The NAACP is using one Chapel Hill business owner’s complaint of police racism as a jumping-off point to address issues locally and statewide.
Tuesday, representatives from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People asked for more action from the town.
The town concluded in an investigation last week that police were not racist when they stopped Charles Brown on Rosemary Street on June 1, mistaking him for another black man.
When state NAACP representatives meet in Hickory today, they will focus on forming a response to what they think was an invalid investigation, state NAACP president Rev. William Barber said at a press conference Tuesday.
“This case is one of the things we are deeply concerned about and have for decades worked to prevent,” he said. “It highlights and dramatizes other cases.”
Barber read a letter from local branch president Michelle Cotton Laws to Mayor Kevin Foy, which asked for the following:
A chance for the NAACP to present Brown’s side of the case to the Chapel Hill Town Council.
The establishment of a civilian review board to address future complaints.
A review of race and location for police incidents of the past five years.
n?A study of the environment for black business owners in Chapel Hill.
The results of the police investigation are invalid because police interviewed other police to determine whether there was racism within their department, Barber said.
“When you create distrust among the people, you actually undermine,” Barber said.
“It’s not only a violation of the Constitution, it’s not only a violation of civil rights, it’s not smart. We can do better than that.”
As of 9 p.m. Tuesday the NAACP had not received a response to their requests beyond a statement that they were received.
Students on the Protesters’ Defense Committee came to stand with NAACP members at the press conference.
“Because Charles Brown had the courage to stand up and say it wasn’t right, he is sort of the force behind all of this,” senior Laura Bickford said. “It’s an opportunity to expose these things and use them.”
Brown was detained for 16 minutes and not arrested, the police investigation found.
But the NAACP holds that it was an arrest and that Brown was held for almost an hour.
The story so far
June 1: While walking toward his fiancee’s Carrboro home, Charles Brown is detained on Rosemary Street by police, who believe him to be a different black man.
August 10: Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP President Michelle Cotton Laws files a racism complaint on behalf of Brown, stating that police unlawfully detained him for about 40 minutes.
Sept. 30: The Town of Chapel Hill releases a police department memo that denies claims of racial profiling.
Tuesday: NAACP rejects results of the police investigation and calls for an in-depth investigation of police incidents from the past five years and a chance to present their side of the case to the Town Council.
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