The police killing of Keith Scott on Tuesday and nightly protests since then have hit Charlotte’s black community hard. People are dealing with anger, fear and concern about the community’s long-term challenges.
WFAE reporter David Boraks went to a press conference on North Tryon Street with black business owners Friday afternoon. The event was organized by Shaun Corbett, whom some people may know as the leader of a group called Cops & Barbers.
Boraks talked with All Things Considered host Mark Rumsey. Listen to their conversation here.
Here's Corbett's statement to the media: Last night I had a community meeting here, right there at the shop, that consisted of over 60 small businesses, community leaders, social workers, nonprofit organizers just to figure out how to move forward and bring peace and calm to our city in trying times. So here are some of the things that we came up with:
First of all, stop letting the media spin and falsely report what's going on - both mainstream media and social media.
Secondly, let's focus on supporting each other within our own communities. Because if you look deeper, we have the resources and outlets within our own community to make the change that we need.
Thirdly, let’s focus on policing ourselves, and our community. Support the small businesses that are in your community, because we are the ones that have these events to give back to our community.
And lastly, the importance of our local elections, which is your local government. Not only do we need to rebuild relationships with our law enforcement, but we need to build our relationships with our local government.
Copyright 2016 WFAE
