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Janke will be officially hired at the commissions July 5 meeting when Fisk will bring forward a salary and benefit package she will prepare.

This is the right fit for the city of West Fargo to take us to the next level, and hell add to that, Fisk said.

Janke and North Dakota Highway Patrol Lt. Troy Hischer were narrowed down from 12 initial applicants, four of which were from within the department. The two finalists then each interviewed for a full day June 7 and June 8, respectively.

His 15 years with the FBI and his leadership really stood out to me, Mayor Rich Mattern said. Im hoping to get him onboard as quickly as possible.

Mattern said it was obvious Janke had researched the city and the department before his interview, which was impressive.

The city has been looking for a new police chief since the commission fired Mike Reitan on Feb. 6 after complaints surfaced that he created a hostile, toxic environment.

City Commissioner Mark Wentz, who served on a panel of city staff who interviewed the candidates, said Janke will be able to bring together a department fractured by recent events.

Itll be an adjustment for some, others will like it right away, Wentz said. Hes definitely a team player.

Janke is a North Dakota State University graduate who earned a law degree from the University of North Dakota. His wife, also an NDSU alum, has family and parents in West Fargo. Janke has worked for the FBI since 2005, and since 2013 in its Kansas City office, where he has supervised more than 400 cases.

Janke said he hoped to move to West Fargo because theres family here and a good school system.

Janke also worked for the FBI in San Antonio, Texas, and Washington, D.C. Before joining the FBI, Janke was an associate attorney in Sioux Falls, S.D.

While working for the FBI, Janke said he has been part of national headline-making cases such as the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was shot by neighborhood watch member George Zimmerman in Florida, as well as the shooting of Michael Brown, a black man fatally shot by police officer Darren White that sparked riots in Ferguson, Mo.

During a presentation to city and police officials on June 7, Janke showed comments about the former chiefs leadership style and compared them to comments made by his own subordinates about his leadership style to show the stark contrast. Janke said he prefers to lead by example and it is important to admit when wrong, but he will have officers backs when right.

Youll never hear me say department or squad, Janke said. We are a team.

Mattern said he hopes Janke will work well with staff and the general public.

Thats the kind of person I was really looking for, Mattern said.

A phone message left for Janke at his FBI office in Kansas City was not returned Friday.

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West Fargo plans to hire FBI agent Janke as police chief - INFORUM

"Yanez may have gotten away with justice on this planet. He will not get away with divine justice."

Valerie Castile: Yanez may have gotten away with justice on this planet. He will not get away with divine justice.

These were Valerie Castile's words to the public moments after Minnesota Officer Jeronimo Yanez was found not guilty in the fatal shooting of her son, Philando Castile.

Usually, moments after the death or lack of conviction of loved ones, the parents of the slain will say to the press something similar to Castile, in relation to religion and God.

Tracy Martin, dad of Trayvon Martin, told NBC News in an interview published in July 2013 before George Zimmerman was found not guilty for the second-degree murder charge in the death of his son that "we will still put our faith in God," if Zimmerman was acquitted.

"My answer to that would be God is in control. You know, we continue to put our faith in God. And God forbid, if acquittal is handed down, we still put our faith in God, you know, it's out of our hands. There's nothing we can do and we'll continue to pray," he said.

There's something so moving and sad about that sentiment. But why does it often make me angry?

Because this expression, to me, reveals a conditioning of black people, even from a young age, to trust in and give it over to God in the midst of all hardships. This is especially the case when faced with death or a wrongdoing at the hands of a cop, a person of authority or a white person.

My mom, a Southern woman, would always make biblical references whenever sadness or difficulties struck. Maybe I'm cynical to wonder what kind of God would do this to you or us because of the color of our skin? I'm aware that spirituality and religion serve so many purposes in one's life, and I would never diminish that significance. I can understand calling out to or praying to God for comfort or solace. However, I ask that we follow up those prayers with action.

During the late 1800s, and early nineteenth century, lots of black folks were converted to Christianity. With slaveholders quickly realizing that religion could be used to continue preaching the importance of obedience to their masters. However, religion - likely unbeknownst to many white people at the time -began to become abeacon of hope for slave preachers who would use the word of God to teach redemption, freedom and salvation.

"Slaves sang spirituals filled with lyrics about salvation and references to biblical figures like Moses, who led his people to freedom. On occasion, these songs functioned even more explicitly as expressions of resistance, encoding messages about secret gatherings or carrying directions for escape," according to PBS.

Religion continues to have an important role in the lives of many black people to this day, and it should. "Several studies and surveys reveal black Americans retain remarkably strong levels of religious beliefs and practices. And that spiritual core is having an impact on community life in areas from health to economic empowerment," HuffPost reported in 2015.

We all know the statistics of how black people are disadvantaged and discriminated against in every single aspect of life: black people arrested at a rate five times more than that of whites, blacks are more likely to be spoken to disrespectfully by the police, black people in the military are punished more, black students get punished more harshly, black women are least desired when it comes to dating, black women with natural hair in the workplace face more bias, people with black-sounding names are less likely to hear back from a job, and so much more.

It will take the support, courage and persistence from all Americans to change this systemic issue that's deeply engrained in the tapestry of this country. All my life, I have been told how this system wasn't made for us to succeed, and how I would have to work twice as hard to get half as much. But I still believe that change is attainable through action and being vocal.

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The Problem With Black People Asking God For Justice - ATTN:

Amy Butler, Opinion contributor Published 3:18 a.m. ET June 23, 2017 | Updated 15 hours ago

Todd Underwood and Amy Butler in New York.(Photo: James Loop, Rev. Dr. Amy K. Butler)

Heres how it all went down.

A few months ago, as part of a sermon series on the teachings of Jesus from Matthews gospel, I preached a sermon called The Hardest Commandment. It was about the desperately difficult instruction Jesus gives us to love our enemies, and in it I talked about an article Id read that week that introduced me to Todd Underwood.

Todd is founder and owner of United Gun Group, which is a social marketplace for the firearms community," the platform on whichGeorge Zimmerman soldthe gun he used to killTrayvon Martin.

Last year, Todd participated in a socialexperimentsponsored by a group called Narrative 4 in which people from both sides of the gun debate agreed to meet and get to know each other. On his New Yorktrip, Todd met Carolyn Tuft, a self-employed artist and mother of four whose youngest daughter was killed at a mall while buying Valentines Day cards. Carolyn was there too and was shot so many times that she now lives with debilitating pain.

The story of Todd and Carolyn's meeting is powerful and illustrates the hard work of Jesus commandment: not to be right or to be a victim, but to be in relationship, to hear each others stories, to search and search until we find even the smallest piece of common ground on which we can stand together.

And then, sermon finished, life went on. That is, until several weeks later when Todd tweeted at me, asking to talk.

I didnt recognize his name at first, but when I clicked on his Twitter profile I immediately knew who he was. You cant read that story about Todd and Carolyn and not be impacted by its power, because it is about all of us. Its about awkward Thanksgiving dinners and an America filled with polarized zealots who immediately assume the worst about one another.

I was a little nervous when I sent Todd an email at his request. Still, we set up a time to talk.

When he picked up the telephone, I could hear his kids in the background. After exchanging a few pleasantries, I asked Todd why he had reached out.

He said, Well I read your article where you mentioned me.

Its a sermon, I interrupted, pretty sure he didnt approve of women pastors. (He has questions about whether the Bible allows for women to lead churches.)

But he was gracious at my interruption and went on, I read your sermon where you mentioned me and I know you were talking about loving our enemies and I wanted to know if you thought of me as the enemy in that story.'

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I immediately took a step back and realized I was going to have to set aside some of the assumptions Id been making about Todd. His action and his inquiry took courage, thoughtfulnessand vulnerability, and that started to shake my easy assumptions about him.

No, I told him. I explained I thought the story was a great example of the tremendously difficult work of human relationship, how when we love our enemies that is, see their humanity and risk relationship with people who believe the exact opposite that we do we sometimes find there are things we share in common.

Do you think its wrong to own a gun? he asked.

No, I said. But I am so alarmed about the proliferation of gun violence in our country. (He is, too.)

Do you think its wrong not to own a gun? I asked. After a short silence he said, No. No, I dont think its wrong to choose not to own a gun. (But protection of the Second Amendment is critically important to him, he said.)

We went around for a while about Scripture and how we interpret it in relation to gun ownership. Finally I asked him, Todd, if you could sum up the Bible in one sentence, what would it be?

You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself, he replied. After a couple of beats I said, Wow. Thats exactly what I would have said.

In that moment I felt we stepped onto a small piece of ground that was shared, where each of us moved over to make room for the other and where we understood each other in ways that surprised both of us. And where I was jarred by, well, his humanity. His personhood.

As our conversation continued it was clear: we disagree on quite a few points. Hes deeply anti-abortion; Im urgently pro-choice. He voted for Donald Trump; I voted for Hillary Clinton. Hes really concerned about Benghazi; Im really angry about ties to Russia and their influence on the election. I am deeply offended by Donald Trumps easy talk of assaulting women; he regretfully says thats just the way men are, and its not assault if its consensual. He sees his decision to allow George Zimmerman to sell the gun that killed Trayvon Martin on his online platform just a matter of course Zimmerman qualified to be a seller and thats the end of the story; I am alarmed by pervasive systemic racism that has come to be represented by Trayvon Martins death. Hes obviously a huge pro-gun advocate; I hosted a conference last year to help train faith leaders to discuss gun violence with their congregations.

Seriously, on almost every single issue, we do not agree.

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But he listened to me. And I listened to him. And we landed in an easy alliance where we agreed to disagree and not to allow that disagreement to preclude friendship. It was the strangest feeling. I wonder if he felt the same.

Im coming to New York next week, he said at the end of our conversation.

Why dont you come up and visit The Riverside Church? I asked.

Okay, he said.

A few days later, Todd was in my office at The Riverside Church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. We chatted about the weather, about how hed missed his flight the day beforeand the party in Manhattan hed attended the night before. I showed him the view of the Hudson out the tower windows, then I took him to see our worship space. He said, Its so beautiful, and I was surprised.

As he was getting ready to leave he asked, So, whats next?

I sat there, startled briefly by the unlikely situation in which we found ourselves. We couldnt be more different. But Todd and I share at least one fundamental belief: nobody is the stereotype we believe they are.We do ourselves and our world a fundamental disservice when we wont summon the courage to listen to each other and try as hard as we can to find the things we share, small as they may be.

Todd loves family, countryand God. I do, too.

I think its critical for the future of society that we learn to listen to each other, even in our differences. Todd does, too. Both of us dont know whats next for this country or even for our conversation. But we definitely agreed: We have to keep talking.

Rev. Dr. Amy Butler is the seventh senior ministerat The Riverside Churchin New York City, and the first female to hold that position. Follow her on Twitter@PastorAmyTRC.

You can readdiverse opinions from ourBoard of Contributorsand other writers ontheOpinion front page,on Twitter@USATOpinionand in our dailyOpinion newsletter.To submit a letter, comment or column, check oursubmission guidelines.

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2sXUXX7

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I preached about a gun rights advocate. He wasn't who I thought. - USA TODAY

Janke will be officially hired at the commissions July 5 meeting when Fisk will bring forward a salary and benefit package she will prepare.

This is the right fit for the city of West Fargo to take us to the next level, and hell add to that, Fisk said.

Janke and North Dakota Highway Patrol Lt. Troy Hischer were narrowed down from 12 initial applicants, four of which were from within the department. The two finalists then each interviewed for a full day June 7 and June 8, respectively.

His 15 years with the FBI and his leadership really stood out to me, Mayor Rich Mattern said. Im hoping to get him onboard as quickly as possible.

Mattern said it was obvious Janke had researched the city and the department before his interview, which was impressive.

The city has been looking for a new police chief since the commission fired Mike Reitan on Feb. 6 after complaints surfaced that he created a hostile, toxic environment.

City Commissioner Mark Wentz, who served on a panel of city staff who interviewed the candidates, said Janke will be able to bring together a department fractured by recent events.

Itll be an adjustment for some, others will like it right away, Wentz said. Hes definitely a team player.

Janke is a North Dakota State University graduate who earned a law degree from the University of North Dakota. His wife, also an NDSU alum, has family and parents in West Fargo. Janke has worked for the FBI since 2005, and since 2013 in its Kansas City office, where he has supervised more than 400 cases.

Janke said he hoped to move to West Fargo because theres family here and a good school system.

Janke also worked for the FBI in San Antonio, Texas, and Washington, D.C. Before joining the FBI, Janke was an associate attorney in Sioux Falls, S.D.

While working for the FBI, Janke said he has been part of national headline-making cases such as the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was shot by neighborhood watch member George Zimmerman in Florida, as well as the shooting of Michael Brown, a black man fatally shot by police officer Darren White that sparked riots in Ferguson, Mo.

During a presentation to city and police officials on June 7, Janke showed comments about the former chiefs leadership style and compared them to comments made by his own subordinates about his leadership style to show the stark contrast. Janke said he prefers to lead by example and it is important to admit when wrong, but he will have officers backs when right.

Youll never hear me say department or squad, Janke said. We are a team.

Mattern said he hopes Janke will work well with staff and the general public.

Thats the kind of person I was really looking for, Mattern said.

A phone message left for Janke at his FBI office in Kansas City was not returned Friday.

Excerpt from:
West Fargo plans to hire FBI agent Janke as police chief - West Fargo Pioneer

Jay Z made a call for criminal justice reform and explained how racism in American society can be deadly.

Shawn "Jay Z" Carter, produced a documentary series called "Time: The Kalief Browder Story," which premiered early this year,that outlined Kalief Browder's brutal treatment by the criminal justice system. Through interviews with family and friends and footage, the documentary highlightedhis period of solitary confinement while at Rikers Island, and his suicide after release. When Browder was 16 years old, he was arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack, and his bail was set at $10,000 - an amount his family couldn't raise.

Held in New York City's Rikers Island Prison Complex, Browder's mental health began to deteriorate largely because of the 400 days he spent in solitary confinement during the three years he was held at the notorious prison.

Browder's brother Akeem is running for mayor of New York City, specifically to push for Riker's Island to close.

In an opinion piece published Thursday in the Hollywood Reporter, the rapper wrote that American society needs more creative and informative projects to help create conversations about social justice issues and expose the racist double standards that kill black men.

"He wasn't an angel, but he was a good kid on the right path who held up under the social pressures common in the Bronx," Carter wrote. "This young man at 16 was arrested for something any suburban kid could have gotten away with and held at Rikers Island for three years, mostly in inhumane solitary confinement."

Research shows that black men are more likely to be searched, more likely to be arrested, more likely to be wrongfully convicted, and receive harsher sentences after a conviction.

In 2012, the 17-year-old unarmed black boy who was infamously shot and killed by a neighborhood watchman in Florida. The watchman, George Zimmerman, made recorded statements on a 911 call that Martin looked suspicious, even though he was simply walking down the street. Ultimately, Zimmerman wasn't convicted in the death of Martin.

This sort of racial bias in the justice system and in policing isn't unfounded. Research shows that some Americans see black men as physically larger and more threatening than white men of the same size.

Carter wrote that telling these stories can help create change and expose how racism works in a way that often times claims the lives of innocent young black men. He underlined that social justice issues are truly about human stories.

"But social justice isn't a political issue. It's a human issue. It's a story of empathy," he wrote. "When we are able to identify that we are all not perfect and have compassion for someone else, we can move forward as a society."

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Jay Z Breaks Down the Racist Double Standard that Killed Kalief Browder, Trayvon Martin - ATTN: