Community Relations at Malcolm X Library
By nadinabbott on March 22, 2015
March 22, 2015 (San Diego) About 120 people from minority communities came to the Malcolm X Library. They were looking forward to having a conversation with District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis who was supposed to be a panelist. The problem is that at the last moment she was a no show. The office of the District Attorney sent Jeffrey Anderson (J.J to the community) from the Community Program from the DA’s office.
This was a bad start, since the people who came to this community meeting were expecting the DA, not a representative. They were hoping to be able to tell her directly why they were troubled and angry. Why? It all goes back to Penal Code 182.5, which saw both Brandon Duncan and Aaron Harvey spend time in jail. Although the charges were dropped, there are still another 18 men who are in prison, charged with it.
Barbara Reid anger was raw when she spoke. Her son, Deandre Cooper, spent 8 months in jail. Brandon, his mother told the crowd, was in jail already one month, “not able to say good bye to his father who passed away.” She looked into the eyes of J.J and told him, “she has no idea about me, my son, his background.”
Reid was clear, and she was not alone. She said. “we need to remove her.” She added that she is a taxpayer and her taxes should not be used to pay to feed young men who are in jail for no reason. She was not alone. She echoed other speakers, such as Mark Jones. She also asked, poignantly, who was going to pay for the injustice.
Jones was blunt, he looked at J.J and quite simply asked, “where is Bonnie?” That question was pregnant with accusation and implications. His question was followed quickly by applause by audience members.
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