Spurred to action by recent events in Ferguson, MO and New York, NY, as well as the “Black Lives Matter” movement, community leaders from Hertford and Bertie Counties gathered at the Hertford County Public Schools Central office in Winton, NC to discuss how to prevent a similar tragedy from happening in their community. Community leaders agreed that increasing positive interactions between the community and local law enforcement will be key to preventing potential tragedy.
Rev. C. David Stackhouse, of New Ahoskie Baptist Church and Ahoskie Town Council member noted:
“It’s all about respect…how citizens respect those in authority and, in turn, how those in authority respect the citizens,” Stackhouse noted. “I’ve heard it way too many times…how ‘the man’ (police) doesn’t show respect, and in retaliation how a citizen is going to ‘take down the man when he rolls up on me; I’m going to start capping (shooting) first because I know he’s going to cap (shoot) me’.
Rev. William C. Clark of New Bethany Baptist Church added:
“We’ve got to learn how to interact with one another,” said the Rev. William C. Clark of New Bethany Baptist Church. “If you are scared of law enforcement and the only time you interact with them is when we’ve done something wrong, that stigma is there. We need interaction, other than when the police are called to come, so we can make it safe for everyone. We need to let our children be a part of this.”
Two events aimed at galvanizing the community are planned for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday: the first, a lunch sponsored by Communities in Schools of Hertford County; the second, a “Justice for All March & Rally” that will assemble at the Ahoskie Police Station. You can find the details for each event here.
Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald | ‘All lives matter’
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