Winbush asks for action, accountability

So what was Dr. Raymond Winbush doing in the little town of Digby, Nova Scotia?

Listening, mostly.

And planning.

Winbush, believes the world’s greatest social problem is racism/white supremacy. He says that it undermines the healthy development of people of color (92% of the world’s population), no matter what land mass they occupy.

He came to Nova Scotia because this particular land mass, the first settlement of black Canadians, is rooted in racism. And racism has the habit of spreading like a bad weed, unless people intent on justice take action.

Winbush, who earned his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Chicago, bills himself as a ‘scholar-activist’. And he believes it is time for some action in Digby, Nova Scotia.

The RCMP paid for Winbush’s two-week consultation, which began September 14. ‘Racism in policing’ was a focus of his work here.

Winbush heard about the June 22 incident that catapulted Digby, this past summer, to national news status. A young black man, William Drummond, says the racist comments of an off-duty Halifax police officer triggered a street fight. He says he responded to a punch thrown by Officer Adam Stewart Whynott with a punch of his own–which knocked Whynott out.

Drummond and his friend, Nathaniel Fells, were then chased by two of Digby’s RCMP officers and a number of off-duty Nova Scotian police officers. Then Drummond was shot with a Taser and arrested by a Digby RCMP officer. Drummond and Whynott both face charges. There were no other charges laid.

The RCMP’s major crime squad investigated the June 22 actions of Digby’s RCMP’s officers and found them appropriate.

But it didn’t end there. With the support of Fells’ father, Reverend Michael Alden Fells, the two young men filed complaints with the Halifax police, the provincial and federal human rights commissions.

Winbush’s meetings with Digby police officers and members of Digby’s African community resulted in a number of observations, and seven specific recommendations.

Winbush noted that young black males in Digby–and throughout North America–are ‘over policed.’

Case in point: at a meeting during Winbush’s visit, one young black man recalled having his late model car pulled over by RCMP cruisers–for no apparent reason–three times during a two week period.

In Canada, a young black man is five times more likely to be incarcerated than a young white man.

Members of Digby’s RCMP detachment and members of Digby’s black community agreed that, other than encounters when the police are in uniform, they rarely cross paths. Winbush recommended that police officers learn about African history, and make a point of getting to know African Nova Scotians–as people.

Staff Sgt. Phil Barrett, who is thoroughly schooled in the region’s history of white society should cultivate a similar in-depth knowledge of the black Digby community, said Winbush. This knowledge would mean he could act as a role model in this regard for the officers in his detachment.

Winbush noted that few white members of the Digby RCMP detachment interpreted the response to the June 22 incident as a legitimate cause for concern.

“What the Black community perceives as harassment, racially selective law enforcement, and intimidation, the Digby detachment sees as exaggerations by the press and by a few residents who know how to get media headlines,” he said.

‘Hip hop activist’ Harry Allen and Raymond Winbush also interacted with young black people at Digby Regional High School while they were here. They said that the stories they were told of racism–in homes, and schools and public places–were both heart wrenching and disturbing. Something has to be done to heal present and future generations, they agreed.

And Digby needs a community centre, said Winbush. A place where people–white and black–can work out, hang out, meet and mingle. There they can learn about–and from–each other.

Winbush also recommended ‘accountability.’ There have been documents and recommendations produced many times in this province, he noted. But recommendations can only achieve the goals they are aiming for if they become action—and that will only happen if people are truly commited to acting.