West Wayne County NAACP, CWW leaders set listening tour

The Conference of Western Wayne mayors and supervisors, Western Wayne County police chiefs, and Western Wayne County NAACP have announced their “Partnerships for Progress Listening Tour.”
The tour is a collaborative effort to bring open conversation and active listening to the Western Wayne County region in light of ongoing protests around Southeastern Michigan seeking new discussions and reforms in the communities.
On June 16 at Westland City Hall, the new Partnership for Progress collaborative effort announced the first of three planned listening meetings in the CWW region.
The goal is for community members to be able to ask police and elected officials questions, share stories and offer ideas for solutions and change. The Listening Tour meetings are an extension of ongoing discussions that recently began between Western Wayne police chiefs and the Western Wayne County NAACP.
“We realized that for far too long, many members of the community felt like they have not been heard by the elected officials and law enforcement in their communities,” said Western Wayne County NAACP President Gina Wilson Steward.
“The recent killing of unarmed black people and the resulting global protest says it is time to do something different,” Steward said.
The City of Livonia was to host the first listening engagement on Wednesday, June 24, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Livonia Clarenceville High School Auditorium.
The next one will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Aug. 13, at Inkster Recreation Center, 2025 Middlebelt Rd., Inkster.
To accommodate social distancing required due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the events are limited to 100 people attending in person and personal protection equipment is provided.
The events also are livestreamed via Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/conferenceofwesternwayne .
The meetings will include time for questions. Community members who register at www.c-w-w.org can submit proposed questions and/or statements in advance.
The events are being moderated by Daicia Price, a member of the Wayne County Crisis Intervention Team, which supports collaborative efforts to sustain more effective interactions between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
“The leadership of the Western Wayne County NAACP began our Conversations with Police Chiefs last week because we must continue to work to change policies so that black people can live without the fear of being stopped, arrested, or killed by police officers,” Steward said.
“The information shared between the police chiefs and the questions asked by the community proved that more conversations need to be had. We partnered with the Conference of Western Wayne to continue our Listening Tour,” she said.
“We believe that continuing to learn what happens when police officers interact with black people will help us determine which changes police chiefs and elected officials can implement that will benefit the lives of black people,” Steward said.
City of Belleville Mayor Kerreen Conley is chairwoman of the Conference of Western Wayne.
“The message we have consistently received from the organized protestors in the Western Wayne County region is that they need to be heard,” Mayor Conley said. “As elected officials and police chiefs, we understand that necessity and we hear you. This is the time for open and honest discussion and communication that can facilitate real change.
“The Partners for Progress Listening Tour will give community members the ability to ask the questions they need answered, to share their stories and to also offer ideas for solutions,” Conley said.
“We know that we need to give people the opportunity to be heard and we need to listen to them. Our intent with these tours is to create an environment in which all parties feel comfortable to express their concerns, questions, and ideas for change,” she said.
City of Westland Police Chief Jeff Jedrusik said, “We see this as an opportunity for both the Western Wayne County Police Chiefs and the community to learn from each other.
“Through these open dialog forums, the police chiefs will be able to gain a greater perspective from our communities of their specific concerns.
“While doing so, the community will have the opportunity to see and hear first-hand how many Western Wayne County Police Departments have already implemented the training, the policies, and early warning systems that the community is asking for,” Chief Jedrusik said.
“Moving forward, the Listening Tour will give us an excellent opportunity to create the model of community partnership for the rest of the nation to follow,” he concluded.
The Conference of Western Wayne is a group of 18 Western Wayne County communities that coordinates 911 services for its 700,000 residents and 360-square-mile region. CWW also meets monthly to discuss issues including legislation, transportation, public safety, substance abuse prevention, community and economic development, employment, and the environmental health of the region.
CWW and Western Wayne Police Chiefs represent Belleville, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, Inkster, Livonia, Northville, Plymouth, Romulus, Wayne, Westland, Canton Charter Township, Huron Charter Township, Northville Charter Township, Plymouth Charter Township, Redford Charter Township, Sumpter Township, and Van Buren Charter Township.
The Western Wayne County NAACP represents citizens in the communities of Allen Park, Belleville, Brownstown, Canton, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Ecorse, Garden City, Inkster, Lincoln Park, Livonia, Melvindale, New Boston, Northville, Plymouth, Redford, River Rouge, Romulus, Sumpter, Taylor, Van Buren, Wayne, Westland, and Wyandotte.
In a recent Belleville City Council meeting, Mayor Conley said she expects one of the stops on the Listening Tour to be a joint effort between Belleville and Van Buren Township and it could be held in the Belleville High School Auditorium.