Fresno’s leaders must work as a team to lift the community above racial inequalities
Lifting our community together is the only way to address and change the racial inequities that exist in our community, state, and nation. If we are to make meaningful change and craft viable solutions, we must first acknowledge a problem exists. Making things better for our community and future generations requires more than acknowledgment — it requires togetherness and action through unity. We know change and solutions work best when it happens at the community level, being driven by the people.
In the last few years, racial tensions in America have increased and gained national attention. The demonstrations, marches for social justice, and equity that we have witnessed recently are a result of centuries of injustices, and the generational trauma felt by the Black community.
However, some marches resulted in damages to businesses and impacted local economies. We have all witnessed videos of store fronts whose windows were broken and cities where looting has taken place. As a Black man and a business owner in Fresno, I understand, I too am hurt, and I have great empathy for everyone who has been directly or indirectly victimized or had their livelihoods destroyed. It is commonly understood that leadership is the responsibility of the politicians elected to public office, but our current state of affairs requires all leaders, particularly community leaders of every kind, to step up.
I have dedicated my life to my trade and business because of this I have found some success. But, it is important to recognize not everyone has the same opportunities, and if we want better, we all have a responsibility to step out of our comfort zone to address the issues affecting our society. Now more than ever, communities need leadership and open dialogue. For change to be effective in Fresno, and beyond, we need an inclusive and diverse coalition to lead that includes police officers, educators, community advocates, elected leaders, and business owners, to name a few. Individuals with a strong commitment to work toward implementing new habits in our community to help level the playing field and provide opportunities for all to succeed. If we do not try, then we have already failed.
Prior to the death of George Floyd and the unrest that followed, I had already begun convening a group of Black community leaders in Fresno. These leaders had not been tapped into for their wisdom and perspective. The group includes formerly incarcerated individuals, police officers, firefighters, pastors, racial justice advocates, attorneys and business owners. For months, we have met to discuss inequities and collectively brainstorm potential solutions. We are not waiting for politicians to tell us what we need and push solutions on us — we are rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. There is no one, or group, better positioned to identify both the problems and solutions within a community than its local leaders. In this case, it’s Black leaders.
A couple of years ago The Atlantic put out a three-article series that highlighted the racial tensions in our community. One of the headlines was “Fresno’s Ugly Divide: In California’s poorest major city, policy, poverty, and a legacy of discrimination and segregation haunt the most vulnerable residents.” In the analysis the authors found that “even though black students made up just 10 percent of the schools’ population that year, they accounted for nearly 30 percent of resource officers’ arrests and citations. Black and brown students were suspended and expelled at higher rates than white students — a statewide trend that is particularly profound in Fresno.”
Our children deserve better.
In the same series of articles, I came across a quote from our former chief of police and current mayor-elect, Jerry Dyer, that spoke to me. When he was asked about the racial tensions in Fresno’s Police Department, Dyer said, “For anyone that can say that they’ve lived a perfect life, they’ve been a perfect leader, they have a perfect department, they’re not being truthful with themselves or others.”
Those words spoke to me because I have not lived a perfect life. I have made mistakes as a father, as a businessperson, as a former athlete, and I have not been a perfect leader. If my admission moves the needle to start the healing process for our community, then sign me up. Fresno can’t wait, our children can’t wait and our community will certainly not wait.
I would be remiss if I did not share insight, which I learned on the baseball field and that I have incorporated into every facet of my life: No one succeeds alone. The success of a team is dependent on a cohesive group of people working together towards a common goal. I’m stepping up to the plate because Fresno deserves better, but in order for this to work I need my team, I need Fresno to join me in lifting our community through unity.