West Virginia Press Association Staff Report
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Wednesday marks the third anniversary of Black Policy Day (BPD) in West Virginia’s capital city. Developed from the responses collected from a 2020 questionnaire published by Black By God: The West Virginian – the state’s only Black newspaper – BPD provides “a platform for historically oppressed and ignored Black individuals to have their voices heard.”
Organized by Dr. Shanequa Smith with the Black Voter Impact Initiative, Katonya Hart with the Partnership for Furthering Arts and Education, and Crystal Good with Black By God: The West Virginian, BPD serves as an opportunity for community advocates to meet with the men and women responsible for making West Virginia’s laws.
As evidenced by Tuesday night’s pre-event dinner, BPD has grown beyond the confines of a single-day gathering, becoming an even mixture of cultural celebration and call to action. And with Tuesday’s dinner centered around a four-person panel discussion, both were on full display.
“Black Policy Day started three years ago from an article in Black By God,” Good told attendees before introducing the panel. “So don’t ever let anybody tell you that the power of the press is not there, because it’s very real.”
The evening’s first speaker, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) W.Va. Economic Justice Fellow Kenny Matthews, began his remarks by introducing some levity.
“Basically I go up to the Capitol and tell people how bad their ideas are,” Matthews quipped.
The mission of the American Friends Service Committee is the pursuit of “just and sustainable peace,” and “just economies.” After spending nearly a decade incarcerated, Matthews has developed a unique understanding of West Virginia’s judicial system, as well as the meaning of the word “just.”
“A couple of the issues that we’re really working on this year, one is SB 154, which […] is going to make simple possession a felony,” Matthews said. “Basically it’s targeting poor communities. It will inevitably have racial disparities because the majority of people (convicted of drug-related crimes) are people of color, so they’re going to do the most time.”
According to Matthews, if enacted, SB 154 would also triple the prison time for delivery with intent to distribute, and harshen penalties for transporting drugs across state lines. Matthews said that developing less restrictive methods for acquiring treatment would be significantly more beneficial.
Next to address attendees was Brian Lewin, a criminal law reform specialist with ACLU West Virginia. While Lewin’s message resonated generationally, his words were directed toward the younger people in the room.
“The freedoms of Black people are the only freedoms that have to be legislated, voted on, approved, and enforced,” Lewin said. “So to the young advocates that are coming up, we need you guys to be engaged. We need you to look to your left, look to your right, and work with everybody you can regardless of their race, their sex, and regardless of what they do.”
“We all have to come together,” Lewin added. “Please, I implore and behoove you young people, please come together and hold each other’s hand so we can be better.”
Also participating in the panel was Jaden Carter, an advocacy intern with ACLU West Virginia. After expressing her gratitude for the opportunity to be an active part of the state’s legislative process, Carter stressed the importance of passing legislation such as the “Crown Act” and the “Voting Rights Bill.”
“But what’s most important,” Carter noted, “Is recognizing your individual impact when you advocate for yourself and your rights. I thank all who continue to advocate, and speak truth to power.”
The evening’s final speaker, Rhonda Rogombé with the W.Va. Center on Budget and Policy, who began, “There are a lot of issues that our organization works on, and a lot of fires to fight on a daily basis at the bad idea factory.”
According to Rogombé, her main focus is on West Virginia’s infant and maternal health, primarily within the Black population.
“The most recent data that we have shows that Black babies are twice as likely as their white counterparts to die across the state,” Rogombé said. “Within the WVU healthcare system, that rate was over four times as much.”
“We know on the national level that Black and indigenous folks see maternal mortality rates three-to-four times higher than their white counterparts,” Rogombé continued, “But in West Virginia we really don’t know what that looks like because we don’t collect and publicize the data.”
“That means that we don’t know how deep the disparity goes, and how our population is being impacted by this problem,” Rogombé added.
In attendance for the evening were Delegates Hollis Lewis and Anitra Hamilton, as well as House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle. Also on-hand to provide entertainment for the evening was “Appalachian Soul Man” Aristotle Jones.
