Young black community wants to build bridge with Hoover police
A 25-year-old black Hoover man is trying to build bridges between the black community and the Hoover Police Department as racial tension swirls around the country, including in the city of Hoover.
Devon Earl, a 2013 graduate of Hoover High School who moved back to Hoover about a year ago after graduating from the University of South Alabama in 2017, said he has pulled together 20 to 30 former Hoover High School students, mostly black and in their 20s, and hopes to engage police officers in a friendly fellowship with them and others this Saturday.
The idea is to be able to sit down with the officers, eat some food, enjoy some music and have some conversations that hopefully can help the black community and police officers understand one another better, Earl said.
“I believe the relationship is splintered,” he said. “People, especially my age and younger, are fearful. We are afraid. It’s tense, and you can feel it on their side as well. We want, hopefully, to make that relationship better. We talk to each other, get to know each other and then we can understand each other.”
Earl, who played football at South Alabama and now works at Lifetime Fitness, said a lot of the people planning to come are former athletes at Hoover High, male and female. He hopes to have the fellowship on the grassy area along U.S. 31 next to Hoover City Hall, which is the place where some of the recent protests have taken place, Saturday between 4 and 6 p.m.
A group called the Alabama Rally Against Injustice is planning a protest next door at the Hoover Public Library at 1:30 p.m. the same day. Earl said he is aware of that rally but emphasized that the gathering he is planning is not a protest, and he and his friends want to change the atmosphere to encourage positive dialogue.
Earl met with Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis Thursday and explained what he wants to achieve.
Derzis said what Earl is trying to do certainly seems reasonable, and it may be possible for police to participate. However, given everything that is happening right now, he can’t “commit” to police being active participants in the social gathering.
Police are going in a lot of different directions right now, the chief said. Also, even though Earl is trying to achieve a positive environment, there could be other people present with different opinions, Derzis said.
“The Hoover Police Department will do the best we can to provide security for everyone,” the chief said. “The Hoover Police Department is here to provide security and make sure there are no issues.”
In regard to protests that have taken place thus far, Derzis said the Hoover Police Department is open to peaceful protests.
“We have stated in the past that we will work with everyone,” he said. “It’s disheartening when people come out and immediately start cussing and throwing things at police. We’re out there to provide a safe environment for protection of the protesters. All I ask is to come over and be peaceful.”
Hoover Councilman Derrick Murphy said Earl is showing leadership without having a title. He’s proud to see him step up to seek positive change. It also says a lot that Earl chose to come back and make his home in Hoover after finishing college, Murphy said.