ASBURY PARK – Two years after global protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd, members of the black community in Asbury Park say the fight for equal justice continues.

Floyd died on May 25, 2020, when police officer Derek Chauvin, who has since been convicted of Floyd’s murder, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck on a Minneapolis street. The murder was videotaped by Darnella Frazier, a 17-year-old bystander.

Frazier testified that Floyd sought help in the last minutes of his life.

“I can’t breathe, please. Let me go. I can’t breathe. He cried for his mother. He was in pain. It seemed like he knew it was over for him. He was terrified. He was in pain. It was a cry for help,” Frazier told a jury.

In the summer of 2020, thousands of people gathered in the municipal complex of Asbury Park and then marched to protest the killing of Floyd, with similar demonstrations held across the country and around the world.

Felicia Simmons, president of the Monmouth/Ocean County National Action Network, said the George Floyd protests have brought the black community here to the fore and made people of color in Monmouth County more visible.

“However, a month later the cops are still killing a black man in his own home, Hasani Best, but because of the protest they killed in uniform and on camera,” Simmons said, “there are still many work to do, but now we don’t have to do it alone.”

Best was shot and killed by an Asbury Park police sergeant during a standoff in 2020.

Feeling of no progress since the protests

Reverend Derinzer Johnson has pastored St. Stephen AME Zion Episcopal Church on Springwood Avenue in Asbury Park for more than three decades. During this time he worked on social issues in the community and helped establish organizations, such as the Asbury Park Community Action Network.

He said he doesn’t believe there has been any progress since the George Floyd protests.

“There are still alarmingly high numbers of incidents of unarmed black men, women and children continuing to be killed, shot and assaulted by white police officers. This kind of inhumane brutality is unacceptable, criminal and does not should not be tolerated in our world,” Johnson said.

“I think the same fear and concern that existed with people of color and interactions with the police department/law enforcement still exists. I think there are still actors in the service of police who are closer to Derek Chauvin and his mentality. I know that in some ways police departments are trying to root them out, and in some cases they have,” said Semaj Y. Vanzant, Sr., pastor of Second Baptist Church in Asbury Park.

Vanzant said he brought issues to the attention of the local police department.

“We brought things, and they’re not officers anymore,” he said.

But the root of the problem remains.

“It’s partly the implicit bias that’s built into the fabric of our culture,” Vanzant said, adding that educating police officers and exposing them to other communities and cultures is crucial.

If a police officer grew up in an upper middle class, predominantly white area like Colts Neck or Manalapan, and is assigned to the West Side of Asbury Park, there could be culture shock due to the implicit biases that exist. , he said .

“So they come here, especially the younger cops or the rookie cops who are on it, if they walk down some of these streets, they walk with their hands on a gun, like what do you do? Why are you so afraid?” he said.

“Until people of color are considered human beings and treated as such in the larger system, and how loans are made in banks for businesses or homes, and the quality of education at all levels, regardless of zip code,” says Vanzant.

Conversations with the community

Housing advocate Tracy Rogers, one of the founders of the Asbury Park Affordable Housing Coalition, knows that equity remains an issue in Asbury Park.

“Two years after the George Floyd rally, Asbury Park leaders still don’t know what the true meaning of fairness is. You will see it when there is a real and transparent meeting with all stakeholders around the table, until then, it just doesn’t make sense in words, with no action behind them,” Rogers said.

Vanzant is a chaplain for the Asbury Park Police Department and the Monmouth County District Attorney’s Office. He was involved with other pastors of color in anti-bias training for officers and cadets.

“I can say specifically in Monmouth County that the district attorney’s office is making great strides on the law enforcement side of really making changes and changes in how they approach these cases, for how they train their officers,” Vanzant said.

He invited former acting attorney general Andrew J. Bruck to his office and met with him to talk about the issues.

“We’ve had conversations about what it looks like, of course none of the (incidents) reached the George Floyd national level, (but) we’ve had incidents here at Asbury Park,” Vanzant said. “They came here often, we had conversations with the community. So when the community was able to express their hurt and pain, and they were able to explain some of the changes they’ve made.”

Asbury Park Police Chief David Kelso did not comment on the story, but the department’s public information officer, Michael Casey, issued a brief statement.

“The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has since (Floyd’s death) issued Directive 2020-13, Revising Use of Force Policy and Procedures. The Asbury Park Police Department is diverse and reflects its community appropriately Officers and civilians have become more familiar with addressing and implementing the First Amendment right to free speech.

“The Asbury Park Police Department has strengthened and continues to strengthen its community relationships through transparency and by participating in activities such as National Night Out, Greater Asbury Park Community Development Initiative and Police Athletic League.”

Charles Daye is the Underground Reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: [email protected]