At a meeting to plan a Rhode Island response to the killing of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the moderator, a black man, made the point that many in his community feel these deaths – of people they don’t know who live far away – as personally and intensely as they feel the death of a cousin or a friend.

“White people,” he said, “don’t understand that.”

This is true. None of us truly understands the day to day prejudice experienced by people of color in our country absent actually experiencing it. This solidarity of experience escapes most, if not all white people in this country. The bond created across time and distance by systemic oppression is intense, and personal.

I can feel some of this. When Trayvon Martin was murdered, he was about my son’s age. They both wore hoodies and both liked Mountain Dew and Skittles. I felt Trayvon Martin’s death acutely, but  my reaction was blunted by my privilege. I didn’t then and don’t now fear for my son’s life the way parents of black children do. My son is white. I have the luxury of keeping my parental fear levels at the lowest setting.

“A part of us died last night,” said Providence Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Paré at a press conference Friday afternoon, “when five colleagues in Dallas, were shot and killed.”

Paré can acutely feel the deaths of police officers far away. He sees the police officers killed in Dallas as colleagues, and can certainly imagine the nightmare of losing five officers in Providence.

But the analogy ends there.

When police officers were murdered in Dallas, Governor Gina Raimondo called a press conference of police and community leaders well within 24 hours. Two United States senators offered words of calm and condolence. Flags were ordered to fly at half mast by government order.

No press conferences were planned for Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. It took the death of police officers to do that. That alone signals our priorities as a culture.

Police can call for back up. They can get the National Guard and the full power of the United States military flown in if necessary. Police can attach bombs to robots and kill by remote control if necessary.

The unlimited force and power of the United States can be brought to bear against those who kill police officers, but when it comes to the extra-judicial murders of people of color by police…

… there is no back-up.

Here’s the full video from the press conference:

Elorza is on board with the sentiment, at least in theory, saying in a statement that, “I am committed to finding new and innovative ways to support officers of color as they advance through the ranks” and that he, looks forward to “a diverse range of Officers being promoted and assuming the highest leadership roles in the Department.” Elorza notes that the new police academy class is “the most diverse in the City’s history” but also realizes that, “recruiting diverse new officers alone is not enough.”

Dennis is more pointed, asking, “If it’s okay to recruit black officers, why isn’t it okay to promote black officers?” Changes in the way the Providence Police Department operates are necessary, says Dennis in a statement, because, “The unrest in our country between law enforcement and the Black community is quickly becoming an epidemic.”

City Council President Luis Aponte stopped by in support of the demonstration, as did Councillors Mary Kay Harris and Wilbur Jennings, Jr. Jennings told me that he’s “definitely down with the idea behind the black major movement.”

“We need a police department that reflects the diversity of this city,” Jennings said. “That person doesn’t have to be black, but definitely a person of color.”

The demonstration lasted for three hours. Early on it was hoped that Mayor Elorza might step outside and address the crowd, but he did not make an appearance. The Extraordinary Rendition Band arrived and played for the demonstrators and passersby. The size of the demonstration ebbed and flowed, but gained new vitality in the last hour when over a dozen young people arrived with bright Black Lives Matter signage.

Despite the noncommittal response from Elorza, organizer Kobi Dennis took to Facebook to declare that this fight is not over, telling supporters to, “Stay tuned for PHASE 3 of the BLACK MAJOR MOVEMENT.”

It’s a hot August day in Providence. Campaign Zero has just released a platform of demands the #BlackLivesMatter movement sees as tenable demands to reform the police and judicial system. I meet with activist Kobi Dennis at his office at the Broad Street Salvation Army for an interview. He is welcoming and open to all discussion, very giving of his time, but he is also meeting up with me following another community meeting. This is an individual who is about action rather than rhetoric.

At 44, Dennis has lived through a tumultuous era. The War on Drugs, crack cocaine, HIV/AIDS, and the school-to-prison pipeline were all major developments in the lives of men of color who came of age when he did. After serving in the Navy, he returned to Rhode Island, where he got married, had three children, and studied at Rhode Island College and University of Rhode Island.

He is the founder of Project: Night Vision and has worked with the Partnership to Address Violence through Education (PAVE), a group that works to prevent youth involvement in violent activity. And though he has developed good relationships with the leadership of the Providence Police Department, these relationships have not kept him out of the headlines. In April, Dennis and several other parents filed a complaint against the gun task force that had harassed his son and other young men one evening. The reprimand by Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare earned the complainants the description of “politically-motivated and biased radical activists” from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #3. We discussed the matter in our interview and his feelings about the police force.

For years, the advances made by people of color have been based around the activism and community organizing of men and women who are willing to step to the forefront and take on the role of leadership. Angela Davis, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X are just some of the individuals who come to mind. What defined their careers was a down-to-earth, practical approach that integrated theory with hands-on work among the people. Dennis strikes me as someone who is headed towards such standing in the near future.

During our conversation, we discussed everything from the new Midnight Basketball program to police recruitment policies to his feelings about working in the non-profit sector. Dennis presents a set of items that are practical yet also would have profound change on both Providence and the state. The onus is now upon the large community to consider these steps and work to implement them in a real timetable. We shall remain interested in both steps the General Assembly will take and where Dennis’s career will take him.

I have said publicly many times that Commissioner Steve Pare and Chief Hugh Clements are part of the solution. Both are forward-thinking men. My community and I thank you for them for it but there have been many many complaints and many meetings with the GTF. They just don’t seem to get it.

On the night of the 15th Kobi Dennis’s son left work and started walking home with two other friends.  Two men jumped out of a car, swore at them, took a backpack out of his hands went through it and threatened them.  These boys did nothing suspicious.

I know Kobi’s son very well.  He is a thoughtful, quiet, well-spoken young man. He has worked at the McDonalds’ for over 2 years and is heading to college. Because I know this young man and the family he comes from I can guarantee you that he was polite and complied with every order these officers gave, but why should our young men have to go through this?  Let’s be honest, the GTF knows “the players” in the game.  They also know when they are just plain harassing our black and brown young men.

You have known me and many other “activists” through our work in the community and the programs we run for our youth.  The constant bad behavior of some PPD members has forced us to turn our attention to them.  This is not by choice but by necessity.

Real change needs to happen.  It won’t happen overnight and there will be dissension.

• We need true community policing.
• We need police officers that that WANT to be engaged in our community.  So many come to So many come to events and stand on the sidelines or even worse sit in their cars and watch.
• We need diversity training and not only for the rank and file but for the command staff.  It was only a few weeks ago members of your command staff made disparaging racial comments on Facebook.
• We need more minority police officers.  One of the reasons our young men and women have no interest in applying is because of their experiences with PPD.  Look into what cities with proven results have done to recruit.
• We need a community liaison who could not only mediate issues by also create transparency and openness.
• We need a citizens review board.  Somewhere citizens can go with issues other than PPD.  As you know, for some, the department is a very intimidating place to enter.
• And lastly, you need to disband the Gun Task Force Unit and start over.  Look for different qualities and personalities when hiring for this very important and specialized unit.

Putting these two officers on desk duty is a good start but could we really take some action now? I would like to invite Commissioner Pare, Chief Clements, FOP President Taft Manzotti, the GTF and any other PPD member to attend our respectful and controlled Community Forum on Friday April 24th from 7:00 – 9:00 pm at The Salvation Army, 386 Broad Street.