[Peace-discuss] Part IV: Post-Kiwane Carrington: The Struggle for a Transparent Process

Wed Nov 4 11:49:49 CST 2009

*Part IV: The Struggle for a Transparent Process*
*
Post-Kiwane: **A City Preparing for Community Building* *or* *A City
Fulfilling its Divide and Conquer Plan* *in order to achieve perceived calm
and control.*

*"...Kenith Bergeron is the U.S. Justice Departments Conciliation Specialist
that Champaign City Manager, Steve Carter brought in to "so-called" mediate,
with the City's hand-picked choices they've entitled Champaign's Black
Leaders, after the tragic death of 15-year-old Kiwane Carrington, a slightly
built, unarmed, African-American youth.  Bergeron is not new to Champaign or
the climate unrest among the racial divide.  Bergeron was called in by the
City Manager two-years-ago after the Brian Chesley "resisting arrest" case
that led to this African-American youth's arrest that also caused unrest in
the Black Community, leading to protests and public complaints about the
Champaign Police Department "Use of Force" tactics and Bias Profiling in
areas heavily populated by African-Americans.*.."

Kenith Bergeron
Department of Justice
Acting Regional Director
Community Relations Service
230 S. Dearborn Street
Suite 2103
Chicago, IL 60604
(773-783-4128)
(773-783-5855)
*

Bergeron wasn't a welcomed mediator with Minnesota Native Americans:
*
From:   Gregory Paquin     Date:  Aug 02 16:34 UTC   Short link
Regarding
a letter by Molly Miron of the Bemidji Pioneer july 24 -2009,
describing the ACLU- Greater Minnesota Justice Project forum which i
wrote a response to the editor that did not apparently go along with
the "CONSORTIA" terminology of Ken Bergeron,US Department of
Justice,(Community Relations)or the comprehensive need to analyze and
point the finger where it needs pointing regarding what constitutes the
understanding of what is Institutional Racial Practices that need
identification and change.

Grand Forks Herald
Published August 02 2009
VIEWPOINT: High jobless rate afflicts reservations
A recent story claimed Minnesota
is ranked high in terms of children’s well-being (“North Dakota,
Minnesota rank in Top 10 in children’s well-being,” Page B1, Tuesday).
By: Gregory Paquin, Bemidji

BEMIDJI
— A recent story claimed Minnesota is ranked high in terms of
children’s well-being (“North Dakota, Minnesota rank in Top 10 in
children’s well-being,” Page B1, Tuesday).

But the story certainly isn’t talking about American Indian children.
Poverty,
overwhelming poverty, is robbing Indian children of their childhood and a
decent future.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009  Letter to the
Editor<http://nativeamericanindianlaborunion12.blogspot.com/2009/08/letter-to-editor.html>

<http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/>Published August 05 2009

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/event/article/id/25959/

 Racism starts with issue of poverty at the center

I wish to respond to the article, “ACLU-MN Greater Minnesota Racial Justice
Project: Community dialogue focuses on solutions, “Bemidji Pioneer (July
24).

Racial justice goes well beyond the issue of police/criminal justice system
and community/race relations and I don’t think the article begins to cite
“solutions” to our problems as native Americans.

Overwhelming poverty is at the center of each and every issue plaguing
Indian reservations and native American communities which have unemployment
rates rapidly exceeding 50 percent.

There is no doubt problems of racism do arise between the police and native
Americans because we have serious problems of racism in our society.
However, in order to get to the root cause of these racial problems we need
to tackle the employment question as the primary issue and not allow this
police/community issue to be used as a cover for not coming to grips with
the fact that the poverty associated with this horrendous unemployment is
responsible for bringing native Americans into contact with the police
departments and the criminal justice system in the first place.

People tried to tell Mr. Ken Bergeron, the acting director of the U.S.
Department of Justice who maintains that President Barack Obama is his boss,
that poverty was the main issue needing to be addressed; yet, Mr.
Bergeron,like politicians, refused to listen or respond — instead, he
kept focusing
and steering the discussion with a focus on racism in police/community
relations which causes me to ask this very fundamental question:

Why hasn’t Mr. Bergeron directed federal law enforcement officials to
prosecute those in law enforcement and the criminal justice system for
violating the civil rights of native Americans?

Mr. Bergeron could begin delving into the lack of accountability in
affirmative action starting with the Bemidji Regional Event Center.

How can there possibly be this huge discrepancy in unemployment between the
rest of the population and the native American population if affirmative
action programs are being enforced?

When it comes to native Americans, affirmative action guidelines are not
being enforced because we have no representation in the Minnesota state
Legislature or among the Minnesota congressional delegation; this is racism.

Poverty is easy to solve: Put people to work at decent jobs paying real
living wages.

Pay people poverty wages like in casinos and keep people unemployed you get
poverty and the crime that goes with it and problems with the police.

Gregory W. Paquin

Bemidji
**
*About **Greg Paquin's work:*

*Redefining our future as Native American People and communities. Developing
Training Strategies to bridge the ability of our youth and young adults to
participate in economic growth. Providing the tool for Native American
outreach and development in a cooperative and workmanlike manner. Greg
Paquin, Business Manager, Native American Indian Labor Union Number 12*

I am submitting this exclusively for publication in the Bemidji Pioneer to
be run as either a “Letter to the Editor” or as an “Opinion” piece.

  I wish to respond to the article, “ACLU-MN Greater Minnesota Racial
Justice Project: Community dialogue focuses on solutions,“ Bemidji
Pioneer (August
24, 2009).

First, let me make one thing very clear; racial justice goes well beyond the
issue of police/criminal justice system community relations and I don’t
think the article begins to cite “solutions.”

*Poverty*, overwhelming poverty, *is at the center of each and every issue
plaguing Indian Reservations and Native American communities* *which have
unemployment rates rapidly exceeding 50%*.

There is no doubt problems of racism do arise between the police and Native
Americans because we have serious problems of racism in our society.
However, in order to get to the root cause of these racial problems we need
to tackle the employment question as the primary issue and not allow this
police/community issue to be used as a cover for not coming to grips with
the fact that the poverty associated with this horrendous unemployment is
responsible for bringing Native Americans into contact with the police
departments and the criminal justice systems in the first place.

In many ways during this conference reported on, people tried to tell Mr.
Ken Bergeron, the acting director of the United States Department of Justice
who maintains that President Barack Obama is his boss, that poverty was the
main issue needing to be addressed; yet, Mr. Bergeron refused to listen or
respond--- instead, he kept focusing and steering the discussion with a
focus on racism in police/community relations which causes me to ask this
very fundamental question:

*Why hasn’t Mr. Bergeron directed federal law enforcement officials to
prosecute those in law enforcement and the criminal justice system for
violating the civil rights of Native Americans; this would be the very best
educational experience for all involved--- after all, isn’t this the reason
given for charging people with any other crimes, putting them through the
criminal justice system and incarcerating people?*

I find it very interesting that Mr. Bergeron has not directed his law
enforcement division of the United States Department of Justice to
investigate with intent to prosecute in finding out why federal and state
affirmative action legislated guidelines are not being adhered to on
projects receiving state and federal funding.

How can there possibly be this huge discrepancy in unemployment between the
rest of the population and the Native American population if affirmative
action programs are being enforced? We must conclude affirmative action
guidelines--- when it comes to Native Americans--- are not being enforced;
and this is the real racial injustice we must come to grips with if we want
to get a handle on all other problems.

I have talked to the Beltrami County Sheriff Phil Hodapp and it is quite
apparent to me the Sheriff is taking all the appropriate measures that are
required to see to it that racial injustices do not occur in Beltrami
County. All is not by any means perfect; but, we need to be asking why so
many Native Americans are coming into contact with law enforcement and the
criminal justice system to begin with.

Again, this brings us back to the issue of poverty. Enforce affirmative
action laws and provide people with life-long skills at jobs paying real
living wages and common sense tells us that we automatically reduce Native
American contact with law enforcement and the criminal justice system to
levels of the rest of society--- and many of the problems involving the rest
of society arise from the systemic problems of poverty, too.

So, in my opinion, enforcement of affirmative action policies in hiring
should be Mr. Bergeron’s first order of business; he can arrest those law
enforcement officials and those in the criminal justice system for violating
people’s civil rights at the same time.

In my opinion, the reason Native Americans are suffering unemployment rates
far beyond the general population is that Native Americans do not have
elected representatives advocating for them in the political process.

Not one single Native American sits among the more than 200 Minnesota State
Legislators; none are among Minnesota’s Congressional delegation. In the
City of Bemidji, 25% Native American population, not one single Native
American elected to public office on the city council.

I, and many Native Americans, want to know when Mr. Bergeron and the United
States Department of Justice is going to investigate why no Native Americans
have had the opportunity to represent and advocate on behalf of Native
Americans in the Minnesota state legislature? There has to be something that
is going on where politicians and the powers that be are acting in collusion
to deny Native Americans fair representation in the political process and
thereby being excluded from the real decision-making process.

This is what we are really talking about when it comes to ending racial
injustices against Native Americans--- our fundamental and basic human
rights to participate as equals in the political process. If we had this
full equality with full and equal participation in the political
decision-making process we would not have to worry about finding solutions
to being mistreated by racist cops, racist judges or racist employers who
are causing the majority of these problems in the first place because as we
all know, people without jobs are naturally very poor and when you have
entire communities plagued by 50% and up joblessness you are going to have
criminal activity resulting.

When there is a glaring discrepancy of 50% Native American unemployment
while the rest of the population is suffering a 10% unemployment rate there
is a problem of racial injustice at work here.

One very glaring example of the incorrect approach Mr. Ken Bergeron of the
United States Department of Justice is taking as he moderates and
facilitates these forums sponsored by the Minnesota branch of the American
Civil Liberties Union’s Racial Justice Task Force is very apparent.

It was pointed out during this forum, that Native American youth are driving
without driver’s licenses which lead confrontations with police and to many
other problems for the youths directly involved, their families and the
communities they live in--- especially these youths coming into contact with
the police and the criminal justice system as a result--- many for the first
time. And if President Obama’s university professor friend, Mr. Gates, has a
right to fly off the handle when police invaded his privacy and his home,
one can expect that Native American youth are just as likely to become
engaged with the police in at least a similar manner when stopped and caught
without drivers’ licenses. The reason for this problem was cited by state
legislators at this Forum on Racial Justice as being Native American youth
raised by families living in poverty who can’t afford the cost of Driver’s
Training Classes offered by the public schools. Yet, no solution was offered
by Mr. Bergeron or these legislators when such a simple solution is at hand.

Ken Bergeron pooh-poohed the solution to this problem which is so elemental
one has to wonder why the state legislators have not acted: Provide state
legislation permitting those with family incomes under $25,000.00 a year (a
living annual income in Minnesota) to take Driver’s Training for free. But,
as we see, without Native Americans sitting in the Minnesota
Statelegislature such problems can not be resolved.

I have done my own surveys among Native Americans and I would challenge the
United States Department of Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union or
anyone else to refute my findings. Among Native Americans this is the list
of our priorities:

Poverty and unemployment; people want decent, real living wage jobs.

Hunger and nutrition; poor people can’t afford to eat and they can’t afford
to eat properly.

Housing--- poor quality and shortage.

Health care--- lack of access to health care in an underfunded Indian Health
Service

Education--- lack of quality public schools.

Police/community relations does not top the list of problems in my polling
but is related to all the other problems once we begin to understand the
central role of poverty which brings impoverished people into greater
contact with law enforcement.

Though the racial conflicts and racial injustices involving law enforcement
and the criminal justice system remain an important problem creating a great
deal of agony, additional hardships and problems for Native American
families--- is it coincidental that the Native American incarceration rate
of 50% in the Beltrami County Jail is about the same as our unemployment
rate--- 50% and rising? I don’t think so. Provide people with decent real
living wage jobs through strict enforcement of affirmative action in hiring
and we will be well on our way to solving our police/community relations
problems.

There is something terribly wrong when public officials will come to Native
Americans for our votes and the money generated through gambling revenues
but then they ignore the horrendous poverty and unemployment in our
community… all solutions should be directed in a way that aims to eliminate
poverty. Focusing solely on racism in law enforcement and the criminal
justice system evades the real issues and provides an easy out to
Minnesotapoliticians.

If Mr. Bergeron knows of specific cases of law enforcement officers and
those employed in the criminal justice system engaging in racist conduct
rising to the level of violating the civil rights of Native American people,
I want to know why those criminals have not been prosecuted. Mr.
Bergeronnot prosecuting those engaged in violating the civil rights of
Native
Americans he and his Department of Justice along with is boss should be
facing justice for failure to equally enforce the laws of our land.

In this day and age there isn’t one single law enforcement officer or anyone
working in the criminal justice system who doesn’t understand what racism
and racial injustices are all about--- these people don’t need to be treated
with kid gloves and educated; they need to be prosecuted just like any kid
driving without a license--- the difference between the two criminals is one
group can claim poverty as their excuse for the crime; the other group is
being paid to treat every citizen equally and chooses to violate people’s
rights based upon racial prejudices. For justice to take place, this
distinction needs to be made. Poverty, and its elimination, needs to be our
primary focal point and point of reference.

I do think an intentional effort is being made by the MN-ACLU Racial Justice
Task Force and Minnesota politicians to make this issue more complex than it
really is in order to hide the reason we have poverty and to cover-up the
fact the issue of poverty is going without being addressed. We are back to
strict enforcement of affirmative action in hiring.

 Gregory Paquin

Minnesota Senate District 4 candidate

1511 Roosevelt Road SE.

Bemidji, Minnesota , 56601
218-209-3157 h
651-503-9493 c
check out my blog:http://nativeamericanindianlaborunion12.blogspot.com/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/archive/peace-discuss/attachments/20091104/e4a865a5/attachment-0001.html