Guest post by Qwynn Galloway-Salazar
Amid the
protests, I have found myself as an African American woman and spouse to a law
enforcement officer in an extremely complicated position. I know the pain and
historical trauma my black and brown brothers and sisters face, but I also feel
the pain my husband brings home every day as an officer. Over the past week, I
have prayed over him as he walks out the door. I have watched our daughters sob
and lie awake until he is home from his shift at local protests. It has been
unsettling, and at moments, I have felt my faith shaken and rocked to my core.
In the
earlier parts of last week, I consistently watched the news and viewed my
social media feeds more often than I would like to admit. I intentionally
shared little for my own well-being. However, before I knew it, I was silently
heading on a downward spiral. At times I found myself having a polarized view
either for or against the police. I also had moments of feeling so alone with
very few people to turn to- to periods where I wanted to go out and protest
too! America’s historical roots are grounded in institutional racism,
injustice, inequalities, discrimination, intolerance, and hatred (need I say
more), which has led to the REVOLUTION. The tensions between police and the
community are nothing new. Racial disparities in police interactions have been
long-standing. According to the Washington Post’s database tracking police
shootings, as of January 1, 2015, police officers killed 1,276 black people.
The statistics are heartbreaking and cause for alarm. We are angered, sad,
frustrated, fatigued, and ready to seek transformative social change.
Today,
with eyes wide open and a grounded spirit, I find myself in a unique position.
As an officer's spouse, I have been directly impacted by the fear, mistrust,
and anger against the police. Additionally, for more than 10 years, I have had
a working relationship with the criminal justice system to include law
enforcement personnel and have trained many in trauma and de-escalation. I am
also this chic from Queens, New York, whose best friend in 2001 lost her
brother at the police's hands. The culmination of these experiences and others
not mentioned has inspired me to develop a series of constructive dialogue in
my community and surrounding communities on police and community relations.
I
am being called to use my strategic planning facilitator skills in this work.
For a living, I facilitate bringing together diverse community, state, and
federal stakeholders together to create, implement, and sustain change in
policies and practices. I also am currently a doctoral candidate pursuing a
Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology with specific research
interests in Police Psychology. In these contentious times, I am choosing to
have the courage to advocate for collaboration and the possibility to reimagine
relationships between police and the communities in which they serve. Dialogues
built on empathy, trust, understanding, and shared action for healing and
reconciliation. As I begin to see peaceful protests throughout the country and
see humankind start to stand in solidarity with my black and brown sisters and
brothers, I think the time is right for transformative social change to begin
TOGETHER!
This
work is spirit work and a chance to shift the paradigm. I am lucky to have my
friend/mentor/sister, Dr. Virginia Dick of NextStep Evaluation, to accompany me
on this mission. In the beginning, as my friend, Virginia, would call in on my
family periodically throughout the day. Often, she simply was there to hold
space, but recently she has been fired up to join forces on this effort!
Together we are collaborating to take on pro-social activities to bridge the
gap between police officers and the communities in which they serve. In
addition, we are working on collaborating with local police departments and
aide them in evaluating their community policing initiatives pro-bono. This is
just the beginning, and we know this road is not going to be easy. Nonetheless,
the revolution has started, and we choose to be a part of the change.
I'm in. How do we facilitate conversations dialogue and change??? How can I help? What can I do???
ReplyDeleteShoot us an email at virginia.dick@gmail.com or qgsalazar@gmail.com and we will let you know as we are scheduling conversations and events - we are just launching this effort and so are gathering names and interests now and planning for events in the coming month or two (and longer to keep the effort moving and growing and changing). :)
DeleteCompletely and utterly in. How can I help beautiful Sister? Just shoot me a text/email/something
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately with blogger, we don't always know who left the comment (unless you have an account, it just says unknown). We will definitely be reaching out though and please reach out to us when you can :) qgsalazar@gmail.com and virginia.dick@gmail.com.
DeletePerfect construct for these times!
ReplyDeletePlease contact me about doing a radio show. We are starting a series June 13. Would love to have both of you on.
We would love that! We will email you :)
DeleteI am ready to support. Tell me what I can do.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your truth. I hear you and I see you. Willing and able to support and join in.
ReplyDeleteSend my Uncle Jose our love from Arizona, praying for his safety and return home every day, to you!
ReplyDeleteLove Jasmine and Family.