition B uilding Institute, a
nonprofit leadership program
headquartered in W ashington
DC.
Founded in 1984, the insti
tute focuses on elim in atin g
prejudice and resolving inter
group conflict. They w ork in
cities across the U.S. and over
seas to build the capacity of
local leaders in schools, co l
lege cam puses, police depart-
by
m ents, and environm ental or been singled out by police. part o f a com m unity, and the
ing program to em erge from
ganizations to lead prevention- From their experience, the coa com m unity understands the
the chaos and violence of the
oriented w orkshops and to in lition has learned that it is best sam e about the officer. It in
past few weeks. "Now, there
tervene in the face of tough to offer com m unities a pre cludes form ing em pathetic re
is a chance for police and the
in ter g roup conflict. vention-oriented, trust building lationships betw een law en
com m unity to hear each other,"
One o f the group's key approach. This way, they build fo rc e m e n t and c o m m u n ity
she said. "The focus needs to
program s, the Law E n the ongoing capacity o f law m em bers, which results in in
be on how people are treated.
forcem ent Com m unity enforcem ent and com m unity c re a se d o ffic e r sa fe ty and
If you can train officers how to
C itiz e n P ro je c t, fo activists to w ork in partnership safety for all m em bers of the
treat all people with dignity
cuses on building pro to increase safety for all citi community."
and respect - that is a victory."
ductive relatio n sh ip s zens in the com m unity.
T he p a r tn e rs h ip p ro je c t
B ro o k 's
c o - d ir e c to r
betw een police and the
I sp o k e w ith F a b ie n n e builds trust betw een law en Guillermo Lopez explained that
com m unities they serve.
B ro o k s , w h o a lo n g w ith forcement and community lead com m unity policing cannot be
Initially funded in 2002 by a G uillerm o Lopez is co-director ers by helping each side to
accom plished with the wave
grant from the COPS office o f the institute’s Law E nforce understand the daily realities
o f a wand, "You don't go in
(the office o f C om m unity Po m ent Program . B rooks is a o f the other. Each has a key
trying to change a w hole de
licing at the US D epartm ent of retired chief o f detectives for story to tell. Each deserves
partm ent; you go in trying to
Justice) to w ork in Bethlehem , the King County Police D e respectful listening. By teach
change a few p eople, who
Penn, and King County, W ash., partm ent in Seattle. She was ing listening skills and conflict
eventually com e to change the
the p ro je c t has sin ce been the first black fem ale officer in reso lu tio n practices and by
w hole dep artm en t. W e can
implemented in numerous com county history to be hired as a helping each side see the hu
sta rt by fo cu sin g atten tio n
munities.
deputy, and throughout her manity and legitim ate concerns and financial resources on o r
C alled on to bridge the d i career she m ade a point to o f the other, trust and partner ganizations like NCBI, so they
vide between com munity m em im m erse herself in the com ship increases.
can co n tin u e sp reading the
bers and police officers, the m unity that she served. The
In ad d itio n , the in stitu te w o rd th a t e m p h a s iz e s the
group leads training, diversity, n eig h b o rh o o d she patro lled teaches specific skill sets that 'serve' aspect o f Protect and
and inclusion and leadership was the same neighborhood help each side to confront the S erv e.”
w o rkshops for o fficers and w here she attended church and biases they have learned about
As Brooks told me, "Police
com m unity activists to educate raised her fam ily. A fter 26 each other that get in the way officers meet with the com
them in skills to foster co o p years on the job, she retired o f equitable treatm ent of the m unity, hear tough things, say
erative relationships.
and jo ined the institute so she entire com m unity
tough things and confront their
S om e c o m m u n itie s h av e could continue her passion for
— particularly the equitable prejudices together - this is
contacted the institute when com munity policing.
treatm ent o f people from dif how we will move forw ard."
there have been specific d iffi
M s. Brooks told me that "an ferent racial groups.
Ben Jealous is a partner at
culties betw een w hite police im portant part of com m unity
In Ferguson, form er C hief Kapor Capital and fo rm er
officers and people or neigh policing occurs when an of Brooks sees an opportunity for president and c h ie f execu
borhoods o f color that have ficer recognizes that they are an effective com m unity-polic tive officer o f the NAACP.