By Matt Thacker
If there was tension between Louisville Metro Police Chief Robert White, U of L student Phillip Bailey and other community leaders, it was not evident at the “Brothers Reaching Brothers” forum at St. Stephen Baptist Church in Louisville.
A representative for White told The Cardinal a week before the forum that the police chief was considering not attending the event if speakers planned to focus on Bailey’s controversial comments.
White was referring to the controversy over Bailey’s comments on an online message board for the SOULution online magazine.
Discussion of Bailey’s comments was avoided as the speakers at the forum focused on their goal of reducing violence among young African-Americans in Louisville. Speakers at the event ranged from local reverends to community activists to politicians. U of L was represented by Dr. Blaine Hudson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Dr. Ricky Jones, chair of Pan-African Studies.
While speakers offered differing opinions about the cause of increasing violence in Louisville, each seemed willing to put aside any political or personal differences to reach out to inner-city youth.
Bailey said the problem of violence among young people stems from the poverty that some parents face.
“I didn’t get to U of L on my own,” Bailey said, crediting his parents with helping him go to college. Many agreed that more money was part of the solution.
“Learn to be entrepreneurial,” Louisville Urban League President Benjamin Richmond said to Louisville’s youth. “Part of the problem is economic.”
However, others believed that the problem would not be fixed through economic means.
“Poverty alone is not always the cause,” Rev. Clay Calloway said. Other possibilities were discussed, such as race factors in education, the job market and the recent hurricane disaster relief effort.
However, most notable were the topics that were not directly addressed: Bailey’s comments and the future of White’s position as police chief.
White was again in the media recently when The Courier-Journal reported last week that Metro Councilman Kelly Downard would fire White if he were elected mayor next year. The article also mentioned a study by the Fraternal Order of Police union in which 470 of 500 police officers said they had no confidence in White’s ability to lead the department. However, the church, filled nearly to capacity, displayed its support of White by giving him a standing ovation.
White told the audience that his job is to keep people out of the prison system rather than to rehabilitate people who go to prison. “The system doesn’t work,” he said.
The forum ended with panel members answering questions from the audience. Panel members said they hoped to use the talents of each speaker in developing a plan to help reduce violence in Louisville.
