WWT Attends the film screening of “Reimagining Safety” hosted by Three Sisters Garden with Voices of Strength in West Sacramento
“The police are violen
ce workers”
“Critical Race Theory acknowledges the birth defects of America’s origins”
“War on crime, is really a war on poverty”
“Social oppression leads to self destruction”
“Abolition is putting your money whe
re your values are”
“It starts with believing that everyone deserves to be safe”
Hard hitting lines are the heartbeat of the film Reimaging Safety, directed and produced by Matthew Solomon, all on his iphone. The film weaves together insights from professionals, all of whom are connected to our current system of “justice”, but not all in the way you might expect.
I was shocked when a former LAPD officer, who was a woman and person of color, came on the screen. She explained that upon her arrival to the police academy, she was thrust into an intense, and arguably inhumane, training program with an emphasis on violence. Shooting became a normalized act. Pain became something to brag about. Yet there was hardly any training on how to talk to people.
On her first week of duty she ended up “barking” at a civilian for something miniscule. She was shaken afterwards, confused on what compelled her to do something so outside of her nature, “I still remember. And I feel horrible, because that wasn’t me, it was my training.”
Yet aren’t these trainings supposed to be protecting us? “Minneapolis had all the training,” said Dr. Jody Armour, a law professor and author. He was referring to the number of racial trainings that were in place for the Minneapolis Police Department, “yet still George Floyd was killed”. Dr. Armour, who serves as one of the main interviewees in the film, studied the brainwaves of people engaged in training on racial bias. He found that the brain stays the same, proving that police cannot be trained out of their unconscious racial bias.
So what can change them? Or is it the system, not the individual that needs the training? The second half of the film begins to explore what this looks like. Dr. El Jones, author of “Defunding the Police – Defining the Way Forward for HRM”, breaks down her team’s four pillars of reform. These include police governance , de-tasking and re-tasking more community service providers (i.e. mental health professionals) , legislative reform and financial reform.
Examples of the pillars in practice like are shown through the work of other interviewees throughout the film including a therapist in LA, police auditor and activist, and even the Los Angeles County District Attorney.
Yet perhaps the most moving part of the film had nothing to do with the statistics or tactical solutions. Nearing the end of the film Nikki Black, a sociologist, abolitionist, and slam poet, pushes for people to deal with their own baggage, own trauma, to resist the urge to believe in revenge and punishment. “Who hurt you?” She asks, “Who made you feel so small, that you feel the need to police other people?” Dr. El Jones gives the hypothetical example that if aliens were to come down on our planet and zap away all the police and prisons, would we even be ready? Would we even know how to behave, treat each other, rely on each other?
The title of the film “Reimaging Safety” really pulls at the question: what does public safety actually look like? And what do we work towards to achieve it? I couldn’t help but think that one answer to the question was literally right in front of me.
I sat facing a projector screen at the West Sacramento Community Center where the film was playing. The host of the evening was Three Sisters Garden, and their director, Alfred Melbourne, walked up on stage before the screening began. His presence was both grounded and captivating.
“People are continuing to work harder for less and we need ways to supplement that. We can’t rely on Walmart for our food” He shares that statistically, “it would take $50 billion dollars to end homelessness”, which feels like a large number, but then he follows with a statistic that last year the US sent $100 billion overseas. Melbourne spoke freely about the current genocide happening in Palestine, connecting the fact that our police are also trained by IDF soldiers. It was refreshing to be in a space where “Free Palestine” was not just a hashtag, but a dialogue. In the film, one of the interviewees defines abolition as “putting out money where our values are”’. As American politicians just vetoed a Ceasefire this week, I couldn’t help but think of what values our country is prioritizing right now: profit, ownership, status.
Yet, Three Sisters Garden felt like the opposite. They are putting their money and resources into the community. Their farm youth leadership development program “equips young minds with the skills and passion to create sustainable future” , through mentorships, cultivating nutritious foods, designing urban landscapes that support biodiversity. As a nonprofit committed to community lead initiatives, Melbourne shares that through their own sustainable farming practices they have been able to serve 100 plus households this year. A a little kid no more than three years old runs in front on stage while he speaks, and I am reminded that the priorities are also in the room with us.
After the film, Melbourne opens the space to questions and comments from the audience. Multiple people speak, including a local councilwoman, who answers the question of “What can we do right now?” She encourages people to attend local council meetings, and speak up with their concerns.
However, guest speaker Marissa Barrera, speaks up from the panel with a different approach. She doesn’t feel comfortable going to council meetings anymore in a community that villainized her brother after he was brutally murdered by 5 police officers. Michael Barrera was suspected to by targeted police. The police officers in question chose to cancel medical assistance twice the night of his death and the department would then change their narrative over four times in two days before settling on an official story. Marissa, a writer herself, states in an auto biographical article, “This is normal routine when police kill. They create and spread false narratives, they asassinate the victims character, and often times get cheered on by their loves ones for killing our loves ones” . After pursuing her own investigation and filing a case, Marissa channels her efforts from a local to a national level. Her organization, Voices of Strength, connects impacted families all over the US dealing with the death of a loved one from police brutality. She calls out Killer Cops, and advises families looking to pursue court cases.
She spoke before and after the film, and I was transfixed by her ability to tell such a disheartening story so bravely. I couldn’t imagine how many times she has retold this same story. It’s been seven years since Michael was killed.
And while Marissa is continuing her fight nationally, Three Sisters is literally growing on the ground looking to expand to 52 gardens in the next year. Matthew is currently building a coalition of organizations that stand in solidarity and have participated in the screenings of this film. Checkout the website Reimagining Safety to see the upcoming screenings across the United States in 2024.
I felt energized after watching this film, inspired by the tangible solutions. Oftentimes people ask me when I discuss the troubled teen industry, “Well if a kid is ‘troubled’ where should they go?” I think this film proves at least one answer is NOT in these institutions. I personally don’t know if there is a definitive answer (as each situation is different) however, I can’t can’t help but think Three Sisters Garden as a great example. A community-led initiative to help protect at-risk youth through gardening, education and purpose. The West Sacramento Community Center is another great example, focusing on events and initiatives for the people who flow through it daily. People need people. Not more systems and institutions. A person in the back of the room, right before the event ends, reminds us to say good morning and make sure we know the names of our neighbors. Perhaps the best solutions are closer than we think.
Thank you Three Sisters Garden for hosting this event. Please checkout their page, Voices of Strength, and the Reimaging Safety Movie to follow the work they are continuing to do in their own communities.
Margaret is an artist and activist originally from Rochester, NY. She is passionate about educating her own community on social injustices that often occur silently, which led to her investigation of Freedom Village, a Troubled Teen Industry Program that had been running in upstate NY for over 40 years. This spiraled into her creating 6-part audio documentary about the facilities and it's connection to TTI. She know serves as a campaign coordinator for WWT and lives on the road with her partner, Maggie.
