A friend of mine told me an amazing story. Here it is:
It began in 1970 when Golden Valley police officers pulled over Oliver Lyle, a jazz musician, on his way to a club where he was playing. It was after dark. The officers questioned him. He explained what he was doing. They let him go. But it didn’t end there. For several nights over a six-week period, he was stopped and questioned. Over and over, he explained and was let go.
Finally, Lyle got mad. He went to the American Civil Liberties Union, found a lawyer and sued the Golden Valley Police Department in federal court.
He won the case. The all-white jury found the Golden Valley Police Department guilty of what we now call “racial profiling.” He was awarded a small financial settlement. He told me he hadn’t done it for the money … he did it for the principle.
OK, now cut/dissolve to the present …
Protests and demonstrations tear through the Twin Cities — outrage over police brutality sparked by the murder of George Floyd.
Lyle is in his apartment in Golden Valley. He hears a loud, insistent banging on his door. He asks, “Who is it?” A male voice replies, “This is the mayor of Golden Valley.”
Lyle swings open the door. And there stands a diminutive white man. “Hello,” he says, “I’m here to apologize for the wrong that was done you in 1970.”
Lyle said he was speechless. Shocked. Totally dumbfounded. Then, he recovered, accepted the apology and invited Mayor Shep Harris into his home. They chatted for an hour.
Later, Lyle wrote up his story. The Minneapolis Star Tribune featured it in their Letters to the Editor column on June 25.
Oliver told me he still can hardly believe it happened.
But, he said, as he wrote in his letter to the editor … maybe, “George Floyd’s death is starting to roll the rusty, creaky and stubborn wheels of change.”
