Long Beach faith leader, former human dignity officer discuss ‘shared experience’ of racism

Protesters demanding justice for George Floyd and all killed by police brutality gather at Harvey Milk Park, before marching through downtown Long Beach on Friday, June 5, 2020. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

By RICH ARCHBOLD | June 6, 2020 | PRESS TELEGRAM

Editor’s note: This is the third in a five-day series featuring comments from black leaders about the work Long Beach must do to improve the lives of the black community and improve race relations.

Thousands of people in Long Beach once again took to the streets Friday, June 5, to demand changes to law-enforcement policies that, the protesters said they hope, will end police brutality.

From the campuses of City College and Cal State Long Beach to Harvey Milk Park, the refrains from demonstrators have been clear: “Black lives matter,” “No justice, no peace” and “enough is enough.”

Friday’s demonstrations, like all of the other daily protests for nearly two weeks, have had the same catalyst: George Floyd, a black man in Minnesota, dying when a white police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes on Memorial Day.

But, more broadly, it’s that final refrain — “enough is enough,” scrawled on a sign at the Harvey Milk Park protest Friday night — that, perhaps, explains the broader context of this moment.

“There are too many stories of black families in Long Beach who have been victims of police brutality, harassment and disrespect,” said Melissa Morgan, city’s former human dignity officer. “Their voices aren’t heard widely.”

Morgan is one of multiple Long Beach black leaders who gave interviews to the Press-Telegram this week amid the ongoing protests. And they generally agreed that while the famously progressive city has made improvements in race relations, to varying degrees, much more work needs to be done.

And that includes talking to one another about the issues the city’s diverse communities face, in particular, the black community.

And part of having a conversation is listening. So the Press-Telegram on Thursday began featuring comments from various black leaders in Long Beach, as well as Mayor Robert Garcia. While he is Latino, not black, Garcia is the political leader of Long Beach. And as such, his influence in the city’s direction if significant.

The series continued Saturday, with Rev. Gregory Sanders, lead pastor of The ROCK Christian Fellowship, and former Long Beach Human Dignity Officer Melissa Morgan. The series will continue until Monday, June 8.

Original Source: https://www.presstelegram.com/2020/06/06/long-beach-faith-leader-former-human-dignity-officer-discuss-shared-experience-of-racism/