TOLEDO, Ohio — A group of Toledo's community leaders gathered Friday to discuss issues surrounding race following the officer-involved death of Minneapolis man George Floyd earlier this week.
Kapszukiewicz said that while Minneapolis is around 650 miles away, these events can still have a big impact on Toledoans.
"I think the point of what's happening in America, is that it can happen anywhere," he said.
Kapszukiewicz called on Toledoans to have difficult conversations with people who are different from them.
"I don't know what the answers are to what troubles our country on race. But, I do know that we will never find the solution if we don't talk to one another," he said.
A meeting was held in council chambers Friday, including around 50 community leaders, pastors, activists and a number of others to start a meaningful conversation regarding race relations.
"Myself and the people I run with, we like to be a part of the solution, not dwell on the problem. And we're not scared to get on the ground like a lot of other people are," HRC Stop the Violence Co-Chair David Ross said.
He said that now is a time for people who don't identify with George Floyd to listen to their black neighbors and their concerns.
"It's people not being able to change the lens, see the situation from a different lens than the one you grew up with. Seeing that that's a person who was killed. A person who didn't have the opportunity to live because of the color of their skin," Ross said.
Another voice in Friday's meeting was Earl Mack, a long-time leader in Toledo. He said he's happy to see dialogue taking place between the city and black leaders before something of this magnitude were to happen in Toledo.
"The dialogue is extremely important and so I think this is a first step to kind of keep what we've seen happening in Minneapolis from Toledo," Mack said.
Kapszukiewicz said he struggled to watch the video this past week, saying it made him "sick to his stomach."
He said that he was glad to hear the offending officer, Derek Chauvin, had been arrested and called for his conviction. Chauvin was charged Friday afternoon with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
However, Kapszukiewicz said that even if those things do happen, it won't bring Floyd back to life, nor will it erase the distrust that exists across the country, even in Toledo.
"Urban America is angry for a lot of reasons, a lot of reasons. And this is an event that really threatens to push us to the breaking point," he said.
Executive Director of the Frederick Douglass Community Association, Reggie Williams, had a chance to speak at Friday's conference and expressed his deep frustration with the history of racial inequality in communities across the country.
"I, as a black man, as a father, as a son - I'm tired, frustrated, mentally drained; it's gotta stop," he said. "And so we as brothers in the community, sisters in the community we urge one another to understand that it's important that we unite and stay focused that we have to bring justice; justice must be served."
Williams went on to address the difference in response to armed protesters at Michigan's state Capitol regarding the stay-at-home order, versus the situation in Minneapolis, in which Floyd was unarmed.
"Enough is enough; and on social media, and the people that congregate and celebrate the death of our brother in Minneapolis - it's hard to see that, that people would want us to be dead," Williams said. "We're human beings and I am a man. I am somebody. I have feelings, too. I love, I hurt, I bleed, just like you do. But, it's time; enough is enough and justice must be served."
Kapszukiewicz said that, while difficult, he, along with Toledo Police Chief George Kral, needed to hear the anger, fear and frustration from Toledoans, so they can better do their jobs. Kral was reportedly at the initial meeting, but did not speak at Friday's conference.
However, he has spoken out about the incident on Twitter:
In regard to several protests that are scheduled to occur across the area this weekend, Kapszukiewicz said he encourages them to take place, but hopes that they can remain peaceful.
"Change needs to happen. But, it can happen within the means of a peaceful protest," he said.
Councilman Larry Sykes echoed this sentiment, saying, "We've seen the damage that anger and frustration can do. We want people to protest it, it's their right, but we want them to do it in a rightful manner."
Kapszukiewicz said that there is a need for long-term commitment to continuing this dialogue.