“We threaten them not with violence, but with change” civil rights leader vows

After two nights of unrest earlier in the week, a pair of peaceful demonstrations in Wichita gave protesters a chance to voice concerns directly to city leaders who promised to work toward solutions that address racism and local grievances with police.

“We’re here today to do it the right way,” Wichita United leader Willie Scott Jr. said Friday during a rally at City Hall that drew a few hundred people.

Calling out the names of several city council members, the mayor and the police chief, who were in attendance, he said: “They’re out here. They said they came to listen. They said that your voices in Wichita United have been heard.”

The rally, organized by the group, encouraged people to share both in writing and out loud their experiences with racism and their interactions with police. The day also included a question-and-answer session with Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple.

Sora Wright, a mother of two, started off with a story of how racist name-calling by classmates was the norm growing up as a student of color in a predominantly white school.

“I’ve experienced it, racism. For sure,” Wright, also a Wichita United member, told the crowd.

“We are a nation divided that is supposed to be indivisible. It’s imperative that we change that.”

Jason Fox, who attended the rally, urged the mayor and council to fully adopt the initiatives of #8CantWait, a project that calls for police to take eight steps to decrease police killings including banning choke holds and requiring de-escalation training.

Benita Chaplin wanted answers about why police are allowed to question minors without their guardians present. Her young grandson was interrogated for hours at school before she was notified, she said.

James Garfield called for a citizen’s review board with the clout and subpoena power to investigate police brutality complaints.

Others asked when and why police are allowed to turn their body cameras off, why officers spend more time policing neighborhoods of color than their primarily white counterparts, how officials plan to make education opportunities more equal and for outside agencies to investigate complaints against officers.

Applause broke out in the crowd when a young boy took the microphone to ask: “What are you going to do to stop racism in Wichita, Kansas?”

“There’s no easy answer because it takes work,” Whipple told him. He promised to look into various policies, saying he’s only been mayor for a few months, and invited the members of the community to call or message him to talk more.

“Wichita is a shining example because right now we are taking a conversation that is national and we are now turning that into action through dialogue and conversation,” he said.

“We want to ensure that Wichita works for everyone.”

It was a similarly peaceful scene at Thursday’s protest and youth rally at Pure Heart Worship Center in east Wichita, as young adults addressed community leaders.

Pastor Maurice Evans opened up that rally outside Pure Heart Worship Center at 10th and Oliver with a prayer and chants.

“Black lives matter.”

“Say his name, George Floyd.”

“I can’t breathe.”

“No justice, no peace.”

Evans, who also goes by Pastor Moe, said, ‘When we know justice, we will know peace.”

In Wichita and across the country, protests have sometimes turned violent in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after a white police officer in Minneapolis held him to the pavement with a knee on his neck. The Minnesota police officer has been fired and charged with murder. Three other officers have also been fired and charged in connection with Floyd’s death.

The church where Thursday evening’s rally was held is a few blocks from where a mostly peaceful protest overtook the intersection of 13th and Oliver late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. It ended peacefully with minimal police intervention — the first protest to do so in three nights.

“People are angry, people are frustrated — I get it,” Evans said. “... When people riot, other people get hurt.”

Evans said he noticed many people at recent protests didn’t have much organization. So he helped youth in the city to form Project Justice ICT. He told them they need to identify a reason for protesting and to determine what solutions they want.

The pastor said protesters do not want violence. The crowd of more than 100 people — most of them young adults — agreed. Then the protesters yelled they want peace, they want justice and they want it now.

“The Band-Aid must be ripped off instead of left on as it infects the rest of the body,” said Jeremiah Atkinson, the founder of Project Justice ICT, “because our youth will inherit today’s issues.”

“We demand change in our policing, change in our politics and politicians, change in the laws that disparage not just the black community, but across the land,” Atkinson added. “It is time.”

Atkinson pointed out that many community leaders were in attendance to listen to protesters. Nyala Williams said another organization is hosting a protest scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. Friday at City Hall, and Project Justice ICT is hosting one at 6 p.m. Saturday at Naftzger Park.

Elected and public officials seen at the event included Mayor Brandon Whipple, City Manager Robert Layton, District Attorney Marc Bennett, police Capt. Lem Moore, County Commissioner Lacey Cruse and City Council members Brandon Johnson, Bryan Frye, Cindy Claycomb, Becky Tuttle and James Clendenin.

“Police brutality is pervasive and entrenched in our society, and Wichita is no exception,” said Gabrielle Griffie, the executive director of Project Justice ICT. “There is a lot of room for change in our police force and government policies.”

“We threaten them not with violence, but with change.”

Among the demands listed by Griffie for Wichita and its police department:

• “The immediate defunding of the Wichita Police Department” and reallocation of the money to social services and other uses.
• Creation of a council “to find non-policing alternatives to the problems that our citizens face.”
• “The abolition of the good old boy system. Currently, there is an unspoken code of fraternity in law enforcement which quietly legitimizes racism and racial profiling.”
• “Our police officers must start holding each other accountable. ... Officers on the force must be given incentives or anonymous ways to report bad behavior.”
• The adoption of “a policy of community policing. ... Rather than officers patrolling in cars and actively seeking people to arrest and incriminate, they should be walking the streets of the communities they are assigned to.”
• The WPD use of force policy must be updated, including banning the use of chokeholds, requiring de-escalation first and banning officers from shooting at moving vehicles.
• Revocation of qualified immunity for police officers.
• “An officer’s disciplinary history should be considered public information.”
• The restructuring of prison and jail systems.

This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 10:52 PM.