One week after the shooting death of Alton Sterling by police, some 350 faith leaders and community activists came together today at a forum sponsored by Together Baton Rouge.
Attendees from churches and organizations from throughout the metro area packed a meeting hall at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in north Baton Rouge, not far from the Triple S Food Mart where Sterling was shot, to discuss ways they can help the city move forward in the wake of the divisive incident.
“The focus is to begin a process of truly listening to each other,” said the Rev. Patti Synder, pastor of University Presbyterian Church and one of the organizers of the event. “Our second focus is to set a path for our way forward. The people of Baton Rouge are resilient. We will overcome but we must go forward with a defining path.”
The standing-room-only crowd was racially diverse and generally middle-aged or older, and included several business leaders and dozens of working journalists. The crowd broke into small groups for more than 30 minutes to discuss their feelings about the events of the past week.
“I think the secret to the peace that is existing in this town over the last few days is attributed to the people in this room—Together Baton Rouge,” said Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, who was among those in attendance. “Some people will think it is attributable to a heavy police presence. It’s attributable to the people in this organization, who are out there participating in the protests to bring attention that we have to change in the state of Louisiana.”
After reconvening as a large group, Together Baton Rouge leaders put forth a proposed course of action for the immediate and medium-term. In the short term, the group will create a rapid response team to help guide the organization’s action around protests, the investigation into the shooting and the initiation of police reforms.
In the medium term, the group is calling for a cross-racial coalition of institutions parishwide to drive systemic change this year. The group also plans to hold a parish-wide assembly with the mayoral candidates, as well as assemblies with candidates in each of the Metro Council districts to develop an agenda for addressing issues like economic development, race relations and police reform.
—Stephanie Riegel
