WHY I SUPPORT CHIEF DAVID ALEXANDER

Chief David Alexander is not running for office; he's not a politician.  But, he is a powerful bridge between the city government--and it's awesome policing powers--and the diverse communities and neighborhoods and businesses that make Pensacola a magnet for sporting teams, festivals, concerts, and corporations in northwest Florida.  There is a great deal of civic pride in Pensacola.  We see that in the vitality of our historical associations, homeowners associations, and other service-minded civic organizations, as well as the hundreds of volunteers from for-profit and non-profit corporations that mentor students, feed the homeless, or help the aged.

And, we see it in the number of residents and local groups who have rallied to ask Mayor Ashton Hayward to retain Chief Alexander as Chief of Police, and, the 6-0 vote in the City Council expressing their vote of confidence in the chief.  I join that effort.

The City of Pensacola is fortunate to have a Chief of Police who reflects and gives back that vitality and civic pride.  Chief Alexander was born and raised in Pensacola.  He knows this city.  He is a living piece of Pensacola's history who knows its troubled past, the progress it has made, and the progress it needs to make.  And, he also understands what Pensacola needs in terms of modernizing its police force.

Chief Alexander is a strong proponent of "intentional policing" or "community policing."  All residents should read Chief Alexander's "2020 Vision: Intentional Policing Strategies," a forward thinking plan to increase the legitimacy of the Pensacola Police Department through more and better training, restructuring and restaffing measures, and the use of body cameras.

But, the most significant aspect of the "2020 Vision" is to build community trust and confidence in the police through face-to-face engagement.  More trust and confidence leads to more legitimacy--and safer communities and a safer city.  Scholars of law enforcement know that the better the relationship between the police and the community, the greater the likelihood that witnesses to crimes will come forward; and, that day-to-day, face-to-face contacts between police and community members reduces frictions and can head off problems before they become criminal concerns.

Not only does Chief Alexander attend homeowners association meetings and other public meetings, but the strategy calls for his officers to meet and engage residents.  The chief proposed that shift hours be altered to allow police officers more time to engage the communities they serve.

Chief Alexander's "End of Fiscal Year 2016 Report," a copy obtained by CJ's Street Report, notes that the Pensacola Police Department, including its chief of police, have significantly increased community engagement over its reported 2014 and 2015 reports.  These include:

• Big Brother/Big Sister events and mentoring opportunities,

• UWF Men's Conference and African-American Student Association,

• Heroes in the Community partnership with Jack & Jill of America,

• Big Cookout at the Fricker Center,

• Cane and Able event with the Society for the Blind,

• 100 Black Men mentoring workshop,

• Escambia County Cares outreach services,

• All Lives Matter rally after annual Martin Luther King Jr breakfast,

• Escambia Westgate Mardi Gras parade,

• Officers wrote positive notes for Campfire Gulf Winds' Incredible Kids,

• WRNE Monday morning broadcast,

• Domestic violence conference in Pensacola for PPD officers and support agencies,

• Florida Faith-based Commission meeting to discuss problem-solving techniques,

• Lecture to Booker T. Washington HS football team on staying out of trouble,

• Real Women guest speaker on internet radio broadcast,

• UWF workshop with 125 participants on drunk driving,

• Five-day youth and police academy,

• Continued work with the ACLU, NAACP, Movement for Change, WEAR TV3, WKRG TV5, and VFN Radio to keep positive lines of communication open with community,

• Achieve Escambia partnership,

• National Coffee with a Cop Day,

• National Night Out,

• and on and on and on and on and on.

"Been There, Done That" Hosts Meeting on Surviving Po-Po Encounter

On 22 September 2016, Pensacola group, "Been There, Done That," founded by Ms. Nicole Barnes and assisted by Baptist Behavioral Medicine therapist, Ms. Lashica Charley, and Nicole's daughter Deja, hosted a community meeting at the Englewood Baptist Church.  The purpose of the meeting was to explore how to survive an encounter with the local police.  Two local experts, attorney Aaron Watson and Pensacola Police Department Chief David Alexander, spoke for about 90 minutes and answered questions from the floor.  Chief Alexander spoke for a majority of the time and hoped there would be a larger community discussion of the complex issue of community policing.  "Been There, Done That" is planning more meetings for later in the year.

On each side of a civilian-police encounter is a situation fraught with uncertainty and danger, both experts agreed.  The civilian has constitutional rights.  The police have rights related to enforcing the law.  They may or may not violate your constitutional rights during the encounter.  Mr. Watson advocated that you comply with police commands and sort out your constitutional rights the next day.  The main focus should be to survive the encounter.

Attorney Watson provided a handout from the American Civil Liberties Union covering encounters with police, immigration, or the FBI if you are questioned, if they come to your home, and if you are arrested.  The following are just a few of the recommendations:

• You have the right to remain silent.  If you wish to exercise that right, say so out loud.
• You have the right to refuse to consent to a search of yourself, your car, or your home.
• If you are not under arrest, you have the right to calmly leave.
• You have the right to a lawyer if you are arrested.  Ask for one immediately.
• Do stay calm and be polite.
• Do not interfere with or obstruct the police.
• Do not lie or give false statements.
• Do remember details of the encounter.
• Do file a written complaint or call your local ACLU if you feel your rights have been violated.
• Stay calm.  Don't run.  Don't argue, resist or obstruct the police, even if you are innocent or police are violating your rights.  Keep your hands where police can see them.
• Ask if you are free to leave.  If the officer says yes, calmly and silently walk away.  If you are under arrest, you have a right to know why.
• You have the right to remain silent and cannot be punished for refusing to answer questions.
• You do not have to consent to a search of yourself or your belongings, but police may 'pat down' your clothing if they suspect a weapon.  You should not physically resist, but you the right to refuse consent for any further search.  If you do consent, it can affect you later in court.

Chief Alexander provided a checklist of 11 things to remember and do "When Confronted by a Law Enforcement Officer.  These are provided below in abbreviated form:

• 1.  Keep your hands in plain view so the officer can see that you are not armed or pose an immediate threat to him.
• 2.  Don't make any sudden moves, reach under a seat, reach into your pocket, put a hand inside a jacket, etc.  These furtive movements may alarm an officer that he is in danger.
• 3.  If you have a firearm in your vehicle, inform the officer immediately of its location and let the officer remove and secure it during the encounter.  Under NO circumstances should you ever reach for the weapon.
• 4.  Listen to the officers instructions and if you do not understand what he requires of you, ask him to repeat his request.
• 5.  Do what the officer requests of you.
• 6.  DO NOT take an aggressive or hostile position or attitude.
• 7.  Answer the officer's questions honestly and as completely as you can.  If there is information you wish not to divulge, politely inform the officer you do not wish to provide that information.  If he insists and you are adamant in your position, invoke your legal right to not answer until you have spoken with an attorney.
• 8.  Maintain and produce official identification when asked by an officer.
• 9.  Don't argue with an officer.  You have the right to request to speak with a supervisor if you can't get answers to your questions.
• 10.  No one likes to be stopped or questioned by law enforcement; however, remember these contacts are necessary if we are to provide for your safety and security and to enforce the laws we are sworn to uphold.
• 11.  If you are detained and arrested DO NOT resist.  Remember, resistance could lead to additional charges even if you are innocent of the original charge.

If you listen to Attorney Watson, he advises that you NOT CONSENT to searches.  Protect your constitutional rights when answering questions from law enforcement.

As an editorial aside, Sheriff Morgan was invited to attend but apparently he declined or did not respond to the invitation.

Remember, Sheriff Morgan just won the Republican primary and he did not receive a single Democratic vote.  He apparently provided for some Black guy to enter the Democratic primary who then promptly skeedaddled and disappeared to points unknown--thus depriving Democrats of the opportunity to vote in the Republican primary.  The only time Sheriff Morgan comes into the Black community is when he goes to a Black church that has received funds from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund or otherwise gets ECSO support and the Sheriff can sing obscure Negro spirituals that no one remembers.

Below, are video presentations of the community meeting.

Ms. Nicole BARNES

Attorney Aaron WATSON

PPD Chief David ALEXANDER

Sheriff Morgan: Boastful Bureaucratic Bungler

Anyone who has spent some time in the U.S. military, either enlisted or officer, knows that the military is very attentive to managing personnel.  After boot camp, you may assist the orderly room in preparing the Morning Report that eventually winds its way to the Pentagon in terms of the unit readiness report.

But, if you become an officer, you know that the military's management of its personnel is very fine grained.  Each service keeps track of how many enlisted and officers it has, their Military Occupation Specialty, their time in grade and time in service, how they are ranked compared to their peers, and whether or not the raters are too harsh or too easy over time.  Even an officer who does not work in Personnel knows how fine grained the military's understanding of its officer corps is.  It shows up on your own Fitness Report, at least it does with the Navy.

Sheriff Morgan states on his official biography that he proudly served in the U.S. Air Force from 1971 to 1994--a total of twenty-three years.  That is more than enough time for an officer to learn that personnel management is a key ingredient of the military.

And yet, if you ask the Escambia County Sheriff's Office a simple personnel question--you get a reply that is shocking and disturbing.

Here is the verbatim response I received from Ms. Medeiros, the public records officer, after she received a response from the Human Resources office:  "In response to the below request for, 'the number of sheriff deputies who have resigned from the ECSO between January 1, 2009 and March 3, 2016,' no such records exist in the Sheriff’s custody.

How do you manage a personnel system that cannot answer a basic inquiry?  How many ways can a deputy leave the ECSO?  They could die, they could retire, they could be fired, and they could resign.  I only wanted to know how many deputies had resigned.

If you do not track how many deputies resign and at what stage in their career progression at the Escambia County Sheriff's Office they resign, how do you know if something may be wrong within the system?  At what point in their careers are deputies resigning--is it after a few years or before they reach the time in grade/service requirements for advancement to sergeant?  Do they resign before the time in grade/service requirement to reach lieutenant?  Is there a problem?  Is there not a problem?  Is the ECSO experiencing an unhealthy churning of deputies or are its resignation numbers consistent with other sheriff offices in Florida?  Are deputies simply using their ECSO training and experience to leave for better paying jobs at the Pensacola Police Department or federal agencies or state agencies?  Nobody knows--least of all Sheriff Morgan.

What we do know is that when the Pensacola Police Department was given the same public records request, the response was simple and direct:  "41 Police Officers have resigned from January 1, 2009 to March 3, 2016."  So easy.  The Pensacola Police Department loses an average of six officers per year due to resignation.

I am not saying that number is high or low.  I am not saying these officers resigned for good or bad reasons.  I am not saying that the number of resignations reflects well or poorly on the leadership of the Pensacola Police Department.  But, at least the Pensacola Police Department knows that on average roughly six officers will resign every year for whatever reason.

Sheriff Morgan does not know diddley.

UPDATE 27 APRIL 2016 at 1609H:  On April 27, 2016, at 1346 hours I received additional data from Ms. Medereiros.  For whatever reason, and I will leave the speculation to others, the Human Resources division of the Escambia County Sheriff's Office stated that "167 Deputy Sheriff's [sic] have resigned.  This does not include retirements or terminations."  In other words, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office's rate of resignations is four times higher than the resignation rate for the Pensacola Police Department.  This may either be attributed to differentials in pay between the ECSO and other law enforcement agencies in Florida, or, the rumored culture of intimidation and abuse within the ECSO.  CJ's Street Report has been able to verify one rumor--a large number of resignations.  The second rumor may be a tougher nut to crack.

But, the rumors are that many deputies resign because there are better paying jobs in Northwest Florida in other agencies.  I do not know if that rumor is true.  But, a comparison of the pay structure between the Pensacola Police Department and the Escambia County Sheriff's Office suggests that a really sharp, squared-away deputy after gaining experience with the ECSO would at least inquire about a law enforcement position with the Pensacola Police Department because they do offer higher pay and a much more egalitarian pay structure.

It always difficult comparing pay structures between organizations.  They do have different ranks.  But, there are some points at which the PPD appears to pay more money for a comparable position.

PPD RANK          SALARY RANGE                 ECSO RANK*         SALARY RANGE

Police Officer       32,969--61,859                         Deputy Sheriff           34,898--52,347

Police Sergeant    64,985--73,652                         Sergeant                   44,483--66,724

Lieutenant             77,899--10% higher**             Lieutenant                 52,320--78,481

Police Capt           52,041--101,795                       Captain                     73,223--109,835

Asst Chief             52,041--101,795                       Chief Deputy            115,765--173,648

Notes:
*  The corresponding Class Code for the ECSO positions are 6132, Deputy Sheriff; 6136, Sergeant; 6137, Lieutenant; 6138, Captain; 8002, Chief Deputy.
**The pay for PPD Lieutenant is 10% higher than the highest Sergeant with no maximum.


From an organizational view, the Pensacola Police Department is a much flatter organization in terms of pay than the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

The ratio of the lowest pay in the PPD to the highest pay is roughly three to one.  In the ECSO that ratio is five to  one.  Given the lower degree of income inequality, there is probably more esprit de corps and worker solidarity within the PPD.

The other way of looking at the pay scale between the two organizations is to notice that sheriff deputies have every incentive to try to transfer to the PPD.

Between police officer and deputy sheriff, the pay is roughly comparable starting off.  There is only about $2,000 difference in the lowest starting pay, but a police officer would top out about $9,000 higher.  However, the ECSO has some intermediate positions between Deputy Sheriff and Sergeant.  A Deputy Sheriff First Class tops out at $54,965 (code 6133); and a Senior Deputy Sheriff tops out at $57,713 (code 6134).  A Master Deputy tops out at $60,599 (code 6135).  That still leaves the highest paid PPD police officer $1,000 per year better off than an apparently higher ranking ECSO deputy.

Of note, a Master Deputy is a rank achieved after 17 years of service and 600 cumulative hours of approved training.  A Senior Deputy requires 12 years of service and 400 cumulative hours of approved training.  For both ranks, an "officer may substitute up to 100 classroom hours of law enforcement college level classes for the 200 hours training required," according to the most recent Human Relations manual for the ECSO, the "Rules of the Escambia County Sheriff's Office."

However, at the first big jump in responsibility--to sergeant--the gap between the two organizations is a chasm.  A police sergeant starts at $20,000 more than the lowest ECSO sergeant.  He or she finishes at the top end of sergeant about $7,000 ahead per year.  There is a tremendous financial incentive for an ECSO deputy to leave for a job in the Pensacola Police Department or some other law enforcement agency that has higher pay.

If this is the case, then the taxpayers of Escambia County are essentially paying for all the training of sheriff deputies and becoming the feeder farm team for other law enforcement agencies.

The next big leap in terms of career progression is from sergeant to lieutenant.

The starting pay for a PPD lieutenant is $25,000 more than an ECSO lieutenant ($77,899 versus $52,320).  And, the lowest paid lieutenant in the Pensacola Police Department makes only $1,000 less than the highest paid lieutenant in the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.  There is also an interesting anomaly in the ECSO pay scale, that is probably an optical illusion.  But, the starting pay for the lowest lieutenant is $14,000 less than the highest paid sergeant within the ECSO.  It is probably an illusion because there must be some payroll adjustment to avoid a sergeant taking such a serious pay cut in order to advance in grade.

Thus, the data suggest ECSO sergeants and lieutenants have strong financial incentives to leave for the PPD or some other comparably paid law enforcement agency.  And if this in fact happens, then again the ECSO is the feeder farm team for other law enforcement agencies.

At the top end of the organizational structure, the starting pay for a PPD captain is $21,000 below the starting pay for an ECSO captain.  An ECSO captain also makes about $8,000 more at the top end.

And, at the number two position, the starting pay for the Assistant Police Chief in the PPD is roughly half the starting pay as the ECSO's Chief Deputy ($52,041 to $115,765).  Again, there must be adjustments in pay for the PPD in terms of starting pay.

But, at the level of high-end pay, the ECSO Chief Deputy tops out at $173,648, while the PPD Assistant Police Chief tops out at $101,795.  Why is there a $72,000 difference?  Why does the ECSO overpay its number two relative to the PPD, while simultaneously comparatively underpaying its deputies that actually do the real work of the department and who are out on the street?  Here is where the greater difference in income inequality could cause resentment and suggest to deputies that they should leave.

Of course, we do not know if deputy sheriffs, sergeants, and lieutenants are resigning from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office because Sheriff Morgan apparently does not keep track of that data.  We do not know if relatively inadequate pay for these lower ranks causes an undue number of resignations.  The pay structure data suggest that this could be the case.

The Escambia County Board of Commissioners and Escambia County taxpayers have a right to know if there is a correlation between resignations of deputies and pay structure.  They may have a right to know, but they will never know because Sheriff Morgan--who should know better from 23 years in the Air Force that personnel management is fundamental to a well-run military--does not bother to collect data on yearly resignations.  The fact that the ECSO cannot provide that data but the Pensacola Police Department can suggests that Sheriff Morgan does not want to collect any data that would call into question the illusion of a well-run Sheriff's Office.  And, the fact that ECSO deputies are paid relatively much lower than comparably ranked PPD officers, suggests that ECSO deputies, sergeants, and lieutenants have ample financial incentives either to seek jobs in the PPD or some other law enforcement agency.  We are thus left with repeatedly hearing rumors of resignations and the churning of deputies, but without proof--just as Sheriff Morgan would apparently prefer.

Community Strategy Meeting to Save Our Children

Introduction

On July 14, 2015, Pastor Larry Watson's Englewood Missionary Baptist Church hosted a community strategy meeting organized by Mr. Ellison Bennett, local president of the National Movement for Human and Civil Rights, which is headed nationally by northwest Florida's civil rights icon Reverend H.K. Matthews.

The purpose of the meeting was to bring together leading civil rights and community organizations, as well as concerned residents, to shift the process of talking about community problems to one of formulating an over-arching goal for the community at large, creating a strategy, and developing action plans to be implemented.

The participants from the community not only shared their stories and insights leading to a consensus on the overall goal--saving all of our children in Escambia County, be they Black, white, Asian, Latino--from all the predators and abusers, be they law enforcement officers, or killers and rapists residing in the community.

Speaker after speaker acknowledged and recognized that all our children are at risk: Black lives matter; white lives matter; Asian lives matter; Latino lives matter; all lives matter.  But, the multi-faceted problems facing communities in Escambia County are not going to be solved by more meetings generating more words.  These problems are not going to be solved by blaming parents, or blaming teachers, or blaming the police.  The community leaders and active county residents want to move beyond rhetoric and blame, and towards identifying and implementing solutions.

We, collectively, need to get out of our homes, out of our churches, mosques, and synagogues, out of our secular civic organizations, and become active in following the policies that affect all our children; attending city, county, and school board meetings and workshops where polices detrimental to our children are formulated and approved; we must hold elected policy makers accountable through participation at workshops, meetings, and by registering and voting; and, we must hold judges accountable by monitoring the disparate effects their sentencing has on young Black people vis-a-vis other communities.

Proposed Action Items Recommended by Community Participants

• A series of inter-faith walks bringing together Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, other faiths, and the non-religious to knock on doors in troubled neighborhoods and begin establishing trust, dialogues, and assistance.

• Reclaim our children from teachers who abuse them by pejoratively labeling them as 'stupid' or 'losers' by opening our own schools, even if those community-based schools operated just on weekends.

• Since young people shun going to church and the mosque, the church and the mosque has to reach out to young people by going to where they are.

• A monthly donation of ONE DOLLAR from each African American residing in Escambia County would generate about $756,000 per year that could be used in a variety of ways to help children, for example, providing food for the families or paying legal expenses.

• A young teacher recommended starting this action plan by introducing yourself to your neighbors and begin the process of helping each other.

• SUSPENSE DATE: Community members having suggestions for more action items have until JULY 24, 2015, to send them to Mr. Ellison Bennett (see his Facebook page).

Religious and Civic Leaders Panel Discussants:

• Pastor Larry Watson, host, Englewood Missionary Baptist Church
• Mr. Ellison Bennett, organizer, National Movement for Human and Civil Rights
• Brother Tarus, Nation of Islam
• Mr. Jerry McIntosh, vice president, Movement for Change
• Pastor James Watson, chapter president, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• Ms. Keyontay Humphries, organizer, American Civil Liberties Union
• Mr. Tony McCray II, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• Chief (soon) David Alexander III, Pensacola Police Department

L-R: Brother Tarus, Mr. McIntosh, Ms. Humphries

L-R: Ms. Humphries, Mr. McCray II, Mr. Bennett

L-R: Pastor Larry Watson, PPD Chief Alexander, Pastor James Watson

Civic Leaders Attending:

• Mr. Lumon May, Escambia County Commissioner, third district
• Mr. Doug Baldwin Sr., Republican Candidate for County Sheriff
• Ms. Dianne Krumel, Escambia County Democratic Women's Club
• Reverend Hugh King,  New Jerusalem Tabernacle of God
• Pastor Smiley, vice president, SCLC
• Mr. Joe Davis, vice president, Movement for Change

Civic Leaders Declining to Attend:

• Sheriff David Morgan, who declined a hand-delivered invitation on the grounds that he believed the Black community could not refrain from yelling at him and would lack self-control.

Selective Highlights:

Brother Tarus, Nation of Islam, stated that police brutality, stemming from the historical development of police as slave patrols must stop; also, Black-on-Black crime must stop.  As we frame issues to be addressed, we must be very careful how they are addressed lest we receive more unintended and unnecessary oppression, like more racially discriminatory laws under the rubric of the War on Drugs that saw Black men and women disproportionately sentenced to longer jail terms for crack cocaine than white defendants for powdered cocaine.  Brother Tarus also stressed that we need to teach our children real Black history; that Black history does not begin with slavery, but with the much longer history of African civilizations having kings and queens; our children should learn about revolutionaries who brought about change, not because they should become revolutionaries, but because they should have positive role models for social change.

Mr. McIntosh, Movement for Change and also co-host of the 2nd and 4th Sunday Internet show "Our Voices," noted that the police in America have disrespected the Black community and that we must not forget that Black women are as brutalized and killed by the police as Black men.  The Black community needs respect and we need unity amongst ourselves.  Mr. McIntyre also observed that we pay law enforcement officers to protect us, not to kill us.  We see police killing people, going on paid vacations, and returning to work unpunished.  Police unions protect bad officers.  Every community, he noted, Black, white, Asian, and Latino, "eats their own" with crime and violence.

Ms. Humphries, ACLU and co-host of "Our Voices," once again warned that we must be careful what we ask for.  Too often we frame an issue that results in a disparate racial effect on Black men going to prison.  While it is important to be concerned about and address large-scale issues like poverty, our focus must be directed towards policies and policy makers that can and do cause real damage to our children.  We should focus on policies that we can change and policy makers that we can hold accountable.  Moreover, the community itself needs unity and to hold ourselves accountable.  We need to take the concern and energy displayed about the Confederate flag and redirect that energy to the more boring and mundane stuff of real politics--workshops and board meetings--where the real damage is done and where the community can affect real change.

Ms. Humphries also stressed that there are disparate racial effects from policies pursued by the Escambia County School Board and the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.  There 256 students arrested in Escambia County--a number that puts the county first in the world.  Of those arrested, 89 percent were Black.  Of the 256 arrrests, 77 were for felonies, meaning that most of the arrests were for misdemeanors that should be corrected with age-relevant punishments--not jail sentences.  She also noted that inattention to policies results in District 3 losing a public school while alternative schools--those who serve children who have suspended or expelled from the public schools--are growing.

She praised the leadership of the Pensacola Police Department for being the only law enforcement agency in the four-county area for providing a reason why they arrested a minor child and for moving forward on the use of body cameras.  On both issues, Sheriff Morgan has not cooperated.

Mr. McCray II, NAACP, noted that we need more community-wide dialogue and that we must take advantage of the opportunity afforded by the new air of accountability in society.  We need to address racial profiling.

Pastor Larry Watson stressed the "absolutely critical" importance of discussing issues affecting the community, but that such discussions needed to result in a commitment to formulate a strategy and plan of action.

Mr. Bennett observed that in the last few years, at least 39 Black people, including two women, had been killed in Escambia County.  It was a lie that we do not care about Black-on-Black crime.

Chief Alexander observed that we must learn to live together as brothers, or we shall surely perish.  An experienced police officer who, like Mr. Baldwin, rose through the ranks when racism was openly displayed by fellow officers, noted that community policing, introduced ten years ago, gives citizens an active participatory role in promoting safety, but it also generates resistance from citizenry and law enforcement because it requires change.  Chief Alexander stated that communities that come together to reduce crime fare better than communities that do not come together.  He was worried that "some worse days are still ahead" and it is urgent that we come together so that the community does not suffer.

Pastor James Watson, SCLC, was critical of the role local churches play or not play in the community.  Pastors are eager to collect offerings on Sunday, but they fail to address community needs and they fail to move their congregants out of the churches and into the community where young men and women are in need.  Pastor Watson urged ministers to join efforts to change the social and cultural environments of our communities; combat the tendency, also noted by teachers and parents in the audience, to label young people "stupid" and "losers;" he urged ministers to have personal conversations with young people; we cannot blame parents for everything that is wrong in the Black community.  The pastor stressed the need for the community to come together as a whole, meaning not just as Black or white or Asian or Latino, but as a community.

Pastor Smiley, asked and challenged the audience, "Where is the answer of solution to keep these children out of trouble?"  Pastors need to get of the churches and help the children.  When pastors close the doors of the churches on Sunday afternoon, they need to take themselves and their congregants into the community where the young people are.  Pastor Smiley also noted that white churches had to become involved in this process.

Mr. Doug Baldwin, noted that to bring justice to our community, we need a true dialogue.  Mr. Baldwin observed that he shared the same agenda as Chief Alexander; that we have to be the law enforcement for the entire community, meaning not just Black and white, but for every community in Escambia County.  But, we must change what we are doing as a community and come together as a people.  In this sense, he asked the community to look beyond labels like "Democrat" and "Republican" and "Black" and "white" and look at real policies and real character.

Reverend Evelyn Forbes, head of the non-profit group The Extra Mile, revealed that we needed to develop community service options for children as young as 11- or 13-years old, so that they can do community service instead of going to jail.  She noted that young people who commit crimes do not realize and know the effects their crimes have on people and the community at large.  She also noted that her non-profit organization serves largely a clientele of white children.  Ms. Humphries noted that this, too, indicated a racial disparity because the majority of minors in DJJ are Black, while the majority of minors sent to diversion programs are white.  Again, this is a reason to monitor the judges and how they sentence young people.

Ms. Blackmon, a 74-year old veteran of life, stressed the need to look at our common goal--a better life for our children.  All these children, she remarked, white, Black, are human beings, and we have to save our children, and leave a legacy for our children.  In essence, she said, the children belong to all of us.

Ms. Monica Johnson emphasized that it "takes a community to raise a child."  She noted that in the 1950s and 1960s it was the pastors and community adults that kept the children right.

An unidentified young teacher shared her first-hand experiences that the community needs to address the hierarchy of needs; even the parents of children in school need help paying their electric bills or putting food on the table.

Selected Photos Via Cindy Martin's Facebook Page: