[CPRB] recent developments

[John W.]

At 10:54 AM 10/8/2006, Brian Dolinar wrote:

>If its going to be a roundtable
>I suggest CUPJ be invited
>as well as VEYA.
>
>Chief Finney also mentioned
>wanted 3 police members on the board.
>Esp. given the Mayor's position
>its going to take a fight to get a CPRB in Champaign.
>
>We're going to need people willing to make noise
>at City Council mtgs.
>Not just work from behind desks.
>
>BD

There's a time to make noise, and a time to "work behind desks".  It is not 
yet time to make noise in Champaign OR Urbana.  We've gotten as far as we 
have in Urbana so far totally without "making noise" in the sense of 
protest.  The only "noise" made has been the citizen testimony at the City 
of Urbana public hearings, which was much appreciated.  But even that was, 
to some degree, merely going through the necessary motions.  The rest has 
been calm and reasoned discussions behind the scenes with the mayor(s) and 
with the city council members.  Now we're in a waiting phase while the 
negotiations with the police union drag on.  We monitor the situation, and 
if it looks like the CPRB has stalled in Urbana, we apply a little more 
calm but determined pressure.

In Champaign we don't even know what the situation is yet, except for what 
Ricky has learned through the grapevine.  Nobody has said anything yet 
about a "roundtable" or a "fight".

I'm not going to do too much arguing about this, especially over 
e-mail.  But I will tell you emphatically that the quickest way to fuck up 
what may be a very, very hopeful development is to come across as a "fringe 
lunatic" faction, trying to shame or embarrass city officials into making 
change and in the process polarizing them, rather than working patiently 
and calmly through as many different channels as we can to make the CPRB 
happen in Champaign.  The more we can make it look like a broad movement 
from ordinary middle class folks of all ethnicities who have never 
personally been in trouble with the law, the better chance we have of 
getting it done.  Sometimes slow and steady wins the race, and protest is 
unnecessary and even counterproductive.

What's more important: the adrenalin rush of protesting the multifarious 
evils of society, or getting a Citizen Police Review Board in Urbana and 
Champaign without undue fanfare?  I personally am too old for adrenalin 
rushes outside the bedroom, and I don't give a shit who gets the "credit".

One of the few wise things my mother taught me was this: "Save your 
ammunition for the big things."  This discussion, which seems to be a bit 
recurrent, reminds me of the strategic differences during the civil rights 
movement between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and, say, Malcolm X or the 
Black Panthers.  There's a place for all perspectives, of course.  And I 
want to believe that we all have the same goal in view.  While I would 
argue passionately that King and his tactics achieved far more of lasting 
value than any of the others, I will concede that it's entirely possible 
that he needed the more radical groups in order to appear moderate by 
comparison.  But he couldn't openly utilize or approve of their tactics 
although he could, privately, acknowledge his debt to them.

We can discuss this more in person if you like.  Meanwhile, Ricky, I do 
hope you'll contact the folks you mention below, find out as much as you 
can, and get back to us.  As you know, I'm happy to meet with just about 
anyone at any time on this issue.

Sincerely,

John



>On 10/8/06, Ricky Baldwin <baldwinricky at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>Fellow CPRBers-
>>
>>Do we need to meet?
>>
>>While Urbana's cprb proposal remains stuck in
>>negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police ­
>>something I'd like to discuss in itself ­ there have
>>also been developments in Champaign that we might want
>>to discuss.
>>
>>Rev. Chambers from the NAACP announced at their recent
>>meeting that a cprb proposal might be in the works in
>>Champaign, and made it sound like it  was almost as
>>far along as the one we've been working on in Urbana!
>>Then yesterday's News-Gazette reported (A-3) that a
>>subcommittee of the Police Community Relations
>>Committee has recommended a cprb and Chief Finney says
>>he isn't opposed.  (Schweighart still says he is
>>opposed.)
>>
>>Some of this has happened before, of course, but it
>>seems the context is different now.
>>
>>At the same time, it may not be urgent to meet with
>>the same faces again.  I propose that we have a
>>meeting with either Rev. Chambers or Rev. Burks who
>>was NAACP's rep on the Urbana Mayor's Taskforce with
>>us, maybe with Tracy Parsons, too?   And anyone else
>>we think we ought to meet with.
>>
>>I'll give Rev. Chambers a call ­ and Rev. Burks ­ to
>>see if I can learn more, and if folks think it's a
>>good idea see what they think about meeting or what
>>the next step is in their minds.
>>
>>What do y'all think?
>>
>>Ricky
>>328-3037
>
>
>--
>Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.
>303 W. Locust St.
>Urbana, IL 61801
>briandolinar at gmail.com