Phil Boas: Greatness Emerges In The Wake Of George Floyd's Death
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STEVE GOLDSTEIN: Now we're going to check in with the editorial board of the Arizona Republic. It's a weekly segment where we talk about current issues facing the state and the nation featured in columns on the newspaper's op-ed pages. The COVID-19 pandemic has been dominating the headlines and our lives for months. But that changed to some extent last week when the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer was captured on video. For many African Americans, it was a too familiar scene, and one that led to feelings of anger, sadness and desperation that were manifested in protests across the country. Phil Boas, editorial page editor of the Arizona Republic, wrote about those protests and is with me for his regular appearance to talk about his column. Phil, you and I have talked about the need for change and also the growing tribalism in the country. To what extent is institutional change when it comes to racism going to be more challenging because of those who've held power for decades — which may have led to the election of President Trump — will dig their heels in even deeper to keep it?
→ Arizona Voices: Race, Diversity And The Black Lives Matter Movement
PHIL BOAS: Well, tribalism is another word for selfishness, and there's too much in the country right now. Donald Trump clearly personifies that, but he didn't start it. He is probably a reaction to that. And a lot of white voters fed up with the tribalism, they were seen with fingers pointed at them, voted for a guy who was going to punch back. But tribalism has been around a long time. It has a white face. It has a minority face. And it's a thing that we need to really deal with in this country, because it's got — we're siloed in so many ways and not working together on things. That's got to change. I hope young people will change that. But it's, it's really out of whack right now.
GOLDSTEIN: In your column, you wrote about Philadelphia, saying that there is defacing of the statue of former Philadelphia policeman and mayor Frank Rizzo. In the early 7'0s, you talk about when you were a boy living there, he was a strongman mayor who embodied the punch and racism of working class whites. But you also say that this isn't Rizzo's Philadelphia anymore, that minorities are the prevailing power. Is a city like Philadelphia going to have to lead on this? Is a city like Minneapolis, which may have surprised people at that aspect of racial injustice, are those cities — are we going to have to see it in the biggest cities in America?
BOAS: Minorities and liberal Democrats are taking over the major cities in the country. And it's a splendid opportunity for them to reform the police departments in those cities and make them do the things that we expect, and behave and operate in the way that we expect as a civilized society. So what is different about, say, MLK's day or Frank Rizzo's day is that there are a lot more authorities in a position of authority to make a difference. They have power — real power — that they can use to change things. And that's where you begin. Let Philadelphia, let Atlanta, let, you know, Minneapolis start showing us the way police departments ought to conduct themselves and behave. And I say that as someone who thinks that police right now are being stereotyped as evil, when I know, in fact, that there are about a million police officers in America, and the vast majority are good, responsible, decent people, and it is wrong to stereotype them in the same way it's wrong to stereotype people by race or religion or other ways.
GOLDSTEIN: Phil, you mentioned Atlanta, and you have a really interesting part of your column that talks about Atlanta's Mayor Bottoms. Give us some insight on that. What impresses you about her?
BOAS: The mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, she began her talk talking about her own boys, her African American boys and the fear she has for them. And basically said, you're not going to out-concern me or out-care me where we are in America. I wear this each day and every day and I pray over my children each and every day. And this was setting up for what she was going to say next. And that is, this is not a protest. This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. This is a chaos. A protest has purpose. When Dr. King was assassinated, we didn't do this to our city. You are disgracing our city. And so when I watched that, I just thought, "This is greatness." And I brought my daughter over and I, with the two of us, sat down to watch it on the computer, watched it all over again. And I just told her, you know, sometimes greatness emerges in times of real danger. And you're seeing it here. And I said, "You remember her name. You're gonna hear her name the rest of your life. She's gonna be an important person in America, important leader in this country."
GOLDSTEIN: Locally, how about people of color who are in leadership positions? What about Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams? Does this put her in a tougher position to try to make big decisions? We've seen it in the past, of course. What about Jeri Williams? What should we expect from her?
BOAS: We are lucky to have Jeri Williams. You talk about threading the needle. She is a bridge to white and black society, and she understands that we need to maintain civilization and civilized behavior, but we also need to understand what African Americans and other minorities are going through when police abuse their powers. She has spent a lot of time working with minority communities in Metro Phoenix and in Phoenix, in the city of Phoenix. And she connects. She's a very good person with a strong moral sense. We're lucky she's our chief of police.
GOLDSTEIN: That is Phil Boas of the Arizona Republic. Phil, thank you as always and stay well.
BOAS: Thank you. Take care.
