Area Man Teams up with Mayor to Increase Police Funding, Despite Calls to Defund | Binghamton, NY

Newly-formed coalition touts change but offers more of the same

BINGHAMTON — Fair-weather activist and failed businessman, Jamar Johnson, sat down with Binghamton Mayor Rich David last week to discuss ways to suppress protests and pacify civil unrest in the face of longstanding State violence and racial injustice.

Johnson was tapped late last month by the Mayor’s Office to create a make-shift coalition of residents to give the appearance that Black voices in Binghamton are being heard.

Eager to restore his standing in the community after a series of failed restaurant endeavors, Johnson formed what he calls the “Change Coalition.” Although coalitions committed to racial justice already exist throughout the area — many of which are led by Black women organizers — the Mayor’s office felt those organizations were at odds with his vision for the city.

Critics believe the Change Coalition may be the latest attempt by the Mayor to sustain the city’s well-documented culture of racism and sexism.

Johnson and David team up to sustain status quo with “Change Coalition”

The fledgling coalition currently consists of a dozen-or-so Black capitalists and clergy leaders; including a pastor, a reverend, a christian rapper, the president of a bank, and a few representatives from the Urban League and Binghamton City School District, among others.

Conspicuously missing are any of the local Black organizations, activists, and student groups who have led the way in recent years combatting mass incarceration, police brutality, and discrimination in education & housing — including those who organized the most recent protests and forums in response to the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

Johnson’s Change Coalition appears content in taking a more diplomatic and respectable approach towards incremental community reform, instead of pushing for tangible and substantive change.

The first offering of this improbable alliance comes in securing additional funding for the Binghamton Police Department, despite global, national, and local calls to defund the police. On June 25th, the Change Coalition unveiled an additional $100,000 allocated for police trainings in Binghamton, on top of the staggering 23.5 million already budgeted for law enforcement and public safety in 2020.

Johnson and David in the shadow of their heroes

Notably, a June survey and public forum polling thousands of Binghamton residents showed the vast majority supported (at least partially) defunding the Binghamton Police Department.

Although the Change Coalition’s move to increase police funding is at odds with the apparent will of the community, it is in line with Mayor David’s claim that policing is “the most important service the City of Binghamton delivers to residents.” The Mayor recently went on record saying, “I won’t apologize for my support of our men and women in uniform.”

Only 2 of the city’s 138 police officers are African American.

Binghamton Police in riot gear confront peaceful protester — June 2, 2020

In terms of creating change, Johnson stated Thursday, “We got to get with the greater community, the Change Coalition, and their individual groups to find out what exactly these changes are going to be.”

Fortunately, the change being advocated for in Binghamton is public knowledge and easily available to both Johnson and the Mayor. Most recently, community members have outlined five areas of change that are the top priorities of residents. Those areas are:

1. Free and affordable housing prioritized and available to all low income residents
2. Food justice for all residents in the form of accessible grocery stores throughout Binghamton’s North Side and other marginalized neighborhoods
3. Substantial re-allocation of city funding to mental health and substance use treatment
4. Racial justice in education that removes police from schools and offers a curriculum and environment reflective of the children in the community
5. Dismantling and defunding the criminal justice system that routinely terrorizes Black residents and syphons money away from public works and social initiatives

It seems Johnson and Mayor David are not focused on addressing these issues, but if recent protests and organizing efforts are any indication, Black-led organizations and community members are more than up for the task.

For more information about Binghamton’s Change Coalition, visit ChangeCoalition.info

-R.D.