Tuesday, December 16, 2008

When Diversity Training Obfuscates Dismantling Racism

See my post below for Example #1. Here's #2.

Now that the Palo Alto Police Chief who claimed to not understand why combining "African-Americans" and "Consensual Contact with Police" didn't go over too well with people has chosen an early retirement, the City Council still has to address the entire atmosphere of racial animus that certainly won't end with one person's departure.  

So what's the course of action? Why "Diversity Training" of course, because telling a police officer that racial profiling is wrong will immediately cease all subsequent aggression and apprehend criminals in a single bound! Not! It was a problem in 2000 and remains a problem going into 2009. Switching Police Chiefs and having police sit in a few classes does nothing to implement a series of consequences for any violations and is nothing more than exposing a wound to air in the hopes that will "heal" it. Ugh! 

If the residents of Palo Alto and neighboring East Palo Alto (with its large population of Black and Latinos) want to ensure a change in behavior they need to seek a specific course of action and be prepared for a long fight. As long as there's a perception of increased crime or whatever excuse for the increased militarism of the police force, the problem will continue and worsen.

Bookmark and Share

No comments: