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by Henry Harry
October 19, 2008
Portions of this letter were presented to the Sacramento Branch of the NAACP on October 11, 2008.
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My name is Henry Harry. I am a Deputy Sheriff employed by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. The comments I make today are my own and are not those of Sheriff John McGinness .
There is an old saying that if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything. Today I am compelled to stand up for justice, justice in the way our darker citizens are treated and justice in the way our government acts. Sadly, it is an American tradition to give Blacks the short end of the stick. We have suffered segregation, been placed in polluted communities, and we have experienced two forms of justice in America. Historically, when we have complained we have been whipped, shot or lynched. All too often, our problems are simply dismissed or ignored.
This history and a current crisis require that I speak to you today. In a week or so, Sheriff John McGinness will implement a plan that will once again give Blacks the short end of the stick when it comes to public safety in south Sacramento. The sheriff is splitting a patrol district in south Sacramento which has been one of the most violent crime areas. There is something unjust about this split. While the sheriff may say this is fair and a needed change, I see this split as an ugly tactic to separate well-off whites from crime plagued minority areas. It is no longer an issue of White Flight; this is now a matter White Division.
Here is the nutshell version of this classic problem: the south Sacramento patrol district (Central Division) has a serious crime problem on the West side; the East side is doing well. The West side is heavily minority and poor; the East side is more White and is more affluent. The newspapers have constantly told the story of a crime crisis in south Sacramento. Through organized efforts and constant prodding, the sheriff’s department finally started doing more to fight crime in south Sacramento. As I have said, this is a classic problem; I became concerned that the department would split the district instead of laboring to truly fight crime in the minority areas. If the sheriff leaves the district intact, he will have to improve the quality of life and reduce crime for everyone; that is the American way (you know the saying "United We Stand"). Since 2003 I have warned people that the sheriff may use the ugly tactic of splitting the district to give the affluent Whites better services, and that is what he is poised to do.
Let me share with you a brief history on this issue
I raised concerns about this district split issue with the Vintage Park Churchill Downs Neighborhood Association (www.vcnacommunity.org) in 2003 when I was a board member.
On January 6, 2006 I met with Sheriff John McGinness, at that time he was still the Undershreiff, and we talked about the district split issue and I outlined my law enforcement tax proposal idea. Sheriff McGinness said he understood my concerns and was opposed to splitting the district.
The Sacramento News and Review published my letter on September 13, 2007 which was critical of the sheriff’s department on several points, and touched on my special tax district concern.
Sheriff McGinness moved ahead with the special district tax proposal I pitched to him. On September 19, 2007 the Sacramento Bee wrote a story on the tax districts and titled it, “Sheriff wants vote on cop tax.” On line read: “Undersheriff Anderson said the department is considering dividing the county into smaller service areas…” When I read the line from the article, I knew the bad deed what was coming.
I presented a letter regarding my district split concerns and my tax proposal to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on October 10, 2007. You can see a video clip of my comments to the board at www.ourglobalvoice.com/hhbos10_10_2007.wmv .
As I conclude, let me use an analogy. If you have a bucket that contains two plastics balls, one dark and one white. If you want to raise the level of both balls, you simply pour in water and both balls rise. If you want to raise the white ball only, you have to create a barrier between the balls, you must separate them. Once separated, you can give the white ball all the water you want -- while the dark ball stays at a lower level. That is what the sheriff is doing in south Sacramento, but he is not doing it with balls, he is doing it with people.
Sheriff John McGinness is a top representative of the JUSTICE system, and I emphasize the word JUSTICE. We must call on Sheriff McGinness to double check his conscience on this issue. We must ask him to ponder if this division of people is consistent with a social contract that all Americans have with our government. Without question, that contract says all will be treated fair and equally before government officials and the law.
So we must appeal to what I hope is a sense of decency in Sheriff Mcginness. We have to ask: should we isolate and contain crime in one area for the benefit of others; are these patrol splits good of all, or only for the favored class?
When the final district boundary lines are drawn, will they simply serve as markers between different patrol areas, or will they serve as clear demarcations between two Americas, one White and one dark.
Henry Harry
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Links to additional information
October 9, 2007 Letter to Board of Supervisors Regarding Split of Central Division
http://www.ourglobalvoice.com/ssdtaxdistricts.htm
Video of Presentation and Comments to Board of Supervisors Regarding Split of Central Division
http://www.ourglobalvoice.com/hhbos10_10_2007.wmv
Video of 2003 Comments to the Board of Supervisors Regarding Crime in South Sacramento
http://www.ourglobalvoice.com/board121603.wmv