In 2019, there have been four Vancouver police shootings involving members of marginalized communities: people of color, immigrants and unhoused. These shootings lead to public outcry, and our city has responded by hiring Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to evaluate our police department.
Recently, a group of community members asked the city to include public forums as part of the evaluations. The city swiftly approved and arranged for a public forum at 6 p.m. Sept. 11 at Clark College. Unfortunately, there is an unintended consequence to the venue.
As reported by Molly Solomon with OPB, there are “long-standing equity issues” at Clark College; as reported in The Columbian, Clark College Foundation has filed suit against OPB, naming Ms. Molly Solomon, who is a woman of color. This history has created mistrust within communities of color regarding Clark, especially on matters such as police violence.
The unintended consequence is that the communities that need to have their voices heard will not feel safe attending. The forum should be broadcast on CVTV, and the city should host multiple forums, directly collaborating with these communities to ensure that they have the opportunity to be heard, in a place where they feel safe.
