Last year, streets throughout the U.S. were full of people protesting racial injustices that have tormented the country for years, demanding real change. Since then, task forces, declarations, criminal charges and acts of solidarity have been the result. Despite the efforts of government officials and protesters, the question, 鈥淗as anything changed?鈥� still begs an answer.
Systemic racism and police brutality agonized the Black community well before the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, but the murder of Floyd in May 2020 helped create the leading thousands to protest for change.
From Minneapolis, the site of Floyd鈥檚 killing, protests began erupting across the world, including in Northeast Ohio. According to , approximately 15 to 26 million people participated in the protests across the country. Most protests were peaceful, though some escalated to violence and looting and were met with a violent police response. There have been more than 4,700 demonstrations across the country in approximately 2,500 small towns and big cities, according to an. In Ohio, more than demonstrations were documented.
WORKING TOWARD CHANGE IN OHIO
Citizens across the nation are asking for elected officials to change the approach to public safety and policing. Northeast Ohio is no exception.
In Akron鈥檚 Racial Equity and Social Justice Task Force鈥檚 recommendations, police training has been discussed in terms of how new and experienced police officers are trained.
鈥淭he working group and the [criminal justice] subcommittee as a whole have been especially interested in implicit bias, cultural competence and de-escalation training,鈥� the Quarter 2 report states. Full recommendations can be expected in the end of the year report.
Long before Floyd鈥檚 death, Cleveland officials were forced to face questions about policing following the shooting deaths of by Cleveland police in 2012. The concerns lingered in 2020鈥檚 social justice reckoning.
鈥淭hat was the watershed moment that invoked Mayor Frank Jackson to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to come in and examine the police department for potential violations of constitutional rights and abuse of force, and they found those violations,鈥� said Wendy Patton, senior project director at . 鈥淭oday, the Cleveland Police Department is monitored for 255 provisions which need improvement and need to meet recommendations.鈥�
The 255 provisions are a part of the Department of Justice鈥檚 consent decree, which started in 2015. The states: 鈥�... the City of Cleveland is committed to ensuring that police services in Cleveland are delivered in a manner that is constitutional, effective and consistent with community values, while preserving officer and public safety.鈥�
Over the past six years, the Cleveland Police Department has met operational or general compliance on 37% of the provisions. Most provisions have had at least partial compliance. Evaluations on the rest have been deferred by the monitoring team. However, Patton noted that police from surrounding areas, who may be called upon to join Cleveland police in cases of emergency, aren鈥檛 bound by the consent decree鈥檚 expectations.
Patton acknowledges social factors, including racism, in about the Cleveland Police Department: 鈥淔or years, cities including Cleveland, relied heavily on police, without addressing the root causes of crime and violence.鈥�
RACISM A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS
In response to the public outcry for justice, many Ohio city and county councils declared racism a public health crisis. The was the first city in Northeast Ohio to pass such a resolution. Declaring racism a public health crisis is the first step in acknowledging that racism exists, specifically addressing its effects on public health, according to reporting from . As a first step, it鈥檚 the hope that such a declaration will provoke elected officials to pass legislation that addresses the issues of race. The city of Akron, Summit County, the Portage County Commissioners and even Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine made similar declarations.
鈥淣ow that we understand that we have this public-health crisis, we have to do something about it,鈥� said Cleveland City Councilman and Majority Leader Blaine Griffin during the in which the resolution was passed. 鈥淲hatever we do, we have to make sure that the citizens of this city touch, feel, hear and see real change.鈥�
However, the act of declaring racism a public health crisis may not be enough on its own to bring about substantial change.
鈥淚t is just a hollow gesture because some of the same folks that were a part of declaring racism a public health crisis are the same folks that are for the implementation of the very things that trouble our community, that are instruments of racism,鈥� said Kareem Henton, a community organizer for .
Following these declarations, task forces emerged to focus on researching and working to improve the racial disparities in the communities they serve.
- (RESJ)
- The COVID-19
The groups all tout different names but were all created to serve the same purpose in their jurisdictions. Each of these task forces follows a similar model, with selected members interviewing people in their community and researching how to make the community they serve racially equitable. Many of the task forces are working to create full reports, with recommendations on how to improve their communities and plans to share the information by the end of the year.
EFFORTS IN NORTHEAST OHIO
The RESJ was created after Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan insisted a group be formed to address racial equity in the city, following Akron鈥檚 declaration of racism as a public health crisis last June. The task force has six , each focusing on a specific area to develop recommendations for the city to become more equitable including communications, health, housing, education, criminal justice and equitable workforce.
The RESJ is creating a formal list of recommendations for the city by Dec. 31. However, the task force has released quarterly reports with various recommendations and RESJ Chairperson Bishop Joseph Johnson said Mayor Horrigan isn鈥檛 waiting until Dec. 31 to make changes and has already begun taking some of the RESJ鈥檚 preliminary recommendations.
One issue Johnson said came to the RESJ鈥檚 attention right away was that theposition wasn鈥檛 鈥渆mpowered.鈥� So, within the RESJ鈥檚 criminal justice subcommittee, they made a recommendation to increase the auditor鈥檚 authority, granting him access to police body cam footage and internal police documents, which the city approved.
鈥淭hat has become a position that we believe is going to have more impact,鈥� Johnson said.
鈥淭he [criminal justice] subcommittee鈥檚 discussions point toward recommendations in favor of maintaining and strengthening the police auditor position, increasing the resources of that office by adding a deputy police auditor position and ensuring the police auditor has immediate access to records and information relevant to ongoing investigations of possible police misconduct with opportunities to provide feedback to the Department not only after investigations have concluded, but also while they are proceeding,鈥� as stated in .
Another shift in public safety seen in many cities in the U.S. is a move to create a new first-responder system that allows people experiencing mental health crises, homelessness or other traumatic events to choose another option instead of police, fire or emergency medical services. This system ensures the caller that there will not be an armed response to the call.
鈥淎n initiative like this would not only help fulfill consent decree requirements, it would save lives, put scarce resources where they have the most impact, and allow police officers to focus on responding to, stopping and solving crimes,鈥� said Piet van Lier, a senior researcher at Policy Matters Ohio, in on reimagining public safety in Cleveland.
During the past year, changes have been made in response to the racial justice movement, spanning beyond Northeast Ohio, encompassing much of the U.S.
became a federal holiday, various have come down, many have taken a stance regarding race and inclusion and significant police reform is on the horizon as some states and review methods of policing.
At the local level, individuals and groups are seeking more changes following the year of protest. In partnership with , Black Lives Matter Cleveland worked to gather more than 15,000 signatures to create a initiative for legislation that could generate tangible protections regarding police reform in Cleveland, including police accountability and community oversight.
Similarly, in Akron the RESJ, specifically within the criminal justice subcommittee, is working to develop some kind of citizen鈥檚 review so the police don鈥檛 have to police themselves, Johnson said.
WHAT鈥橲 NEXT?
The work required to enact true change is not finished. Though milestones have been reached, advocates and officials believe there is still work to be done in the fight for social and racial justice. Kareem Henton with Black Lives Matter Cleveland said organizations, like his, are still pushed aside and not given a seat at the table and that when elected officials don鈥檛 recognize their legitimacy as an organization, it only adds to the problems facing America.
鈥淥ur local elected officials had some banners painted [with], 鈥楤lack Lives Matter,鈥� but it doesn't mean any damn thing,鈥� Henton said. 鈥淚t's not followed by anything where they were trying to introduce, create or do anything substantive at all. So it's really just an insult that was just window dressing. It was just nothing.鈥�
In Cleveland, Henton said it鈥檚 crucial that the city鈥檚 residents can formally address elected officials at Council meetings and provide accountability that is missing in the city. Black Lives Matter Cleveland has joined other groups including Clevelanders for Public Comment in pushing Cleveland City council to allow public comment at council meetings.
On , Cleveland City Council approved two new amendments in regards to the public comment rules. The first amendment allows for anyone to speak at a meeting. The second amendment was added in response to the push from Clevelanders for Public Comment and requires that any rule changes must be approved by the entire council before implementation. These changes will not go into effect until after the full council meeting Sept. 20.
鈥淲e definitely need some legislative reforms to happen, not just have them be a matter of policy,鈥� Henton said. 鈥淲e definitely need an administration that is going to actually pay close attention and actually do things that benefit citizens regarding the consent decree. We've got an administration that has been fighting change, tooth and nail, regarding the changes that they're trying to make with the consent decree.鈥�
In Akron, the RESJ will soon be releasing its Quarter 3 report: the final year-in-review recommendations on how to create a more equitable Akron.
鈥淓ven in the city, the question is, 鈥業s this just an exercise? Are we doing this just to be doing it?鈥欌�� said Bishop Joey Johnson, RESJ chairperson. 鈥淣o, I really believe the mayor believes [this] and wants to use these recommendations. He doesn't have to do this. Politicians can just give lip service to it and move forward, but he's been actually involved in the process wanting us to give him the recommendations so he may be able to take them and use them.鈥�
Ultimately, Kareem Henton said it鈥檚 important to continue pushing to elect officials who are going to work for the community and keep their best interests in mind, while also working to pass legislation that truly makes a difference in the lives of those most affected.
鈥淭hese folks either are not at all working for what's best for citizens or they do sometimes, but that's problematic,鈥� Henton said. 鈥淎ll these folks talking about the reforms. What they say and what they do are just two different things.鈥�
Sara Crawford and Maria McGinnis are reporters with the Collaborative News Lab @ Kent State University, an experiential and collaborative news commons linking the School of Media and Journalism students with professional media partners in Northeast Ohio.
Justice matters is a statewide reporting project including WKSU, 海角破解版, , , , and the Collaborative NewsLab @ Kent State University. Have something you'd like to share with us on this? Email us at justicematters@wksu.org.
