Camara Mintz, Marcus Gates and Mark Magaw.
Dignitaries, officers, and activists spoke to residents from D.C. and Prince George’s County, Md. Feb. 21 to discuss issues around how to save adolescent and adult men. Inclement weather cut the discussion short due. The next meeting is scheduled for March 21.
The First Baptist Church of District Heights hosted the town hall forum “Saving Our Sons,” for men ages 13 to 35 to talk about how they could make their relationships better with the police and the community. Panelists included former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Defense Attorney Camara Mintz, entrepreneur and Critical Condition Band (CCB) member Marcus Gates, Prince George’s County Police Chief Mark Magaw, Prince George’s County Deputy Chief George Nadar, and filmmaker Jimmy Jenkins. Pastor Bobby Manning moderated the discussion.
The panel had enough time to discuss one topic – how to make the relationship between law enforcement and the community a more positive one. “It’s all about education and outreach no matter how much we legislate,” Brown said. “You can’t legislate fairness. We have made a lot of improvements in Prince George’s County.”
“This is part one,” Manning said. “We plan on doing this again in about a month. Thank you for coming out despite this terrible weather. What I see today is that everybody is at the table. We have panel of leaders that are willing to listen.”
Anthony Brown, Deputy Chief George Nadar and Jimmy Jenkins.
Mintz works with young males on a daily basis and has seen them throw away their lives because they did not handle certain situations right when dealing with law enforcement. “We need to breakdown the distrust between the law enforcement and the Black community,” Mintz said. “I know it’s a generational thing because our parents and grandparents went through the same thing.”
Gates said, “For the young people, you get treated based on how you present yourself. If you want respect, you have to give respect. Be mindful of how you act. We can change and build relationships with police.”
Magaw, with the police department since the 1980s and its chief since 2010, has seen a significant change in the county over the last couple of decades. “This has to be ongoing conversation,” Magaw said. “People think it’s kind of an ‘us’ against ‘them,’ mentality, but that’s not true. This man I know was singing in a church choir and stopped singing and walked off the stage. He took off his choir robe and had his police uniform underneath. What’s the difference? He is still the same person. We have to see past the uniforms.”
Jenkins, 24, shared a young Black man’s perspective. “In chess a pawn is not a knight, a knight is not a bishop, a bishop is not a queen, but just because you’re a pawn doesn’t mean you can’t see yourself as a king,” he said. “You have to know how to move your pieces.”
One of the most common concerns was how young men should respond to police when they are pulled over or stopped on the street. Most of the panelists responded with “Don’t say too much.” They said that arguing and trying to prove your point at that time will just make things worse.
One of the audience members told a story about wearing a ski mask outside on a really cold day and being approached by an officer for no reason and being harassed. Another shared that her sister and brother were killed in confrontations with police.
In response, Magaw told Jenkins to get the officer’s name and badge number and file a complaint against him so he can take further action with the situation. The panel suggested the woman get her son involved in extracurricular activities, such as sports.
Prince George’s County NAACP President Bob Ross told the AFRO, “Police have to be more transparent with their community outreach.”
He said the forums provide a good dialogue, but more has to be discussed and required. “We need to say what actions we want the police department to do, he said. “Those are the questions that are not being asked. We need to get back to community policing and not just when crimes happen.”
At the next forum overcoming the odds and the next steps to take to make better relationships between community and laws enforcement will be discussed.
