USA TODAY International Edition
Mayor de Blasio and Dante, come talk to us about race and the police
Dante de Blasio, son of New York Mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Bill de Blasio, wrote a column, “My dad gave me ‘the talk.’ When someone called police, I felt the fear,” about a conversation with his father regarding race and the police.
Many people have different experiences with police officers, some good some bad. Nobody anywhere is in a position to judge another person’s fears. When we acknowledge that people of color have different experiences with cops then, and only then, can we move forward as a larger community, hopefully healing the divide between law enforcement and communities of color.
I can understand Dante de Blasio writing his op-ed. However, what I don’t understand — and this is important — is why his father, the mayor of New York City for nearly five years, a city with police unions among the largest in the country, has not once invited any of us union presidents to a meeting for an honest talk on race.
It is easy to criticize; providing solutions isn’t as easy.
In the absence of an invite to City Hall, I extend an invite to Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Dante, to come by my office. I would be more than happy to discuss solutions, and take the lead on a very serious topic that ultimately affects us all. Ed Mullins
President
Sergeants Benevolent Association New York City Police Department
You knew you would face hatred, racism and attempts to nullify your experiences, but you wrote this op-ed anyway. Good for you, brother! Thank you for sharing what is all too real. Now, we need solutions.
@A__Rho
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