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Dallas civil rights leader Peter Johnson appeals for peaceful response to police violence, racism

Dallas civil rights leader Rev. Peter Johnson’s body chronicles some of the cruelest examples of police brutality since the movement began in the early 1960s.

There are the obvious scars: a burn from the cigar a white police officer put out on his stomach while two others held his arms during a Baton Rouge lunch-room sit-in. The teeth marks on his arm left by police dogs during Alabama demonstrations with his former boss, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The unseen scars stem from memories of his friends being tormented by police, says Johnson, now 75.

But the lay preacher, known as this city’s dean of civil rights and founder of the Institute for Non-Violence in Dallas, has preached one rule in responding to police aggression: never succumb to personal rage.

Now, he says he’s heartbroken to see both the violence used on George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and the violence erupting in response to Floyd’s death across the U.S.

In recent days, civil rights leaders in Minnesota and Dallas and government officials here have sought his advice. Here’s what he has to say:

Q: Tell me what concerns you’ve expressed over the last 24 hours.

A: I’ve had calls regarding participating in our protests here in Dallas. I’ve told people I’m reluctant to get involved in demonstrations that are not organized or mobilized with the concept of safety. People need to know what they’re doing. We don’t want people in the graveyard. Once you lose control, it’s like water running wild. You can’t put it back in the bottle.

Q: What went wrong with the protests in the twin cities?

A: Part of it was not organizing properly, without a concept of control. Leadership has to take responsibility for the message, how to communicate it, and make sure the people participating understand the message. In the twin cities, organized protests and unorganized anger came together, and exploded. There should have been better leadership. Out of all the hundreds of street protests I’ve been a part of in Dallas under the worst heat and brutal conditions, we haven’t lost anybody. We’ve planned for the worst and prayed for the best.

Q: Is part of the answer holding off, waiting a few days, before taking to the streets?

A: I can understand the deep, deep frustration, anger and bitterness. There’s also hopelessness. These are reactions of powerless people. But you have to keep hold of the moral high ground. You have to plan. Burning buildings depreciates your moral authority. This is a struggle. Our experience is you have to win the in-house debate with your own people who haven’t lost their sense of right and wrong. You have to capture the minds and hearts of your people. You can’t allow provocateurs who have lost their sense of direction to take control.

Q: You have to go to the community first?

A: Yes with meetings and inviting those people who are part of the problem. You can’t exclude them, you must invite them, and win them over with a plan.

Q: What have you told Dallas city leaders?

A: City council members have been calling. I’ve been asked: can you please lend your voice to this potential storm? There will be meetings. I will convene one meeting with the leaders of the black, Latino and white police associations to make suggestions. One message is: Dissolve the associations and create one that represents all peace officers. Segregated associations send the wrong message. They’re a relic from yesterday. We need to teach sensitivity, too. I turn to civil rights legend James Farmer’s words. You’re not born with racism and bigotry. Farmer’s belief was you learn racism. I have a lot of respect for many officers. We shouldn’t fire some of these officers. We need to help them overcome this; to unlearn racism. Farmer taught me: “Don’t hate the racist but treat him and help him get racism out of his heart.’’

But you can’t do that without the help of the rank and file police officers. We also need officers who will speak up about others who may be racist. Their silence is cooperation.

The Rev. Peter Johnson implores residents to support Joppa two years ago during a fundraiser for one of Dallas' oldest African-American neighborhoods.
The Rev. Peter Johnson implores residents to support Joppa two years ago during a fundraiser for one of Dallas’ oldest African-American neighborhoods.(Miles Moffei / Miles Moffeit)

Q: One of the leaders of the Dallas protests on Friday, Dominique Alexander, expressed frustration over being asked whether events might boil over. He said, “If you don’t violate my rights, Dallas won’t burn.’’ What is your reaction to his statement?

A: We need to be very careful with our words and actions. You can’t set racism on fire. You can’t shoot it with a gun.

Q: How do you not let anger consume you? You were repeatedly victimized by police in your younger years. You were in your hometown church in Plaquemine, La., in 1963 when masked policemen stormed inside on horseback with cattle prods, firing tear gas, searching for James Farmer.

A: There are no simplistic answers. It boils down to devotion to faith and trust in God. It boils down to devotion to the teachings of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Rev. Ralph Abernathy. If you’re going to do something about racism, you can’t do that by internalizing the behavior of the racist who’s beating you and acting on it. You have to rise above the rage.

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