Families affected by violence have MLK Day conversation
Jamie Stengle, Associated Press
Updated 9:34 pm, Monday, January 15, 2018
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Photo: Gerald Herbert, AP
In this June 27, 2017 photo, Ronald Smith gets on his bicycle after stopping at the Triple S Food Mart, where Alton Sterling was shot by police one year ago, in Baton Rouge, La. A year later, visitors routinely stop by the store to photograph the mural of Sterling's smiling face on its aluminum siding. Loved ones of Sterling killed by police and two law enforcement officers, one black, one white, ambushed and killed 12 days later in that city will take part in a discussion on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 in Dallas.
lessIn this June 27, 2017 photo, Ronald Smith gets on his bicycle after stopping at the Triple S Food Mart, where Alton Sterling was shot by police one year ago, in Baton Rouge, La. A year later, visitors routinely
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In this July 25, 2016 file photo, a member of Baton Rouge police Cpl. Montrell Jackson's unit kneels and touches his casket during his funeral service in Baton Rouge, La. Jackson, was slain by a gunman who authorities said targeted law enforcement. Loved ones of Jackson, East Baton Rouge Sheriff deputy Brad Garafola, and Alton Sterling, who was killed by police in Baton Rouge, will take part in a discussion on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 in Dallas. (Patrick Dennis/Baton Rouge Advocate via AP, Pool, File)
lessIn this July 25, 2016 file photo, a member of Baton Rouge police Cpl. Montrell Jackson's unit kneels and touches his casket during his funeral service in Baton Rouge, La. Jackson, was slain by a gunman who
... more
In this July 23, 2016 file photo, a horse-drawn carriage carries the casket of East Baton Rouge Sheriff deputy Brad Garafola in Baton Rouge, La. Loved ones of Garafola, Baton Rouge police Cpl. Montrell Jackson, and Alton Sterling, who was killed by police in Baton Rouge, will take part in a discussion on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 in Dallas.
lessIn this July 23, 2016 file photo, a horse-drawn carriage carries the casket of East Baton Rouge Sheriff deputy Brad Garafola in Baton Rouge, La. Loved ones of Garafola, Baton Rouge police Cpl. Montrell Jackson,
... more
In this Jan. 11, 2018, photo, Bishop Omar Jahwar poses for a photo at his offices in Dallas. Bishop Jahwar, who runs a Dallas-based non-profit that aims to eliminate violence and poverty in urban areas, will host a discussion on violence and solutions on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 15, in Dallas. Panel members will include the mother of three of Alton Sterling's children. Sterling was killed by police in Baton Rouge, La., in 2016. Loved ones of police officers that were also killed by violence in the Louisiana city will also speak at the event Monday.
lessIn this Jan. 11, 2018, photo, Bishop Omar Jahwar poses for a photo at his offices in Dallas. Bishop Jahwar, who runs a Dallas-based non-profit that aims to eliminate violence and poverty in urban areas, will
... more
In this Jan. 11, 2018, photo, Bishop Omar Jahwar poses for a photo at his offices in Dallas. Bishop Jahwar, who runs a Dallas-based non-profit that aims to eliminate violence and poverty in urban areas, will host a discussion on violence and solutions on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 15, in Dallas. Panel members will include the mother of three of Alton Sterling's children. Sterling was killed by police in Baton Rouge, La., in 2016. Loved ones of police officers that were also killed by violence in the Louisiana city will also speak at the event Monday.
lessIn this Jan. 11, 2018, photo, Bishop Omar Jahwar poses for a photo at his offices in Dallas. Bishop Jahwar, who runs a Dallas-based non-profit that aims to eliminate violence and poverty in urban areas, will
... more
Families affected by violence have MLK Day conversation
DALLAS (AP) — Loved ones of a black man fatally shot by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and two law enforcement officers — one black and one white — who were ambushed and killed in the city 12 days later took part in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day discussion.
Omar Jahwar, CEO of the Dallas-based nonprofit Urban Specialists that stresses bridging the gap between the community and police among other things, said the event was "a healing conversation."
"At some point the human agenda has to supersede your personal agenda," said Jahwar, who guided the discussion billed as a dialogue about the violence as well as racial issues in America.
The participants included Trenisha Jackson, whose husband Montrell Jackson, a Baton Rouge officer, was among those killed in the 2016 ambush. Tonja Garafola, the widow of East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Deputy Brad Garafola, also took part along with Andricka Williams, the mother of three children of Alton Sterling, the man killed by officers in Baton Rouge.
"I just feel like love is the key. If we just go about this loving one another and not judging one another, I feel as if things will be better," Trenisha Jackson told The Associated Press prior to the event. Her husband described the difficulties of being both a black man and a police officer in a Facebook post days before his death.
"I just have the same goal that everybody wants: which is to do better to bridge the gap, to try to come together, regardless of age, race, situation," Tonja Garafola told the AP ahead of Monday's discussion, which drew hundreds of people.
Texas lawmakers U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, and U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Democrat, attended along with Houston rap artist Scarface, NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and other celebrities.
"I have come to a conclusion that the only way you get to know anyone and to know their thoughts is to communicate with them. You cannot assume anything," Johnson said from the stage. "If everybody in this room were all the same color, you'd probably get that many different opinions. And so you can't just assume that everyone is alike. You can't assume everyone has had the same experiences."
King's daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, addressed the crowd via video.
John Carlos also took part in the event. Carlos and Tommie Smith staged one of the most iconic protests in sports history, when they raised their fists during the medals ceremony at the 1968 Olympics.
"I'll never take my fist down. Why? Because the injustices have not stopped," Carlos said when it was his turn to speak Monday.
The fatal shooting of Alton Sterling occurred on July 5, 2016, as two white police officers pinned him to the pavement outside a convenience store where he was selling homemade CDs. The killing of the 37-year-old Sterling was captured on cellphone video and circulated widely online, sparking demonstrations across Baton Rouge.
Trenisha Jackson said the protests were "very, very hard" for her husband. "It's like everybody was putting police officers in the same category instead of pointing out which officers were doing wrong," she told the AP.
The national debate about race and policing became especially heated that summer. The day after Sterling's death, black motorist Philando Castile was shot and killed by a Latino police officer in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.
Then the day after Castile's death, five law enforcement officers were killed in Dallas when a black man opened fire at a protest against police brutality. Authorities have said the black Army veteran was seeking revenge for police shootings that killed or wounded black men and that he told negotiators he wanted to kill as many white police officers as he could. Police killed him after a standoff.
On July 17, 2016, a black military veteran killed Montrell Jackson and fellow Baton Rouge officer Matthew Gerald and Deputy Brad Garafola before he was shot dead. The gunman wounded three others who survived.
