Racial Justice in Vancouver

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• Share Being suppressed on Facebook Share Being suppressed on Twitter Share Being suppressed on Linkedin Email Being suppressed link

  Being suppressed

  by shivsarki , almost 5 years ago
  I am a South Asian, born in Nepal, emigrated in 2008. And live in Portland, Oregon. I have very deep experience while I lived in Vancouver, WA 2008 through 2016. I have lot more to share in terms of being unheard and suppressed in the community.

  I am a South Asian, born in Nepal, emigrated in 2008. And live in Portland, Oregon. I have very deep experience while I lived in Vancouver, WA 2008 through 2016. I have lot more to share in terms of being unheard and suppressed in the community.
• Share Please reform police use of force on Facebook Share Please reform police use of force on Twitter Share Please reform police use of force on Linkedin Email Please reform police use of force link

  Please reform police use of force

  by Erik, almost 6 years ago

  I strongly support the peaceful demonstrations of people throughout the region and the country and ask that you sign a pledge to review and reform use of force for Vancouver police: https://www.obama.org/mayor-pledge/

  This issue has been allowed to fester for years. It's beyond time to act.

  In my own experience, I've had positive interactions with Vancouver police and some interactions that were unnecessarily tense in the two decades I've lived in this community. The neighborhood police officers are outstanding and truly represent the best ideals of community policing. However, there appears to be a false division between the work of... Continue reading

  I strongly support the peaceful demonstrations of people throughout the region and the country and ask that you sign a pledge to review and reform use of force for Vancouver police: https://www.obama.org/mayor-pledge/

  This issue has been allowed to fester for years. It's beyond time to act.

  In my own experience, I've had positive interactions with Vancouver police and some interactions that were unnecessarily tense in the two decades I've lived in this community. The neighborhood police officers are outstanding and truly represent the best ideals of community policing. However, there appears to be a false division between the work of neighborhood officers and patrol officers. An emphasis on community policing dates back at least 30 years, yet I see too many officers operating in our city as if they're engaged in an armed military incursion.

  Policing is a tough job, and it's understandable that officers brace to encounter people at their worst. However, society entrusts our officers to represent and reflect the community's interest in preserving the health, safety and dignity of all citizens -- especially in difficult situations.

  The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis resulted in justifiable outrage in towns large and small throughout the nation and here in the Northwest. It should be a time for all of us to reflect on broad issues of structural racism in education, land-use, housing, criminal justice and the economy.

  We must also act immediately to change police culture. As recently as this spring, a man lost his life in Vancouver due to another in a series of police shootings in our community.

  I ask that you commit now to review and reform use of force by police in Vancouver by signing this pledge and following through: https://www.obama.org/mayor-pledge/.
• Share Make Policing in Vancouver More democratic and Equitable on Facebook Share Make Policing in Vancouver More democratic and Equitable on Twitter Share Make Policing in Vancouver More democratic and Equitable on Linkedin Email Make Policing in Vancouver More democratic and Equitable link

  Make Policing in Vancouver More democratic and Equitable

  by CherylForVancouver, almost 6 years ago

  Hello Mayor, City Manager, Chiefs, Councilors [Stober, Paulsen], and beloved community members:

  I live within the city limits of Vancouver and have lived here for the majority of 2 decades and I strive to be anti-racist, not just “not racist”.

  I am here today to ask the City Council to make policing in Vancouver more democratic and equitable. This can go a long way to improving race relations and relations with marginalized or targeted communities in our city.

  When I say “democratic” I’m speaking about “lower case d for democracy” not partisan, “capital D Democractic” like the political party named... Continue reading

  Hello Mayor, City Manager, Chiefs, Councilors [Stober, Paulsen], and beloved community members:

  I live within the city limits of Vancouver and have lived here for the majority of 2 decades and I strive to be anti-racist, not just “not racist”.

  I am here today to ask the City Council to make policing in Vancouver more democratic and equitable. This can go a long way to improving race relations and relations with marginalized or targeted communities in our city.

  When I say “democratic” I’m speaking about “lower case d for democracy” not partisan, “capital D Democractic” like the political party named after this principle. “Democracy” literally means “the people rule or government”. What I mean when I say I want the VPD to be more democratic is I want more citizen input on all aspects of the Vancouver Police Department.

  I hope you have had an opportunity to read the email I sent June 6th titled “Request for Citizen Commission on Police Brutality and Systemic Racism“.

  I want to thank our City Manager, for first jumping into action to create these listening sessions, and for proposing a Task Force to focus on policing in Vancouver. I also want to thank the City Council for giving the City Manager the thumbs up to move forward with this task force. As the City Manager stated at Monday’s City Council meeting the purpose of this task force is for transparency and accountability which are 2 things I support in our governments. I believe, if set up and empowered properly, a task force like this can begin to make VPD more democratic than it is now.

  I, myself, have had the displeasure of filing a Professional Standards Unit complaint against more than one VPD officer. I did so because our mayor had mentioned it to me. And I can tell you the complaint process is not democratic nor very accessible to citizens. For me, to know what the officers had to say in response to the complaints, I have to do a public records request. The final complaint isn’t just automatically given to the citizen. The citizen has to do more work to get the information sent to them. I believe this policy is part of the reason it feels like an “us vs. them” mentality when it comes to the police and citizens. At this point, I’m terrified to even make the public records request because I have a sinking feeling that little to nothing was done to hold these officers accountable and the process wasn’t very transparent.

  Recently, I wanted to make another Professional Standards Unit complaint but due to the off putting nature of my first set of complaints I have been hesitant to file my next complaint. I believe the current complaint process turns citizens off and away and we as a beloved city don’t get to enjoy the benefits of having our citizens fully engaged in the police complaint processes in our city.

  I have had such a hard time with VPD regarding my cyberstalking, that I have gotten to the point I don’t even want to call them any further with my ongoing situation. I’ve resolved myself to endure the trauma of cyberstalking because dealing with the mistakes of the police over the matter is too unbearable for me.

  In 2019, we got nearly half a million dollars in grant money for training for VPD regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking and in my experience it was money wasted because my experience with VPD did not improve after that training took place. I seriously doubt our officers gained any useful knowledge from that training based off of the interactions I had with a couple of VPD officers. They didn’t use any special training while interacting with me, a traumatized victim. And I’m too scared to even report the incident to the Professional Standards Unit at this point.

  We are failing our citizens when it comes to policing in Vancouver.

  I urge you to make policing in Vancouver more democratic, so citizens have more input into the way policing is done in our city and how complaints are handled.

  I have more to say but my time is up and I thank you for this opportunity to speak today.
• Share Brown in Clark County on Facebook Share Brown in Clark County on Twitter Share Brown in Clark County on Linkedin Email Brown in Clark County link

  Brown in Clark County

  by Itstillhappens, almost 6 years ago

  I'm a Latin American, born in Chicago and have lived in Clark County since 1983. About five years ago hear a knock on my door and I open it to see a police officer. The officer says to me that a gentleman was seen by kids taking out his garbage naked. He then goes on to describe the suspect as "white, 6'2 and skinny" he ask if that was me! At the time of this encounter I was 5'6 and 260 pounds, so I laugh and ask the officer if he's kidding. He then ask me to walk outside to... Continue reading

  I'm a Latin American, born in Chicago and have lived in Clark County since 1983. About five years ago hear a knock on my door and I open it to see a police officer. The officer says to me that a gentleman was seen by kids taking out his garbage naked. He then goes on to describe the suspect as "white, 6'2 and skinny" he ask if that was me! At the time of this encounter I was 5'6 and 260 pounds, so I laugh and ask the officer if he's kidding. He then ask me to walk outside to have the wittiness look at me, I was confused. After I agreed to walk out and have the witnesses exonerate me, the police officer starts to talk to me in broken Spanish. Speaking in broken Spanish the officer asked me if I run around the neighborhood in my underwear.

  Now I'm beginning to feel insulted, at no point in our conversation did I speak to the officer in Spanish nor do I have a accent. I ask the officer to stop talking to me in Spanish; but he refuses to. I informed him that the city had just loss a lawsuit for racial profiling and told him that I would be discussing this incident with a friend of mine on the City Council. The officer offered no apologies and just left. I did call my friend on the city council and later received a phone call from the officers boss with a apology.
• Share Two incidents of a few that I am willing to be open about on Facebook Share Two incidents of a few that I am willing to be open about on Twitter Share Two incidents of a few that I am willing to be open about on Linkedin Email Two incidents of a few that I am willing to be open about link

  Two incidents of a few that I am willing to be open about

  by Life anew, almost 6 years ago

  I will be specific as I can. I want to start out by saying I am a person of color. Last year I was assaulted in Target by an employee in the bathroom at the Vancouver Plaza Drive location. Before leaving the store that morning I had decided since I travel by bus that I may as well use the restroom seeing as I have had the experience of missing one of my connecting buses to get home quite a few times before, and I did not want to have to hold it for so long. I notice one employee... Continue reading

  I will be specific as I can. I want to start out by saying I am a person of color. Last year I was assaulted in Target by an employee in the bathroom at the Vancouver Plaza Drive location. Before leaving the store that morning I had decided since I travel by bus that I may as well use the restroom seeing as I have had the experience of missing one of my connecting buses to get home quite a few times before, and I did not want to have to hold it for so long. I notice one employee follow me into the Mens bathroom, but did not enter directly after me only a few seconds later. There is no one else in the bathroom. As I am at the urinal I notice the employee come in and his eyes are dead set locked on me. He does not take his eyes off of me from the moment I see him enter and go around to the other urinal. He just stands there looking at me with what I can only describe as a look of hate never once taking his eyes off me. I finish and move to the sink to wash my hands and face. I glance up and see he is still staring at me. I turn around and acknowledge him. "Hi, How are you doing?" or some such thing. Still he says not one word. He leaves the urinal and comes directly towards me in my personal space. "What's going on?" I recall saying, and he grabs at my shirt forcefully into a fist. I immediately back up stunned and bewildered at why an employee would purposefully follow me into the restroom and do this. I am not one to cast judgment upon others, but this man was clearly not in his right mind. I left the store and have never gone back. I go to Hazel dell or far out of my way to the Mill Plain location. I was the only person of color in that store at the time and I feel like he targeted me for a reason.
  
  There was another incident last year. One morning I boarded the Vine to get to one of my appointments. I scan my disability card/ID and board the same time as a few other men, whom happen to be white. I make my way to a seat and the fare cop comes up asking me for my ID. As I show him my card he looks at the card as If I had stolen it or some such nonsense and scans it. It all checks out. I had indeed scanned my transit card at the kiosk before boarding. He hands my ID back and I sit back down. I notice he had not bothered to ask any of the other men that had boarded ahead of me and walked the bus for a few beats. I watched him do this. It feels as though he singled me out. Why single me out and not ask anyone else to check their fares?

  There were a few other incidents and my struggles with regards to access to city resources. Is there someone at city hall or in Clark county that I can talk to or email about city resources and things?
• Share A different shade of color on Facebook Share A different shade of color on Twitter Share A different shade of color on Linkedin Email A different shade of color link

  A different shade of color

  by Not Quite White, almost 6 years ago

  From the outside, I look white. Privilege is assumed.
  On the inside, I am Armenian American. I am second generation and not ‘mixed’ with anything.
  Our people were persecuted in a holocaust much like the Jews, but it is not officially recognized. This persecution is why my family fled to the west, who sought asylum and tried hard to integrate into the melting pot of America. We were raised outside of the culture so we could be American and blend in. My skin has undertones of yellow, my eyes are dark, and my hair was too, but now it is... Continue reading

  From the outside, I look white. Privilege is assumed.
  On the inside, I am Armenian American. I am second generation and not ‘mixed’ with anything.
  Our people were persecuted in a holocaust much like the Jews, but it is not officially recognized. This persecution is why my family fled to the west, who sought asylum and tried hard to integrate into the melting pot of America. We were raised outside of the culture so we could be American and blend in. My skin has undertones of yellow, my eyes are dark, and my hair was too, but now it is now gray.
  I have had the accusation of “your family owned my family!” thrown at me. No, they didn’t. We weren’t even here then. And besides, we had our own stories of servitude to tell. “You are white – you had it easy!”. No. We are hard workers of the land. Crops and weather don’t give preference to anyone. My surname caused raised eyebrows when 9/11 hit, because it “sounds like one of THEM”. I am not an Extremist; I am a follower of Jesus.
  As a woman, I’ve dealt with physical/sexual harassment, employment discrimination, and compensation bias.
  As a woman of an unknown color, I was assaulted during the Rodney King riots because I was 'white'. My color was held against me when it was convenient like when an employer needed to check off a box for the sake of demographics, two checks for me: gender and race.

  All this to say: not everyone who looks white is white. Look around you and see if you can see all of the colors.

  If you'd like to read more, here is a link to an excellent poem that I didn't write, but could have.
  Not Everyone Who Looks White Is White
  https://armenianweekly.com/2018/10/13/not-everyone-who-looks-white-is-white/
  
  

  
  
• Share It’s not only against color it’s also racists against women on Facebook Share It’s not only against color it’s also racists against women on Twitter Share It’s not only against color it’s also racists against women on Linkedin Email It’s not only against color it’s also racists against women link

  It’s not only against color it’s also racists against women

  by Survived , almost 6 years ago

  I was 8 months pregnant and my now ex had strangled me over the couch cops came because i had called earlier. The officers was in my face asking what I did for him to strangle me and that if I tried to do something. So I just kept telling him that he was going to hit me. And that he did push me on the floor and then when he was choking me I tried to get him off of me. That officer then told me on the way to the jail in back of his car you “women... Continue reading

  I was 8 months pregnant and my now ex had strangled me over the couch cops came because i had called earlier. The officers was in my face asking what I did for him to strangle me and that if I tried to do something. So I just kept telling him that he was going to hit me. And that he did push me on the floor and then when he was choking me I tried to get him off of me. That officer then told me on the way to the jail in back of his car you “women are all the same, you even using drugs and you shouldn’t have changed the locks on the door in the first place.” I couldn’t understand at the time it was my first interaction asking for help because my ex had shown up with a pocket knife. I didn’t know why he was ranting about women deserved to go to jail, 8 months pregnant never in trouble and graduated high school.
• Share Walk in my brown skin for a moment on Facebook Share Walk in my brown skin for a moment on Twitter Share Walk in my brown skin for a moment on Linkedin Email Walk in my brown skin for a moment link

  Walk in my brown skin for a moment

  by katp, almost 6 years ago

  I was born and raised in Vancouver, Washington in 1964. My father and mother moved here from Mexia, Texas in 1960. My father was the first African American Male to attend Moler Barber College which was located on Fourth Plain. I saw the photo that he as a student and his chair was located at the back of the school and he was not given clients as a first choice unless the person agreed for him to touch them.

  My dad and uncle opened the first barber shop that cut anyone and everyone's hair in 1969. I remember the resistance... Continue reading

  I was born and raised in Vancouver, Washington in 1964. My father and mother moved here from Mexia, Texas in 1960. My father was the first African American Male to attend Moler Barber College which was located on Fourth Plain. I saw the photo that he as a student and his chair was located at the back of the school and he was not given clients as a first choice unless the person agreed for him to touch them.

  My dad and uncle opened the first barber shop that cut anyone and everyone's hair in 1969. I remember the resistance he had in Vancouver to become a licensed business owner the City Council fought him. Our family received death threats all because they wanted to be business owners. I remember him having discussions with my mom about keeping doors and windows locked, and the phone ringing and my mom hanging up abruptly. I remember him being intimidated by the Vancouver Police and being told he had no rights as a n-word.

  Fast forwarding in life to 30 years ago, and me being a married woman with three children and having to teach my children to watch everything they do because there were people who don't like them because of the color of their skin...again walk in my brown skin. Teachers in the school system singling them out over situations that could have been worked out but never being given the opportunity. Walk in my brown skin when you teach your children the golden rule of treat people the way you want to be treated only for them to be treated unfairly. Walk in my brown skin for a moment when you've been hired in the same department that mistreated your father and his business. Working in a department that Sgt's on their way out advising you to keep doing what your doing because there were some people that are after you...Walk in my brown skin that you walk in a room and everything becomes quiet and a person tells you they heard you were a trouble maker. Walk in my brown skinned when you have serviced the citizens of Vancouver to be addressed as that negro.

  Walk in my brown skin when all you want is to be treated like your co-workers...I don't believe racial justice can happen in a two day community conversation. You can't expect something that has happened continuously for 400 years to be resolved that quickly and you can't help people understand their actions until they want to first admit they've been wrong in their mistreatment of so many. A person has to want to be better to do better.
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  Life under negative expectations

  by rhupp44, almost 6 years ago

  The issue of racism has impacted every aspect of my life beginning as a young child, as I began to ascertain what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like. These acts would come from white America because of the systemic racism this country was founded on. This country was built for European immigrants who escaped a life of poverty in their homelands. When Europeans began forming the United States, which included writing the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, these documents did not include rights for any people of African heritage. Before and after the United States gained their... Continue reading

  The issue of racism has impacted every aspect of my life beginning as a young child, as I began to ascertain what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like. These acts would come from white America because of the systemic racism this country was founded on. This country was built for European immigrants who escaped a life of poverty in their homelands. When Europeans began forming the United States, which included writing the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, these documents did not include rights for any people of African heritage. Before and after the United States gained their independence the use of African chattel slaves ramped up during the heights of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

  During slavery, the powers that be determined a need to create propaganda to demonize black people and to establish the Caucasian people as a superior race. This spurred the writing of the Willie Lynch letter, which purported the secret of how to control black slaves by setting them against each other. This was used as a tactic which in Latin is called (divide et impera), which in English is known as divide and conquer.

  The United States made amendments to the Constitution abolishing slavery (13^th Amendment), giving black men the right to vote (15^th Amendment), as well as language stating blacks were three-fifths of a person. The Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court found that neither Dred Scott nor any other person of African ancestry could claim citizenship in the United States. In addition to these laws were Jim Crow laws calling for limiting the freedom of blacks in American society and the black codes called for the limiting of freedom to ensure blacks the availability of a cheap labor force after slavery was abolished.

  In present day, the United States continues the agenda of Caucasian superiority over black people and other non-Europeans. This has deeply affected black Americans to present day America with a lack of knowledge of their true history, culture, and beliefs. Lacking these things has caused above all else a lack of self-esteem and belief in one’s self, which is a mental obstacle black Americans struggle with every day. Our people remain in a country that does not value our lives and you wonder why we are so broken.
• Share Decades of Hard and soft Injustice on Facebook Share Decades of Hard and soft Injustice on Twitter Share Decades of Hard and soft Injustice on Linkedin Email Decades of Hard and soft Injustice link

  Decades of Hard and soft Injustice

  by beh, almost 6 years ago

  I am a brown color Iranian American and have been a Naturalized U.S citizen since the seventies. Despite of decades of hard and soft discriminations including but not limited to multiple job related, socially related, and government related discriminations I consider myself successful simply because I never considered myself as a victim and if things got tough I made myself even tougher. However, all of this came with the price of extreme mental and physical hardship on myself and the people around me making life painful at times. Here is a short summary: 1.0 Out of the blue and in... Continue reading

  I am a brown color Iranian American and have been a Naturalized U.S citizen since the seventies. Despite of decades of hard and soft discriminations including but not limited to multiple job related, socially related, and government related discriminations I consider myself successful simply because I never considered myself as a victim and if things got tough I made myself even tougher. However, all of this came with the price of extreme mental and physical hardship on myself and the people around me making life painful at times. Here is a short summary: 1.0 Out of the blue and in public view being called names saying go home. 2.0 Been followed, yelled at and sprayed on. 3.0 While working for a Fortune 200 my incompetent boss viciously lays me off. After taking the company to court the company fires him because he had lied about his professional degree. 3.0 Harrased and detained at airports for hours. 4.0 I have been a peace activist for decades with thousands of social media factual comments which many of them criticizing the government. The most and worst of all injustices that still continues has been decades long of government surveillance. This includes but not limited to a military helicopter taking close photo shots from my residence, eavesdropping, computer monitoring, mobile labs testing my sewer outlet as well as surveillance by traffic lights, helicopters, and spy planes right over my head while driving which are causing distractions and endangering my life, my family and other drivers on the road. I have taken videos and photos of them which are mostly visible at nights.