Program Guest Speaker May 15th

On May 15th, our guest speakers were Barbara Miller and Adilene Calderone of Friendship Diversion Services.  This was the second of our program events related to understanding incarceration and alternatives in Whatcom County.  Judy Kasper, Claire Lending, Murray Bennett, Mike Betz, Stephanie Sarver and Rupert Ayton attended in person, while David Curley, Naomi Gary, Alan Friedlob, Hank Ohana, Kathryn Allen, and Barbara Gilday attended on Zoom.

Friendship Diversion Services is a Washington nonprofit that works with some court systems within the state to provide jail and sentencing alternatives.  Attendees learned details and applications of pre-trial and post-trial electronic GPS monitoring processes designed to allow individuals to stay out of jail and live with activity restrictions that allow some degree of normality while also protecting victims or alleged victims of crimes.  One important aspect of the monitoring system attendees learned about was how it could be used to monitor restraining orders.

Attendees learned how the GPS system works and how it is monitored, as well as how cases are handled.  Attendees also learned how the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring (SCRAM) ankle monitor is deployed and monitored.

Attendees learned a little of the economics of monitoring systems and the conflict between the level of hands-on service provided by FDS as compared to the lack thereof with county and municipal agencies.  

Attendees also heard about the original diversion services provided by FDS that helps individuals have their convictions vacated after they have successfully completed the program.  This hands-on program enables individuals to rebuild their lives and contribute to society.  Unfortunately, it seems Whatcom County is not interested exploring this important approach to solving the shortcomings of the criminal justice system, a point that engaged some attendees in a discussion of how to change that lack of interest and perhaps make that a project for BLM

More information on FDS may be found here: https://www.friendshipdiversion.org/about-us/

Minutes of May 8th BUF BLM Business Meeting

BUF Black Lives Matter Ministry Action Team

Minutes of May 8, 2023, 7pm

In attendance: David Curley, Mike Betz, Claire Lending, Murray Bennett, Rupert Ayton

1. We lit a chalice and gave a land acknowledgement

2. ARAOMC moments and a summer BLM service

a. with the potential upcoming vote on a new jail, we decided we would try to reorient our work to focus on educating the congregation on incarceration in Whatcom County, with the ARAOMC moments as one vehicle

b. we decided we would put together a service (Aug 13 is the date offered) and will try to bring in a variety of voices and perspectives; David has volunteered to get this started

3. Canceling 4th Monday standing meeting

a. we agreed to cancel the 4th Monday standing meeting as it gets poor attendance and unfortunately not everyone seems to want to discuss the prior week’s guest speaker

4. SEJC/Beloved Community/BLM overlap and integration discussion

a. We discussed Beloved Community and decided we would try a bottom up approach to reorganizing and coming up with a vision for 2023; Murray will check to see if this is being taken up elsewhere at BUF

b. We discussed what SEJC does and where or how BLM may intersect with it

5. Projects

a. Speaker Series

i. We discussed Friendship Diversion Services set for May 15th and questions for them; also discussed doing a better job of getting the word out to the congregation

ii. We discussed Kendi, and Rupert will reach out; we also discussed reaching out to Walt for his POV

iii. Overall, for the short term, we would like to reorient our guest speaker selection to the topic of incarceration; a judge would be great

b. Education

i. We discussed coordination with Genia and our interest in educating the congregation on incarceration

6. Planned Events

a. May 25 George Floyd/Juneteenth video event

i. Will need volunteers to distribute flyers

 

Program Guest Speaker April 24, 2023

On April 24th, Malora Christensen, Whatcom County Health and Community Services’ Response Systems Division Manager, was our guest speaker and gave 11 of us in attendance on Zoom an informative overview of the County’s GRACE, LEAD, and ART programs.

Malora is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been working in Whatcom County for the past 13 years.   Over the years, Malora has worked in the areas of farm worker rights, permanent supportive housing, diversion programs, behavioral health and overall system improvement for our most vulnerable community members.  Bufsters know Malora from her time working with Community to Community.

According to the County website https://www.whatcomcounty.us/4179/GRACE-Program, the Ground-Level Response and Coordinated Engagement (GRACE) program is a community-based effort to find solutions for individuals who are high utilizers of emergency and criminal justice systems. The aim is to offer intensive, coordinated services to these “familiar faces” whose needs span beyond any single agency.

According to the County website https://www.whatcomcounty.us/3933/LEAD-Program, LEAD (known nationally as Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion is a community-based effort to find solutions for individuals who are high utilizers of criminal justice systems. The aim is to lead people out of the criminal justice system and into intensive case management where those who are dealing with behavioral health challenges can have their needs met appropriately.

According to the County website https://www.whatcomcounty.us/3934/ART-Program, the Alternative Response Team (ART) is an innovative program that benefits people having mental or behavioral health challenges, and it will also benefit our police personnel, allowing them to respond to other emergent calls requiring law enforcement intervention. Launched in January 2023, this Bellingham program sends a behavioral health specialist and a public health nurse to respond to specific non-violent behavioral health 911 calls.

In addition to discussing the above programs, Malora also provided us with insights on the issues associated with the Whatcom County jail and trauma-informed design, of which there are 3 facilities in the U.S., including the one visited by the County in Tennessee this year.

Malora emphasized the need for the public to lobby elected officials to move off old paradigms and seek the advice and input of subject-matter experts when it comes to rethinking emergency and police response policies and practices.

ARAOMC Beloved Community Moment of April 9, 2023

 Good morning.  I am Rupert Ayton. My beloved community message today is about resurrection.  But not the joy of spring, or Jesus, or the Buddha.  And not the horror of Jefferson Davis’s risen South, even though today is the 158th anniversary of Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox and this past week we saw Jim Crow rising again in Tennessee.

Instead, I’ll examine with you an insidious serpent of institutional oppression that has recently resurrected its ugly self.  I am referring to bank failures.  And the failure of banking to serve society inclusively, equally, and without discrimination.

This was not always the case.

Our banking system is barely 110 years old.  It was fixed in 1933 with the Glass-Steagall act.  That distinguished commercial banking, saving and loans, and building and loans.  Banking was local. It set fixed terms for deposit and loan products for each.  It established deposit insurance to build confidence against bank failures.  It created examination and oversight.  It kept Wall Street, capitalism’s henchmen, at bay.  But that all changed with Jimmy Carter and deregulation in 1980, and subsequent bouts of deregulation that one could argue has led to a series of banking crises over the last 50 years.

Deregulation started because capitalism insinuated itself into banking.  It made it all about money, not people.  It made it complicated.  Capitalism drove a wedge of oppression into banking.

I won’t bore you with the details, but think about this:  the story of failed Silicon Valley Bancshares is both comical and criminal.  It reads like buffoonery, but don’t let that fool you as we have seen and still see what buffoonery hides: oppression.

As reported in the press, it seems the Silicon Valley Bank CEO, a darling of Wall Street, was so convinced of his genius in discovering how to make money in banking that he believed himself a venture capitalist instead of a banker.  He argued against regulation.  He ignored regulatory oversight.  He ignored his own risk models that forecast disaster. He even cashed in his risk insurance policy.  Notice it was a “he.”

And it appears his underlings and board went along with him.  As did Wall Street.

We’ve seen this before, and what irks me is that we still let this happen.  And we are perpetuating inequitable service in the name of greed.  Silicon Valley Bank was providing deposits to the wealthy and making loans to the wealthy.  And in doing so creating more wealth for the wealthy.  All backed by our tax dollars.  Meanwhile, we have banking deserts, and we continue to have discriminatory banking practices.  The rich get richer, the poor and oppressed get poorer.

The bottom line for most banking today is that clients have to fit a box.  There is not a lot of room in that box for people of color or people living outside of the social norm or below the poverty line.  And regulations intended to deal with that problem function like a software programmer who does not understand user needs.  The result does not do what we want.

If you asked me for a social institution analogy to banking, I’d say health insurance.  Like we need a single payer system for healthcare, I think for banking we need something similar.

I am complicit in this problem, because I used to work in banking and I use one of those banks for the wealthy, even though I am not wealthy.  I am now motivated to work solely with a credit union.  It is the most equitable option I can find.  I am looking at how credit unions in the deep South are working to provide banking services and loans to excluded communities.

Thank you.

Program Guest Speaker March 20, 2023

Our BUF BLM guest speaker was Blaine Chief of Police Donnell “Tank” Tanksley.  He is currently a candidate for Whatcom County Sheriff.

Tank worked with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department from 1993 to 2014, the last seven of which he served as commander. He moved to Bellingham to become assistant chief of police at Western Washington University from 2014 to 2017 and then chief of police at Portland State University before joining Blaine in 2019. He’s a 22-year veteran in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.

Tank discussed his background, what got him into policing, and into military service.  He explain why he wanted to be Sheriff.  He gave examples of the tough issues he's handled in law enforcement; the PSU shooting was one.  He discussed the county jail and would like to see it built on the current parking lot.

He described how he will keep the department staffed and trained, and how policing the unincorporated areas of the County may or may not differ from policing an incorporated area or campus. He talked about 

citizen oversight of law enforcement, including measures passed by the state that change how officers conduct themselves.  He discussed his personal view on firearms.  He described his sense of being a "peace" officer, and steps the County could take to take the burden off law enforcement, and divert people out of the criminal justice system where it makes sense.

MInutes of April 10th BUF BLM Business Meeting

 BUF Black Lives Matter Ministry Action Team

Minutes

April 10th, 2023, 7pm

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/96292952504

Meeting ID: 962 9295 2504

Passcode: BUF

Attending: David Curley, Naomi Gary, Claire Lending, Murray Bennett, Mel Hoover, Rupert Ayton, Pam Graham, Mike Betz

1. Communication Subcommittee

a. David suggested a subcommittee for communication

i. David, Ellie and Rupert volunteered

b. Rupert gave a demo of Slack

c. The group discussed MailChimp and agreed to take a look at it

d. Group discussed need to have tools for internal communication and external communication

2. Kitchen Rules

a. The group discussed the kitchen rules and the requirement of a food handler certificate.  Naomi has one.  So does Sean Foster.

3. Projects

a. Speaker Series

i. Malora Christensen April 17.  Mel raised the question of event conflict with the jail conversation schedule at the same time

ii. No response from Kendi.  Pam will follow up.

iii. Speaker Honorariums

1. Malora works for County so no honorarium

2. Shu-Ling wants hers to go to Whatcom CRE—Rupert following up with Kayla at County

3. Rupert checking with Kathy to make sure all other honorariums have been sent.

b. Voting Rights

i. Need a plan.  Claire will look into. David will check with Jane Freudenberg

4. Planned Events

a. Rupert hosting Tank on April 15, 4pm

i. Invitation open to all

b. May 25 George Floyd/Juneteenth video event notes

i. Naomi gave an update

Minutes of March 13, 2023 BUF BLM Business Meeting

 BUF Black Lives Matter Ministry Action Team

Minutes March 13th, 2023, 7pm

 

In Attendance: Pam Graham, Naomi Gary, David Curley, Rupert Ayton, Murray Bennett, Claire Lending, Michael Betz, Stephanie Sarver, Mel Hoover, and Rose Edington

 

1.     Land acknowledgement provided by Pam Graham

 

2.     Upcoming speakers

a.     Mar 20 Donnell Tanksley

 

3.     Speaker Honorariums

a.     in process with Kathy Wahto

 

4.     I am the Hope and the Dream Juneteenth video part 2

a.     Remy Styrk is raising funds; video will feature Isaac, Jason, and Sislena; has extra footage from first video

b.     Can BUF plan a fundraiser event in May? Maybe combine with George Floyd Memorial on 5/25??

 

5.     March 11^th Black History Month Celebration Debrief

Naomi to start a Thank You card for Sean!!

 

6.     Planning March 18 retreat

New concept…not a retreat but a 10am-12noon planning session at BUF

Work on Protocols (Naomi and Pam)

Use the Johari Window framework to understand conscious and unconscious bias that can help increase self-awareness and our understanding of others (Pam to facilitate)

 

7.     Okanagan Charter

a.     Could we make this the focus of the Mar 27 program meeting?

 

8.     Follow up on possible guest speakers starting in April:

a.     Jeremy Wang, counselor at WWU—Rupert in conversation

b.     Willie Broxton Jr., relationship manager at WECU—Rupert in conversation

c.      DeeDee Davis, homelessness advocate—who wants to contact?

d.     Sislena Ledbetter (WWU ED for Counseling, Health, and Wellness)—Rupert in conversation

e.      Katryne Potts WWU police chief—who wants to contact?

f.      Chuck Parsons, Community Co-op GM—has not yet responded to Rupert

g.     Keith Montoya—Whatcom CARE—does David want to follow up?

h.     Dr James Ray WWU music—has not responded to Rupert

i.       Dr Richard Hodges WWU music—has not responded to Rupert

j.      Deanna Lane D/E/I consultant—discussed with Rupert but has some scheduling conflicts

k.     TeeJay Morris (NWYS, Juneteenth Coordinator, Bellingham Unity Committee)—no invitation yet

l.       Flo Simon (former Interim COB Police Chief)—keep on list?

m.   Debra Lekanoff (WA State Rep)—who wants to contact?

n.     WWU Black Student Union representative—Naomi to contact

o.     Gabe Epperson of Whatcom Land Trust—who will contact?

p.     Daman Wandke—consultant, disability expert—who wants to contact?

q.     Clyde Ford (Author)—spoke with Mel and Rupert but seemed reluctant and suggested multicultural roundtable discussion