WILLISTON — Artist and community organizer Edwin Owusu broke down in tears at the thought of Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot dead last week by police in Louisiana.
Like Sterling, who was killed by police when confronted for selling CDs outside a convenience store, Owusu — who attended the University of Vermont on a debate scholarship — has sold CDs on the street.
“I watched a man who was shot while being held down by police for doing what I do, and what I’ve done many times to make a living for my children,” Owusu said with tears in his eyes.
Owusu was one of several people who spoke at a campaign event Wednesday afternoon for Sen. David Zuckerman, who is seeking the democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.
“We are here to start or continue a conversation, but to really start a new page in Vermont where we really tackle the issues of racial bias and discrimination and inherent biases in ourselves, both as individuals and as a state,” Zuckerman said.
Released in May, a study commissioned by the Vermont State Police and carried out by Northeastern University showed significant disparities between the frequency with which black motorists and white motorists are pulled over and cited in the state.
According to a report from the ACLU of Vermont, an analysis of almost 50,000 State Police stops from July 2010 to June 2011 found nonwhite drivers received citations or tickets more often than white drivers and their vehicles were slightly more likely to be searched.
During the most recent legislative session, House lawmakers passed a bill that would have required Vermont’s police officers to undergo “bias-free” training, and for departments to report traffic-stop data to a common database. On the Senate side, the bill was referred to committee and died.
“As lieutenant governor, we will make sure this conversation doesn’t fade into the background as it unfortunately has often done after such tragedies,” Zuckerman said, referring to the shooting deaths last week of two black men by white police officers, as well as the five police officers who were killed in Dallas by a black gunman.
“Accountability plays a part on both sides,” said Jamell Rogers, a black singer/songwriter who also spoke at the event. “I know there is a lot of pressure on both sides, with people thinking they are not accountable and they are not at fault. I don’t think anything is going to change until we first acknowledge it.”
josh.ogorman @timesargus.com
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