Hello! Katie Kim here, bringing you this week's Race and Culture stories. Before we dive into the stories, our team at ABC10 wants to acknowledge how challenging the past few weeks have been on all of our diverse communities across California. Our hearts are heavy after back-to-back mass shootings targeting our Asian American communities, as well as the tragic death of Tyre Nichols after he was brutally beaten by Memphis police officers.

That being said, we want to let you know that this week's newsletter may be difficult for some to get through. We are not showing any graphic images from the incident on here, but we understand that even reading about these events can be traumatizing, especially for communities of color who are so often the targets of these incidents.

We welcome your thoughts on how we should be telling these types of stories. You can share with us by emailing me at kkim@abc10.com or raceandculture@abc10.com.

What comes next? Conversations and demands in the wake of Tyre Nichols' death

Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black Sacramento native, died on Jan. 10 after a traffic stop on Jan. 7 turned violent. Five Memphis police officers were fired and face second-degree murder charges for Nichols death while prosecutors work to determine who else is responsible. Additionally,  two emergency medical technicians and a fire department lieutenant were fired for failing to adequately respond to and treat him.

Nichols' death and the release of the police body camera video by the Memphis Police Department last week sent shockwaves across the nation, especially in Sacramento given his connection to our city.

What did we do with the bodycam footage?

We want to build trust with you. That's why we are being transparent by letting you know we had a lot of conversations in our newsroom about whether we should show any of the one-hour video to the public.  

What do we accomplish by showing the footage? How much do we show? Do we include the audio? By showing parts of the video, do we risk harming our viewers?

Those were the types of questions we were grappling with as journalists following the release of the footage. We understand the videos are extremely difficult to watch, but we also believe it is our duty as journalists to present facts, provide context and perspective. Part of that included analyzing the videos closely, minute by minute.

We limited showing the most graphic parts of the videos to the first day of the release to help our viewers and readers understand what exactly happened to Tyre Nichols. We led with disclaimers before showing any video, giving people enough time to turn away if they wanted to. After the first day, we minimized the use of the videos and leaned on still images to help paint the story. We made this decision after seeking perspectives and opinions from trusted community leaders, legal experts and activists. 

You can watch and learn more about our process HERE. We are also making the decision to provide the link to the footage if you would like to see it HERE. We understand that as journalists, we have a duty to provide full context and not censor information that is crucial to a story. However, we would like to warn you that the videos are extremely graphic and may be very traumatizing or re-traumatizing. 

Black affirming mental health resources

We understand that watching any portion of the body camera videos can be particularly traumatizing for communities who have disproportionately been impacted by police brutality and racial violence. 

We have a list of Black affirming mental health resources, graciously provided to us by Dr. Teah and Dr. Haggins from Safe Black Space, an organization that addresses racial stress and trauma for people of African ancestry. 

Some of the stories from our coverage

The goal with these stories is to provide context and perspective, leaning on experts, community leaders and activists.

- Sacramentans marched at the Capitol as the videos were released, calling for justice and more accountability.

- We heard community leaders voice their calls for change to law enforcement culture.

- We turned to experts who weighed in on what they believe contributed to the actions of the Memphis police officers involved in Nichols' beating.

- Sacramentan Angelina Paxton, a longtime friend of Tyre Nichols, told ABC10 she will continue to remember him as more of a brother, as family. The two met at a church youth group when Paxton was 13 and they've been friends ever since. Their bond grew stronger over their mutual love for skateboarding and nature. Paxton spoke about Nichols' positive light. 

"He used to always tell me that it's okay to smile sometimes and that's what he was known for. His light energy, his happiness, his joy, his just appreciation for the small things," said Paxton. 

California mass shootings

Last week, the state of California witnessed three mass shootings in three days.

The Monterey Park shooting over the Lunar New Year weekend left the community reeling over 11 lives lost by a gunman at a dance hall in the Los Angeles suburb. The shooting in Half Moon Bay led to seven killed at a pair of mushroom farms south of San Francisco. In Oakland, one person died and seven were injured. You can read more about the back-to-back mass shootings HERE. 

Various Northern California leaders issued statements in response, condemning the hateful acts of violence against particularly the Asian American community, especially when the community is marking "a season of hope and togetherness" during the Lunar New Year. 

ABC10 talked to members of the Tsubaki Dance Club, a Sacramento area ballroom dance group that formed in the 90s, after the mass shooting at Monterey Park. They spoke of the importance of ballroom dancing for Japanese Americans, a tradition dating back to WWII internment camps. 

In the aftermath of the Half Moon Bay shooting, state officials spoke candidly about the plight of farm workers, from the lack of mental health support to poor living and working conditions. 

Mental health resources

The deadly mass shootings are now bringing about discussions surrounding mental health stigmas and pressures among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Many point to the model minority myth* as a tool that has put psychological pressure on AAPI communities to uphold false standards and not seek necessary treatment in order to "save face" and avoid humiliation. 

*The model minority myth is regarded as a tool of white supremacy to pit Asian Americans against other communities of color. It perpetuates a narrative that AAPI communities are law-abiding and have achieved higher levels of success than other communities.

There is help out there. You can find coping strategies and local resources HERE. 

HIGHLIGHTING AND CELEBRATING CULTURES

Happy Black History Month! This year's theme is Black Resistance. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) says this about this month's theme: "African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression, in all forms... Black people have sought ways to nurture and protect Black lives, and for autonomy of their physical and intellectual bodies through armed resistance, voluntary emigration, nonviolence, education, literature, sports, media, and legislation/politics." 

What's a Race and Culture story you want to see on your local news? Send your suggestions and feedback to raceandculture@abc10.com.