© 2014 The Wired Word
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Note: Although this lesson was prompted by the
continuing protests over the police shooting in Ferguson, our focus here is not
on that specific incident, but rather on how Christians can develop listening
skills that might transform conflicts into opportunities for empathy and understanding
toward persons whose experiences differ radically from our own. Also, in
discussing how we can transform conflicts, we are not assuming guilt or
innocence on the part of either Officer Wilson or Michael Brown.Police Chief Chris Magnus, the primary architect of improved police/community relations in Richmond, California, has been tapped to sit on a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) panel of experts investigating the conflict between law enforcement officers and the black citizenry of Ferguson, Missouri. The August 9 killing, by a white officer in that community, of an unarmed black man who was reportedly attacking him, sparked protests across the nation that continue to this day.
Of particular interest to the DOJ is the fact that the Richmond Police Department (RPD) has averaged less than one officer-involved shooting per year since 2008 under Magnus' leadership. Violent crime there has declined significantly; homicides are at the lowest rate in 33 years. In 2005, the year Magnus was hired, the racially diverse city was listed as one of the most dangerous places in the nation, the murder capital of California -- a far cry from Fargo, North Dakota, where Magnus had led the police force in one of the safest white enclaves in the United States. Some observers say this suggests that police-citizenry relationship problems are less likely to be racial in nature than to have other causes.
So what changed in Magnus' nine-year tenure as RPD chief of police? He instituted reforms that vastly improved relations between the community and the police. Officers were encouraged to presume that most people in the city are "good people not engaged in crime," rather than potential suspects.
Officers were tasked with developing better relationships with people on their beat, and rewarded for spending more time discovering their needs, problems, aspirations and motivations. "We assign people for longer periods of time to specific geographic areas with the expectation that they get to know and become known by residents," Magnus said, so they wouldn't be perceived "as just some kind of occupying force."
Magnus also worked to build cooperative coalitions with governmental agencies and community organizations to ensure that youth who want to escape gang violence have access to counseling, financial support and job training and opportunities. He instituted policies that helped minimize clashes between police and activists during civil rights campaigns.
Professional standards for hiring and training were rewritten with an emphasis on people skills. "We ... want people who can ... show empathy with victims of crime, who are not afraid to smile, to get out of the police car and interact in a positive way with people, who can demonstrate emotional intelligence, who are good listeners, who have patience, who don't feel that it takes away from their authority to demonstrate kindness," the chief explained.
Magnus also diversified the police force, hiring and advancing more women and people of color. "When you have a department that doesn't look anything like the community it serves, you're asking for trouble, no matter how dedicated and professional your employees are," he stressed. Today, about two-thirds of the Richmond police force are minorities, while one out of seven is female.
Richmond is one of six cities that form the DOJ Violence Reduction Network, which looks at the problem of "unconscious bias" that can result in miscarriages of justice. Magnus has also developed training for the RPD in the use of nonlethal weapons such as Tasers and pepper spray to lessen the likelihood and frequency of the use of deadly force.
In September, a Richmond police officer discharged his weapon when an intoxicated man allegedly tried to seize it. It was the city's first fatality involving an officer since 2007. Chief Magnus and his deputy attended the funeral dressed in civilian clothes to empathize with the family in the tragic loss of the young man. Two independent investigations are being conducted into the incident. Whether the officer involved will be exonerated and whether the grieving family will sue the city remain open questions at this point.
Meanwhile, 620 miles north, a photographer snapped a picture of Portland Police Sergeant Bret Barnum holding a weeping 12-year-old boy at a rally in support of the residents of Ferguson. Barnum, who is white, saw Devonte Hart, who is African-American, holding signs with messages such as "You Matter" and "Free Hugs." The father of two teenage boys, Barnum felt an affinity for the boy and engaged him in small talk before asking for a hug.
Devonte's mother Jennifer said her son, who is one of her six adopted children, "struggles with living fearlessly when it comes to the police ... He wonders if someday when he no longer wears a 'Free Hugs' sign around his neck, when he's a full-grown black male, if his life will be in danger for simply being." Devonte's anxieties are not surprising, considering his start in life as a drug-dependant, abused, neglected, poor infant surrounded by violence.
What is remarkable is the courage Barnum noted in the youth that made it possible for the two to really "listen to each other, facing fears with an open heart," as his mother expressed it. Her son simply refuses to be pigeon-holed, limited by stereotypes. "He has proven doctors, psychologists and teachers wrong," she says. "His future is most definitely not bleak, he is a shining star in this world. His light shines bright on everyone on his path. ... He is living proof that our past does not dictate our future."
Maybe it takes a child to lead us out of our collective stalemate over the racial chasm that divides our nation. Maybe we can take a lesson from another sign a beaming Devonte raised high over his head at the rally in Oregon, a black sign with letters in white that read: "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." And at the bottom of the sign were these words in brilliant rainbow colors: "THINK DIFFERENT."
More on this story can be found at these links:
Police Violence Is Not Inevitable: Four Ways a California Police Chief Connected Cops with Communities. Yes! Magazine
California Police Chief Connects Cops to the Community. The Christian Science Monitor
Encounter at Protest Leads to Hug for Boy, Officer. Yahoo! News
Meet Devonte, the Little Boy With a Big Heart. Paper Trail
The Big Questions
1. Do you feel far removed from the events in Ferguson, wishing it would just "go away," or do you feel stuck in a parallel universe in which racial prejudice is inescapable, touching every aspect of your life? How can people with such divergent life experiences begin to have a real conversation?
2. What role does faith play in putting aside prejudice?
3. What do efforts to reform police practices have to do with the gospel? To what extent do they have to do with the law (we're using "law" in the biblical sense here)?
4. What might we learn from the example of Devonte Hart and Bret Barnum that applies to how we live out our faith?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Luke 3:4-6, 14
... as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" ... Soldiers also asked [John], "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages." (For context, read 3:1-14.)
John the Baptist preached by the Jordan in the context of a region governed by Roman occupation forces. He instructed soldiers who came with a willingness to listen and learn that they should not abuse their power but treat everyone fairly. (Note: This is commentary on the Scripture text; we are not presuming that Officer Wilson abused his power.)
Questions: How can Christians "prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight" through valleys of injustice, mountains of aloof arrogance and twisted, rugged roads that lead us farther and farther from the path of peace? Is the salvation of God that Isaiah declares will be seen by all flesh primarily individual, communal, societal, religious or something else? Explain your answer.
1 Peter 5:2-3, 5
... tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it -- not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. ... In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (For context, read 5:1-6.)
Peter here speaks of the exercise of authority in the context of the church. Those who have responsibility for others are to exercise their authority as willing, eager servants of the flock, not resentfully or with an eye to feathering their own nests at the expense of others.
Questions: How might the principles Peter speaks about here with regard to church leaders apply to those serving the public in law enforcement and other government positions? How was Officer Barnum an example to Devonte, and what did Devonte teach him? How is Chief Magnus an example of this kind of leadership?
Luke 10:31-32
Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. (For context, read 10:25-37.)
TWW team member Heidi Mann says, "I'm really struggling about whether or not to discuss Ferguson again. On the one hand, I'm as sick of it as anyone. On the other hand, does the fact that I, as a white member of my 99 percent white community, feel completely safe mean I should brush the continuing coverage and angst over the events aside, or does it mean I should, all the more, attempt to find some way to engage with those who experience the U.S. justice system far differently than I do? As a disciple of Jesus, do I have the leeway to toss it all aside, or is that the thing I absolutely must not do, no matter how strongly I would like to?"
Jesus told a man who wanted to justify himself the story of a crime victim who was beaten up by robbers who stripped him and left him for dead. He described a priest and a Levite who saw the man crumpled by the side of the road but who also left him for dead, doing nothing to help. Acting to help somebody in trouble is evidence of love for God and one's neighbor. Failure to show mercy, while quibbling over whether the crime victim fits the technical definition of one's "neighbor" (see v. 29) shows how much we need God's help to do his will.
Questions: When you hear about an incident such as the one that occurred in Ferguson, are you aware of any assumptions that might be based in bias rather than in facts? How would you respond to Heidi's quandary?
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (For context, read 12:14-21.)
This command is part of Paul's practical teaching that spells out some of the implications of the theology he laid out earlier in this letter to the Romans. Chief Magnus accepted the invitation to attend the funeral of a young man shot by an officer. Police Sergeant Barnum was deeply moved by Devonte's tears.
Questions: Why were the demonstrations of empathy mentioned above important? With whom did you empathize most when you heard about what happened in Ferguson? What might help you empathize with people on the other "side"? What would it take to bring you to tears when people across our nation's racial divide are weeping over their incalculable losses? What is the difference between weeping for yourself and weeping for others? Between weeping for others and weeping with others? If you cannot weep with others, is it possible to really understand them? Why or why not? How can you be sure that your tears are more than "crocodile tears"? Are tears enough? When can they become a catalyst for real change?
Acts 8:32-35
Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth." The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. (For context, read 8:1-5, 25-39.)
Acts 8 begins with Saul, not yet converted, ravaging the community of followers of Jesus, approving of the murder of the deacon Stephen. In this context, one of Stephen's co-workers, Philip, a Jew, preached the gospel to Samaritans, who were viewed with suspicion because of their racial and religious differences. The mother church in Jerusalem, hearing that the Samaritans were accepting the word of God, sent Peter and John to welcome this disparate group into the church. Then God sent Philip to Gaza where he found an Ethiopian eunuch reading a passage from the prophet Isaiah describing how the Messiah suffered from injustice.
Questions: Some commentators have said the story of Philip and the eunuch, commonly referred to as "The Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch," should actually be called "The Conversion of Philip" because in it, Philip comes to see someone very different from himself as a fellow recipient of God's grace. How might viewing this story in that light affect your view of the racial divide in our country?
Responding to the News
Perhaps now is the time to consider how you might "THINK DIFFERENT" about people who are different from you in significant ways. Consider what you have in common. How can you love them "as [you love] yourself" (Matthew 22:39)? What would that look like?
Closing Prayer
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