SEVEN FIELDS — He was 21, Dr. Demond Bledsoe recently told an audience in Seven Fields Community Park, when he was taken from an Oakland restaurant by police and brought to a Pittsburgh police station for questioning in connection with a shooting.

As a young Black man raised in a predominantly white Pittsburgh suburb, Bledsoe said he was caught off guard by the interaction at the time, but was no stranger to prejudice and discrimination. It was lunchtime at Primanti Brothers when officers came up to him and told him abruptly, “We need to talk to you.”

According to Bledsoe, now 47, during the interaction an officer behind him drew a gun.

“All I thought is, I'm going to die,” he said.

Bledsoe was a guest speaker Sunday for the newly formed civic organization Level Up North. He spoke to 60 adults and 20 children about his experiences growing up Black in Western Pennsylvania.

Formed three weeks ago in the aftermath of George Floyd's death in police custody in Minneapolis, the group hosts a weekly discussion series to address cultural and racial issues in the region.

“We're in a majority white community,” said co-founder Brianna Minnock of the inspiration for the group. “We want to be better listeners.”

She said the goal of the group is to continue discussion and bring about awareness to Black Lives Matter and other cultural diversity issues.

“We're talking about really hard things as a community,” she said.

Co-founder Crystal Brown added, “It's really helping us make our community more united.”

Any person of color

Recalling his experience, Bledsoe told the group he was released from police custody later that day after questioning and never charged with a crime.

He added he was 5 feet 9 inches tall at the time and later learned the man arrested and charged for the crime was nearly a foot taller and decidedly heavier.

What they had in common was the color of their skin and dreadlocks.

A family friend in law enforcement told him they probably knew he wasn't a match to the suspect, but likely brought him in anyway to process and fingerprint.

His story is the kind Bledsoe says you will find if you ask any person of color.

“I don't know anybody that looks like me that hasn't gone through similar situations,” he told the audience.

These are the personal experiences the Level Up North group hopes to continue to share along with those of law enforcement personnel, government officials and the community.

As a Black woman living in Cranberry Township, Brown said she could relate to some of Bledsoe's experiences, although not with Cranberry police.

“I think they (Cranberry) have a good police department,” she said of numerous positive interactions, including members of law enforcement who have attended the Level Up North meetings. “I don't think it's the police department we have to watch out for, it's some of the people. I don't know if it's racism or just ignorance.”

In 2018, Brown had a cashier at a Cranberry Walgreens refuse to ring up her purchases because she allegedly looked like someone who had previously tried to scam the store. A store manager said she was not the same person, and Walgreens later apologized for the incident. The incident was covered by some TV news outlets.

In a Facebook post she wrote about the experience, Brown recounts how the encounter not only upset her and left her in tears, but also upset her daughter who was with her.

Brown said other interactions in the community have been very positive and she largely feels comfortable in the area. Brown's daughter has faced minor incidents in school, such as children commenting on her hair style and texture.

A mental health counselor and professor at California University of Pennsylvania, Bledsoe spent the evening addressing interactions not only with law enforcement but also more broadly.

He mentioned how in a bar the night after the Oakland incident, he heard a woman say, “That's the murderer from yesterday.” He recognized her as one of the servers at Primanti Brothers.

On another occasion at a wedding, he remembered a white bartender addressing everyone in line as sir or ma'am, until he got to him and said, “What can I get you, bro?” Two of a lifetime of incidents he said he has had, large and small.

As a soccer player, scuba diver, skier and a man of diverse interests, Bledsoe said he has spent a large part of his life hearing people say, “black people don't do that.”

Brown said she's had similar comments directed toward her.

“People used to tell me all the time 'you're a white girl in a black girl's body,'” she said.

Good starting point

The presentation pivoted from stories about Bledsoe's life experiences, to what communities can do to advance cultural awareness and address ethnic and racial issues recently brought back to the forefront in the aftermath of Floyd's death.

Goals of the fledgling organization are to keep the discussion going and more actively address change.

Bledsoe said a good starting point would be finding people perceived to be different and starting a conversation.

“Go to places that aren't your community,” he said, stressing that while discussion is good, change requires action. “Do anything but what you've always done.”

Those attending the talk asked Bledsoe what their community could do to bring about social justice.

“The strength of a community like this is the power of your combined resources,” he told them.

Beyond personal interaction, he suggested investing in or seeking out and patronizing minority-owned businesses, considering minority candidates for jobs or internships or seeking out new charity opportunities.

Bledsoe also told the community to look inside itself for inspiration.

“It has to occur organically, within the community, and that means finding a champion (locally),” he said.

For Marleah Umpleby, of Cranberry Township, and her 10-year-old son, Oliver, the Level Up North presentations offer an opportunity to explore racial and cultural issues and enter into the national discussion. Umpleby said they've been coming each week since the events began.

“It's been a great vehicle for having conversations with our children,” she said. Speaking of Bledsoe's presentation she added, “I think everyone left with something they haven't thought of before.”

Her son echoed the sentiment. “I think it's great,” he said. “I learn different things every time.”

Minnock said Level Up North plans to continue the weekly discussions and guest speakers, adding that other townships and boroughs have reached out to also potentially host future discussions.

In the coming week, the group hopes to have representatives from law enforcement, government officials, the community and other guest speakers. The Facebook group has grown to more than 500 followers from across the county.

Minnock said they hope to attain nonprofit status and expand from discussions to more active civic endeavors like scholarships and promoting minority-owned businesses.

“It was fantastic,” Minnock said of Bledsoe's presentation and the ensuing discussion. “Everybody learning and hearing from his experience is invaluable.”