Police and the black community: Perspectives from Tarrant pastors

As the list of deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police officers grows, so does tension in cities across America, most recently Charlotte, N.C., Dallas and Tulsa.

“It’s worse than it’s ever been in some regards,” said Wil Gafney, an associate professor at TCU’s Brite Divinity School.

She said the shootings and other questionable encounters between police and mostly males are symptoms of a larger societal issue.

“We are at a lethal intersection,” Gafney said. “How your body is read will determine whether you drive away from that intersection alive.”

Faith leaders interviewed by the Star-Telegram say they are concerned that the body count will grow before the underlying issues driving the friction subside. Here are a few key questions and answers:

Q: Where are we in the relationship between police and the black community?

A: Michael Bell, pastor, Greater Saint Stephens First Church: Locally, the relationship is tenuous at best. People are angry, they are suspicious, and they are hurting. The rhetoric of Donald Trump has emboldened some people, and it seems to be getting worse. The idea that “we are not going to take this any longer” is crystallizing among our youth, and the population at large refuses to believe that police are murdering our black men. There is a hopelessness feeding our youth, and when you have young people who don’t care about dying, that means there is a whole new paradigm to confront. I don’t believe we’ve moved more than a few inches in the last 50 years.

Q: If things are not getting better in Fort Worth, why do you think that is?

A: Thomas Ragster Jr., pastor at Committed to Christ Church in southwest Fort Worth: Things are about the same in the African-American community regarding police relations. We have not been able to come to the table to have an effective dialogue. The only time we come to the table is when an incident has transpired. A lot of times we are reactive instead of proactive. The things that are happening across the nation, like in Tulsa, we are asking what can we do, and in actuality we should have been talking about this.

Q: What’s the mood of your community?

A: Dwight McKissic, pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington: There’s a big concern. There’s a question of “When will this all end?” There are questions about how can a Dylann Roof be taken to jail safely, how can a New York bomber be taken in alive and how can a man with car problems be shot and killed. There are questions about why this is all happening and questions of whether this type of thing can happen to me. As cases mount, the concerns escalate.

Q: Are there structural barriers that cause tensions between the black community and police?

A: Keri Day, associate professor of black church studies for Brite Divinity School: The problem with the policing model is that it’s not a collaborative model. Police don’t ask leaders in the community how they can create ways they can help the community. Throughout most of American history policing was about reinforcing the laws of the land, and that was about controlling, containing and punishing African-American communities. If you have a model that thinks in that direction, it results in relationships which are deeply mistrustful. We are seeing this type of thing across the country. Law enforcement and residents have to sit and listen to one another and determine how each sees reality. Solutions are predicated on the ability of both sides being able to listen.

Is there a difference in the feedback that you get regarding the relationship between police and the black community and the age of the people responding to the question?

A: Theresa Cortez, a senior elder at The Potter’s House in Fort Worth: The people who are in high school and up to 30 years old exhibited a great deal of fear concerning their interactions with police. The reason for that fear is that they feel they are misunderstood. They do not have the opportunity to have the type of interaction they would like to have with law enforcement. They felt like the police did not have the opportunity to interact with them except in situations when the police were dispatched to their community. I should also say this is limited to conversations I’ve had with people in east Fort Worth. They wanted to see police officers who looked like them and even if they did not see police like that, they did not want to be judged by the way they dressed. The older men seem not to feel that fear.

Q: Do you feel like social media has played a role in the way the African-American community interacts with police?

A: Carl McElroy, pastor, Mount Zion Baptist Church: Many people will use social media to manipulate circumstances. We have a incident going on in Charlotte now. So without getting all the facts, people are voicing an opinion on what's happening. People run to the phone and laptop without having all the facts about what's happening, and that can get people to think the wrong thing. People don’t research or look at the context and can give people the wrong information. People need to ask themselves before they act or react what’s really going on. People who act this way can take a situation and blow it totally out of proportion.

This story was originally published September 24, 2016 at 7:40 AM with the headline "Police and the black community: Perspectives from Tarrant pastors."