Columbus & Dayton African American_February 2021 Edition

Page 6

EUGENE GOODMAN: THE MAN WHO SAVED THE SENATE Police officer Eugene Goodman tricked dozens of insurrectionists into chasing him away from the vulnerable, unguarded Senate chambers where frightened legislators hid. No shouts of “Blue Lives Matter” were heard as one police officer was being beaten with an American flag, another clubbed with a fire extinguisher, and a third crushed in a doorway on synchronized command. Those former and current police officers and military personnel who sympathized, took pictures with, and helped the MAGA mob lay siege to the Capitol building learned a hard lesson that day: treasonous law-breakers and law enforcement are not on the same team. The “teachers” who imparted that lesson included pro-Trump White supremacists who claim to support the police and “law and order.” Do you think Brian Sidnick (the officer killed in the Capitol attack) would say these far-right extremists supported law and order, if he were alive? the death toll from the January 6, 2021 attack could have been much higher if Goodman On January 6, 2021, a Black had made different choices. “These folks man saved the United States had zip ties. It’s not unreasonable to say that they were ready to take hostages. Senate. Officer Goodman really helped to avoid a Someone shouted, “Grab that [man]. Get tremendous tragedy.” him!” With that, the chase was on. In a scene reminiscent of days gone by, the The Trump Insurrection claimed, at least, Black man pushed a member of the mob seven lives. The dead included Capitol and started running. Dozens of pro-Trump police officer Brian Sicknick, who as beaten insurrectionists followed in hot pursuit. with a fire extinguisher before he died. Two Down a hall and up a flight of stairs, he ran. other officers, one with the Capitol Police Behind him, the agitated White mob shouted and another from the (DC) Metropolitan threats and racial slurs as they pursued their Police Department, later committed suicide. prey. Repeatedly looking back, the Black Donald Trump’s supporters injured over 50 man ran toward help. With guile and cunning, police officers during the historic uprising. he lured the would-be seditionists away from Roughly, 30 sworn police officers from across the unguarded Senate room. the country were involved in the attack on the This was not a scene from yesteryear. It U.S. Capitol. Some came from as far away as occurred during the January 6, 2021 attack California in response to Trump’s call to stop on the nation’s Capitol incited by twice the certification of a free and fair election. It impeached, ex-president Donald Trump. is not clear how many of these police officers For “85 tense seconds,” U.S. Capitol Police stormed the building with rioters and/or now officer Eugene Goodman: (1) led rioters face federal criminal charges. Officers took away from the Senate chambers; (2) secured photos with rioters, videotaped themselves backup on the second-floor landing; and breaching and defiling the Capitol, and (3) exercised extreme restraint in order to helped insurrectionists access and navigate prevent injury or loss of life, according to a the building. No less than 21 highly trained Washington Post article written by Rebecca current and former military personnel joined these police officers. It was as if participating Tan (January 13, 2021). police, military, and seditionists thought they On a day that will forever live in infamy, a were on the same team, just wearing different Black man saved the United States Senate jerseys. from a mob of Trump-inspired rioters seeking to derail the certification of the Electoral Remember, these 50-plus police officers and College vote declaring Joe Biden the winner military veterans all swore an oath to uphold of the 2020 Presidential election. Lives were the Constitution of the United States of spared, a U.S. Constitution mandated process America. Yet, on January 6, 2021, they turned was completed, and American democracy their collective backs on that oath and the was preserved- thanks to Eugene Goodman. Constitution to participate in an unsuccessful, Black history will call Goodman a hero. un-American attempt to subvert democracy and cancel the results of 2020 presidential American history will call him a patriot. election. The pro-Trump seditionists did not Kirk D. Burkhalter, a law professor and sing “God Bless the USA” on that fateful day. former New York City police officer, said No one chanted, “Back the Blue,” as Capitol By William McCoy, MPA

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2021

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In conclusion, now-former Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman is a real-life American hero. Goodman has since been appointed acting deputy Senate sergeantat-arms. He was part of the official escort accompanying Vice President Kamala Harris to the platform outside the Capitol, where she was sworn into the nation’s secondhighest office. The mention of Goodman’s name evoked loud applause, as he appeared at the Capitol’s arched entranceway where rioters breached the building on January 6, 2021. A bipartisan trio of lawmakers has also introduced legislation that would award Officer Eugene Goodman the Congressional Gold Medal for his bravery during the rampage. Former tennis-great Arthur Ashe said, “True heroism is remarkably sober, very dramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others, at whatever cost.” William McCoy is founder of and principal consultant for The McCoy Company- a personal services consulting firm specializing in planning, training, and development. He is certified by the U.S. Department of Justice in disproportionate minority contact reduction and crime victim services. Mr. McCoy is one on the nation’s leading proponents of violence interruption training. Prior to establishing The McCoy Company, he spent 12 years in high-profile public service positions, highlighted by two White House appointments. William McCoy holds a BA in economics and MPA in finance. He is author of the up-coming book On the Edge: A Practical Approach to Bridging the Gap between Police and the Black Community. McCoy is profiled in Who’s Who in the World and elsewhere. William McCoy can be reached at (614) 785-8497 or via e-mail at wmccoy2@themccoycompany.com. You can visit his website at wmccoy29.wixsite. com/mysite.


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Articles inside

James R. Williams: Pioneering Akron Judge and Civic Leader

6min
page 37

HBCU’s, COVID and You

8min
pages 35-36

A Crisis Within a Crisis: Police Killings of Black Emerging Adults

6min
page 34

Columbus State Earns Placement in Inaugural Year-Long Racial Equity Leadership Academy

4min
page 33

How Black Lives Matter Came to the Academy

12min
pages 31-32

The Kroger Co. Foundation Announces Racial Equity Fund Build It Together Partners

5min
page 29

Book Bags & E-Readers

4min
page 30

NMA Covid-19 Task Force on Vaccines and Therapeutics

7min
pages 26-28

Deja Vu: The Persisent Time Loop of Race, Inequality, Liberty and the Enduring Struggle to Create a More Perfect Union

7min
page 22

Study Shows When Housing Quality Is Poor, Children Suffer

3min
page 24

Work On Your Pandemic Recovery

4min
page 25

The Next Chapter

4min
pages 18-19

COVER STORY

4min
page 20

Legislative Update

4min
page 17

Infrastructure Pipeline, Not Just Create New Jobs Community Update from Franklin County Auditor’s Office

3min
page 16

Eugene Goodman: The Man Who Saved The Senate

5min
page 6

Black History Is About More Than Oppression

7min
pages 9-10

New HEAP Assistance Available

4min
page 12

Ohio History Connection Celebrates Black History Month

3min
page 11

Volunteers Stay Connected with Children Amid Pandemic

3min
pages 13-14

The Columbus Division of Police and Our City Need Prophetic Leadership With Vision

5min
page 7

Cleveland’s First Elected Official of African Descent

5min
page 8

Racial (In)Justice In Small Town Rural America

5min
page 5
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