Cover Story: Social Justice: Where Do We Go From Here?

COVER STORY SOCIAL JUSTICE:

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Bishop Mark Tolbert Senior Pastor Victorious Life Church 1st Assistant Presiding Bishop of the PAW Heart of America Council of Churches, Diocesan

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n November of 2017, Bishop Mark Tolbert was recommended to the Governor of Missouri as the community person of choice to be appointed to serve on the Board of Police Commissioners for the City of Kansas City, Missouri. Now, in the 4th year of his tenure, the other four commissioners voted unanimously for Bishop Tolbert to serve as the President of the Board of Police Commissioners.

The Kansas City Police Department is overseen by a five-member Board of Police Commissioners, made up of the Mayor and four Kansas City, Missouri, residents appointed by the Missouri Governor. The board oversees a $249 million annual budget and over 2,000 sworn members and civilian employees. Sitting on Missouri’s western boundary with Kansas, with Downtown near the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri

Rivers, the city encompasses about 319.03 square miles (826.3 km2), making it the 23rd largest city, by total area, in the United States. It serves as one of the two county seats of Jackson County, along with major suburb cities.

When asked what his vision is for the Kansas City Police Department, Bishop Tolbert stated, “My goal is to see the police department of Kansas City protect and serve all citizens of the city. I grew up in Kansas City when “officer friendly” was a popular term. Officers walked streets, rode bicycles and actively participated in community policing. My hope is that we can return to some similarity of those days of community. We talk unity; I am convinced that you can’t have unity without COMM-UNITY. My hope is to work closely with the Mayor, Police Chief, City Council, Board of Police Commissioners and the Civic Council to bring about a synergy that fosters community. We cannot expect people to be content when the wealth gap, education gap, and digital gap continue to grow. There must be some equity along the way that includes developing a level playing field where everyone can participate in building wealth, expanding educational opportunities, business startups etc. We must come together as a community to make sure there are jobs for youth, training for adults, micro loans for small businesses and an overall perceived sense of hope. Hope that all people, no matter what side of town or even in midtown, live by the same rules and are treated fairly by police, insurance companies, bankers and all the entities and components that it takes to make comm-unity. As the newly elected president of the police commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri, I ask the citizens of the city to pray for peace and volunteer your time, talent and resources toward making Kansas City one of the most friendly and livable cities in the United Stated of America.”

So, what does social justice look like in 2021 and beyond? Many people ask that question but few are in a position to make an impact. Marching is good. Going to community meetings is good. Getting involved in dialogue in your community is great. My goal is to encourage as many as possible to get off the side lines and stop getting angry on social media with people who don’t agree with you and do something meaningful. Run for office. Petition your city council, your aldermen your senators and

Congress people to make sure decision-making boards have a cultural balance of people who reflect the community you live in. There are many people on various boards around the country who really believe they know better how to solve our problems than we do.

I am not against Black Lives Matter; I don’t necessarily agree with all of their philosophies but neither do I agree with all the NAACP’s policies, nor do I agree with all the Democratic parties’ agenda or philosophies, but yet I participate with all of them because each one brings some good to the table of social reform and social justice. I have been in a business of some kind since the 1970’s. During these 50 plus years I have experienced financial injustice, racial injustice and flat-out racism. We black folks have always learned how to take a licking and keep on ticking. Thank God for this new generation who has declared we have had enough. In the United States, “since the 1980s, some 94 percent of the total increase in personal income has gone to the top 1 percent of the population;” at least 25 million Americans (17.2 percent of the workforce) are presently struggling with unemployment or drastic underemployment; “close to 50 million Americans experienced ‘food deprivation’ (hunger) at various times in 2009,” and as many as 75 million Americans (25 percent of the population) live in poverty. Adding insult to injury, the top 10 percent of income earners in the United States live 4.5 years longer on average than the bottom 10 percent. I believe that all of this must be addressed in our plight for social justice. I am not as concerned about those who perpetrated the injustice admitting it; I am simply concerned about those of us who are really concerned coming to the table with some sense of comm-unity and urgency. The more unified we are the more we will accomplish. A house divided against its self cannot stand. I have been a member of the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Police Commissioners since 2017. My goal was to serve as a liaison to my community. I served through three presidents and when I was asked to run for the president of the board, I was hesitant at first. But the Lord reminded me that God places us in strategic places for specific times. I have been able to help shape policies, ban choke holds, adopt a policy where other police are required to report illegal and unlawful behavior of other police officers. Many of the antiquated old policies were seemingly etched in stone. When we changed the policy about police reporting police, I made sure that the policy included that an officer can report to the Office of Community Complaints as well as they can make their report directly to the board of police commissioners. I have learned over time, it is a must that community people and people of faith make it their business to get people on these board that represent our interest. I would encourage pastors who are a part of clergy coalition groups in your cities to write letters and make calls to your governors, senators, aldermen and city council people and give them some lists of names of individuals who have the temperament and passion to serve on various boards and commissions.

In closing I pray that all who read this article will pray for me as I pray for you. I am praying that God would put a fire under you to get involved and be the change you are expecting to manifest.

I AM CONVINCED THAT YOU CAN’T “

HAVE UNITY WITHOUT COMM-UNITY. “