Tru Pettigrew on race relations in the US, George Floyd death
IN HOKE COUNTY.>> YOU CAN HEAR
GEORGE FLOYD'S SISTER PLEADING
FOR PEACEFUL PROTESTS.>> WE
WANT TO GET A FEEL FOR THE
PULSE OF THE COUNTRY IN LIGHT
OF ALL WE ARE SEEING, WHERE WE
HAVE COME, WHERE WE ARE GOING
AND HOW FAR WE HAVE TO GO WHEN
IT COMES TO RACE RELATIONS.
DROOP PETTIGREW AS AN
ORGANIZATION CALLED TO ACCESS
AND WE THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE
TIME THIS AFTERNOON.
>> MY PLEASURE AND GOOD TO
SPEAK WITH YOU DAVID.
>> WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS IT IS
SO SAD.
IN THE MIDST OF THIS PANDEMIC
WE ARE IN OUR WE ALSO IN AN
EPIDEMIC OF RACISM?>> YES WE
ARE GOOD AND I THINK WE HAVE
BEEN LONG BEFORE THE COVID 19
PANDEMIC HIT US THAT IT IS JUST
SOMETHING COUPLED WITH THE
PANDEMIC OF RACISM AND A
FRACTURED RACE RELATIONS IN THE
COUNTRY THAT WE HAVE YET TO
ADDRESS.
I THINK THE EXPRESSIONS WE ARE
SEEING ACROSS THE COUNTRY SPEAK
TO THAT.>> YOU KNOW WHENEVER WE
SEE AN INCIDENT HAPPENED WE DO
WANT TO POINT OUT THAT INCIDENT
DOES NOT PAINT ALL POLICE
OFFICERS, ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT
WITH THE SAME BRUSH AND NOT
EVEN CLOSE TO THAT.
YOU HAVE WORKED DILIGENTLY TO
CREATE A DIALOGUE WITH LAW
ENFORCEMENT BUT IS IT TOUGHER
TO DO THAT NOW?>> ABSOLUTELY.
IT IS ONE OF THOSE ONE STEP
FORWARD AND FIVE STEPS BACK
INCIDENTS.
IT IS VERY FRUSTRATING BECAUSE
AS YOU SAID I HAVE DEVOTED MY
LIFE TO BUILDING THESE BRIDGES,
PARTICULARLY BETWEEN LAW
ENFORCEMENT AND THE DIVERSE
COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE WITH A
FOCUS ON THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS
HAPPENS IT JUST REALLY
FRACTURES THE TRUST,
PARTICULARLY WITH INDIVIDUALS
AND COMMUNITIES WE HAVE YET
ESTABLISHED THAT RELATIONSHIP
OF TRUST AND LEGITIMACY.
>> WHEN YOU SAW THIS VIDEO ON
MONDAY, WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION
IN YOUR GUT AND YOUR HEART?
>> HEARTACHE.
PAIN, HEARTACHE, CONFUSION,
DEVASTATION.
MY HEART GOES OUT TO ESTHER
FLOYD AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY.
PAIN IS THE ONE WORD THAT COMES
TO MY MIND CONTINUALLY DAVID.
THAT HURT, IT WAS HARD TO
WATCH.
IT WAS PAIN, ANGER AND
CONFUSION.
>> QUICKLY, IN THE MIDST OF
THIS ARE YOU SENSING HELP FROM
WHERE YOU SIT AND VIEW THIS?
>> I AM AND I CREDIT THAT TO MY
FAITH.
ON THE SURFACE IN MY FLESH IF I
LOOK AT THAT I MAY EXPERIENCE A
SENSE OF HOPELESSNESS.
BECAUSE OF MY FAITH, I JUST
LOOK AT THE PHONE CALLS IN THE
TEXTS I HAVE RECEIVED FROM
MEMBERS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND
SEEING AND HEARING MEMBERS OF
LAW ENFORCEMENT LOCALLY AND
ACROSS THE COUNTRY EXPRESSING
THEIR DISGUST AND
DISAPPOINTMENT AND CONDEMNING
THAT BEHAVIOR THEMSELVES AND
ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IS NOT THE
PROFESSION THEY REPRESENT.
THAT IS WHAT I FIND
ENCOURAGING, WHICH WE HAVE NOT
SEEN IT TO THIS DEGREE FOR.
I RECEIVED PHONE CALLS FROM THE
LOCAL CHIEFS OF CARY NORTH
CAROLINA AND APEX AND I HEARD
CHIEF ANDREWS OF MARSHALL AND
ALSO DURHAM AND THEY'VE
REACHED OUT TO ME, ALL ON THEIR
OWN ACCORD, JUST DECIDED IT WAS
IMPORTANT ENOUGH THAT WE NEED
TO LET THE PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE
RELATIONSHIP WITH KNOW THAT
THIS IS NOT WHO WE ARE AND THIS
IS NOT WHO WE REPRESENT AND WE
ARE AS OUTRAGED AS THE MEMBERS
OF THE COMMUNITY.
THAT IS WHAT GIVES ME HOPE.
>> KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND WE