Scioto County Commissioners -- Speaking of Systemic Racism

You must understand that typically the Scioto County Commissioners speak with one voice – the voice of Commissioner Bryan Davis. The other two commissioners are usually quiet as Davis fields and answers questions during meetings. I assume this procedure has something to do with the structure of the board as it relates to answering the public. 

The Portsmouth Daily Times reported on June 11, 2020, that when asked if commissioners were willing to show up and promote peaceful protests between police and citizens, Davis stated that he had “an issue” with the question being asked. Davis said …

“The second part of that is kind of frustrating to hear. I don’t understand why that has to be drawn out like that. The police are not our enemy. I reject that kind of thinking. I think we should be very careful not to label an entire group of literally millions of people that serve in law enforcement around our country because of the acts of a few who did wrong, there’s no doubt. We all reject what happened there in Minneapolis.”

(Ivy Potter. “Commissioners state we should be cautious about labeling groups as racist.”

The Portsmouth Daily Times. June 11, 2020.)

Davis stated that as far as protests, he’s never been a protester. “I don’t attend protests, that’s just not me. And a majority of Americans fall into that category.” Davis stated that while it is an individual’s right to protest, he does personally take part, while the commissioners do support those that are angry about the death of George Floyd. “Everybody should be livid over that,” said Davis.

When asked during Thursday, June 11 meeting if commissioners were willing to be more active in the entire community, Davis replied …

“I think we are active in the entire community ... I think there have been great strides in our community.” During the questioning, he also said, “A lot of people have been screaming we deserve respect. Respect is earned.”

In a long, wandering reply about the protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police, Davis said …

“What I have seen in America over the last few days is just absolute anger beyond control. Some were peaceful protesters, but in the midst of that, the memory of George Floyd was lost because people took it upon themselves to burn and loot and destroy, and you can't tell me that raiding a liquor store or ripping an ATM out of the wall and stealing the money, or attacking and destroying Macy's flagship store in New York City in any way, shape, or form honored the memory of George Floyd. It didn't. It marred the memory of George Floyd.

“But what does honor not just Mr. Floyd but the others who died during the rioting, the looting, I think about the black police officer that died – the black police officer that died – he was killed in rioting by a group of vigilante people and it doesn't matter what color they were – they were criminals that killed him. Our memory of them would be be memorialized by us coming together as a community. And that's what I've tried to do. I've asked that question – What does systemic racism look like in Scioto County? Because we're Scioto County Commmissioners. We can't be the commissioners for the United States. But we can lead here.”

I assume Davis was speaking about the shooting murder of retired St. Louis police captain David Dorn, 77, who was killed while providing security for Lee's Pawn & Jewelry in St. Louis. Stephan Cannon, 24, of St. Louis was apprehended and charged with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, three counts of armed criminal action and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm,

Davis also said …

“This is more of an elected official level kind of thing. If people have examples of systemic racism, they need to be talking to elected officials who can make law, who can make revisions to law. I think we've made great strides in our country over the years … What reform looks like is for legislators to decide.”

Commissioner Mike Crabtree did speak during the meeting. He stated that things have changed over the last several decades and feels that it is wrong to label all of America as racist. Crabtree stated that this is not a war between black and white, but a war between good and bad. He said …

“Back in the 50s things were a lot different. Today most people are better educated. Most people are a lot more open minded. I spent three years in the Army. I had a lot of friends of several races … Most people in today's society is more open-minded. They have a lot of friends that they care about and they don't see color and they don't see race. They see friends. You have to realize we're going to have problem areas from now on. … most of America are very good people. They don't see color. They just see friends and they see neighbors. People need to realize this is not a war between blacks and whites. This is a war between bad and good.”

The commissioners, pretty much as one voice, present a Republican, conservative point of view. You can judge their understanding of systemic racism by their words. Although certainly theirs is one widespread view, it is not the only understanding of the problems that face Scioto County or America at large.

YouGov, an international research data and analytics group, found (2020) “white Americans increasingly recognize racism and police brutality against African Americans as a problem, but don’t necessarily support protests advocating for change. That might have something to do with the way white and black Americans perceive Floyd’s death.”

Research bears out a wide gap of division in how black and white Americans understand race relations, police violence, protests and progress. Various polls have found:

* 36% of black and 77% of white respondents said they trust local police, a difference of 41 points.

(Axios/Ipsos, May 29-June 1, 2020)

* 57% of white and 94% of black respondents said white people are treated better by the criminal justice system, a difference of 37 points.

YouGov, May 29-30 2020

* 37% of white and 78% of black respondents said our country hasn’t gone far enough toward equal rights, a difference of 41 points.

(Pew Research Center, January 22-February 5, 2019)

I believe most whites have little experience or pertinent knowledge to understand fully the divide in racial attitudes in this country … or in this county either. As of the census of 2000, the racial makeup of Scioto County was 94.88% White, 2.73% Black or African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. 0.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

That same census of 2000, reported that NATIONALLY, the United States contained 12.9%, black or African American.

Before we speak to the problem of systemic racism, we must acknowledge the reality that the county is NOT racially diverse, nor is it possible to use historic reference by the white population to comprehend the weight of injustice that remains. Any true conversation of “strides” in this area must include the voice of the minority population, the people who have long endured vicious inequality.