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Shooting of Police Officer Sparks Community Dialogue By Dave McCleary
Fri, Feb 6, 2009  January 31, the day before the launch of “black history month”,
a 14 year old black teenager allegedly shot a young white police officer in the
back of his head. According to reports, Officer Anthony DiPonzio was investigating a
report of drug activity on Dayton Street in Rochester. Police say he was returning
to his car when a shot rang out, striking him in the back of the head. DiPonzio,
23, was rushed to Rochester General Hospital where he received emergency surgery.
He is said to be in “guarded” condition. The boy accused of the
attempted murder is 14 year old Tyquan Rivera. And while most in the community
are expressing their best wishes toward the injured officer and his family, the
event has sparked dialogue on local blogs, editorial pages and talk radio. And
yes, the issue of race has entered the discussion. “We (Black community)
find ourselves at a crossroad and we have to accept the fact that we have some
challenges that need to be addressed,” explains councilmember Dana Miller. “The
answers has to come from every sector of our community; churches, government,
business leaders. We all have to pull together,” he said. “I think
it raises a lot of questions about the environment that this young man lives in
which would even allow something like this to happen,” expressed Rev. Jill
Bradway. Rev. Bradway is interim pastor of Ogden Baptist church in Spencerport.
She is African American and has been leading the all-white congregation for the
past year and a half. “I definitely believe it says a lot about the black
community but there are clearly some broader societal issues that the ‘wider’
community must address,” she said. “For instance how does a 6th
grader drop out of school? Someone should be held accountable. There was obviously
some breakdown in this young man’s family and the community around him that
would allow this.” Rochester City School District Superintendent, Jean-Claude
Brizard, in a written statement said “A great deal of support and attention
were poured into our work with this young man. Working in partnership with community
agencies, we reached out to him, worked with his family, and provided the social
and behavioral support that would make a difference. The fact that every resource
at our disposal couldn’t overcome the lure of the street is testimony to
the important work we do and the challenges we face as a community.” Rev.
Bradway admits that the larger blame has to be placed on the child’s home.
“I don’t know all of the factors of this young man’s home life,”
she said. “It is possible that a person growing up in a loving, nurturing
environment could do something like this but it is highly unlikely.” Rochester
Mayor Robert J. Duffy had some strong words to say about the situation. “It
is important to note that some officials and citizens have responded to the shooting
incident by characterizing it as a police-community relations issue. I could not
disagree more with this categorization. The cold-blooded shooting of Officer DiPonzio
had nothing to do with police-community relations and allegedly had everything
to do with a troubled 14-year-old,” he admonished. City Councilman
Adam McFadden agrees with Duffy. “We need to quit pretending that this is
just a police problem and realize that this is a community problem,” he said.
“We have a responsibility to clean up our own mess.” And how do
we ‘clean up our own mess’? Rev. Bradway says God is the answer. “It
is important that the church become relevant in our communities by being concerned
about the wider questions of justice. And that’s not just left to the Black
church, that’s every church.” And while Tyquan Rivera will be
held accountable for his actions, Rev. Bradway reminds us that “the love
of God is still extended to him. There is still the possibility of redemption.” “My
prayers are with officer DiPonzio for a full and speedy recovery that this incident
would not make him bitter and I encourage those who love him to not allow their
hearts to grow cold,” she said.
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The recent comments of Mayor Duffy, along with Councilman McFadden, are the issue. While there are systemic and very destructive mechanisms still in place which truly have crippled our community, it has always been and remains today the responsibility of "the community" to instill cultural norms.
As a community, we have witnessed a virtual embrace of behaviors that truly are not the "cultural norms" of our community. I assert that these behaviors certainly are not indicative of the Afrikan Community’s awesome past.
We have many within the ranks of “Afro-Rochester” who have attained a measure of academic certification. Some have achieved certain levels of political and business acumen. What then can we attribute these successes to? Were these “isolated successes” only attributable to self, or simply a process of pulling oneself up by some so-called “bootstraps” and “making-it?” I submit to you that this assumption is what has caused the steady decline of our community and subsequently our communal memory bank.
A mere cursory review of the real state of the black community may shed additional light on the issue if my words seem foreign. I will not cite truly staggering statistics right now. Many of our more “astute scholars” are well aware of them and more importantly the roots of them. Yet, there clearly is silence and absence even, amongst most of those in the aforementioned ranks of those “successes” stories.
A haunting breeze pervades our dwelling places. So much so, we fear to confront that which oppresses and threatens us. We even fear building upon and passing on the knowledge gained leading to “success!” For we have been led to believe that it may be “taken” away or somehow we will lose “power” by reaching back and helping, teaching, encouraging and yes – sacrificing to ensure the continued development of our community.
On the other hand, our ancestors left a legacy of immense proportion. Some might argue, larger than life. They faced an unimaginable existence! Yet, in spite of our innate capabilities as evidenced in OUR story, our history of rising to any challenge, we shrink in the face of regulating even the behavior of our own children. We dare not question and correct the thinking of our grandchildren – let alone taking on that which continues to oppress our community. I suggest that it is our responsibility - and ours alone!
Not so long ago, Frederick and Anna Douglass simply did not allow their children to “carry on” in a way, which degraded, in any way, the family or community’s reputation. It simply was not going to happen. That used to be the universal ideology of the black community itself.
For example, I knew exactly what I could expect upon my return home had I committed an act I knew Mom or Dad would frown upon. Many occasions provided opportunities to reinforce this understanding too. Going before a judge or even to jail for what “the system” now classifies as abuse, was not a deterrent to direct parental intervention when and where ever necessary.
When I messed up it reflected on the family AND the community! Therefore, neighbors found no reluctance in calling up Mom and Dad to advise as to what my behaviors looked like. They knew if I could rampage the neighborhood, others would soon follow suit. There was a communal memory bank, which historically led to a “police state” being imposed, thereby further restricting opportunity. That was not going to happen because they too, had children that required a chance.
At that time, the community knew that in order to secure an environment wherein every man, woman and child had a fighting chance to “make it,” they had to secure it. There was a different cultural understanding. A different mindset ruled the day. The community, at that time, understood that if there were to be any “successes” realized, it could only happen through community unity. Everyone was in the struggle together.
Millions of our ancestors were forced in to an ill-fated voyage – together. They heroically struggled against a peculiar institution – together. They braved rebellions – together. They were literally thrown out in the street(s), during the so-called “reconstruction” – together. They re-made themselves – together. After what had been built was bombed to the ground, they re-built – together!
Fast forward to 2009…as a community, the masses of us find ourselves virtually in the same socio-economic position as 1969, 1909, 1869 etc. I assert that we have lost, not the ability, but a desire to focus on the reality and improvement of our community. If this pathology continues un-checked, this “lack of will” shall lead to the complete destruction of it.
What have we then to do?
Individualism must cease – it is not an Afrikan cultural norm! We must recognize our past and re-embrace the fact that in order for our community to ever truly “succeed,” we must get back to our true culture. Afrikans are a communal people not separate islands.
The very notion of “I got mine” and shame on you if you do not have…is not Afrikan!
We, as a community, have accepted an individualistic ideology and therefore a false definition of success. Individual success is not, in and of itself, a sign of a community on the rise. As a child I often heard the phrase “to whom much is given, much is expected.” Because of forgetting this rule, we find ourselves grappling with a multitude of symptoms manifesting themselves as audacious behaviors in our future – Our Children.
If one amongst us is in need, we all remain in need. This young man committed the unthinkable…the unconscionable! We have let this young man down. We have let down his family. Surely, his family did not want this and did not plan for this. This young man’s perception of reality has been based on the false precepts of a pathologic culture and his behaviors within that paradigm have produced this result. This is a glaring example, yet another manifestation of how late it is and more importantly, how much work remains.
People, we must treat each other differently. Embrace OUR children differently. We must require more of ourselves - more of our children. Our community does not need a “new” Modus operandi. The First World is replete with examples. Our, First World, legacy is literally, carved in stone, yet we continue to strive towards the exact opposite. We have embraced that which is not Afrikan, to the point where we have forgotten the fact that we are Afrikan. That is the pathological condition, which must be addressed.
Dr. Hilliard wrote "Cultural surrender or cultural destruction leads inevitably to the loss of any possibility for a group to mobilize on its behalf. There can be no African/African American family in the absence of a cultural base."
What is the cultural base of “Afro-Rochester?” Can we accept the fact that we have allowed ourselves to be reduced to sniping? How long will we, as a community, continue to accept another one of our children’s desire to drop out of school, run aimlessly in the street(s) and very possibly succumb to one of the MANY avenues available leading to a box in jail or a box in the ground?
Frederick Douglass admonished us to work and support each other. Dr. Maulana Karenga used his academic creativity and offered Kwaanza. Dr. Cater G. Woodson pioneered Negro History Week (now Black History Month) in an effort to carve out a time-slot for remembrance. Dr. Yosef A.A. ben-Jochannan reminded us not to forget our history and boldly cast an intense light on the path to understanding our First World roots. Dr. Asa Hilliard cautioned us not to lose our culture. Dr. Amos Wilson, along with an army of our noted scholars, carefully explained the ramifications of failing to address the psychological impacts of our experiences and choosing to separate ourselves from them.
Are we ready to accept the reality of our condition? Are we capable of assuming our rightful place in our own home(s) and community? Surely, we are not ashamed of addressing our community’s “ills” as an Afrikan people. Alternatively, are we going to continue to relax in the illusion the “comforts” of our position(s), title(s) and perceived personal “wealth” just to have the very community, which gave us the room to spread our wings literally disintegrate into further chaos and implode before our very eyes?
Gerard Hunt, Frederick Douglass Resource Center
Two people's lives have been changed forever. This is a tragedy that should not have happened. My heart goes out to both families. Clearly something went wrong in this young boy's life that he would attempt to take another's life in that fashion, especially to shoot at a police officer. Hopefully there will be some type of intervention in his life to prevent this from happening again.
James Edwards
My heart and prayers go out to both families. I am outraged that so many of our leaders have convicted this child, yes he is child, simply based on hear say. I thought in these United States of America, a person is presummed innocent until proven guilty. I would hope that we, as a community, would hold our prejudices to ourselves and let the court system work the way in which it was intended to do so.
Thank you Bishop Tillman, Sr. for such a hard hitting, well- written indepth, truthful commentary.
You told the truth for sure!!!! Our ancestors would be ashamed of how our community and family's have separated ourselves from OUR true heritage.
Terasa Harris
Black youth violence whether perpetuated against other black youth, against black adults, or against the police in general or particular is not unexplainable phenonmenon. There are definite psychological, emotional, developmental, socioeconomic, educational, and political causes coupled with choice decisions based on one's personal and learned experiences built on non-flattering characterizations touted by a plethora of discriminating authors of history and bogus theories of intelligence. The problem, however, is not to explain the violence but to change it from its destructiveness into positive human social behavior.
We must first "man up" and "woman up" to the fact racism is still alive and functioning in America in spite of Barack Obama's election to the Office of the President of the United States, in spite of the successes of a number of other black people, and in spite of our relationships to the value positions expounded by Mayor Duffy, Assemblyman McFadden, and others who promote the causes of the violence as unrelated to societal realities. Racism, by virtue of its poisonous nature, vilifies and kills the motivation in some black people to compete in what they view as an essentially fixed environment. Why compete when the results are most generally the same unless, of course, the competition involves singing and dancing, which historically, according to reports, all black people are good at.
Many black families are undereducated (not learned in the ways of being successful in a biased society), are stuck in the profanities of their lifestyles, and are thus ill prepared to bring up children they have brought into this world. These are not, I might add, necessarily families one can go around the community and point out because they stand out. Their identities are subject to a number of factors which increase or decrease daily based on particular circumstances, none of which are set in stone.
It is my contention that black psychiatrists, black psychologists, black therapists, black economists, and black educators, anchored in the black experience, need to engage with the black community in true dialogues, face to face. That instead of preaching to the black community there is an excruciating need to listen to the black community and to assist the black community in building those kinds of community relationships that will truly meet and support the needs of the black family rather than the needs, as many have pointed out, as the needs of individuals to win political favor, extend political careers, and promote individual financial gains.
Wallace Mabry
I agree with The Reverend Bradway, Jesus is the answer and we the entire community are HIS tool to realize and actualize this. I also agree with the Mayor in this instance community-police issues should not be voiced because i do not believe it has anything to do with this troubled young man perpetrating such a cowardly and desperate act of violence. Cowardly becuase the men in his life evidently have not been positive life-models effective enough to guide him regardless of how troubled he may or may not be. Desperate, because i am convinced he did not commit this act on his own, in the sense that someone mat have influenced him to do such a horrendous thing, whther that influence was direct or indirect. This is also why we must be cognizant of the influence our words and behaviors have on the youth we come into contact with. I would like to see the men in this community reach out courageously to these troubled young men and boys and spend quality time teaching them how to be responsible and accountable men. Until some typ of response from the men to these boys resounds unhampered by political agendas, then this type of thing is destined to be repeated. My prayers are for Officer DiPonzio and his family and also to Tyquan Rivera and his family especially his parents who I am sure had no clue that when they arose that morning by evenings shade their son would be hunted by every capable law enforcement officer in the land. Let true justice prevail in this case and the usual loud and boisterous knee jerk reacting voices be silent, it is not a time for you whomever you may be (if the shoe fits wear it)to try and get political mileage out of this sad situation. GHod bless all involved who seek truth, peaqce and justice.
Bishop Christopher M. Tillman, Sr.
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