Pauline Thomas: Let blacks be heard on mediation team makeup
Pauline Thomas
Published Jan. 18, 2003
I write to protest your editorial on
federal mediation in Minneapolis ("Mediation /
There's much to learn from St. Paul," Jan. 10).
Apparently the Star Tribune believes it knows
better than the African-American community what
is good for us.
Before slamming the Community Negotiating
Team (CNT) for not including traditional
black leaders, did the Star Tribune know that
when the public meeting was held, the
community group Federal Mediation Now
originally proposed having a
representative from "traditional black
leadership" at the table, as well as
a representative from the clergy? Did the
Star Tribune know that it was the community
that removed those categories from the
list?
Not all members of the black community believe
that these longtime "leaders" speak for them.
Far from it.
There is great distrust of these "leaders"
within the black community, and a fear that
when it comes to negotiating with the city,
certain individuals and organizations will
be more concerned about where their next
public dollar is coming from, rather than
protecting those who are the victims of
police brutality.
As one of your writers noted, politics
in the African-American community are
complex. Before you take a position on what
your paper believes is right for us, find
out the real "pulse" of our
community.
Indeed, the fact that Police Chief Robert
Olson and other powers that be are
publicly demanding that these so-called
leaders sit at the table reduces their
credibility in the black community.
Even federal mediation protocol doesn't
allow the city to have input on who
represents the community.
We see these demands for what they
are -- an attempt by the powers that be
to control the outcome of mediation by
controlling who sits at the table.
We don't want that. We want real
change.
One thing that the CNT has always done
well is to let each individual community
select its own representatives. The Star
Tribune needs to respect that perhaps those
of us who live in the African-American
community every day know best what is good
for us.
-- Pauline Thomas, Minneapolis.
Posted by Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood
--
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