FADE coalition work changing the narrative around racial profiling

SCSJ is a proud partner in the Durham FADE Coalition. FADE’s work around racial profiling and selective drug enforcement is changing the narrative of the Durham community regarding policing and the Durham criminal justice system. An example of this sea-change is the recent endorsement that FADE received from Yo:Durham, a group seeking to empower marginalized youth in the Durham community. The Yo:Durham endorsement appears below, and the original post may be found here.

Durham, NC – March 3, 2014 – Lewis Little was the president of the YO:Durham class of 2010 and one of our brightest alumni. Our program strives to teach our youth to take responsibility for their lives and their community, and we believe Lewis acted admirably when he called the police when he found Michael Lee dead in the street on June 21, 2013. We are outraged that Lewis’ conscientious action was met with such unjust treatment at the hands of the Durham police and judicial system. In response to this incident, and to recent evidence of racial disparities in policing presented to the Durham Human Relations Commission, YO:Durham will no longer track the arrest incidents of our students and alumni as a program metric. As long as our young people are subject to racial profiling and arbitrary treatment at the hands of law enforcement, we cannot look to arrests records as an indicator of the responsibility of their choices or the impact of our program on their lives.YO:Durham is a youth workforce development program with a mission to make a difference in the lives of our students through intensive job training, paid internships, and mentoring. We have measured the arrest rates of our students because we recognize that involvement in the criminal justice system is one of the largest drivers of youth disconnection from economic opportunities. Lewis Little’s false arrest and detention is just one example of racialized policing practices that have targeted young African-American men at a rate vastly out of proportion with their percentage of the Durham population. Such practices undermine the social and economic fabric of our neighborhoods, and the longer they continue, the more our work to help our youth become productive, positive contributors to our city becomes an upstream swim against a strengthening current.As a program of Durham Congregations in Action, YO:Durham is party to the FADE coalition and therefore endorses its proposals for policing reform. FADE, which stands for Fostering Alternatives to Drug Enforcement, recommends that police undergo racial equity training and be subject to meaningful public review of stops, searches, and arrests. We believe that such provisions may have prevented the injustice that befell Lewis Little. We furthermore ask the City of Durham to assume the cost and responsibility of expunging public records of Little’s arrest and charges, and take steps to rectify the damage to his reputation that he incurred as a result of this incident.While YO:Durham can only reach a few students every year, we are committed to partnering with every stakeholder in Durham to make our community a place where all of our youth and young adults can thrive. We hope that policymakers and law enforcement will respond to Little’s arrest as an opportunity for self-reflection and change.

Please see below for complete media coverage of FADE’s work.

Durham Herald-Sun, “Blacks Suffer Disproportionately From Crime, Police Say” (March 1, 2014): http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x112098135/Blacks-suffer-disproportionately-from-crime-police-say

News & Observer, “Public Says Durham Civilian Police Review Board Needs More Power” (Feb. 26, 2013): http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/02/26/3656810/public-says-police-review-board.html

Durham Herald-Sun, “Police Review Board Needs Teeth, Durham Activists Say” (Feb. 26, 2014): http://www.heraldsun.com/news/showcase/x147185315/Police-review-board-needs-teeth-Durham-activists-say

ABC, “Durham Police Deny Racial Profiling” (Feb. 26, 2014): http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9445106

NBC, “Durham Police on Defense Against Racial Profiling Charges” (Feb. 25, 2014): http://www.wncn.com/story/24823428/durham-police-on-defense-against-racial-profiling-charges

Carolina Magazine, “Three Students Win Prestigious Fellowships” (Feb. 14, 2014): http://www.law.unc.edu/news/story.aspx?cid=900

Durham Herald-Sun, “Durham Coalition Airs Concerns About Racial Profiling” (Feb. 6, 2014): http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x849281938/Durham-coalition-airs-concerns-about-racial-profiling

ABC, “Alleged Racial Profiling on Durham Meeting Agenda” (Feb. 4, 2014): http://news.yahoo.com/video/alleged-racial-profiling-durham-meeting-210736970.html

NBC, “Durham Police Continuing to Face Allegations of Racial Profiling” (Feb. 4, 2014): http://www.wncn.com/story/24636632/durham-police-continuing-to-face-allegations-of-racial-profiling

WRAL, “Dozens Claim Racial Profiling by Durham Police” (Feb. 4, 2014): http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/13360007/

Durham News, “Durham Panel Hears More Police Complaints” (Feb. 5, 2014): http://www.thedurhamnews.com/2014/02/05/3593336/durham-panel-hears-more-police.html

Durham Herald-Sun, “Commission Hears More Complaints About Durham Police Tactics” (Feb. 4, 2014): http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x1385734358/Commission-hears-more-complaints-about-Durham-police-tactics

Durham News, “Human Relations Commission Hears Profiling Complaints” (Jan. 23, 2014): http://www.thedurhamnews.com/2014/01/23/3557969/human-relations-commission-hears.html

ABC, “Durham Police Practices Under Microscope by Human Relations Commission” (Jan. 23, 2014): http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9404141

Durham Herald-Sun, “Search Rates for Blacks in Durham High, Group Says” (Jan. 22, 2014): http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x402899454/Search-rates-for-blacks-in-Durham-high-groups-says

Durham News, “Commission to Hear More on Alleged Race Bias by Durham Police” (Jan. 21, 2014): http://www.thedurhamnews.com/2014/01/21/3549099/commission-to-hear-more-on-race.html

High Point Enterprise, “Ethnic Tension Flares in Huerta Case” (Jan. 17, 2014): http://www.hpe.com/opinion/x318369851/Kristine-Kaiser-Ethnic-tension-flares-in-Huerta-case

ABC, “Community Meeting Addresses Racial Profiling by Durham Police” (Jan. 14, 2014): http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9393842

Patheos, “An Open Letter to Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez” (Jan. 10, 2014): http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jonathanwilsonhartgrove/2014/01/an-open-letter-to-durham-police-chief-jose-lopez/

News & Observer, “Uncertainties, Allegations Hang Over Durham Police” (Dec. 16, 2013): http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/12/16/3463547/uncertainties-allegations-hang.html

Latino Times, “Latino Teen Fatal Shooting: Uncertainties, Allegations Hang Over Police” (Dec. 16, 2013): http://latinotimes.com/latinos/980560-latino-teen-fatal-shooting-uncertainties-allegations-hang-over-police.html

Durham Herald-Sun, “N.C. Police, Critics Now Focusing on Arrest Patterns” (Dec. 4, 2013): reprinted at http://www.officer.com/news/11262146/nc-police-critics-now-focusing-on-arrest-patterns

News & Observer, “Saunders: When People Break the Law, Arrest Them – Regardless of Their Race” (Dec. 4, 2013): http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/12/04/3432552/saunders-when-people-break-the.html

News & Observer, “In Each Durham District, Numbers Show 65 Percent or More Arrested Are Black” (Dec. 3, 2013): http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/12/03/3429590/durham-police-to-take-floor-at.html

Charlotte Observer, “Arrested Teen Dies in Durham Police Headquarters Parking Lot” (Nov. 19, 2013): http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/11/19/4480948/arrested-teen-dies-in-durham-police.html#.UxTikoUXf3s

News & Observer, “Police Deny Claims of Racial Profiling in Durham” (Nov. 12, 2013): http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/11/12/3366291/police-deny-claims-of-racial-profiling.html

Durham News, “Durham Human Relations Commission to Look Into Police Profiling Complaints” (Oct. 21, 2013): http://www.thedurhamnews.com/2013/10/21/3300757/durham-human-relations-commission.html

Duke Chronicle, “Mayoral, City Council Candidates Discuss Visions at Forum” (Oct. 16, 2013): http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/10/16/mayoral-city-councilmen-candidates-discuss-visions-forum

Durham Herald-Sun, “Restrictions Sought on Durham Police Tactics” (Oct. 2, 2013): http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x1703656478/Restrictions-sought-on-Durham-police-tactics

Independent Weekly, “Durham Citizens Air Policing Grievances Before Human Relations Commission” (Oct. 1, 2013): http://www.indyweek.com/triangulator/archives/2013/10/01/durham-citizens-air-policing-grievances-before-human-relations-commission

Public News Service, “Evidence of Racial Profiling in Durham Prompts Public Debate” (Oct. 1, 2013): http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2013-10-01/civil-rights/evidence-of-racial-profiling-in-durham-prompts-public-debate/a34754-2

Think Progress, “NC Police 3 Times More Likely to Arrest Blacks After Seat Belt violation, Study Finds” (Sept. 30, 2013): http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/09/30/2699351/north-carolina-police-3-times-more-likely-to-arrest-blacks-for-seat-belt-violation-study-finds/#

News & Observer, “Traffic-Stop Numbers Show Racial Bias Across North Carolina (Sept. 29, 2013): http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/09/29/3238448/traffic-stop-numbers-show-racial.html

News & Observer, “Group Protests Racial Profiling in Durham” (Sept. 16, 2013): http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/09/16/3202333/group-protests-racial-profiling.html

WRAL, “Attorney: Durham Police Chief’s Shooting Comment Indicative of Greater Issue” (Sept. 16, 2013): http://www.wral.com/attorney-durham-police-chief-s-shooting-comment-indicative-of-greater-issue/12893263/

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