Commissioner Brown: ‘Uneasy feeling’ over phrase ‘black lives matter’

Amid widespread protests happening across the world against systemic racism and police brutality, Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown said Tuesday that the phrase “black lives matter” gives him an “uneasy feeling.”

Instead Brown, who is white, said he agreed with the premise behind the phrase but believed it made more sense as recently explained by black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace: The term, as a call for equality, simply conveys that black lives also matter.

“It’s never bothered me, but I’ve always had an uneasy feeling when I hear, ‘black lives matter,’ because depending on who was saying the ‘black lives matter,’ depending on the situation, depending on the speaker, the background, it seemed to have a different meaning to different people,” Brown said during a commission meeting.

Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, the vice chairman and lone black member of the commission, said while he thought Brown raised “a few good points” during his address that covered other related issues, “some of it I didn’t appreciate at all.”

“When you look at what people are talking about today and what they are concerned about today, it should be a concern to all of us,” Weekly said. “Whether it’s ‘black lives matter’ or ‘black lives matter, too,’ I think at the end of the day, those out there who are wanting to live the American dream, get an education, raise their families, work, pay taxes, live in peace like everybody else — that’s what folks want.”

Brown’s remarks came as he criticized the media for burying positive news and sought to provide “balance” to the Black Lives Matter movement by citing statistics in an article from conservative radio host Larry Elder, who is black, that showed data did not support an epidemic of racist cops killing black suspects.

Weekly suggested the stark contrast in thinking — which included differences in how long a peaceful protest should last — boiled down to perspective.

“I can’t see through the eyes of what Larry’s seeing, but Lord, I wish he could walk a day in my shoes,” said Weekly, who earlier had relayed painful conversations that parents must have with their black children about what to do when pulled over by police.

Commissioners including Weekly have been complimentary of Metro, yet Brown has been by far its most vocal supporter and the reforms it had either been urged to make or initiated itself over the past decade.

Brown, who said Metro took responsibility for mistakes, also agreed with the view that now is the time to take widespread public conversations to the next level to create a plan to address the roots of racism and discrimination.

But he also described “police brutality” as a recent catchphrase, claimed that Metro had been “unduly hammered” in the media and suggested that lengthy protests carried ulterior motives.

“And it’s like what’s the purpose? Are they going to rally for 24 hours?” he said. “Or are they going to rally to the point where then the police are going to have to interact. Because peaceful rallies by themselves, they’re not newsworthy. You have to have activity.”

Weekly noted that talks to address the concerns raised by the community should start with regional leaders and he appealed to Sheriff Joe Lombardo for help. Ultimately, he said he wants the county to become the “poster child” for a jurisdiction in the U.S. doing policing the right way.

“It’s not enough anymore to say, ‘just pray,’” he said.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.