#AllLivesMatter

That was the overall tone at a town hall meeting Tuesday night in the aftermath of the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York at the hands of police.

Anger and frustration — made more raw by the decisions by grand juries in both cases not to indict police officers — bubbled up when real stories were shared at the meeting at Union Missionary Baptist Church called by the Greater Lansing Clergy Forum. Several hundred attended.

“What brings us together is really a lack of trust — lack of trust that has accumulated because of some of the happenings lately,” said the Rev. Melvin T. Jones, senior pastor of Union Missionary Baptist Church in Lansing.

“It has made us recognize that there are some problems with justice for individuals who are outside of the system,” Jones said. “And it’s important to us to address those questions about the system for it is one of our goals to hopefully create necessary systemic change … especially when it comes to deadly force.”

Law enforcement officials presented information about various programs they believe are evidence of a desire for balance and fair justice. Researchers shared projects and sought feedback to send to the White House. Mayor Virg Bernero asked the community for help getting more diversity on the police force.

But that got frustrating as organizers shared comments from Twitter and Facebook, such as, “When will we have a conversation that is not constrained?”

One black father attending the town hall shared his concern about the impact of being pulled over often will have on his children and their perceptions of police. One white woman shared that her husband is pulled over regularly and she has never been pulled over and they share one car. Her husband is black.

Ideas shared at the meeting included:

• Using independent prosecutors in cases of deadly force • Collecting data on civilian deaths by police • Encouraging standing down: If it isn’t a felony or no lives are in danger, officers are asked to stand down from violence as a response.

• Updating racial profiling data annually in local police departments and posting it publicly.

Jones issued a suggestion to black men:

“We need to recognize that there is some racialization in our community. We don’t want to ignore that issue because it’s real. For the most part we are already feared because we are black.

“Let me further suggest that if we know, then we ought to act in ways that diffuse a situation when we encounter what could possibly be a bad reaction on the part of police.”

While some focus was on changing policies and laws, the conversation ultimately focused on changing perception and views and creating common ground and responsibility.

Former Lansing police officer Nakeshwa Flanagan said the community needs to see more officers on the street and on foot in the community. The department also needs more diversity to reflect the community it serves.

She also issued a challenge for sustained community involvement and engagement beyond the meeting.

“If you can walk the walk, talk the talk,” she said. “And as much as we want to complain, I challenge you to ask yourself what are you doing? As much as we want to point fingers, what are you doing?”

There was talk of continuing the conversation with more meetings and discussions within a month.

Jonathan McKinney of the regional NAACP said, “The work is being done to keep this momentum going. This isn’t a moment right now, this is a movement.”