History from p 18 “This renaming smacks of woke dema- gogues arbitrarily, capriciously abusing power in the cancel culture frenzy,” Bow- ers said in an email. But activists say it’s more than just a name. Police Legacy “We need things beyond those symbols re- moved,” said East Valley NAACP President Sears. “We need a change in policy.” Officials should start with police poli- cies, she said. Nationwide, Black people accounted for 27 percent of those killed by police while representing 13 percent of the population, according to the Mapping Police Violence nonprofit. But in Tempe, Black residents are 14 times more likely to be shot by police than their white counterparts. Nearly three out of four arrests in Tempe are for nonviolent crimes, more than state and na- tional averages. Tempe uses more deadly force against people of color than 95 percent of police departments in America, according to FBI data. Last year, none of the 83 police de- partments across Arizona followed through on a single discrimination com- plaint, FBI records show. And of about 3,000 general overall complaints, 98 per- cent were ruled in favor of the police. Tempe ranks dead last in Arizona, ac- cording to ratings by the Police Scorecard, a national data clearinghouse for police conduct. Tempe police used more force, arrested more people for minor offenses, solved murder cases less often, and are less likely to hold officers accountable while spending more on policing overall, accord- ing to Police Scorecard. The Tempe Police Department didn’t move forward on any of the nine discrimi- nation complaints it has received since 2016. In June, Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, who is Black, led a task force of social activ- ists, faith leaders, and retired politicians to address systemic policing issues and the disparate treatment of groups once tar- geted by the Klan. Tempe police did not immediately re- spond on deadline for comment. Scottsdale also examined its approach to policing in 2020, citing the same ratio- nale. “We add our voices to those calling for criminal justice reform, a critical step on this most important journey,” Mayor Jim Lane said at the time. Housing Legacy South Phoenix hasn’t always had all the luxuries of more affluent places in the Valley. It’s easy to find payday loan joints or discount retail shops there. The Klan influenced legislation that has kept these redlined neighborhoods in per- petual poverty. In 1925, the Phoenix Real Estate Board enacted a policy to ban Real- tors from selling to “members of any race,” in a way that would be “detrimental to property values in that neighborhood.” Black residents were barred from living north of Van Buren Street. After outright racial segregation came housing discrimi- nation for people of color. Redlining was the practice of denying loans and insur- ance to those living in neighborhoods bear- ing “high financial risk,” characterized by low median income and often marginal- ized people. In the years following the fall of the Klan, redlined neighborhoods were described as being “very ragged, occupied by Mexicans, Negroes, and the low class of white people,” according to Arizona State University researcher Elise Miller. It was those very groups that the Klan targeted. Restrictive racial covenants cor- ralled the few hundred Black residents at Waymarking/Creative Commons This 11-acre park in Tempe was named for Harvey Harelson, a supposed Klansman, who died in 1986. the time to Center City Village and South Mountain, while white owners and renters were free to move in the more desirable neighborhoods of North Phoenix. “No part of said property shall be sold, conveyed, rented, or leased, in whole or in part, to any person of African or Asiatic de- scent or by any person not of the white or Caucasian race,” a typical clause in one Arizona deed reads. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled such restrictions are illegal, but they still exist on some older >> p 23 20 JAN 27TH– FEB 2ND, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
