Mother against Drunk Drivers (MADD) recently held their national conference in St. Louis at the Renaissance Grand Hotel, September 6-9, 2007.  This year's theme was, “Gateway to a New frontier” A Nation without Drunk Driving.   Virgil L. Green Sr. Chief of police with the Boley police department was invited to attend this year’s conference as part of MADD's Law Enforcement track.   Chief Green, stated, "MADD provided law enforcement officials from across the country with law enforcement scholarships to attend the conference, where a grant paid for all expenses to attend the conference".

Chief Green, who also serves as the chairperson for the Oklahoma MADD chapter state Advisory board, stated, "less than a year ago MADD embarked on a new frontier with its Campaign to eliminate drunk driving." MADD has been around for some 25 years with its mission to combat drinking and driven.   On September 05, 1980 MADD was established and held its first nation conference later that year in Washington, D.C. it all started with a heartbroken mother who made a pledge to her deceased daughter who was at the age of 13 years old when she was killed by a drunk driver.

The group of mothers stood toe to toe with politicians who knew the stats but did not act, they challenged a society that viewed drinking and driven as acceptable, they took on powerful industry that put profit over safety.   As a result, a mountain of traffic safety and victims’ rights legislation has been passed.   Annual alcohol-related traffic fatalities have dropped from an estimated 30,000 in 1980 to fewer than 17,000 today.   And perhaps most important, society no longer views drunk driving as acceptable.

Chief Green stated the three – day conference provided workshops for law enforcement officials on topic such as underage drinking enforcement to the challenges that law enforcement face, and it also gave law enforcement a better under standing of what victims and there families deal with after the accident.     

Chief Green stated we in law enforcement are the key to MADD’s goal in the campaign to eliminate drunk driven.   One of the most moving events of the MADD conference was a candlelight vigil held on the opening night of the conference, where some hundreds of photos of victims were viewed that were killed as the result of one person who choose to get behind the wheel of there car and to drive drunk, that decision affected so many families lives.

Chief Green stated when minorities think about the organization of MADD, they think of an all white organization, but I’m hear to tell you that drunk driven is not about the color of our skin, rather than the impact that has been caused by that drunk driver. Deborah Duncan, an African American who also serves as a MADD National Board Member and news anchor for KHOU-TV ( Houston, TX) shared at the conference her story of being a victim, when she lost her brother to a drunk driver, Miss Duncan told the story about the lady who killed her brother.

The night of the accident the lady had been drinking through out the night, while trying to leave the last place she was at drinking, this chain of events unfold, the lady who was so intoxicated could not walk out of the bar she at, so some people helped her out to her car, she was so drunk, she could not find the keys in her purse, they found the keys for her, she was so drunk she could not put the keys into the ignition, someone helped her by putting the keys into the ignition, she was so drunk she could not start the car, someone started the car for her, and with doing so, this drunk driver took off and while driving an estimated one hundred miles an hour she meet up with Miss Duncan’s brother on a residential street where she hit him and a friend, killing her brother. Race played no role in this tragic accident.

That’s why its so important that we in the African American community and we in African American Law Enforcement, must take a stance and join MADD to Eliminate Drunk Driving

We need to educate our youth on what can and will happen if they choose to drink and drive.

One of the main concerns some organizations have with MADD’s efforts to address drunk driven is its relationship with law enforcement, due to incidents of racially profiling, Chief Green, who does state that there has been and still are incidents of racial profiling by law enforcement officers through out the country, those incidents need to be address and delete with.   Our main and only goal in law enforcement should be to get drunk drivers off the street not to be out her stopping people based upon the color of there skin color, we in law enforcement are the front line to this elimination campaign.   I truly believe with our efforts and tougher legislation laws on those who get behind the wheel of a car to drive drunk we will eliminate drunk driven.             

I   encourage African American’s, Native Americans, and the Hispanic community to get involved with your local MADD chapter, you don’t have to be a victim to be apart of MADD we are looking for MADD volunteers so contact your local chapter or visit the MADD website for more information about MADD services.   www.madd.org