Pensacola Independent News

COVER STORY | Vol. 11, No. 41, November 5, 2009
(Standing For Something)
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Standing For Something

by Sean Boone

"Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat."

While the sound of rush hour traffic illuminates the I-110/Cervantes interchange, a distant echo can be heard.

It's a rainy and unusually warm day for late October. Motorists, who have slowed to a stop between traffic lights, glare in bewilderment. Some honk and wave in support.

"Stop police brutality, no more fatalities!"

Dozens of protesters who have huddled beneath the underpass clap and coordinate their message with the help of a young man's drum. Others hold signs above their heads, silent sentinels protesting a teenager's death.

Among the crowd is Jonathon Parish, the man considered the voice of the "Concerned Citizens"-the informal activist group formed by many who were at Sluggo's the night 17-year-old Victor Steen was hit and killed by Pensacola Police officer Jerald Ard's cruiser.

But don't tell Parish he's a leader. The 27-year-old says he is far from comfortable with that label.

"Not at all. Not in any shape or form do I want to be known as that."

Parish considers himself to be part of a "counter-culture" of apathy and admits he's never been involved or cared about politics or any type of justice or equality movement.

Yet this issue he says was something he couldn't turn his back on.

"I feel as though I have a responsibility to make sure the fair and right thing occurs," he says. "That's the main reason I've done anything-because I saw him laying there after the cop had run over him.

"I can't sit here and not do anything because I'd be lying to myself."

YOUNG AND READY

In all, more than 30 young people became activists after Steen's death. From planning protest marches and speaking at City Council meetings; to canvassing the Brownsville neighborhood (where the incident occurred) and coordinating press conferences with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

Just days after Steen's death on Oct. 3, a group met at the End of the Line Cafe to discuss what they could do to ensure justice-in their minds-was served.

Many of them are like Parish, admittedly apathetic and more often known for riding around downtown on fixed-gear bicycles than battling police brutality.

The issue hit home for some due to the location the incident occurred and/or their friends' involvement.

For others it was something they felt needed to be highlighted, regardless of the location or who witnessed it.

"The only way to stop it is to stand up and say we won't have it," says Trevor Griffith, 21. "Because (Ard) is with the police it doesn't exempt him from humanitarian responsibility."

Griffith, a University of West Florida student, also attended the G-20 conference in Pittsburgh in September to protest global trade policies.

He says the Steen incident highlights a much larger problem.

"It's a major symptom of our times," he says. "There have been problems with police nationwide.

"Our police have to provide an institution of responsibility."

Hillary Turner is another local activist, who like Griffith, has had an active role in the community, including the Steen protests.

Turner helped put together the UWF Progressive Student Alliance late last year. The group was formed after a lengthy discussion with others who were concerned with issues such as the environment and civil liberties.

"We started flyer-ing the campus and getting students to come out," she says. "The first semester we had 18-20 people in our meetings."

PSA now has more than 300 people on its mailing lists and has coordinated anti-war marches and lobbied for fair trade items to be sold by vendors on campus. Earlier this year the group picketed in front of a local Bank of America to express discontent with how it used federal bailout money.

Turner, who is now president PSA, believes many people want to get involved with issues that affect them, but feel they don't have a voice without a group.

"It's like, 'now I feel like I have an outlet,'" she says. "Other people want to do this and I have a support group now to go to. I can't imagine one individual student with ideas doing something-floundering around."

MAKING AN IMPRESSION

In 2008, 20-year-old Derek Cosson founded the ProgressivePensacola.com Web site as an avenue to inform those in the community about what was going on in local government.

Cosson felt it was time to highlight who was in charge so that people-particularly young adults-could better understand why issues such as economic development and job creation are the way they are in Pensacola.

"The answer I got repeatedly was that they just didn't know what was going on," he says. "So I decided to try and take away that excuse by making the information easily accessible. The 'progressive' in Progressive Pensacola isn't a political label. It's about working for progress in the community, and I think bringing young people into the fold is a vital part of that."

Cosson attends most city meetings, as well as other important government-related events and was appointed by council to serve on the city planning board in June.

Today, his site is known as a well-respected source for political news and thought for the area. It is read and commented on by many local elected officials and political bloggers, as well as young people.

"Some have told me that I brought their attention to issues they might not otherwise be aware of," says Cosson. "I know a lot of Pensacola twenty-somethings have very valid complaints about Pensacola, about our lack of jobs and amenities for young people. I think that some of them are beginning to understand, though, that they can play a part in shaping Pensacola for the better."

As a whole, Cosson says he's seen a more active young voice in the community in the last year.

"I do think young people in the community are becoming more involved with various types of activism," he says. "I know last year working on the Barack Obama campaign, it was dominated by young people. There were also a lot of young people involved with Lumon May's campaign (for State House Dist. 3) and others. In recent months, young people who haven't been involved have been coming to City Council meetings to voice there concerns on an array of issues from the homeless to bike lanes to environmental awareness."

Cosson believes the Steen incident was probably an eye-opening tragedy for many young people in the community because it was someone close to their age losing their life near a place they frequent.

"I think that the Victor Steen ordeal in particular has affected young people in the community, both because of his age and the fact that the incident happened across the street from a group of young people," Cosson says. "But I do think it's larger than that.

"I think that as young people come of age they realize that they are stakeholders in this community, and in the world, and that they can have an impact speaking for what is important to them."

BRIDGING THE APATHETIC GAP

While most circulate markers to write on signs and banners, Mike Maultrie stands motionless.

The 19-year-old says he'd rather not talk about his long relationship with Steen or thoughts on Ard, but rather focus on promoting the justice he said the teenager deserved.

"He was like a little brother to me," Maultrie mutters.

He like many others at the most recent Steen rally on Oct. 22, were upset that Ard had been allowed to return to work just 10 days after the deadly incident.

But in many ways, the protest is much like the other two held for Steen-peaceful and diverse.

To his left stands several Steen family members wearing graphic tees with Victor's face, standing on his right is several youth from the Sluggo's crowd, conversing as they hold signs of "Stop Police Brutality" and "I'm Afraid Of Police."

From a distance Art Rocker can be seen in a gray suit, walking at a gingerly pace towards the front of the crowd.

Rocker is the chairman of the Board for of the Florida SCLC, and has worked with Parish and others to hold press to promote the protests.

Rocker walks under the overpass, stopping to talk to several in attendance-including Parish and Cosson.

"It was told to me by the "Concern Citizens" that when SCLC Florida came out with its first press release they knew they would have a great merger," he says. "Keeping in mind, these are the children of several generations of Pensacolians and their concerns show that this tragedy will not be placed under the rug, for whatever doubts that they have had in the law enforcement system of Pensacola.

"They have expressed to me a number of concerns and how their friends and associates are treated in this community by the law enforcement," Rocker adds.

Parish stands away from much of the crowd, observing the commotion from the distance. He, unlike Rocker, is quite surprised at the collaboration despite racial and generational differences.

"I think we were mutually surprised (as Concerned Citizens)," he says. "But it was really a momentary thing. The first time we marched I saw members of the SCLC and others I didn't know and I thought 'awesomenow let's keep going.'"

PENSACOLA MOVEMENT

The Panhandle isn't known as a nesting ground for change. It happens slowly around these parts-often painfully slow.

No one knows that better than Gary Sansing, a man who's been involved in the community for many years advocating transparency and fiscal responsibility at local government meetings.

It's raining but Sansing decides to stick around. Leaning against a rail to keep his balance, he gives an occasional shout of "Now" to a chant being repeated by the crowd of Steen supporters.

"This is how democracy works," he says. "Pensacola has come a long way. It took our founders a long time to development the constitution. It just takes a long time for things to happen."

Sansing says he doesn't know if Pensacola will ever be considered progressive, but he feels the community is resilient and has made strides to fix problems at hand.

"Even with this economic downturn, we haven't noticed much change here," he says. "We were not exactly booming beforehand. But there have been signs that things in the community are getting better.

"The turnout (of the kids) is good for the protest," he adds. "Maybe by hanging around they will learn something."

Parish says he too, doesn't know about the progression of Pensacola or being an activist for other social issues in the future, but admits that the tragedy has put aside a bit of cynicism for not only himself, but for many like him in the community.

"I think it's a defining step in the right direction," he says. "It's just real unfortunate someone had to lose their life to do it."

sean@inweekly.net

STEEN BACKGROUND

Officer Jerald Ard, a four-year veteran of the Pensacola Police Department, ran 17-year-old Victor Steen over with his vehicle after attempting to stop him for questioning.

The PPD reports that Ard noticed Steen suspiciously riding his bicycle around a construction site near the T Street and Cervantes intersection of Brownsville. After trying to verbally stop Steen to no avail, he then attempted to subdue him with a Taser while still driving the police cruiser; causing the teenager to fall into Ard's path and ultimately killing him.

Witnesses at the scene have varying reports, with some saying Steen was roughly 20 feet away from his bicycle when Ard ran onto the sidewalk and hit him.

Ard was put on administrative leave but returned to work in a department desk job on Oct. 13.

The incident is currently being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

According to FDLE spokesman Mike Morrison, because each investigation is unique, there is no timetable for the case to be completed.

InWeekly

Standing For Something