Dozens of Clark Countians had the opportunity to ask questions and let their voices be heard during the “Let’s Talk About Race Town Hall Conversation” Tuesday at First Baptist Church on Highland Street.

Mary T. Yeiser and Pastor Marvin King were moderators for the town hall. They asked questions throughout the night and then allowed audience members to follow up.

King started the night asking the 12 public officials if they attended the first session, Implicit Bias, of the yearlong Diversity, Equity and Inclusion series.

Nearly all of the officials on the stage raised their hands.

He followed up, asking how many attended the session, Cultural Collisions.

Only a handful raised their hands, which included City Commissioner Ramsey Flynn and Judge-Executive Chris Pace.

“How many attended all three sessions, which included the last session, Let’s Talk About Race,” King asked the officials.

No one raised their hand.

For those that attended a session, King asked them what they had learned.

Flynn noted he was particularly struck by the dolls, referencing when Pastor Edward Palmer, the trainer in the DEI series, talked about white dolls versus black dolls in stores.

Flynn said he learned in the Implicit Bias session how black dolls are usually marked down compared to their white counterparts, implying that black skin is inherently worth less and how that implication is then passed down to young black girls, including Palmer’s granddaughter.

Pace agreed, saying that was one of the biggest takeaways he had gotten from the two trainings he attended.

“In regards to the dolls, it’s not just that the African American dolls wasn’t less valued in Walmart, it was that little girls who are African-American think that doll has less value than the one that’s white, that’s what really struck me,” Pace said.

Jen Algire, president and CEO of The Greater Clark Foundation, was in the audience during the town hall and asked which officials were on the stage were planning to attend the fourth and final session slated for next week.

Flynn said he was registered and was attending one of the trainings next week. Mayor Ed Burtner said he would look at his schedule.

Burtner also circled back to the topic of the DEI training in a later question, saying he wanted to be transparent and candid about his reasoning for not attending later sessions.

Burtner said in the first session he attended, Implicit Bias, Palmer showed a commercial that aired in 2016. In the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge TV Commercial, ‘Champagne Calls,’ rapper Lil Wayne, who is black, discovers not only is the Samsung Galaxy S7 waterproof, it’s also champagne-proof.

After viewing the commercial, Palmer asked the audience what impressions they gleaned from the video. Burtner said not everyone in the audience, he included, knew the people in the video were rappers. Burtner said someone in the audience in the session he attended said it looked like the men in the video were hip-hop artists or rap artists.

Burtner said Palmer told the audience that was the point he wanted to get across. Burtner said someone pointed out the man in the video was indeed a rap artist, though.

“The video was used to demonstrate, I suppose, that there was bias on the part of people that look like me, when in fact, the very that was true was true in the video” Burtner told the crowd Tuesday. “And I thought a lot about that. I mean I really thought about that and wondered about that… I’m not sure, still, how I feel about that. But that was an event that occurred in that first session, and that event in that first session had a great deal to do with whether or not I went back for subsequent sessions.”

King followed up, telling Burtner he might have felt uncomfortable during that session, but not attending the later sessions sets a “bad context of leadership.”

“Your candor is greatly appreciated,” King told Burtner. “But I think that your presence means a great deal because your absence literally endorses a narrative that has been perpetrated in the midst of our community for years. And that’s what we as a community are seeking to get away from.”

The officials also discussed the truck traffic on Seventh Street. The commissioners and the mayor were commended for their efforts, but moderators and audience members asked questions, wanting to know how and if the officials were planning to stay on top of this project to ensure it gets done.

Burtner talked about the process of condemnation for a parcel of land the city would need to acquire for the project as well as how the city plans to stay on top of the state for funds.

Other commissioners discussed bonding the project, and City Commissioner Shannon Cox talked about how there would need to be conversations about creating revenue if the city decided to move forward with bonds.

Commissioner JoEllen Reed said she has invited Joyce Morton, and anyone else who wants to go, to go to Frankfort to lobby for funds.

The moderators also asked questions about diversity training specifically in law enforcement and if the staff was diverse, and if not, what the departments were doing to recruit and hire minorities.

Police Chief Kevin Palmer and Sheriff Berl Perdue talked at length about the hours and rigor of training Kentucky officers must go through, and that training includes diversity training.

Chief Palmer and Perdue admitted their staff was not diverse enough to reflect the demographic of Clark County.

Chief Palmer said he has one African American sergeant and one female officer. He said while he gets plenty of applicants for open positions, the pile begins to dwindle when applicants learn of the exhaustive requirements, which includes a 20-week in-house police academy stay.

Chief Palmer said it’s difficult to attract applicants, including minorities, because of the long list of requirements, low-pay and limited benefits.

Officials also discussed the pervasive drug problem in Clark County. Chief Palmer broke down the process of arresting a drug trafficker.

One member of the audience told the officials her street is full of drug traffickers. She talked about the smell of marijuana wafting through the neighborhood and the frequent findings of heroin needles dispersed in her yard. She’s even had people who were under the influence of a controlled substance show up on her doorstep, knocking on her door in the middle of the night.

She and others in the crowd also discussed how they were afraid to come to the police with tips out of fear of retaliation from the drug traffickers.

Chief Palmer gave some methods for folks who want to send in tips and encouraged people to send in tips.

Burtner talked about the nonprofits and churches in the community that are working to fight substance abuse issues in the community.

The officials also discussed their opinions on tax rates to cover basic needs.

The night closed with a question from the audience about a No Parking sign on her street and the issues that it has caused. Chief Palmer invited her to give her the details afterward.

Yeiser wrapped the forum, thanking the officials and the audience for their participation. She said there will be more town hall conversations in the future.

“This was wonderful,” she said.