County officials and residents gathered at the Waukegan Public Library Thursday for a forum on local relations between the community and police.
Sponsored by Lake County Black Lives Matter, the event was an opportunity for people to express their feelings in a safe environment, said the group’s chairman, Clyde McLemore.
Waukegan Police Chief Wayne Walles and Reginald Mathews, chief of the State’s Attorney’s Gangs and Narcotics Division, were among the guests Thursday, invited only to listen and not take part in the discussion. Organizers said that decision was made, in order to provide residents enough time to speak within the 1 1/2 hours allotted for the event.
“When we say ‘black lives matter,’ we know all lives matter, but we’re the ones hurting in a controlled environment,” McLemore said.
The controlled environment, McLemore said, are jails and segregated areas of the community.
With a microphone in hand, those who spoke among the group of varied ethnicities stood in front of the room and shared their perspectives on racism, which was mentioned as not inclusive to Lake County but widespread across the nation.
Some who spoke gave examples of times they were hurt and offended by experiencing discrimination. Others offered some solutions.
Gurnee resident Carol Giomondo, who identified herself as a white woman and an educator, said she doesn’t judge people on their skin color. Giomondo said that the problem of racism stems from ignorance and not skin color.
“I believe this is a time in history where we can have these type of conversations … but it’s ignorance that you’re fighting and it comes in all colors,” Giomondo said.
James Washington, who said he goes by Ahmed El-Sudan, said that as a black man, he’s proud to see “white people stand alongside blacks,” in the fight against discrimination and mistreatment. But, he added, “don’t expect to understand racism as we do, white people. It’s absolutely impossible. You have to be born in it to understand it.”
The 69-year-old added that as an Army veteran who has lived with racism all of his life, what he hopes for now is “trying to enjoy the same things that everyone else has.”
Tio Hardiman, president of the Chicago-based Violence Interrupters, said that he was happy to see the Black Lives Matter chapter bring the community together Thursday. Hardiman added that those who cause problems are not in the majority.
“There’s a few people in every race that mess it up for the everyone else,” Hardiman said. “Police across the nation have to do a better job at holding their officers accountable when they do wrong.
“We can’t talk and protest forever. It’s time to make changes,” Hardiman added. “We as a people need to unify, because America is our country.”
At the conclusion of the event, Mathews said that the dialogue between the community felt like progress.
Black Lives Matter members said they hope to continue to host forums in other areas of the county, such as Round Lake and North Chicago.
Yadira Sanchez-Olson is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
