Disappointing NOBLE Community Forum for BART Police Review, San Francisco, 6/22/09: audio

First, NOBLE did its very best to make sure that the community wasn't even aware of the forum, as can be seen in the above photo which depicts two community members present in the main seating area (in the front row) when the forum began, along with (clockwise from top left) a BART spokesperson Jim Allison, a BART lawyer, two corporate media people, BART videoperson, and a NOBLE representative. A handful of community members were seated in a section to the right, not pictured, and about a half dozen or so more community members arrived late. After being confronted on the lack of public notice for the forum, NOBLE said they had notified local politicians and corporate media, had sent an email to a list of community activists BART maintains, and posted a notice on BART's website. The corporate media was obviously notified in order to generate press coverage of the forum after the fact as they rarely act as a community calendar and announce upcoming BART meetings or forums. Perhaps it was supposed to be up to the politicians and those on BART's police oversight email list to make the announcements NOBLE should have had in BART stations and other public venues. At any rate, it was not surprising that no more than 15 members of the public were present at the meeting, while NOBLE had at least four representatives present and BART had at least three media relations staff present to offer their spin on the forum to the four or five corporate media people present. A BART lawyer was present throughout, and a BART police union representative was in attendance until his presence was called out by a community member who recognized him (this being after NOBLE declared at the onset of the forum that BART representatives were asked not to attend, neglecting to mention the room was full of BART employees).

In another display of fear of the public, supposedly an unruly public, as soon as community members walked in the door they were handed a one-page print-out with rules and parameters for the feedback NOBLE wanted. This insulting document included such recommendations as using "I" statements and being courteous. Numerous community members objected to the very nature of NOBLE's "guidelines" when the purported intention of the forum was to give the community an authentic voice in NOBLE's review of the BART police department, not to box in community opinion.

NOBLE -- having now attached themselves to BART's problems with its police force, as one community speaker pointed out -- got an earful for the better part of two hours on what the community thinks of BART police and NOBLE's review. Many speakers doubted the sincerity of NOBLE in truly evaluating BART police rather than just adding another layer of public relations spin. Several others called for BART police to be disarmed, or disbanded all together, noting that better supervised and trained police forces in the localities BART serves could do the same job. BART police history of harassment of people of color in the East Bay was called out loud and clear, as well as the origins of BART itself as a means to enable white flight from San Francisco and Oakland in the 1960s and 1970s. What significance NOBLE would give public comment in their review was also called into question.

In NOBLE's introduction of themselves to the community, NOBLE came off as aloof and condescending, continually spending as much or more time directing the shape of public comment as actually listening to what the community had to say. In fairness to NOBLE, at the conclusion of this first "public" forum, NOBLE acknowledged their misstep with the guidelines handout, promising to do better in the future, and they assured those in attendance that public feedback would be seriously considered as a part of their review of the BART police department. If this proves itself to be true at the Oakland forum on June 23rd and beyond remains to be seen. Early signs were not encouraging.


Listen for yourself. Full audio of the forum is posted below.

-----------------------------------------------------------

NOBLE's upcoming community forum on Tuesday, June 23rd in Oakland
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/06/18/18602491.php

-----------------------------------------------------------

previous related coverage

BART Chooses Oversight Model & Ties Board's Hands with Supermajority, 6/15/09: pdf & audio
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/06/17/18602165.php

NOBLE Honors Rashidah Grinage and PUEBLO at Awards Dinner, Oakland, 4/24/09: audio
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/04/25/18591221.php