The leaders of Twentynine Palms churches, government and law enforcement all got together last night for a community conversation. The meeting was inspired by incidents around the nation bringing protestors out to the streets. Reporter David Haldane was there…
There were lots of empty seats at last night’s Community Conversation in Twentynine Palms. Those who did show up at Gospel Fellowship Christian Center Church, however, were highly diverse and intensely passionate. Pastor T.K. Washington, in his opening remarks, articulated the question that deeply concerned them.
“We have regressed…specifically in the area of race relations. Why is that?” He wasn’t talking about the Morongo Basin so much as the nation where, in city after city, protestors have taken to the streets in the wake of police-involved shootings. The panel on hand to discuss it included Mayor Dan Mintz, Councilman McArthur Wright and police Chief Jeff Joling. And while they couldn’t provide a definitive answer, they did assure their listeners that, in Twentynine Palms anyway, relations are good and communication is open.
The main purpose of the evening’s program, the pastor said later, was to make sure that it stays that way.
A COMMUNITY CONVERSATION IN TWENTYNINE PALMS
