‘It’s 2020. Let’s fix it.’ Black men share stories on racism, policing in Johnson County
One of Ron Lackey’s earliest memories is of the KKK burning a cross in his yard.
Lackey, a worship leader at Legacy Christian Church, shared the story during the “I Am George Floyd” DocuSeries Live Interactive Panel Discussion held by the Advocacy and Awareness Group of Johnson County.
Six panelists discussed fighting systemic racism and being Black men in Johnson County during a Tuesday night event. During the panel, they took on topics including racism, police accountability, their personal interactions with police and what has changed after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
The event, held at Breakpointe Community Church and live-streamed on Facebook, was also done in partnership with Overland Park City councilmembers Holly Grummert and Paul Lyons. It followed the release of the “I Am George Floyd” DocuSeries, produced by the advocacy organization.
Other panelists were Patrick Grant, a teacher at Shawnee Mission South High School; Lackey; Wilson Thomas, a gym owner; Overland Park Police Capt. Ray Tisinger; Johnson County resident Haile Sims; and videographer Sam Tady. It was moderated by Stephenie Smith, managing partner of Sophic Solutions, and Kyle Palmer, editor of the Shawnee Mission Post.
Lackey said the experience with the KKK shaped the way he interacts with “all white authority.”
When he is pulled over, he goes into survival mode. Immediately, he pulls over, grabs his license and registration, and puts his hands on the steering wheel.
“It’s like I feel like I’m guilty even if I haven’t done anything,” Lackey said, adding it could be something such as a busted taillight he’s not aware of. “All of a sudden, I’m in defense mode, I’m in survival mode and I’ve got to try to survive something that really shouldn’t require survival.”
Lackey said he has had conversations about race with his 17-year-old son. His son responded that he could do all the right things, but still end up with a bad result. He mentioned the hurt that strikes at parents who see videos of their children being oppressed.
“They have to live with that every single day,” Lackey said. “That kind of pain and hurt is why there’s that kind of outcry.”
Grant said he has an “inherent fear” when stopped by police.
“There’s just an extra level of fear and nervousness and cautiousness that comes on me when I think about interacting with police officers,” Grant said.
Sims said that 90% of his interactions with police have been fine. But the other 10% are worrying. He said he wants to get to the point where when he is pulled over, he is not examined as a suspect in other crimes.
“I just want to be treated the same as anybody else,” Sims said.
To that, Smith added: “We should also have the right to make it home alive.”
Sims said that bad officers need to be held accountable, calling that the “simplest solution to what’s going on in our country right now.”
Tisinger said he has always been held accountable during his 20-year career at the police department. He said officers are constantly reminded to police with honor and integrity.
“If you don’t have the trust of your community, you’ve lost your community,” Tisinger said.
Tisinger said he once talked to a local business owner who called to ask if the police department was offended by him putting “Black Lives Matter” on his website.
“I said, ‘You know what sir? I’m the only Black man in this police department,’” Tisinger said. “And if Black lives (don’t) matter, then I got a problem.”
Wilson pointed to tattoos as something people have hidden to avoid stereotypes.
“Society is doing that about our skin,” Wilson said. “We didn’t have a choice in the matter. We’re being stereotyped or treated in different ways based on something we didn’t have control over before you even get a chance to know us.”
Tady said people need to realize racism is affecting individual people and that it is not just one group’s problem.
Sims recalled learning of the Rodney King verdict and the conversations his parents had with him at the time. Today, he’s having the same discussions with his children.
“It’s 2020. Let’s fix it,” Sims said. “Let’s finally fix it … so that I don’t have to have the discussion with my grandchildren.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
