[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish residents, Justice official discuss concerns of African-American community

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish residents, Justice official discuss concerns of
African-American community

Published: Sunday, January 09, 2011, 7:15 AM

 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune 

In a church's brick annex near the heart of St. Bernard Parish's sole
majority black community, about 20 Violet residents last week discussed a
perceived cultural gap between themselves and the sheriff's officials who
police their streets.



The evening meetings with U.S. Department of Justice official Carmelita Pope
Freeman have become a monthly affair, where residents discuss an array of
issues, from the spending of federal and parish money, to lack of
recreation, workforce and housing choices, to allegations of racial
prejudice, misunderstanding and profiling.

A 64-year-old African-American woman who says she'll retire in June once she
hits 65, Freeman grew up in Monroe and is the southwest regional director of
the department's Community Relations Service, overseeing Louisiana,
Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

Community Relations Service personnel are oft-referred to as the Justice
Department's "peacemakers." The section was created by the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 to address community conflicts and tensions arising from differences
of race, color and national origin. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act recently
expanded that mandate to include gender identity and sexual orientation
discrimination.

Freeman said she arrives when "something adversely affects the peace of a
neighborhood."

She told the crowd on Thursday, "The Department of Justice is in your house"
largely because the New Orleans metro area has become a focal point, "a
major priority for the department." She said in the wake of the Gulf oil
spill, and with the Justice Department's ongoing assessment of the NOPD, the
department has allocated more resources, and is holding a finer microscope,
to the metro area.

On Thursday evening, the topic turned to the lack of "sensitivity" or
"diversity training" given to St. Bernard sheriff's officials, with
attendees alleging it causes officers to misunderstand certain cues and
causes tensions to flare. No major racial conflicts have been reported by
the Sheriff's Office, and Violet residents at the meeting discussed
relatively minor altercations, including threats, raised tempers or frequent
questioning by deputies on matters with which they had no involvement.

"We are a very close-knit community here in Violet, we have close-knit
families, and we will attempt to look out for one another," Keisa Rodney
said.

Rodney said the closeness among community members can be misinterpreted as
being a part of illegal activities that may be occurring elsewhere in
Violet. She also said she and many other Violet residents don't often look
people directly in the eye and that such a small, possibly social difference
can cause misunderstandings when sheriff's officials take it to mean
disrespect or hidden motives.

St. Bernard Sheriff's Cpl. Johnell Young, who monitors narcotics in the
area, said he is one of the few black officers in the department and that
minority hiring should become a focus to bridge the perceived cultural gap.

He also said the Sheriff's Office does not give officers training on how to
deal with communities that are different from their own.

Chief Deputy James Pohlmann said on Friday that while sheriff's officials do
get trained on how to interact with the public, such training does not
address cultural differences.

He said he first learned about the Freeman meeting on Thursday but that, if
invited to future meetings, he would attend "to identify the problems and
see if training can help with any solution that is needed."

"Sometimes deputies talk more than they listen, and we always preach about
that, that you learn more when you listen," Pohlmann said.

Since Hurricane Katrina, the percentage of the black population in St.
Bernard has risen from about 10 percent to 16 percent, with the non-Hispanic
white population dropping about 10 percent, from about 81 percent to 71
percent, according to the most recent U.S. Census data estimates.

About 20 years ago, less than 4 percent of the parish's population was
African-American.

.......

Benjamin Alexander-Bloch can be reached at bbloch at timespicayune.com or
504.826.3321.