|
Just prior to last week’s water crisis, I caught up with
Lucas County Commissioner Carol Contrada just before she
entered the Detroit-Windsor tunnel while traveling on
business. Contrada, the enDorsed democrat for the November 4
election, is from Sylvania Township but has a depth of
knowledge and sensitivity to the urban crisis
disproportionately affecting Toledo’s minority community.
This crisis, much like Toledo’s water/environmental problem,
is one that has been ignored or put on the back burner by
most politicians. The following is part of a dialog with
Contrada about her efforts to respond to the unacknowledged
emergency in Toledo’s African-American community.
Perryman: Do you have a point of
emphasis that addresses the needs of Toledo’s
African-American community?
Contrada: One of the
things that we really want to address is minority business
expansion. We have been working with the City of Toledo to
establish a Minority Business Council and we’re committed to
having minority representation on all of our county building
projects including the jail.
We have also reached out to the University of Toledo to
partner with minority businesses. We need to all work
together so that all entities – the cCty of Toledo, the
university, the Chamber of Commerce – have the same
information, and when there is minority business
certification it’s transportable, and good for everyone.
Perryman: Increasing economic
opportunity in the African-American community is an
excellent focus.
Contrada: Another project, that
impacts the African-American community, probably more than
any other community, is the summer youth employment. I’m
very excited about the future of that program, specifically,
and the opportunities for workforce training with our new
ACT program will have a profound impact on people seeking
jobs. By going through the ACT program individuals will
receive a certificate that’s recognized by employers. So,
this is really giving people a tool to be prepared to be
hired, and to be matched with employers.
Perryman: Who are some of the
employers that have signed onto the ACT pilot?
Contrada: Chrysler has signed on,
and I think maybe Campbell’s Soup, also. I think we’re up to
about 30 employers and we continue to receive recognition by
employers that are outside our community who might be
looking to move here, and make an investment, because they
see that we will have a ready workforce.
Perryman: What are you
thinking about along the lines of youth, which is a
demographic that really needs to be reconnected?
Contrada: Well, so many of the
projects that I think are critical to our community touch on
a whole series of different needs, and so youth employment
is one where we work with young people to prepare them to be
long-term members of the workforce. I’m really proud of our
partnership with Pathways and I think that that’s something
that we can continue to work with Pathways to help achieve.
And, as a former teacher, I know how talented young people
are, and how much they have to offer their community if
someone just reaches out to them.
Perryman: Absolutely, which leads
me into the next area. What are your thoughts as far as
solutions to the shootings and homicides that are really
problematic in the inner-city?
Contrada: Well, one of the things
I think is the most important thing that any government can
do is make sure that neighborhoods are safe, and a
fundamental principle of having safe neighborhoods is having
police on the streets. They have to be visible, and they
must be present at all times, and easily accessible.
Fundamental to safe communities is to have a visible, active
police force.
Perryman: But Carol, if we were
to get to the root of this issue, wouldn’t we ask why is
this happening? It’s not happening just because
African-American young people are so much worse than other
people, but there’s got to be some problem at the root.
Maybe that problem is hopelessness; maybe it is the lack of
jobs; maybe it is because their schools have fewer resources
than others, and they’ve just given up. They’ve been
disappointed over and over, so they just say the hell with
it, and so they have no value for human life. What about
trying to get to the root of this issue of inner-city black
on black violence which appears to be to be a manifestation
of something deeper?
Contrada: I am not a psychologist
or a sociologist, but certainly having looked into root
causes, I think that the breakup of the family unit is
significant. When there is instability in a young person’s
life, they’re looking for validation, for friendship, for
love, for approval in anyplace they can find it. And if
there aren’t parents at home, or if there is a parent who is
there and caring, but because that parent is having to hold
down two jobs just to put food on the table, it’s the
breakup of that family unit, or the changing family unit.
Society has not provided a good support system for families
that are different than the traditional family with a mother
and father at home all the time. I don’t know that society
can entirely address that, but we certainly can address the
majority of the issues, where young people need to feel
safe, and they need to feel loved, and they need to feel
cared for. And I see this over and over again in the
literature, and then in real situations where there’s no one
to turn to.
Perryman: The breakup of the
family could be traced back to mass incarceration, where
thousands of young inner-city men have been exported to
prisons because of their “employment” - nonviolent drug
sales. And then when they go to prison they’re not
rehabilitated. Instead, they’re educated to become more
intense criminals. So –
Contrada: Well, let’s dive even
deeper. I can say it possibly in one word, which is poverty
- when you have people struggling, and just trying to
survive. You’re trying to stay warm; you’re trying to find
food. You’re trying to find shelter, and you’re trying to
maintain those things. And poverty is crippling. I think
that most people want to be able to provide for themselves,
but if the possibility of getting a job is hopeless, and if
they’re struggling with maybe some form of mental illness or
addiction on top of that, sometimes the life on the street,
and by that I mean criminal activity is your only chance of
survival, they may feel. It doesn’t mean it’s right, but
what we need to do is we need to help people get out of
poverty.
And then, as you know, the criminal justice system is one
my major areas of focus, and it has been throughout my term.
The new jail is, I think, symbolic of many, many changes
that we have to do, but I’ve been working on addressing
critical needs of the system from the very beginning -from
really pre-arrest, all the way through to re-entry. When you
look at pre-trial services, what happens when someone gets
arrested? Well, do they really need to be in jail, or do
they really need to be – like you said – if it’s a
nonviolent drug offense? What we need to do is help those
individuals be able to stabilize their lives, so that they,
number one, don’t re-offend, and number two, have a chance
to live a productive life in their community. I chaired a
re-entry subcommittee of the Criminal Justice Coordinating
Council, and concluded that the most important thing is to
make sure that when someone is released to the community
they have an opportunity to get a job, because that is the
single most important factor, but there are a whole lot of
wraparound services that are absolutely necessary also.
Perryman: Well, quickly, one other
thing, that’s the jail. I believe that if the new jail is
built in a low-income area that it could build up that area
economically, offering jobs to people who live there, and
businesses that are around it. What are your thoughts?
Contrada: I agree. And I also want
to tell you that yesterday I spoke with the U.S. Secretary
of Labor, Mr. Thomas Perez, and I told him that I have a
trip scheduled to the Cook County Jail. Mr. Perez told me
that the Cook County Jail provides a one-stop employment
opportunity. And I thought, “What a great idea! Oh, boy, I
can’t wait to go.”
First of all, the jail is very secure, so it makes the
neighborhood where it is built more secure. It is not
intrusive; it’s clean; it’s safe, and it tends to lift the
surrounding areas. And it also brings employment to the
area, because there are people that are visiting the jail,
or employees of the jail that they need to stop and have
lunch; they need to maybe go to the laundromat, and so
services go up near the jail, and it really can invigorate a
neighborhood.
I also visited the Washtenaw County Jail just south of Ann
Arbor, and they had an entire justice complex, and it was
lovely. It was beautifully landscaped, and there were all
kinds of services, and restaurants around it and nearby. It
was quite an active, vibrant place, and there were people
coming to visit the jail, and they were also going to
transact other business with the government, like maybe make
a child support payment, or pay their taxes, and it really
invigorated the neighborhood also.
Perryman: Well, you’ve been very
insightful and have some brilliant ideas.
Contrada: I’m very, very
excited about the things that we’re doing, and I feel like
it’s imperative that low-income people, African Americans,
young people, really, really have a future in Toledo in a
positive way. We’re fighting on all fronts to help
accomplish this, and I feel like we’ve got strong
partnerships with the safe spaces community, with the health
community, with educators, and with the business owners.
We’re all pulling on the same oar going in the same
direction, and it’s going to help everyone.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org |
