Our Union. Our Community. Days of Dialogue.
On Saturday, October 3rd, we shared our thoughts on how to rebuild trust between our communities and law enforcement.
SEIU Local 99 members, joined by local law enforcement and community groups, gathered at our union hall to talk about the “Future of Policing” in Los Angeles. The two-hour event was designed to rebuild trust between the community and local law enforcement.
“We really wanted to bring this to the union hall. As school workers and parents, our whole lives are dedicated to this city’s young people. And our hearts are breaking. This is a discussion we really wanted to have together,” said Bellflower child care provider and SEIU Local 99 Treasurer Tonia McMillian. “Our union’s AfrAm (African-American) Caucus partnered with the Institute for Nonviolence in L.A. and local law enforcement to present this event. Our hope is that it encourages community dialogue about how to prevent senseless police violence in our neighborhoods and schools.”
“I witnessed police try to arrest a young man with special needs right in front of his own house,” said LAUSD Special Education Assistant Noemi Bravo. “They mistook him for a trespasser, but because he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t tell them that he lived there and his mother was right inside. Luckily, a neighbor was there who could explain everything and the police let him go. But I can’t get that moment out of my mind. What if they took him into the station? He wouldn’t have been able to even tell them where he lived!”
The Institute for Nonviolence in Los Angeles’s 2015 “Days of Dialogue” series launched August 11, 2015, marking the 50th Anniversary of the Watts Rebellion. Ending next August, hundreds of people will gather in sites across Los Angeles to share their vision on The Future of Policing. When nearly every week we hear another story of a violent clash, there’s an urgency about this year’s event.
“Nearly half of our members are parents of kids in our schools,” said SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias. “And our members are uniquely connected to the community, often getting to know generations of families. Too many of them have stories of their students, friends, family—even themselves—being senselessly pulled over, questioned or otherwise harassed simply because their skin is black or brown. And as we’ve become more and more aware, these interactions too often end in tragedy.
“One thing we know in the union, though, is that when we come together and use the strength of our numbers, we can bring about real change,” said Arias.
For more about the day, please follow us on www.twitter.com/SEIULocal99 #futureofpolicing.
SEIU Local 99 is proud to partner with the Institute for Nonviolence in L.A. and local law enforcement to present this event to encourage community dialogue around the difficult issue of police violence.
Ours was one of many events happening throughout Los Angeles County from August 11, 2015, through next August. The Institute for Nonviolence in Los Angeles (INVLA), through this Days of Dialogue program, plans large-scale dialogues on the “Future of Policing,” marking the 50th Anniversary of the Watts Rebellion. Beginning August 11, hundreds of people will gather in sites across Los Angeles to share their perspectives on how to rebuild trust between community and law enforcement in a time when nearly every week we hear another story of a violent clash. We urge you to participate in these dialogues. Together, we can impact policy and elicit real change.
Learn about more 2015/2016 Days of Dialogue events.
The History of Days of Dialogue (from www.daysofdialogue.org)
In 1995, Los Angeles’ deeply divided reaction to the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial underscored how far apart the diverse communities of Los Angeles and the nation stand on some basic issues. As a result, then-Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas called a meeting with 20 civic leaders and community activists to defuse escalating tensions. Out of this was born an innovative nonpartisan initiative, Los Angeles’ first citywide discussion—A Day of Dialogue.
Since then, thousands of people, both locally and nationally, have participated in Days of Dialogue programs; from political Town Hall forums in large civic auditoriums, to small group meetings in neighborhood libraries, churches, and fire stations.
Learn more about past years’ events here.
Questions? Please contact Terry Carter at tcarter@seiu99.org
