(WILMINGTON, Del.) - The Delaware Coalition to Dismantle the New Jim Crow is holding a third community/police forum at the Hicks Community Center in Wilmington on Saturday, December 3, 2-4pm. The coalition would like to bring together as many people as possible to meet and negotiate together with the police to make action steps toward safer interactions between law enforcement and the community.
In the first forum, many Wilmington residents made their voices heard about their experiences with police, and in the second forum, the police essentially laid out their perspectives on the issues. Throughout both forums, there has been common acceptance of certain truths, and now the Coalition wants to build upon these shared values to find action steps that can lead to real change. Both police and community accept the following:
* Both police and citizens should come out of every encounter safely
* Justice should be applied equally everywhere: crime should have the same consequences wherever it happens, and whoever commits it, without regard for race, economic status, etc.
The coalition says they know that poverty and mental health have a huge effect upon the criminal justice system, and naturally these will be major factors in negotiating real, effective steps towards justice. However, the coalition believes they can make steps that will be effective even without the major systemic changes that these issues will require.
The coalition requests that people who are concerned to move towards greater justice in Delaware attend the third forum, and bring a clear mind and a big heart to the table. There will be an initial panel discussion with questions from the audience, followed by small group discussion of action steps, where each group will consist of both civilians and police. We are searching for consensus, not enforcing a one-sided solution on anyone.