This article was originally posted in Fort Worth Magazine. You can view the original article here.
The fight against racism isn’t anything new. Take it from Dante Williams and Franklin Moss — two of the four co-founders of Fort Worth nonprofit Community Frontline.
Even before the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Fort Worth’s own Atatiana Jefferson, Community Frontline has already been hard at work. Their mission — to build a brotherhood of men who regularly engage in volunteer work, mentor youth, advocate for policy change, and host conversations about cultural issues.
Those conversations have only been amplified by recent events, and while policy change is important, Williams and Moss agree the heart of the issue is, well, a matter of the heart.
They sat down with Fort Worth Magazine to talk about what Community Frontline is doing to help unify the city — and the practical ways citizens can do the same.
FW MAG: In light of the recent events, what sorts of conversations are you having at Community Frontline about race and bringing about change on a local level?
FM: This is not actually a new conversation for us. This is something that we have been pushing for a very long time. One of the focuses is, we want to really push the community relationship with police, but we’ve also been trying to find out what are some of the issues that we are having with the community trusting in the police force. And one of the things is, the people that protect our areas are not necessarily from our areas or have an understanding of the people in them. So we’re trying to help provide opportunities for police to serve in the communities. Even though doing the service is not something that they have to do or a requirement, we try to encourage the opportunity for police to come out to things like our community cleanups and our movie nights.
DW: There are some opportunities that we have. One thing is, holding [police] accountable. There is some credit given to the chief for taking a knee, right? But that’s just a step.
Like today, the City Council has on the agenda to approve the meet and confer agreement between the [Fort Worth Police Officers Association] and the city. There are some things in there that we’ve explicitly asked to consider changing. Because one, it didn’t take into account some of the things that are happening now (obviously, it was before). The national letter that the chief signed speaks to taking bold and courageous moves to change labor and management agreements, which is exactly what this is.
So there are a lot of things within that vein that we’re trying to do, along with supporting those who are protesting, supporting those who are just trying to find their voice right now. A lot of people see it; a lot of people are feeling very emotional. We’ve allowed space to create just conversations. Because a lot of times, there’s a lot of built-up anger and frustration, and a lot of people don’t have a safe space to go to actually let that out.
FM: Or to ask those questions.
DW: Or to even ask questions. Or just be able to say, “Man, I’m mad” — like really say it and have somebody listen, and not just say it on a post on social media and it’s just kind of out there. We take the whole gamut of the police relationship to a whole ‘nother level. Obviously, we want to be on the side of the community when the community is hurting and to hold the police department accountable.
Also, a reminder for our Fort Worth PD and the city, that this was us a few months ago with Atatiana Jefferson. There are some things that are happening that they didn’t do back then, that they’re doing now. When this stuff happens here, let’s not wait until it happens somewhere else. Let’s get it right here, now.
That conversation has to be had, because a lot of things that were being said back then, they were like, “No.” They were taking hard-line stances. But now that the whole nation is on fire about what’s going on, it’s like, “Okay, we need to do something that’s real.”
FM: I just want to add one more thing. One of the things that we are doing in regards to everything that’s happening, what is really happening overall with us is we’re getting a flood of people that want to serve and get more involved in the community and in what’s happening — to build more of a relationship with minorities and just with Fort Worth in general.
Even if they’re not going to do Community Frontline, we’re trying to find things for them — organizations that go directly with what they do so they can serve in any form. We have a photographer that wants to get involved and start doing pro bono work; we provide a location or a nonprofit that they can go to and work that might need that opportunity. Lawyers who want to do more pro bono work can get involved. We provide opportunities to get to work and find a way to serve somebody that’s in need. What we’re trying to do is find people. We’ve been doing this for a while, but it’s actually picked up a lot more — finding people who want to get involved, finding out what their skill is, and trying to plug them in so they can do what they can.
FW MAG: On the days when the topic of racism is not “hot,” what are some things you have observed or experienced regarding race relations on an average day in Fort Worth?
DW: It falls upon deaf ears sometimes. There are some organizations like United Fort Worth, ICE Out of Tarrant County, the Tarrant County Coalition for Community Oversight. They stayed on the forefront of a lot of the policing issues, but even outside of the policing issues, maybe you’re talking about diversity and inclusion and equities. There’s a lot of conversation around it. The city has hired a diversity coordinator, they’ve got a police monitor, Fort Worth ISD is doing a lot of race equity work. But when it comes to the policies, the heart of some of their issues, it’s a hold-on-and-wait. Like, “We’ve got other stuff that we’re dealing with. We’ll get to that. Just hold on.” That’s what it feels like a lot of times. So when it’s not a big uproar, when it’s not moments like this, it’s just waiting.
At some point, waiting is dying. We’ve seen more deaths because we continue to wait. We’ve seen more low-income communities stay low income because the economics are not being built there. We’ve seen the education system continue to fail black and brown communities. We see these things and it’s always, “Well, wait. We’re doing. We’re working on it.” At some point, like that letter said, we have to make bold and courageous decisions about the inequities that face black and brown communities. It takes great leaders to think outside the box to get it done.
FW MAG: If you were to give Fort Worth a grade, so to speak, in the way people of different races interact with one another, or the way people of color are treated in general, how would you grade our city?
FM: That’s a really loaded question. I don’t know. To be all honest, the grade is not high. That’s just my personal opinion. I can say that I’ve seen a difference in the past two or three years of attempts to diversify the look of Fort Worth and to show that it’s more than a Cowtown and a white city. But I’ve also continued to see situations, like things that were happening at Varsity Tavern, where they were showing prejudice — they had requirements of entering into their establishment based on culture.
DW: I think Fort Worth is like one of those kids who started off with a bad grade. You’re at 50 trying to get to passing. I think they’re trying, and there have been some things, like Frank was saying, that the city has done and people are doing now to build and make things right to try to get to a passing grade. But we still haven’t gotten to a passing grade, in my opinion. I still feel like we’re mid-60s. Sixty-five, 69. We might be almost to a C.
The Visit Fort Worth deal was great. I think that was good, how they tried to incorporate some different sides of the city, some different aspects, different cultures. The diversity coordinator is good, but there’s still not a good plan as far as, what are they going to do? Police, Fort Worth ISD, they’re doing some good things, but like I said, we still haven’t reached the mark as far as people-to-people. People still talk about the old Fort Worth way, like that is still a thing.
When the black and brown community is still looking very much low income and disenfranchised, it’s hard for me to give a passing grade when it still looks and feels the same way it does, even with the new Cavile project coming. So like I said, I think there are some steps being made, but would I give it a passing grade yet? I personally would not, just because we’re still dealing with and seeing what we’re saying right now.
FW MAG: Why do you think it’s taken so long to erase racism in America?
FM: People are saying that [those] who were racist are dying off, but it’s almost like generational wealth. It is continuously being passed down from generation to generation, so it’s very hard for it to disappear.
DW: Especially when it’s becoming easier to hide. When you have people in place, presidents that are rallying up a certain group to feel comfortable enough, to be more blunt and open about their racism, and it’s kind of ignored and accepted at the same time, it makes it hard to believe that there is an exit for racism.
I think people have just become so comfortable with it, with the understanding that people are just racist and that’s just how life is. That’s what makes it hard for us to grow out of it because even though we are fighting to accept people for who they are, people are also becoming comfortable with understanding that some people are who they are, and racism is something we grew up with, so it is what it is.
I think the other part of it is a lack of relationship — like a real relationship, not just, ‘I work with you; I’ve got to deal with you at work.’ But that’s a hard thing to do. You’ve got to get uncomfortable. You’ve got to be weird. You’ve got to be mad and be okay with being mad. People are not trying to do that.
A person has to change not just their way of thinking but how they actually feel in their heart about a group of people. Until you do that, until you get to the heart issue, even if we change the policies — because policies have been changed — people’s hearts have still found a way to make it hard and difficult. Can you change your heart enough to be like, “I actually just care for these people because…”?
And then it’s proximity, right? The closer I am to you, the more I can feel you. The more I can understand you. But the further I keep you away, I’ll never really get to see who you really are and care about you as just a human being beyond our differences. That’s the key thing. We’ve got to get beyond the differences to just see me as a person, to see you as a person.
Even to the point of where, with COVID, it was called the “Chinese virus” or whatever…
FM: It’s also about who called it that publicly.
DW: So it’s just even that type of insensitivity, right? It’s like — come on, man. We’ve got to get beyond that type of thing. I think in order to do that, you’ve got to have relationships with people who would take that and feel like that’s not okay.
FW MAG: What are some practical ways Fort Worthians can affect change?
DW: Go vote. Get involved. Find whatever it is that you feel like. So if you want to go protest, go protest. If you want to go speak at the city council, speak at the Tarrant County Commissioners meeting, run for office — I think all those things are great.
[But] we can’t expect our city council members, our commissioners, our DA — they can’t do the heart work of building relationships with people. If I build a relationship with a white man that lives in Tanglewood, and we grow that relationship, he’s going to be more willing to have conversations with those that are already in his household, his family, his coworkers … those types of relationships can help. You just influenced your regular day-to-day.
Get to know your neighbor and build real relationships with your neighbor and other people in the city. Then we’re not leaving it up to elected officials to speak for us. We’re speaking in our boardrooms. We’re speaking in the coffee shops and the barbershops.
So when someone speaks out and says, “Man, black people, blah, blah, blah…”, your white man who has a friend that’s a close friend, can now speak up and say, “No man, that’s not actually true.”
I think that begins to speak into a lot of the heart change. Because now, you’re close to me, but you’re close to them. And you being close to them could maybe have some impact and effect on what they do and what they say.
FW: Lastly, any closing thoughts?
DW: One thing that I would want to just put out there is that … Just because I don’t see you in the fight doesn’t mean you’re not in the fight. Just because I don’t hear you, or you didn’t make a Facebook post, or you’re not at the protest, doesn’t mean you weren’t there or that you’re not doing work to actively disrupt the system.
There are a lot of things that need to be broken when it comes to the race inequity, diversity, and inclusion conversation, so let’s try not to cut each other down, because someone is doing it a little different, or someone is working in a different area. It breaks up the unity … the heart of what that is is it’s important to keep things going.
But COVID is still happening; COVID is still real. We still have some funds available for families that may need help with utilities, rent, and groceries. Obviously, there’s been a slow down because of what’s happening, but we have been doing that. I think we’ve reached over 150 families, and we just want to continue to push that out and help people.
You can go to the website; there’s a link on our Facebook. You can apply for whatever the need may be. And if you want to give to that, you can give to that. Those are the kinds of things we’re doing right now.
More information about Community Frontline can be found on the organization’s website, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also email info@communityfrontline.com.
This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
