C AREERS Special
Edition
April 21, 2021
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Page 11
O PINION
Our Justified Grievances with Policing
We live this reality in Clark County
r ev . l enny d unCan
As the Second
Vice President,
and a local faith
leader, I want to
take a few mo-
ments to address
the
continued
communal na-
tional trauma centered in the Twin
Cities, what is quickly becoming
one of the most dangerous places
for Black peoples since the Ante-
bellum south, the state of Minne-
sota.
During the middle of the Der-
ek Chauvin trial while all the eyes
of the world are upon the area we
see the same story play out. The
same moment in history repeats. A
moment we have lived here many
times in Clark County. We hear
their pained cries as Black peoples
who also live in a mostly white
state where our daily realities, ex-
periences, and justified grievances
with policing and its systems in this
country and county are questioned.
Where local politicians, sheriff and
police departments gaslight us with
a media that stands in lockstep with
by
whatever the prevailing narrative
is. We know this reality because we
live it here in Clark County.
Just this Good Friday, one of
the holiest days of the year in the
Christian Calendar, in a county
that flouts it’s “Christian Ideals”,
I led a group of community mem-
bers to sites of the state sanctioned
deaths of Jenoah and Kevin. Two
young men who deserve vigil, re-
membrance, and love no matter the
results of the local investigations.
Our membership, with others in the
community was met with intimida-
tion, threats, slurs, and armed men
“just checking out the scene.”
The fact that these so-called be-
lievers can’t even fathom that they
worship a God who was killed “le-
gally” is predictable if not regret-
table, but perhaps the most telling
thing is the hatred and revulsion
our neighbors met us with. Thank-
fully I had asked a local security
team of activists to escort every-
one, but one 6 year old girl was so
scared she wanted a ride back to
the starting point for safety. This
right here in Hazel Dell. These
tragedies spread across the coun-
try we have all witnessed are not
disparate but interconnected in the
way White Supremacy is an inter-
connected system of oppression
and it’s also an ideology espoused
by local community members here.
It’s both and in the same way the
American system of policing in its
current configuration is dangerous
for Black and Brown communities,
and it’s also for the same officers
many in the community claim to
care for.
But instead of a large commu-
nity conversation about policing
and its engagement with the local
Black community or how we can
actually put in new systems that
invite more community trust, over-
sight, or even involvement
“We are fed a local narrative that
George Floyd didn’t die here. How
does it matter to us?” It matters to
us because we are Black, living in
America, and specifically living in
Clark County where we’ve recent-
ly saw Black Lives taken as well.
My position is George Floyd,
Sandra Bland, or Daunte’s deaths
all could have happened here. The
proof is sadly in the blood staining
our very streets. We are either going
to be a part of the grand rebuilding
of this nation, or not. Clark County
can either lead the way in finding
actionable large scale solutions or
it can wait until the next Carlos.
The next Kevin. The next Jenoah.
It’s up to our neighbors what they
want, what kind of future they en-
vision as we all come out of our
homes.
His name was Daunte Wright. I
will say his name in Clark Coun-
ty. I will say all their names until
justice rolls down like a mighty
stream over this soul sick nation.
To my Muslim sisters and broth-
ers, as you embark on Ramadan,
one of your holiest months, I wish
you the peace that you deserve
during this month. Eid Mubarak.
Rev. Lenny Duncan is second
Vice President of the Vancouver
NAACP, and leader of the civ-
il rights group’s outreach to the
LGBTQIA+ community.
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