There’s an armor that comes from having a family history built on love and education. It engenders admiration amongst the very many who’ve had to make do with much less protection. You can gain stature that transcends the narrative of what the Black, or Brown, stereotypical experience is in America. You can escape the undercurrent of “ghetto-ization” that so many expect to attach to every one of our stories.
When something horrific like George Floyd’s murder happens, it wakes you up to your insulation. You can imagine that you’re safe from something supposedly anachronistic as a lynching in full public daylight, and then it happens, and in Tavares Floyd’s case, pointed right at your family. You realize that you don’t have that protection a great vocabulary, a nice suit, or an Ivy League diploma may have convinced you exists. The reminder that you are a part of this class of marginalized people regardless of how big your house is, or how big your bank account might be, is there. Even within our stratified racial constructs, we can feel immune to the horrors of class divisions.
Tavares Floyd is a Civil Rights attorney in Richmond with a distinct service-oriented pedigree and a family history of community activism. He also happens to be the cousin of the late George Floyd. He’s served at the 6th Districts Liaison/Chief of Staff since 2019. He lectures at GMU’s School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. He was a Special Advisor to the USDA under Obama, helped spearhead Medicaid expansion in Louisiana under Governor Edwards and works tirelessly to elect Democrats nationwide. Unbeknownst to me before starting this conversation, he’s also running for City Council this November. That’s on me. Interestingly, not knowing that from the jump in this conversation freed up some lines of questioning I would otherwise not be as keen to follow. I really enjoyed this conversation and hope you do too.
Christian Detres: So I’m going to start off with some of the questions that I already sent you earlier. Let me start with this is more of a personal take. So what has been your personal relationship with Civil Rights and police reform?
Tavares Floyd: So I’m originally from Memphis, Tennessee. I come from a family of civil rights activists and marginalized peoples. So this was just a natural fit. My people have always been on the battleground. And so our family has been committed to making a difference in the community, whether small or large. It was just something that was embedded in me since I was a small child. Community is nothing new to me. Actually, it’s my first love.
I’ll tell you what the funny thing is, I used to have a little bit of resentment because my parents spent so much time in the community. When you have parents that are dedicated 200% to people, it kind of takes away from your childhood. I had a little resentment, but I grew to love the work that they did. I’ve come to understand why they did what they did. My entire career has been motivated by watching my family and my parents.
The reality is that there are more issues than there are people that are willing to help solve them. Or are even qualified to do so. So it’s always been my goal to get in where I fit in. I especially confront issues that impact marginalized peoples in poverty or communities of color. I am a civil rights attorney. I’ve served on a lot of national boards and commissions, like the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which Dr. King co-founded. I’m motivated every day because people are falling between the gaps and, you know at tremendous speed. Wherever I can get in, that’s where I always want to fit in.
I’m always concerned about making progress. I try to get on people’s level to walk at least to some degree in their shoes. My experience may not have been your experience, however, life is always about growing and it’s about gaining perspective. The moment we stop growing, we miss the meaning of life. A lot of this stuff goes deep for me, man. Look at police brutality and this travesty with George. Really take a step back and ask “how much progress have we actually made?” I will tell you, there have been some wins. There have been some things that have been done, but we have such a long way to go.
We have this global outcry that follows a traumatic event like George’s. We have people who understand and want to be invested in that particular issue, at that moment. It’s beautiful to see the support spill over in those moments but I want to peel back the systemic issues that remain deeply rooted. To be proactive, not just reactive. I don’t think we’ve taken a comprehensive approach yet to create a real reckoning. This inequality is permeating every aspect of American life. Most of everything that we live by includes the ghosts of the racially-biased policies that form our legacy.
In communities of color, particularly black communities, we know what we need. We need investment. I know what people go through every single day to start a business, to grow, to save, to pass down opportunities. It is critically important for me to understand the fabric of people’s everyday lives and come up with comprehensive plans to address these issues that these negative legacies have caused.
Change is inevitable, and Richmond is a rapidly changing city. It’s traditionally been behind the curve on recognizing its strengths and capitalizing on them – or seeing its faults. Change happens through you or to you. When it happens to you, it’s rarely positive. We should be putting protections in place to prepare for change. So then when it happens, we can ensure Richmond is a city where people can live, work and play with security and equity. That’s actually the fact of the matter.
CD: It seems well-meaning people come out really strong when something newsworthy-level awful happens, but if you ask them to lift a finger to prevent something from happening – crickets. The sad thing is, we’re trying so hard to keep our own heads above water that we don’t have the time or the bandwidth to spend on issues we truly care about. I don’t want to make people’s efforts sound trivial because any bit of anyone’s time is a gift. But we have to shift our attention to prevention and not just reaction.
“Virtue signaling” are fighting words for the marginally helpful because sometimes that margin is all they have to give. It’s frustrating to try to fight to the best of your abilities and still fall short. Especially when there exists a pundit class ready to clown your “widow’s might” for not making a real dent in policy or direction. What do you think these people that mean well can do to expand their effectiveness combating these issues all the time, and not just when someone gets murdered?
TF: That’s a great question. The short answer to that is proper leadership. These issues revolve around promoting and protecting the rights of the marginalized. We should be educating, and encouraging people to educate themselves, about systemic racism and fundamentals impacting us in such tremendous ways. If we do not address them comprehensively and holistically, we’ll never get to the place where we need to be. People have forgotten how much power they have. We need to help people see past futility and reclaim their agency.
CD: I’ve been preaching that. That is absolutely right up my alley. It saddens me when we, and particularly young people just discovering the horrors of this world, abdicate our power to this monolithic system designed to intimidate us into silence, acquiescence, or even collusion. I feel we need the reminder that the system doesn’t work without us. We’re the base of the pyramid. If we don’t comply, the people at the top have nothing to stand on.
TF: We really want young people at the table. They are the leaders of tomorrow. It is, and has been for generations, their function. To look forward, way forward, and plot a course that takes us to shores we, the older generation, never dreamed of. People are dismayed at the decisions the powers that be have made for them. They’re upset.
CD: People are angry. Atrocities are committed in their name with their tax dollars. Their judicial systems sell them out to lick the boots of mid politicians. The politicians sell them out to wealthy developers in search of a few coins for their re-election efforts.
TF: People ask me all the time, “Why should I be concerned with knowing that ‘the power actually resides with me’ when just over and over again, we’re just let down by our leaders?” I say we have to find a way to return to you, that which is due to you. We must reinvigorate people. We have to put a fire under people again. It is an enormous task to move community organizations – particularly African American organizations – like a crusade for voters or the stimulating rallying point role that African American churches played in decades past. There’s been diminishing proactive social activism. We don’t have the large crowds and coalitions like we used to because people are, again, dismayed. They’ve been sidetracked by despair, feeling like their efforts are small coins tossed into a bottomless well.
CD: Thank you for understanding that. I wanted to comment on the monolith of the black church. Martin Luther King Jr. through Jesse Jackson to Al Sharpton – legendary activists – have come out of the ecosystem of the quintessential “Black Church”. You have a generation of people coming up right now, who don’t for other other social reasons – whether it’s misogyny, homophobia, transphobia – whatever the case may be, that feel that the black church doesn’t represent their values enough to be in lockstep coalition with them. There needs to be another coalition that can bring those people into a fold. One that doesn’t rally around a theological fate necessarily. Is there a philosophical and political home for young black people that don’t fit into the faith structure but want the coalition structure the black church used to be able to offer?
TF: Absolutely – we need options. Not to take away from the Black Church – I’m a preachers’ kid, but we need options. And I’ll tell you this, this is a perplexing question. It bothers me when the African American church, which has always been the most important staple in the African American community, steps away from what it stood for since the beginning of our collective experience. When it doesn’t live up to being the voice of reason, the voice of change for the African American community, we give in to apathy. If we don’t have a black agenda, we’re lost to whatever we’re given – as always. We need a coalition of people with a true strategic mindset. We need to come up with a sustainable plan that addresses all of these systemic and systematic issues that people in these marginalized communities. In the black community at large as well as brown communities. I want to give them the fuel to know how important they are, and to know what value they bring to the table.
So yes, there is an opportunity for us to find this home or create this home that you referenced. Actually, I think that we have the choice but to do that. I say that because some people have ventured off and shed religion because of so many uncertainties. So, the Black Church lacks precision, but we do need it on our side. It still shapes the lives of so many African Americans, despite the decline in membership. Thus the need for us to evolve and have other options for those seeking change. The Black Church takes in over $3 bIllion a year. So yes, it’s time for the church to reflect that through major investments in our lives.
When you look at Richmond, you see massive changes since the pandemic started. Richmond has morphed into a beautiful thing where opportunities, growth, and success are rampant. But this comes with challenges. Our city has been predominantly African American and has had a staggering amount of poverty through the years. It’s troubling. Yeah. If we don’t have that agenda in place to address these things under a flag of prosperity, we will miss our chance to make real progress. We don’t have leaders in place that will make bold decisions, hold hands with the people to build and embrace the community. Real change happens when there’s harmony in our voices. Leaders can make their own decisions, executive decisions, but they all should be led by the people.
I put part of the blame on those revered soldiers that worked through the Civil Rights Movement. I understand and feel for them too though. They never wanted us to go through what they had to go through. A lot of those people were focused on creating better opportunities for their children. In that process, some of them just didn’t teach that culture of coalition-building. Vigilance. They didn’t teach the experience. In the process of that, a lot of the younger generations have missed out on the wealth of knowledge, and tactics that bring real progress. But the thing is, while we don’t have many of those soldiers left, we do have some that have stories to tell – and so many need to know their history.
CD: I agree 100% And that leads to my next question. A lot of young people are coming to the fight truthfully, and honestly, with courage, but they’re playing checkers on a chessboard. They often don’t have a full understanding of the ecosystem that goes into making our situation what it is. A lot of times that turns into them blaming the wrong people for things, or being hostile towards allies. They end up not proactively challenging the status quo and the institutions that leave us in this disadvantaged place, but instead cannibalizing their own army into paralysis. I was hoping you could make some recommendations of authors or books that anyone reading this article could follow up on. Textbooks for the fed-up and impatient.
TF: There are a lot of authors surfacing to talk about these basic issues. If we really want to talk about police brutality, nobody knows better than Ben Crump. Ben represented my cousin George’s case. Ben has written a few books around the various issues that you’re talking about. So I would suggest anybody pick up his work.
It will be very chilling, and it will be challenging. You have this fluidity of emotions when you’re talking about any of this stuff. Yeah. What it will do for people is, it gives them a sense of support. It gives them a sense of empowerment to know where we are in this effort towards equity, where we have to look forward to. None of what we look forward to can ever happen without us making the changes together. Ben’s reads are a mix of highs and lows in the overall narrative. They really focus on the fight for justice and equality. That’s what keeps me and all the people in this fight moving.
CD: With the speed of internet flame and shaming, it’s not hard to find villains to point fingers at. I don’t think we spend enough time congratulating people in office or on forces that show exemplary leadership, sensitivity, and service to us – not to their clubhouse-style institutions. I want to promote the handful of people, hopefully there’s more than that, specifically in our law enforcement structure, that we can trust. People whose careers we can promote because they’re trustworthy people who we can stand behind. I want to find our Commissioner Gordon (that’s a Batman reference, but I’m sure you got that.)
TF: Absolutely. Dealing with police comes with challenges. They often protect their officers involved in misconduct at the expense of the public. A lot of times they oppose reforms aimed at simple accountability. The flip side is we do have people that you’re referring to. Officers who have a great track record and who have proven themselves in the community and in their careers. That may be more on the exception to the rule side, but we do have some relationships with police officers who are working hard to honor their badges. We keep those relationships close.
It’s important work, and that means that we have to have important allies. We have to look to our leaders confidently for this racial justice and police reform. There are people doing great work, you know, namely, people like the ACLU. The NAACP on a national level, and we have grassroots activists on the ground.
These people are helping me create action plans and policies. We are in collaboration, but peeling back all the layers and complexities that make up these debilitating systems is hard work. They have been put in place for a reason. They’re made difficult to dismantle for a reason. But systems, all systems, are made of people. Changing systems involves changing people. We need to focus on changing people’s mindsets, and that’s across the board.
CD: I’m not gonna push you on it, but, do you have a name to drop? Anybody you’d think that our readership can help to rally around someone that is pushing the values that we’re talking about?
Photo provided by Tavares Floyd for Richmond City Council, more information HERE
TF: Well, me, I guess. I’m running for city council.
CD: Wow. That’s a good answer. I actually kind of wish I’d known that before we started talking. That’s just an aside, haha. But yeah, that’s what’s up. Since you are running for office, I think it’d be really be stupid of me not to ask about the basic tent poles of your platform.
TF: Haha, that’s a good segue, because I’ll tell you this. When George died, it really gave me the energy and passion to run for office. We’re focusing on a lot of things for my campaign – and I want to make this really clear – is that this campaign is primarily concerned with the people being the voice that leads it. I want people to have ownership of this campaign. We’re focusing on public safety for one. Our public safety has been in a terrible state in Richmond for a while now. Here’s some context though for the opportunities of our situation as a city right now. We have budgeted for this fiscal year $1 billion. City Council, just two weeks ago, has approved this next fiscal year, tripling the budget to $3 billion. Which is just ‘wow’. For a city this size to have a budget that size, and we’re still talking about public safety issues, that really is troubling for me.
CD: Can I ask you for just a little piece of insight on this? You’re not the first person that has mentioned that to me. Not even the second person that said that to me. Why is it when that question gets asked, the answer comes back in platitudes? I rarely get hit with a plan. I get open-ended mantras on community and leadership. How are we still talking about these basic, entry-level things when we have all this money? The question gets asked, but the answer never comes back to anything that adds up. How can we so clearly see the problem, identify the afflicted, and then fail to administer a remedy when we have an abundance of resources to do so? Nothing happens. Where’s that money going?
TF: When are people going to show up to demand that we see results? Because if the people are not mandating this accountability, it will not get done. We have to show up. We have to be specific about our needs and firmly demand they be filled. This is Politics 101.
CD: So, we need to make more direct demands and be insistent versus cannibalizing our political resources with armchair quarterback complaints. That’s true, but I mean, we got other things to do too. We have lives to live. We hire people to take care of these things.
TF: Richmond, like many aspiring cities, hasn’t always put the right people in power. We’re changing the paradigm from electing politicians to electing public servants. I’m not a politician. We know we have the money to fix our leaks here. These are tax dollars we paid into the system for these very purposes. When you read through the plans put together by the current powers that be, it is very troubling where their priorities lie. What the city chooses to prioritize can be out of step with needs and opportunities the populace seems to understand intuitively. The donor class and the handful of people that respond to polls end up calling the shots and they are very often not the best gauge for true insight. People have to know that without them, without their taxes, without the actual individuals living in the city, there would be no budget.
Getting back to the platform, we’re focusing on public safety because I feel like people deserve to feel safe.
CD: But the problem is and as you know, much better than most people, is that public safety for some of us, means safety from the state. Not safety by the state. It’s the safety from the police brutality that victimized George Floyd, your cousin.
TF: This is why we’re at a crossroads. With this election cycle in November, we’re trying to flip seats in City Council. We want to force the end of a ‘regime’. To end antiquated thought processes in government. The end of politicians neglecting people. I want a fresh start with modern values and missions. I want the city to be judged by our successes and potential, not our dark and problematic histories.
We will start to turn the page, to turn the ship in the direction of the sunrise. I want to accomplish all of the everyday chores of governance that society has procrastinated on. I want to upgrade the livelihoods of people in the city of Richmond. But we have to do the ‘Spring cleaning’ together. We will be that listening ear seeking understanding. We will speak truth to power. We will promote fairness and justice. These will be our guiding principles.
At this juncture, it’s going to take an overhaul. There are big issues with our managers, supervisors, and Directors in the city of Richmond. Their employees have challenges in responding efficiently to our needs under inattentive, disinterested leadership. That’s not a secret. We still have residents who absolutely need resources and services and can’t access them. We can’t keep using the same tired excuses. I’m like Nike, “just do it.” I’m looking forward to having a new Mayor, city council members, and school board leaders that really understand, and empathize with, the dynamics of what people are facing while Richmond blossoms around them. They should be able to benefit from that, not be victimized by it.
Now, I’ll say this. I appreciate those that have made positive change happen here over the decades. There are individuals that have done important things, but their season is over. It’s a new city and we need new leadership. It’s just time for new perspectives.
I will be in a position to be able to have a different perspective that is wide open, and that has the power of the people at the helm of everything. I’m unbought and unbossed. I can afford to fund my own campaign, which allows me to be able to run for people that are struggling. A lot of candidates have to take alternative paths to get into office in Richmond.
I don’t want people to be dismayed. I don’t want people to give up hope. We are nothing without them. I don’t like to use the word hope too loosely. I’m not selling hope. What I’m doing is promising change. People will get change. It’s gonna take a lot of work because we represent the very class of people that let them down in almost every way imaginable. The cynicism and the apathy that’s been growing, especially considering both sides-ism that comes up when we’re discussing national politics.
It feels like a trap. Most of the accountability we demand will be sold out and undermined. The big efforts for justice will not be able to surface to the forefront. So what we have to do is we have to hold all of these political groups accountable for their words and actions. We just have to keep pounding the pavement and moving the needle forward. That’s why it’s so important about having a movement that’s rooted in resilience and adaptability. We are about creating something that can address all of these big ticket items. We have to have people that will stand up and stand strong, to come up with comprehensive reforms. We need more than criminal justice reform. We need reforms in our education, not to mention health care reforms. For poverty, you name it.
I do want to say that money becomes an issue with so many of these organizations we ask to lead these efforts. Sometimes when you have a suppressor funding your movement, you really can’t activate the revenues in the right direction. We put the ball back in the courts and let them lead our revolution for us. Things will be whatever they want them to be, which is usually in defense of the status quo.
CD: The suppressor leading your movement, I think is a really good concept people really need to understand.
TF: A lot of us have found purpose in our pain. It’s a way for us to channel our grief and move forward. We’ll keep doing this and be fueled by love, and, lastly, we’ll make sure our unwavering belief that we can create a more just and equitable world is really happening.
CD: Good man, well listen, I am sincerely sorry for your loss. And I want you to know how many of us just died inside when George was murdered. We woke up to a lot of things that we should have been out in the streets doing before. I wish you luck. I wish you further closure and peace through all of this.
Find out more information on Tavares Floyd and his campaign for Richmond City Council HERE
