The protests which shook the world this summer have left U.S. cities and their systems rattled by the shouts and demands of justice for Black Americans. From Minneapolis to Chicago, Los Angeles to Louisville, and countless other major cities, we have seen mainstream news and social media coverage of individuals demanding police reform. These calls for reform have included passing Breonna’s Law to ban no-knock warrants, seeking justice for Black Americans wrongfully murdered, and the goal of a fundamental restructuring of an oppressive society. News channels cover events as they unfold in large cities but that does not represent the whole country. What is happening outside city perimeters? What is happening in communities where the population is closer to 100 than 100,000?
Years of Injustice
Grand Junction is a predominantly White community in rural Colorado with Black Americans making up less than 1% of the population. In my town where prominent historical figures, like Walter Walker who founded the town newspaper, have ties to the Klu Klux Klan, implementing inclusive policies and listening to minority communities are actions often left to the back burner.
Last year, after months of prodding by a family whose children were called racial slurs and received threatening letters, Grand Junction adopted an inclusivity proclamation. This proclamation pledged that the city of Grand Junction would work to ensure human rights for all and celebrate “people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, genders, economic status, and physical and mental circumstances.” Throughout the 18 years I have lived in Grand Junction, I have rarely witnessed racial justice or inequality as a common discussion topic. Community members work to avoid uncomfortable conversations regarding the prevalent bias and racism ingrained in our community. This is a common reality in small towns.
In the past, no matter what social justice movement was at the forefront of media coverage, the dynamics of my hometown were never represented — perhaps that’s why the support shown on TV for the issue never seemed to translate to my community. Recently, these same large disparities have been prevalent in the representation of how different American communities are working to bring about racial justice and combat racism. Nationally, there are protests with tens of thousands of individuals facing tear gas and pepper spray from the police, whilst in recent years, the few protests I have seen in my town have faced low turnout. Because of how prevalent and ingrained implicit racial biases are in my community, even protests with larger turnouts have found it difficult to translate momentary awareness into direct action. When looking to see how to support the BLM movement in my community amidst current continued police brutality, I saw a new approach: an emphasis on education and promoting conversations surrounding topics such as privilege and local racial history.
A New Approach
Rather than a local chapter of Black Lives Matter leading the movement, a new organization has formed with adapted goals based on the makeup and population size of our rural community. This organization, Right and Wrong, has been formed to fill a gap of community voices regarding racial equality within Grand Junction. Prior to the formation of RAW in June 2020, my community did not have a leading group of people of color to advocate for the systemic changes they believe need to be addressed. Our local chapter of Black Lives Matter quickly lost steam and community support, and now only functions as a platform to share information on local events.
As a majority White town, few community members understood what specific changes should be advocated for. Without the firsthand experience of oppression or a clear message coming from those who are, it’s difficult to support change. The formation of RAW has helped community members like myself understand what systems need to be targeted and how we can work to support and advocate for change on the local level.
RAW’s work began with a classic form of protest and a list of demands for change within our community. Soon, a representative task force was working with city officials, community members, and the police department to work towards much needed changes in line with RAW’s demands. The organizers of RAW have also dubbed themselves as part of the “right and wrong movement,” working to ensure fundamental rights and wrongs are addressed.
Since then, organizers of RAW have been working with the GJPD, Grand Junction City Council, Mesa County Valley School District, and representatives from Colorado Mesa University. Founder Antonio Clark stated in an interview with the HPR that they hope to work beyond racial equality as well, “Black lives is what we’ve been focused on at the moment, but that definitely doesn’t stop there. We’re looking to help any segment of the community that feels disenfranchised or feel like they deal with oppression or injustice, we’re committed to fighting for change.” RAW chose to expand their mission in an effort to ensure a safe and equitable community for all.
An Unlikely Alliance
In many communities police departments have worked to support and enforce oppressive systems against people of color. In Grand Junction, local organizers have begun building a relationship with the Grand Junction Police Department in order to change that.
The organizers of Right and Wrong have had multiple meetings with Chief Shoemaker and others of the Grand Junction Police Department with one of their current goals being to “rework” their implicit bias training system. In the state of Colorado, the required implicit bias training that officers take part in is a completely online course. Implicit bias training is a fundamental component in teaching individuals to keep their biases in check, but to be reduced to an online course that can easily be skimmed or forgotten is detrimental to the effectiveness of police. If executed properly, implicit bias training could be a key component in reforming not only police departments but societal behavior as we know it.
When asked about implicit bias training Chief Shoemaker stated in an interview with the HPR, “I find locally that maybe our training isn’t as effective as it could be. So, what I’d like to do is maybe have some training that’s perhaps a little bit more experiential.” Chief Shoemaker and RAW are currently working together to find ways to rework and expand this training to tie in and discuss issues more relevant to our specific community.
Educating the Next Generation
Organizers in Grand Junction have begun to adapt rallies and protests into recurring teach-ins working to educate the community on local history, knowing your rights, and the importance of voting. Prior to witnessing these events in my community, I had not seen any other communities implementing events like this. One of RAW’s priorities is implementing Black history in schools and offering opportunities for community members to learn about allyship, privilege, and the parts of America’s racist history omitted in school. Although inclusive education has been an attempt in a multitude of locations throughout the U.S., this is the first attempt within my community.
These teach-ins have symbolized a turning point within Grand Junction, showing that there are people who are dedicated to learning and growing and willing to show up for the cause, which has renewed a new sense of hope. Multiple different social justice movements have attempted to make change in our community, but they never seem to move beyond one or two protests. RAW is creating a different type of local movement, one in which they continue to develop new ideas that can be improved upon and implemented for years to come, such as their current project of putting together a local Black history museum.
The adaptation of rallies to teach-ins have proved the movement’s longevity and showed that community members are willing to learn, which has allowed RAW’s organizers to work towards change in multiple parts of our community including our school district. The goals for Mesa County Valley School District is to implement a student equity council in each school to teach students about equity versus equality and the presence of racial injustice in America, as well as lead conversations regarding equity improvements in school. In an interview with the HPR, Demetrius Davis, a founder of RAW, said “We can show the kids, you know the small marginalized kids in this area that are colored, you know, especially black that they’re being represented, even though they are such a small percentage of our population here in Grand Junction.” With such a small portion of Grand Junction being people of color, it is essential that underrepresented youth are supported and given outlets to have their voices heard. Activation of the voices of the underrepresented is essential in making just and effective changes towards a more inclusive community.
Set in Their Ways
Additionally, the current local movement has been able to gain traction due to the small population size which promotes easier access to community leaders. In smaller rural communities, there is lower demand for conversation with community leaders, so there are often few participants in the public comment portions of city council meetings, which allows a large amount of speaking time for attendees. However, access does not equal change.
When asked about the access to and receptibility of community leaders, Clark, co-founder of RAW, stated “It’s not hard to get physically in front of them, but actually reaching them and showing them that this is something that needs to be addressed I feel like it’s harder in smaller towns.” This factor of difficulty to get community leaders to truly listen and act can be attributed to the common stereotype that rural communities are stuck in the past. Often proposals for progress and efforts to create a more inclusive environment are turned away due to “traditions.”
The ideology of Grand Junction contributes to the difficulty of enacting change. There is a generational tendency among community members to attend the local college after graduating from high school and remain in the local workforce their whole life. This tendency is not inherently negative, but when a predominantly White community does not seek to see beyond the traditional cycle of function within their community, oppressive and biased systems never change.
Due to these patterns, disruption of the current system functions through not only protest and the voices of community members, but through the election or hiring of new community leaders. The current Grand Junction police chief was sworn in only two years ago, and due to his more progressive views, local organizers have been able to propose changes they see as needed. Additionally, Grand Junction City Councilwoman Anna Stout was elected in 2019, and since then, has continuously served to amplify voices of the community not traditionally heard, including those of the local Black community.
Combating Ingrained Patterns
Without these transitions of leadership to new individuals from either out of town or younger generations, my community would not be seeing the beginning of widespread changes currently occurring. The disruption I am witnessing in my community goes far beyond protests, as it reaches positions of leadership. We are finally witnessing a period of voluntary progress and change in which leaders are actively working to find ways they can implement much-needed changes into the community.
Despite this hope and apparent turning point, we still face widespread bias and anger over the idea that racism exists and is present in our community. Any local media coverage of protests, teach-ins, or announcements regarding the progress being made is met with immense backlash from within the community as well as Facebook threats aimed towards all organizers involved. Those who advocate for progress often face harassment on social media, at school, or even in the workplace.
I have always seen my town as a hateful and difficult place to live for anyone who believes in equal rights and human rights. In the workplace, out in the community, and on social media, it is apparent that in our community and many others like it racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and general bias are alive and well. Activists involved with the local organization Right and Wrong, such as Antonio Clark and Demetrius Davis, have brought a new sense of hope that our community can change, that we can begin to address the bias and hatred head-on. Davis summed the goal up well: “It’s about getting people back in touch with humanity.” The hope is that this idea of getting in touch with humanity can bring change to not only my community but others struggling in the same way. The fight will be difficult, but my community has proven to have more supporters than anyone could have expected, and we have been blessed with some receptive leaders. Now it is just about ensuring the oppressed and disfranchised members of the community are not avoided and silenced again.
Image Credit: “Colorado” by Curtis Cronn is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.