Officials, Residents Offer Ideas to Fight Racism : Ventura: In the fifth meeting since the King case verdicts, dozens of people form task forces to turn speeches into reality.

Vowing to combat all forms of racism, a group of 125 Ventura residents and leaders of government, education and civic organizations launched an ambitious effort Thursday to formulate specific steps to reach their goal.

“It’s time to move beyond the speeches,” said the Rev. John Baylor, president of the Ventura Ministerial Assn., a sponsor of the event.

“Our idea is to create an attitude that will make it impossible for what happened in Los Angeles to happen here,” Baylor said.

The community meeting was the fifth held by the ministers’ association since the not-guilty verdicts in the Rodney G. King beating case and the ensuing riots in South Los Angeles. Attendance has grown at each meeting, Baylor said. At last month’s gathering, several people said they wanted to do everything from registering voters to setting up public events that bring together people of all races, Baylor said.

At Thursday’s meeting, the predominantly white group broke up into six task forces to begin a three-month examination of why racism continues to exist and how it can be reversed in police relations, education, employment and other areas.

Chancellor Thomas Lakin of the Ventura County Community College District and County Supervisor Susan Lacey were among several community leaders who agreed to advise task force members on how to meet their goals.

Each task force is expected to meet independently and report back to the entire group with suggested strategies to be put into action, said the Rev. Richard Weston-Jones, one of the principal organizers.

Twenty-eight people joined a task force charged with finding ways to bring people of all races together socially and culturally. It was the largest of the six groups. Group leader Virgil Nelson urged task force members to write their goals for the panel and to list several specific actions that could be taken to accomplish them. One example Nelson used is to encourage people of all races to visit each other in their homes.

Organizers were surprised when only six people signed up for a committee on police relations. Weston-Jones said he expected it to be one of the most popular panels.

“I think it says people are not that concerned about the police in Ventura compared to other areas,” Weston-Jones said.

But the discussion on the police relations panel was among the most animated of the evening.

Louis Brown, one of the task force’s members, said he is upset by the way Ventura police question teen-agers, usually Latinos, who wear Raiders jackets, khaki pants and other attire typically associated with gangs.

“These kids are really good kids. But the officers are putting them in a group just because of the way they look,” said Brown, a Ventura resident. “This attitude just adds to racial tensions.”

Brown was interrupted by Yvette Sutton, another task force member, who said youths dressed like gang members know what they are doing and should expect close scrutiny if they dress that way. Sutton said it is up to parents to make sure their children don’t wear gang colors.

“If you dress like a gang member, you will be associated with a gang,” said Sutton, who has two teen-age boys.

Baylor said the workshops are focusing on racism in the Ventura area because that is where the organizers live. He urged other communities to organize similar efforts.

The ministers association is an interfaith organization representing 12 churches in the Ventura area. The association has taken a leadership role in trying to address racism in the Ventura area after the Los Angeles riots.

Shortly after the riots ended, association members held a nondenominational religious service attended by 100 people to pray for peace and understanding. They also sponsored a food drive, nearly filling a big-rig trailer with diapers, baby food and other goods sent to riot victims.

And on Saturday, some of the ministers joined in a peace march through downtown Ventura, held to protest racism and hatred.

But the community forums and workshops are their most ambitious project yet.

“We can’t allow this enthusiasm to die,” Baylor said. “Ventura is a good city, but we want to make it an even better city.”