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Originally Posted by janmcn
Have to agree with you about the police force being proportionate to the black population. It's up to the city leaders to bring this change about, otherwise Ferguson looks like apartheid in South Africa.
Another change for the police department should be that police officers be required to live in the community in which they work and the community that pays their salary. This is common practice in municipalities across the county.
Rev Sharpton's screaming and rallying people is what some in the African American community call preaching. Anyone who has ever attended a black church will understand.
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It is an obvious conversation, the one about the disproportionate amount of whites on the Ferguson police force.
There are answers being given...albeit not all of them. Problem is nobody is listening very much....they want to hear what they want to hear. What I am offering is certainly not the solution nor all the answers, but it is a conversation for those folks in that area and at least not simply drumming on the obvious.
From an ex mayor of Ferguson on PBS....
"I will tell you my vision of why there is a difficulty of having very few African-Americans on most of the Saint Louis suburbs. One is there’s a lack of African-American men and women going through the police academy. We constantly tried — when I was mayor, for six years, we constantly tried to hire African-Americans. When we did so, they were recruited from other surrounding municipalities because they had the same exact issue of seeking more African-American police officers. And they are unfortunately allowed to pay more money than we have the budget for.
It’s not for lack of trying. It’s just there is enough — not enough candidates available within the African-American community to hire them. I would like the list provided to us, if someone has a list — and certainly we have been trying to do that. Unfortunately, they’re taken from us by other larger communities, even though Ferguson is not small, we are approximately 22,000, and we are the fifth or sixth largest municipality in those 90 that Tony mentioned."
There is also conversations, not excuses, not shrieking but good solid conversation starters on most of the issues raised. I suggest if you really care about this issue that you read it.
Why doesn't Ferguson's police force reflect the community?
There are other answers out there, but while I agree on conversation on this subject, I totally and completely disagree with comments on Mr Sharpton. He is a man who has lied and deceived for a long time. He has dismissed with a total lack of action the pushes by real civil rights leaders who feel the effort WITHIN the community of blacks is falling short. THAT push will not get headlines.
If you wish a list of links, or whatever to support Mr Sharpton and his various and many deceptions, just let me know...I will be glad to supply them to you on here but that everyone is aware of and that conversation is a waste. Those who know him and still follow him...well....best thing is no comment.