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A conversation on Black Lives Matter with Cincinnati City
Councilman and U. S. Senate candidate P. G. Sittenfeld:
Perryman: We are looking forward
to you being here on August 9 to worship with us in a
religious service to commemorate the one-year anniversary of
the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. Let me say at
the outset how impressed I was when I heard your message. I
think that it is very timely and unique. We are not hearing
that message from other people.
PG: I appreciate it very much. I think
unfortunately we’re in a place where not enough candidates
and not enough elected leaders are speaking in terms about
the issues that matter.
Perryman: Please tell me about
what you consider to be “the issues that matter.”
PG: Well I think obviously there are so
many issues that matter, whether it’s the economy or foreign
policy or things like that, but the things that I don’t hear
enough people that want to be Ohio’s next United States
Senator talking about are mass incarceration, getting
illegal guns off our streets, rethinking policies around
mandatory minimum sentencing, reforming our police
-community relations, taking bold steps to make sure that
every child, no matter the prestige, income or the color of
their skin gets a great education. That’s sort of what we’ve
been spending a whole lot of time talking about so far in
this campaign.
Perryman: You mentioned a couple
things that bring race to the forefront. Why do you think
we’ve had such a difficult time talking about race in this
country?
PG: I think part of it, and I will
speak to this on Sunday, but I think it starts by
acknowledging that institutional racism is real, you know?
There is obvious racism in our institutions and in our
system and I think the only way to deal with it and to rid
ourselves of it is to acknowledge it and confront it head
on, and I think that you see essentially, I think, too many
white elected officials who just aren’t willing to do that.
Perryman: And not be in denial.
We first have to acknowledge racism exists before we can
deal with it.
PG: You first have to acknowledge that
there is a problem and not put our heads in the sand. I
think one of the things that I’ve been mindful of, because
obviously its hit close to home with every tragedy we’ve
experienced around the country, but obviously with what
happened with Mr. Samuel Dubose down in Cincinnati, it
breaks my heart thinking to myself if it had been me, I
probably am not getting pulled over for not having a front
license plate. Or, I probably am not getting pulled over for
not putting my turn signal on like Sandra Bland, so I think
it’s recognizing that institutional racism is a real thing
in our society. I think that’s how we can start the process
of healing and reforming and improving.
Perryman: Please share with our
readers about your upcoming visit to Toledo for the Black
Lives Matter religious program at Center of Hope and tell us
why you’re coming and what you hope to accomplish.
PG: Well I’m thrilled to receive the
invitation. I’m so looking forward to being with the entire
congregation and praying together, being mindful of the past
and things that have happened recently, but also looking
hopefully to the future. And I will also say further, it’s a
real honor and pleasure to get to join you in Toledo,
because I do think Cincinnati has some real success stories
to share. As you know, this has gotten a little bit long,
but that police officer (in the shooting death of Samuel
Dubose, an unarmed black citizen) was a University of
Cincinnati police officer, not a City of Cincinnati police
officer.
The strides that we’ve taken in our police-community
relations, we just recently had Loretta Lynch, the first
African-American female attorney general in the United
States, come to Cincinnati and she stated that what we’ve
done to improve our police community relations, she thinks,
is a national model. So, I’m all about making sure that good
ideas and good solutions are contagious and that we spread
them around our state and around the country so we get to
enjoy the camaraderie of Center of Hope and to talk about
ideas that work. It’s something I’m very excited about.
Perryman: You mentioned the fact
that Cincinnati is a model for a lot of positive and
successful initiatives. We have a cradle-to-career
initiative here locally called Aspire, in which we work very
closely with Strive Cincinnati and is modeled directly after
it. I have consulted with V. Randolph Brown who led the
innovative Imagine a Greater Cincinnati for Economic
Inclusion contractor and supplier diversity initiative. I
have dialogued with faith leader Troy Brown of the Amos
Project. We’ve also been in touch with the people that run
your Infant Mortality Program out of the hospital. I forget
the name of it down there, but…
PG: Cradle Cincinnati.
Perryman: Yes, yes. Cradle
Cincinnati, which is an outstanding infant mortality
initiative. So I’ve always, when I’m looking to do
something, to make change, the first place I look is
Cincinnati, Ohio.
PG: That’s what it’s all about.
Cincinnati doesn’t get everything right obviously, but we’ve
had our own struggles, which now we’ve been able to do
better. I think sometimes you’ve got to learn from your
mistakes, but I’m proud of the city where I have the honor
of being an elected official and I’m so looking forward to
getting into part of the conversation with Toledo.
Perryman: My faith background
tells me that the fresh, young wine of your worldview and
experience is incompatible with the old, moldy cracked
containers of the status quo. Just as the deep change of
fermenting young wine challenges the old cosmetic skins
which protect privilege and power, you’ve managed to ruffle
a few feathers within the old guard of the Democratic Party.
Can you speak to that?
PG: Yes, I think, here’s what I’ll say
about that, and this is what I honestly believe. I trust
millions and millions of Democratic voters across the state
of Ohio to make their own decision. I don’t think that they
need to be told by big wigs and by party insiders who their
nominee should be. So, I look forward to winning this (U. S.
Senate) election on the strength of my ideas and the merit
of my values, and I think that’s what matters. I think
frankly, I think a lot of Democrats are tired of being
dictated to. So, I might not be the darling of the
Democratic Party machine, but I think I can be a voice for
the people.
Perryman: Why now and why can’t
you wait to run?
PG: It’s such a good question and I
think a lot of people…I’ve sort of heard from different
people “wait your turn” and part of what I feel is that I’m
running for the people whose turn never seems to come. This
race is not about PG Sittenfeld or Ted Strickland or Rob
Portman, it’s about the urgency of young men and young women
in Toledo, in Cincinnati, in Cleveland and elsewhere, who
deserve a fair shot at life, and I think I’ve got the ideas
and the energy to help make a difference, so that’s why I’m
running right now. I just think that it’s the people who
say “wait your turn,” they don’t feel the urgency I do to
tackle some of these problems.
Perryman: Talk about your past
and present experience working with the African-American
community and about your relationship with other
marginalized groups.
PG: Yes, so in Cincinnati, obviously
our city is a nearly majority minority city, so I’ve always
felt you can’t say the whole city is doing well if you’re
leaving a lot of folks behind. So in my very first campaign
through my time at City Hall as an elected leader, I wanted
to make sure I’m reaching out to all segments, to all facets
of the community. I’m very proud, and this has never
happened before in Cincinnati, to have been the highest vote
getter even amongst the African-American community.
So I think everything from taking the bold steps at the city
level to make sure we’re doing a much better job around
economic inclusion, doing really meaningful work around
expanding public health support and making sure there’s a
safety net in place, fighting for good jobs and making sure
that they go to local members of our community. I feel like
I have a record in Cincinnati of standing up for the
African-American community and people are going to get more
of the same when I’m their United States Senator.
One other thing I would also say is one of the very first
things that I did when I got to City Hall is, I said that I
want to make sure I am accessible all the time, and there’s
a platform for the community to reach me and for me to hear
from them. So I went and I got a radio show on the local
urban talk station, and I was the only white host on 1230
WDBZ The Buzz. I had that show for about four years and
unfortunately because of the campaign I had to give it up,
but that was a place where we would come together and I got
to listen and we would talk about tough issues, so I think
showing up is so important and it means something. I’ve
been doing that in this campaign and I’m going to keep doing
it.
Perryman: Please talk a little
bit about your involvement with the faith community.
PG: Yes, absolutely. So, my own state
and sense of spirituality means a lot to me and that’s why
I’m excited to get to worship with you and your
congregation. Before I’m a city councilman, I’m a child of
God and trying to be very, very anchored in my faith at all
times. I will say, every major issue in which Cincinnati
has been able to make progress and to make improvements, the
faith community has been right there with us. So whether
it’s a Pastor Perryman in Toledo or a Bishop Hilton in
Cincinnati, I depend upon my colleagues and my counterparts
in the faith community to help us get to where we want to
go. So I see it’s not just faith for its own sake, but it’s
also matching it with deeds in the community. There’s a
group in Cincinnati, the Faith Community Alliance, where
leading pastors and labor members and elected officials come
together to tackle big problems together. I’ve been
involved in that for years now, so it’s a very important
part of my life for me.
Perryman: So why don’t we close on
this, if you can, tell me why Black Lives Matter?
PG: Well, I think it’s important to
clarify, and this may be a little bit more for some of my
white elected counterparts, but when we say that Black Lives
Matter, it’s not that they matter more than anybody else’s,
but it is that they matter as much as anybody else’s lives.
And, the horrid reality, getting back to sort of
acknowledging the problem, is, that’s not the way our
country has worked for far too long. It’s not the way our
country has worked up to this present moment, and if we’re
going to make real, that Black Lives Matter; if we’re going
to make real the promise of what we want our country to be
- that this is a country where no matter who you are, no
matter where you’re born, no matter what the color of your
skin, that you have a shot and the opportunity at a good
life. So I am proud to say loud and clear that absolutely
Black Lives Matter.
Perryman: I look forward to seeing
and hearing from you on Sunday and then of course after the
worship service there will be a public gathering at one of
our community centers, the Frederick Douglass Center, where
we can have a community conversation.
PG: Yes, Pastor Perryman, again, I just
can’t express enough gratitude for everything you’re doing
and I’m so looking forward to meeting the congregation and
then I also get to enjoy company even more and we’ll have a
chance to listen to the community at the event following the
service.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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