A statement by Allen Edson, president of NAACP Pasadena, and Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director, National Day Laborer Organizing Network:
With a unanimous vote on Monday night, the Pasadena City Council has finally begun to acknowledge the stain of racial segregation, inequality and biased policing in our city. It agreed to create the position of an Independent police auditor and an 11-member Police Commission with partial subpoena power.
The City Council’s action is a good first step. Our community welcomes the evolution of the political class. But the real heroes are the survivors of police violence and their families, and the thousands of residents from all walks of life, who took to the streets in a pandemic to protest abusive policing and to demand change.
For decades, Pasadena’s political class failed to properly oversee the Police Department. Because of this lack of leadership, many precious lives were damaged or destroyed. Let’s say their names loud and clear: Leroy Barnes. Kendrec McDade. J.R. Thomas. Chris Ballew. Margarita Pérez. Anthony McClain.
And let’s honor them by continuing this fight, because — even with Monday’s win — Pasadena still is a long way from enacting real and meaningful police reform. Our journey has barely begun.
First, the independent police auditor will be hired by the city attorney, whose job is to protect the city. This creates the potential for conflict of interest. We ask the council to carefully examine this arrangement to ensure that the police auditor has the true independence the community has demanded. Establishing a City Prosecutor’s Office separate from the city attorney would be a step in the right direction to grant full independence to the police auditor.
Second, hiring an Independent police auditor and creating a Police Commission fulfills only two of the 12 demands made by the Pasadena Community Bill of Rights and Declaration of Inter-dependence. As the political class and city staff work out the details of Monday’s decision, we will keep pushing to achieve the entire Community Bill of Rights. We, the people, want the whole thing, not just one-sixth of it. We will not rest until full racial justice flourishes in the Crown City.
As we move forward, we ask the people of Pasadena, on behalf of our organizations, to keep the unity and the spirit of struggle. Our demands are clear. There is no ambiguity. The political class will claim this win for themselves, but the real maker of change is the people. Let’s rally behind the Community Bill of Rights and push as hard as we can and let the political class decide what they are willing to concede to the people. Let’s keep fighting because, as Frederick Douglass taught us, “Power concedes nothing without a demand.”
Since the beginning of the historic partnership between our two organizations, our aim has not changed: We will establish a new paradigm for policing in Pasadena, to bring justice to those who have been denied it for too long. Our shared vision is not just for better policing, but also more shared prosperity and inclusion, better public health and education — and, with time, less need for policing in our neighborhoods.
The NAACP and NDLON acknowledge and honor our sister organizations in the ongoing battle for police reform including CCICOP, POP, IMA, CCC and Pasadena Young Leaders. We also like to recognize the sister organizations that joined the fight, including Pasadena Safe Streets Coalition, BLM Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, the Armory Center for the Arts, the Pasadena Community Job Center, Racial Justice Coalition, Breathe Justice, Pasadena Black Pages, Radio Jornalera, Midnight Muralists and the Recovery Station LA. Please forgive us if we forgot anyone.
Join us as we keep urging our mayor and council members to fully embrace and to champion the Community Bill of Rights!
Allen Edson is president of the Pasadena NAACP. This article was co-written by Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director, National Day Laborer Organizing Network:
