Page 49 - September 2019 FOP Newsletter

th strct officers
or th stuents
to ee the ece
Justice, friendship, love and harmony. These are a few of Martin Luther King Jr.’s six principles of nonviolence that now make up the foundation of a student group on the rise at North Lawndale Col- lege Prep High School. The youth of this group call themselves the Peace Warriors, and together, they work to instill peace and harmo- ny in the community.
On July 17, their mission brought them to sit down with Chica- go Police Officers from the 10th District to discuss ways to create more positive interactions within the community. Tenth District Officers Jamil Brown and Dave Vazquez were first connected with the Peace Warriors through Harmony Community Church, where a faith-based leader thought that the students’ mission could work in harmony with law enforcement’s efforts to instill peace and safety in the community.
“They’re looking to create an overall more positive outlook at what the community is, what the community has to provide, and their responsibilities as youth within the community,” Vazquez ex- plained.
Officers often make appearances in schools to connect with youth, but this visit was a little different than what Vazquez and Brown were used to. The roles were reversed as the two officers en- tered the Peace Warriors meeting ready to listen to the thoughts, opinions and experiences of young people regarding the police.
“A lot of them weren’t privy to being with the police on a one-on- one level,” Vazquez said. “We wanted to make sure that they didn’t feel overwhelmed and for them to know that there were no expec- tations for us to them, or them to us.”
The disconnect between the officers and students quickly faded as Vazquez and Brown shared their stories and listened attentively to the students’ perspective on how officers can make a stronger impact with young people.
“It’s about gaining a different perspective,” Brown stressed. “You have to remember that youth today have stigmas just like the police do — especially the youth in this area. It’s a good idea to make sure that communication is clear so that we can have an accurate pic- ture of what they go through on a day-to-day basis.”
Following the initial meeting, where the officers and Peace War- riors discussed ways in which they can work together to improve community interactions, the allies quickly joined forces to put their ideas into action. For the month of August, the 10th District part- nered with the Peace Warriors to host weekly cookouts within their neighborhoods.
“We coordinated with the Peace Warriors and the faith-based community every single Wednesday in order to cook and serve the community and the surrounding area that is riddled with violence to show the people that there’s another way,” Vazquez explained.
Whether they’re handing out food on street corners or engaging in a discussion circle, the officers and the Peace Warriors are work- ing together to put an end to violence through listening and getting to know each other’s stories.
“We literally sat down and had a conversation,” noted Brown, who is also the 10th District’s Officer Friendly. “I think they appre- ciated that we were very open and transparent about how we view negative perceptions that are out there in the media...and they’ve also shared some views that were based on personal experiences which were very eye-opening to us. It’s definitely a relationship we look forward to continuing.”
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2019 49