Pittsfield — Berkshire County residents will have an opportunity this Sunday, December 7, to protest the recent grand jury decisions that dismissed criminal charges against police officers in the separate deaths of two unarmed young black men: Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner on Staten Island, New York. Both men were killed by police officers. Brown’s death in August set off riots that led to a National Guard presence in Ferguson. The two grand jury decisions came about a week apart, and sparked hundreds of mostly peaceful demonstrations around the country.
The Berkshire County branch of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) will host a peaceful march starting from Pitt Park at 3 p.m. to the Common in downtown Pittsfield. As of Friday, December 5, a Facebook page for the Berkshires March for Justice and Humanity had almost 100 people signed up to attend, though signing up is not necessary.
Berkshire branch NAACP President Will Singleton said he thinks there will be good turnout for the march, but isn’t sure yet how many will attend. When asked what people — especially those of us living far from large cities — can do to change the racial dynamics that lead to fatal confrontations between young black men and police, Singleton said it was a question that “would take two months to answer.”
“One thing that needs to be done is to change the perception of young black men,” Singleton said. “When one young black man does something irresponsible he doesn’t represent the whole group…that should not taint everyone in that ethnic group. We expect all young people to learn responsibility and what it is to be a good citizen.”
“So often black people have been portrayed in such a negative light — the positive is the exception,” said Singleton, a Pittsfield native and retired school superintendent.
“Speaking personally and not on behalf of the NAACP, I’m getting fed up with talking about the need for training — we have a history of racism — not just black folks. I had an Irish fellow doing some work for me that said his wife had done something stupid, and he said ‘what do you expect — she’s Polish.’ Eyeball to eyeball, that’s what he said — and that’s his wife.”
Singleton said the average person anywhere can begin tackling racism by having “the conversation about race, and looking historically at what has happened…just lay it on the line and talk about it.”
When Singleton turned 18 the first thing he did was register for the draft. “That’s what I thought you did if you were an American and a citizen,” he recalled. “And when I went away I saw how bad our history really was. What we said we stood for and what we’ve done is an unmitigated disgrace. We can’t build a stronger foundation on a lie.”
