美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Called To Rise': Dallas Police Chief On Overcoming Racial Division

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Last July, the country's attention was focused on Dallas. A peaceful protest against police shootings of black men had turned atrociously violent. A single gunman shot and killed five cops. He injured nine more as well as two protesters. After he was killed and the incident was over, Dallas Police Chief David Brown commanded the nation's attention. At a news conference he said, we're asking cops to do too much.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DAVID O BROWN: Not enough mental health funding. Let the cop handle it. Not enough drug addiction² funding. Let's give it to the cops. Seventy percent of the African-American community is being raised by single women. Let's give it to the cops to solve that as well. That's too much to ask. Policing was never meant to solve all those problems.

SIEGEL: And when asked about protesters, Chief Brown famously told them they could help by becoming cops.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BROWN: We're hiring. We're hiring. Get off that protest line and put an application in.

SIEGEL: Applications soared. David Brown has since retired³ as Dallas police chief. And he's written a book about his life. The title is "Called To Rise." Thanks for joining us.

BROWN: Thank you so much.

SIEGEL: Take us back to July of last year. And you're facing the press, you've got protesters whose protest has been ruined by this. You have the police who've been under assault. You're the African-American police chief of Dallas. What's going through your mind as you're talking to not only people in Dallas and reporters but to the whole country at that moment?

BROWN: First of all, I'm very exhausted⁴ because we've worked well over 18, 19, 20 hours without - I was unable to go to sleep the night before. So we - I'm running on fumes⁵. And so I'm pretty raw. So this is kind of my belief system that I'm expressing, particularly to the protesters to get involved in ways where they put some skin in the game beyond protest and put an application in because that's what I did as a young man in college during my senior year.

But I'm also thinking about the widows and orphans⁶ of these officers, having to explain to them why the ultimate sacrifice was necessary to protect our city. And finally, I'm sensing that this is a seminal⁷ moment for the country around policing and that we can either rise and come together or we can continue to be divided in our positions and not listen to one another.

So I'm expressing something that I really, really feel deep down.

SIEGEL: When you grew up, there weren't a lot of black cops in Dallas.

BROWN: No, none at all.

SIEGEL: Did you regard the police as scary, as, you know, not your friend who was there to protect you?

BROWN: Avoided them at all cost and that was generational. You know, my mom and dad grew up in the Jim Crow South during segregation⁸. And they didn't have really good views of the police. And they passed that onto me. And as much as you could, you tried not to get in trouble where the police had to come to get involved.

You didn't want that interaction with the police. I didn't receive a lecture, per se. I just received a worldview passed on from my parents and grandparents that the police are not your friend.

SIEGEL: Your story includes a couple of truly tragic⁹ dimensions.

BROWN: Yes.

SIEGEL: One of your brothers became a crack addict¹, and he was murdered in an argument over drugs.

BROWN: Yes.

SIEGEL: Your son suffered from bipolar disorder¹⁰. He shot some people when he was in a manic episode, and he was killed by police. And you often address the question of why you did well in school, got into UT Austin, didn't use crack, worked hard, succeeded. And in the end, why? What's so different about you?

BROWN: But for the people in my neighborhood, my family, my mother especially giving me the extra level of care and nurturing¹¹. My teachers in school were really good mentors¹². They helped me become comfortable in my own skin. And so I had some advantages.

SIEGEL: But people might get the wrong impression when you speak about the advantages that you had. Your mother mostly raised you and your siblings¹³ alone. Your father was not around a lot, I gather, from the book. You had no money. I mean, she had a job at Texas Instruments but, you know, could just about raise the family - pretty bare-bones existence.

One could - you could have gone totally wrong and we could look at enough in your upbringing and what happened to say, well, you know, that's understandable. He was a casualty of the environment that he grew up in. You don't say that at all.

BROWN: No, I don't. There are some keys. I'm a big believer in early child education. Myself and my older brother, through my mother's double shift work, were able to start school in pre-K, kindergarten and first grade at a parochial school there in the neighborhood. She spent all of her extra money on us in the way we started school. And my younger brother, by the time he was born, she couldn't afford to send three kids to that private school.

And then we all went to public school. My brother and I always were advanced in our learning. And my younger brother, because he didn't have that quality early child education always lagged. That was one distinction. Another is, but for the grace of God go I, and those kids - the drug of choice for experimentation¹⁴ during my generation was marijuana. It's not addictive¹⁵ when you try.

The drug of choice for my younger brother when he was of age for experimentation was crack. And you're addicted¹⁶ when you try for the rest of your life. There is the differences that I see.

SIEGEL: The other thing that really impressed me about your story of growing up and going to college and becoming a police officer and ultimately rising to police chief was how a few people, a coach, a teacher, another teacher, your father, who's not always there but who shows up for a critical conversation with you - in a way, how a few moments can be so supportive for a young man growing up and make such a difference.

BROWN: Yes. You mention all of those. And that's true - the teachers, the coaches, just people in my life. But also a young white kid named Mike Schulenberg invited me home during desegregation and changed my world view on race at 11 years old. It doesn't take a lot of town hall meetings and a lot of discussion. It takes an authentic¹⁷ interpersonal relationship.

It takes time to invest. It takes a real opportunity to listen to people and develop a relationship, so much so that people - I'm 56 years old now. Mike Schulenberg and I are still friends today from that one invitation.

SIEGEL: It's a remarkable¹⁸ story. He's an 11-year-old and you're in school together. This is at a school that's just being desegregated, which people forget is a long time after 1954 when the Supreme¹⁹ Court...

BROWN: Yes.

SIEGEL: ...Ordered this. And he invites you home, somewhat to the surprise of his mother...

BROWN: Yes.

SIEGEL: ...That he's brought home a black schoolmate.

BROWN: Yes. And I feel like Sidney Poitier in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."

SIEGEL: (Laughter).

BROWN: It really was one of those surreal moments where you don't know whether you're going to be uninvited. And his mother comes out with two pot pies. And we sit there and we have a really nice dinner. And they make me feel at home. And they make me feel like I am no different than them. And I never forgot that. I carry that with me. Whenever there's division and discussion around race and people find it hard to discuss, I always think of Mike Schulenberg in sixth grade inviting²⁰ me home.

And I wonder, why aren't we smarter than sixth graders? Why can't we figure this out that it takes not a big group, not yelling and screaming but let's sit down and listen to each other and invite someone home for dinner?

SIEGEL: David O. Brown, a former Dallas police chief and author now of "Called To Rise." Thanks for talking with us today.

BROWN: Thank you, Robert, very much.

1 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

2 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

5 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

6 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

7 seminal   

adj.影响深远的；种子的

参考例句：

• The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS.这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
• The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished.做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。

8 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

9 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

10 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

11 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

12 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

13 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

14 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。

15 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

16 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

17 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

18 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

19 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

20 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。