Stonington — The Black lady who has helped lead rallies in entrance of the police station in help of the sufferer of an assault involving alleged racial slurs at a Mystic resort has submitted an utility to be appointed to the city’s Board of Police Commissioners.
Activist Rae’Ven Kelly Dinwoodie of Pawcatuck, a former childhood actress who grew up in cities comparable to Atlanta and Los Angeles, is searching for to fill any emptiness which will happen. If appointed, she would change into solely the second lady to serve on the board and the primary individual of colour.
Her utility additionally comes as some in the neighborhood have known as for Commissioner Robert O’Shaughnessy, a retired state trooper, to resign after his latest controversial Facebook posts involving race, immigration and gender and criticizing the Black Lives Matter motion. He stated Sunday he won’t step down. One other seat is predicted to change into out there in October, however social gathering illustration guidelines seem to forestall Kelly Dinwoodie, a Democrat, from being appointed to that seat.
“Stonington is a beautiful place to dwell. Nevertheless, as a minority inside our neighborhood it’s straightforward to really feel marginalized, and I’ve had numerous individuals of colour in our neighborhood specific that they really feel like outsiders in their very own city, the place over 95% of the residents are white,” she stated in saying her want to be appointed to the fee.
“At a time after we are struggling to thwart the evils of racism inside our society and problems with systemic racism and racial unrest are the main headlines throughout our nice nation, I used to be deeply disturbed and saddened to see the latest social media submit from Stonington Police Commissioner Robert O’Shaughnessy,” she added. “Bigotry and bias based mostly on race, sexual orientation, and gender identification have completely no place in our society, particularly in locations of energy inside our native authorities. ”
In an interview Monday, Kelly Dinwoodie stated she needs be a voice on the fee for accountability and equality and for the marginalized in the neighborhood, whether or not they be individuals of colour or members of the LGBTQ neighborhood.
She stated she has heard about racial incidents in the neighborhood not simply from individuals of colour however from their “white allies.”
Kelly Dinwoodie, whose godmother was the late activist Yolanda Denise King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., burdened that she has “immense reverence” for the dedication of law enforcement officials having labored with departments from San Bernardino and Los Angeles, Calif., to Atlanta, Ga., and Winston-Salem, N.C., as a peace liaison and with gang intervention applications. She stated 4 of her relations are law enforcement officials.
“If anybody has respect for law enforcement officials, it’s me,” she stated, including that when she sees protesters at Black Lives Matter rallies holding “(Expletive) The Police” indicators, “that isn’t reflective of my beliefs or values.”
“First, we will need to have police accountability. We should help good law enforcement officials. I consider most officers are good officers. Second, we have to help Black Lives Matter and third, dangerous officers who’ve racist beliefs should be held accountable,” she stated, including that law enforcement officials who wish to do higher must be given a second probability.
Kelly Dinwoodie moved to Pawcatuck along with her husband, Sean, a Pawcatuck native, three years in the past to assist take care of his mom.
Organizing rallies
Crystal Caldwell of Groton was working as a clerk on the High quality Inn in Mystic in late June when she was allegedly overwhelmed and known as racial slurs by a white couple from New York. The Board of Police Commissioners is now awaiting the outcomes of an impartial investigation into how the police division dealt with the next investigation. Some residents have criticized Stonington police as a result of the couple fled after being launched from the hospital. They have been apprehended 16 days later in New York.
Since that incident, Kelly Dinwoodie has organizing weekly rallies calling for justice for Caldwell. She additionally has co-founded Rae of Hope, which is described as a 150-member neighborhood racial justice and equality group serving southeastern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island that was fashioned within the wake of the police killings of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky., and George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In the meantime, the college system recently announced that it might take steps to handle systemic racism and structural inequality after receiving a petition signed by greater than 500 individuals. On Wednesday, the Board of Selectmen is predicted to debate an initiative to handle “variety, inclusion and sensitivity.”
Kelly Dinwoodie stated she first expressed her curiosity in being on the board with First Selectwoman Danielle Chesebrough, whom she met with final month to debate the Caldwell assault, the necessity for racial fairness inside the neighborhood and presumably being named because the minority relations liaison to the Board of Police Commissioners.
She stated she is encouraging different ladies and other people of colour to use for seats on the board and to different positions of management.
“It’s now extra essential than ever that our voices be heard and all of us have a seat on the desk,” she stated.
Kelly Dinwoodie, now 35, appeared in quite a few movies and tv reveals. She performed Samuel L. Jackson’s daughter in John Grisham’s “A Time to Kill” and a younger Tina Turner in “What’s Love Bought to do With It?” She additionally appeared in roles on tv sequence comparable to “ER’ “Roseanne” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” A UCLA graduate, she received finest lead actress award on the NAACP Theater Awards in 2009 and has been concerned with quite a few organizations, together with the Pediatric AIDS Basis, NAACP Picture Awards and The Juvenile Diabetes Analysis Basis.
