Tag: State Sen. Raumesh Akbari

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Reactions to Police Charges in Tyre Nichols Death

Posted to Facebook by Dakarai Turner

Reactions to charges filed against five Memphis Police Department officers in the death of Tyre Nichols believe the charges are a good place to start but not the end of justice in the case. 

(Credit: Ben Crump | Twitter)

Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, attorneys for the Nichols family: 

“The news today from Memphis officials that these five officers are being held criminally accountable for their deadly and brutal actions gives us hope as we continue to push for justice for Tyre.

“This young man lost his life in a particularly disgusting manner that points to the desperate need for change and reform to ensure this violence stops occurring during low-threat procedures, like in this case, a traffic stop.

“This tragedy meets the absolute definition of a needless and unnecessary death. Tyre’s loved ones’ lives were forever changed when he was beaten to death, and we will keep saying his name until justice is served.”

Tennessee state Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Raumesh Akbari:

Raumesh Akbari (Credit: Senator Raumesh Akbari | Facebook)

“While I applaud the swift action of the district attorney, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Memphis Police Department, there is no justice for Tyre Nichols today.

“Justice would be Tyre living to see his next birthday. Justice is people in this community having trust that our police officers will first police themselves. No one should fear for their life during a simple traffic stop or be afraid to even engage with our officers.

There is no justice for Tyre Nichols today.

Sen. Raumseh Akbari

“So instead, today we begin the long act of healing our hurting community, Tyre’s mother and family, and ourselves.

“We cannot move forward together unless we are willing to do the work to hold our police department to the highest ethical standards and uproot any existence or acceptance of police brutality. This is our call to action and we must be vigilant.”

Tennessee state Sen. London Lamar, chairwoman of the Senate Democratic Caucus:

(Credit: London Lamar | TN State Government)

“Like many of us, I feel traumatized by Tyre Nichols’ death and I am disturbed by the actions of the officers who were involved.

“While today we send our heartfelt condolences to the Nichols family, tomorrow we work toward achieving continuous accountability for law enforcement.

“This may be the most egregious act of police brutality in our nation’s history. It shows exactly how much work we have to do to build trust between our people and the officers who pledge to serve and protect our community.

“This may be the most egregious act of police brutality in our nation’s history.”

Sen. London Lamar

“Accountability for the officers involved in Tyre’s death is the first step. The next step is for law enforcement, state and federal officials, and local leaders to investigate why this happened. We have to fix the root causes of police brutality and then do the work to make sure it never happens again.”

U.S. Rep Steve Cohen

Cohen/Credit: U.S. government

“Right now, much of the national media is looking at Memphis as there was an awful killing of a 29-year-old African American man by five police officers within the last few weeks.

“The five police officers have been fired by the police department for violating their oaths…It could be a situation where people want to exercise their First Amendment rights to protest actions of the Police Department, and people should. But they should be peaceful and calm.

“We have a new D.A. We have a new U.S. Attorney. And we have a new police director. They are the right people at the right time to bring about reform and to deal with this case to see that justice is rendered.

“I grieve for the life of Tyre Nichols, whose life should not have been extinguished. He was an outstanding young man and it’s extremely sad that he was killed.

“I pray for my city.”

Rhonda Logan/Facebook

Memphis City Council member Rhonda Logan, chair of council’s Public Safety Committee

“I’d like to share my deepest condolences, love, and prayers of comfort to the family and loved ones of Mr. Tyre Nichols. The death of Mr. Tyre Nichols has been deeply felt and particularly painful because it was in every way heinous. It was inhumane and, in my view, absolutely a crime. 

“At the city council Public Safety Committee meeting on January 24th, 2023, I opened with a prayer for Mr. Nichols’ family and shared that I ‘…hope there will be an opportunity for open dialogue within the next few weeks once the investigation has concluded.’

“There are many unanswered questions, as well as new information we are learning about this case every day. As the Public Safety chair, I have not received any additional information from the Memphis Police Department or other law enforcement agency that has not been shared with the public.  

“I want to assure members of the public that as chair of the Public Safety Committee, I am committed to holding public conversations with Memphis Police and Memphis Fire leadership about the failings of this tragic event.

“We will consider any and all legislation proposed by the city council and/or administration that could aid in the prevention of any other tragedy such as this one. We will increase regular reporting and transparency with the public, as well as continue to urge community policing.  

As a council member elected to represent the citizens, that has and will continue to include Tyre Nichols.”

Rev. Jason Lawrence Turner, pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, and leader of the Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis

Rev. Jason Lawrence Turner/Twitter

“Today’s indictment against five Memphis police officers involved in the beating death of Tyre Nichols is also an indictment against the systemic injustice and abuse of power still rampant throughout the United States criminal justice system.

“Tragically, Tyre is now its face. But it has thousands of faces in thousands of communities across this country. The color of the officers who’ve been indicted is beside the point. They must be held accountable as must any person and any system that would abuse marginalized people.

“We must demand policy changes nationwide that finally pull systemic injustice out by the roots. We will start today in Memphis. Today can mark the beginning of the Second Civil Rights Movement: beyond individual equality to systemic equality.

“We demand a system that manifests justice for all, not the privileged few. In Tyre’s name, systemic justice is what we must demand and fight for — each day going forward until we overcome.”

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Bill Would Curb “Implicit Bias” Training In Tennessee Schools, Universities

Ruma Kumar / Chalkbeat

Tennessee public schools and universities would not be allowed to require employees to take “implicit bias” training under legislation filed this week by two state lawmakers.

The legislation also would apply to employees of Tennessee’s education department and state Board of Education.

Currently, it’s up to local school districts, charter schools, and the state to set personnel policies that may or may not include implicit bias training for their employees. Such training is designed to increase self-awareness around subconscious prejudices and stereotypes that may affect how individuals see and treat people of another race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background.

A significant amount of research in education says that such biases may contribute to racial disparities, such as differences in student achievement, learning opportunities, and school discipline between Black and white students. But it’s less clear whether training about implicit bias actually changes behaviors.

The Tennessee bill comes about two years after the state became one of the nation’s first to enact a law limiting how race and gender can be discussed in the classroom, including conversations about systemic racism. Last year, the GOP-controlled legislature passed another law that could lead to a statewide ban of certain school library books, some of which deal with matters of race and gender.

State Sen. Todd Gardenhire of Chattanooga, who is co-sponsoring the bill with fellow Republican Rep. Jason Zachary of Knoxville, said the measure is needed to protect school employees from policies that could lead to disciplinary action or firing. He cited the case of a Texas nurse who said she was fired by a hospital last year for refusing to take a mandatory course that she said was “grounded in the idea that I’m racist because I’m white.”

“It’s about having to admit to something that you’re not,” Gardenhire told Chalkbeat on Thursday.

Gardenhire, who is white, noted that his legislation would prohibit “adverse licensure and employment actions” in schools or education-related agencies if an employee refuses to participate in such training.

Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, a Memphis Democrat who is Black, called the proposal “a step in the wrong direction.” 

She cast the legislation as a continuation of politically motivated national conversations that seek to pit people against each other instead of fostering policies that promote understanding, respect, and reconciliation among people of different races and backgrounds.

“That is a bill that I think is damaging to children,” Akbari said. “At the end of the day, we want to make sure that they have the safest, most equitable and fairest opportunity when they go to school.”

Implicit bias can hurt people of certain races and backgrounds in their interactions with numerous institutions — from law enforcement and criminal justice to health care and education.

In Tennessee, students of color make up about 40 percent of the state’s public school population, while teachers of color make up about 13 percent of its educators.

Mark Chin, a Vanderbilt University assistant professor who studies racial bias in education, said his research published in 2020 suggests a need to address bias in the classroom.

Using national data, he and his colleagues found larger disparities in test achievement and suspension rates between Black and white youth in counties where teachers hold stronger pro-white/anti-Black biases.

But implicit bias training is not enough to significantly change outcomes, Chin said.

“A single session where people are told of implicit biases is less impactful than sustained, embedded conversations around implicit bias,” he said.

It’s unclear whether or how many school districts or charter schools across Tennessee have policies that require employees to participate in implicit bias training.

Elizabeth Tullos, a spokeswoman for the State Board of Education, said Tennessee does not require such training within its agencies. However, staff members for the board, which sets rules and policies around education, go through the state’s required annual training on workplace discrimination, she said.

Brian Blackley, a spokesman for the state education department, said his agency doesn’t require its employees to participate in implicit bias training either and has not taken a position on the legislation.

The bill defines implicit bias training as any program that presumes an individual is “unconsciously, subconsciously, or unintentionally” predisposed to “be unfairly prejudiced in favor of or against a thing, person, or group to adjust the individual’s patterns of thinking in order to eliminate the individual’s unconscious bias or prejudice.”

You can track the legislation on the General Assembly website.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

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Private School Vouchers Held Unconstitutional

Governor Bill Lee’s 2019 voucher bill allowing taxpayer money to pay for private school attendance in two Tennessee localities — Shelby County and Davidson County — has been ruled unconstitutional by Nashville Chancellor Anne C.

Chancellor Anne C. Martin

Martin because it violates the two counties’ constitutionally granted “home rule” status.

The controversial bill — whose adherents referred to vouchers as “education savings accounts” — notoriously passed the Tennessee House last year by a single vote, which was bargained for by then-Speaker Glen Casada, who kept the chamber’s voteboard open for an extra hour.

Ultimately, Casada was able to prevail on Knoxville state Rep. Jason Zachary to change his no vote to aye upon the Speaker’s pledge that the voucher bill would not apply to Knoxville or anywhere else other than Shelby or Davidson Counties.

New House Speaker Cameron Sexton, who opposed the voucher bill last year, has been resisting Governor Lee’s efforts to fast-track implementation of the measure. Those efforts would no longer appear necessary.

Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray called the ruling “excellent news,” as did state Senator Raumesh Akbari of Memphis, who said, “Public school tax dollars are meant for public schools, to serve every kid with a high-quality education regardless of their ZIP code. Private school vouchers break that shared promise by defunding our neighborhood schools, student by student and brick by brick. That’s why so many school districts wanted no part of this faulty program.”