Community Team Formed To Address Diversity Issues In Superior, Duluth

Law enforcement, community activists and educators are forming a community response team to tackle diversity issues in the Twin Ports in response to mounting violence in recent months between law enforcement and communities of color.

Community members are trying to understand the issues facing the Duluth and Superior communities during a time when some may feel uncomfortable talking about issues facing diverse communities, said Maria Cuzzo, one of the meeting’s organizers.

Kym Young of the Superior African Heritage Community said she doesn’t want to see misunderstandings between different groups lead to violence.

“We cannot continue to have vigils,” Young said. “Our sons and daughters cannot continue to become hashtags in larger cities. We do not want what is going on in the larger areas coming into this community.”

Young said she would like to see more education surrounding racism, privilege and multicultural groups at schools throughout the region.

Those in attendance at the meeting Monday on the University of Wisconsin-Superior’s campus agreed more must be done to promote understanding and prevent violence toward any group. Superior Police Chief Nick Alexander also agreed, but noted national headlines seem to give the impression the problem resides with law enforcement alone.

“But it’s bigger than that,” Alexander said. “Law enforcement isn’t the only place that we have to look at for reform in different things … We certainly have a play in it as a stakeholder, but I don’t think that it can fall completely on the shoulders of just your police department to fix some of the areas that need improvement.”

Dan Chicos, of the Duluth Police Department, said the department is trying to bridge a gap between law enforcement and community members by being transparent and available.

“I think a lot of it is maybe misunderstandings, and the best way to address those misunderstandings is open lines of communication,” Chicos said.

Other team members have looked to, and continue to look to, reforms in the criminal justice system.

Dan Lew, chief public defender for northeastern Minnesota, said the state has achieved some success with recent reductions to drug-sentencing guidelines to ease prison overcrowding. But, Lew quoted former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder who said too many Americans end up behind bars for too long with “no good law enforcement reason.”

“I think that’s where we have an opportunity to work together to find some solutions,” Lew said.

Mark Fruehauf, who was recently elected to become the next Douglas County District Attorney and is part of the community action team, said he wants to ensure everyone is treated equally in the eyes of the law.

“Both as a prosecutor and as a citizen of the community looking to make things better, I want to have a part in that,” Fruehauf said.

The team plans to meet monthly and pinpoint several issues to address in the Twin Ports.

“It seems to me that we have work to do,” Cuzzo, of the UW-Superior Legal Studies Program, said.

Representatives from the Wisconsin Public Defender’s Office in Superior, Superior School Board, Center Against Sexual And Domestic Abuse and United Presbyterian Church in Superior, as well as Duluth activists Cruz Mendoza and Henry Banks, also attended the meeting Monday.

Editor’s note: Henry Banks is also the host of Wisconsin Public Radio’s program, “People of Color.”