Rubin Scott bridges Black community, Santa Rosa leaders

Rubin Scott’s life has reached breakneck speed.

He’s in a constant cycle of meetings, with his downtime often spent decompressing from the last one or preparing for the next.

Scott’s phone is buzzing, too. Media outlets, organizations and area residents want to know what the Sonoma County NAACP president, who has become a central figure in the local fight against systemic racism, has to say.

So do Santa Rosa officials. Scott has the respect and admiration of the mayor and police chief.

As the country grapples with a wave of high-profile killings involving unarmed Black people, prompting weeks of protests and widespread calls for police reform, the 43-year-old has been convening discussions and coalescing Black residents of all ages around a shared course of action. What’s more, his willingness to have open dialogue has attracted lawmakers and local officials looking for credible partners who can help inform new policies.

Meeting these demands requires a level of selflessness ingrained in his DNA, said Andre Bailey, a senior adviser for Sonoma State University’s educational opportunity program. Scott’s commitment to uplift all people, not just NAACP members or the Black community, is what separates him as a leader, said his friend of over two decades.

“(Scott) has this vision for a better future,” Bailey said. “It’s one thing to talk about it, but another thing to be about it.”

An Oakland native who moved to Santa Rosa when he was 13, Scott attended Santa Rosa Junior College and eventually Penn State University, where he focused on human development and family studies.

Much of his early career was devoted to social services and helping children in need before working as a truck driver and delivering packages when his two children were young, Scott said. Now he’s forming a nonprofit that would funnel resources and increase community engagement among Black residents.

He was instrumental in reviving the NAACP branch in Sonoma County, when it was on the verge of extinction, making a last-ditch effort to keep the nation’s oldest civil rights organization alive in his backyard.

Scott, along with seven others, signed up over 50 new members and gave a presentation to the organization’s state and national leaders, emphasizing the needs of future generations in Santa Rosa. Scott was the lead spokesman at that time, and served as vice president when the branch was restored two years ago. He took over as chapter president in December 2019.

Replanting roots for the NAACP positioned the organization as a safety net during the county’s painful three-month public health emergency shutdown during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, providing vital resources, food and mental health services to many suffering residents, Scott said.

Then a cellphone video went viral showing a Minneapolis police officer on Memorial Day kneeling into the back of George Floyd’s neck until it killed him. And the attention shifted overnight to an unmistakable need to create lasting changes in his community, Scott said.

The past month, he’s been working nonstop to try and understand how equality can be redefined in Sonoma County, combining concepts of self-love and togetherness that could benefit a variety of minority groups desperate for social justice reforms.

“I’m looking at past historical leaders that have been here and already done it. I don’t have to recreate the wheel,” Scott said. “My biggest thing is Sonoma County is my community, and I’m invested in doing anything possible to make sure my community is going to survive this pandemic and racial turmoil. I want my community to thrive.”

Even though Scott has spent years on social justice causes and volunteered countless hours to local youth organizations, shouldering the role as a diplomat has not been easy, he said.

He has juggled roles as an activist and a lobbyist willing to make changes from inside the system. But that approach has frustrated younger residents, many of whom think the only viable solution to save Black lives is dissolving police departments.

Scott agreed policing needs to be “reinvented,” but gaining traction on progressive ideas first requires educating bureaucrats so there’s a common understanding at the bargaining table, he said.

“When you’re in front of a certain demographic, you have to understand the want, the need, the desire and the historical traumas,” Scott said. “You have to communicate to that. But you have to be empathetic to each individual’s needs and intellect to get the resources our community is really pushing for.”

In a June 6 letter to Santa Rosa Mayor Tom Schwedhelm, which Scott also posted on Facebook, he laid out a comprehensive list of demands, calling for greater access to local policymakers, prehire lie-detector screening to check police recruits for racism or bias, and a credentialing process every two years to monitor changes.

He also spotlighted the need for social initiatives like affordable housing for younger, vulnerable populations and greater public outreach programs to directly uplift Black neighborhoods.

Schwedhelm and Santa Rosa Police Chief Ray Navarro met June 9 with Scott and several Black leaders at Community Baptist Church to have an “unfiltered conversation” and see what sort of steps could be taken, the mayor said. The first was a commitment to meet regularly.

The next day , Scott stood shoulder to shoulder with police chiefs and elected officials at a press conference convened by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, where Sonoma County mayors pledged to review their policies and procedures, and convene committees to explore new laws.

Scott has been a conduit helping connect police commanders with leading voices in the community willing to listen and work from a position of respect, Navarro said. That’s helped police get a more holistic understanding of what each generation and segment of the population is asking for, he said.

“Rubin does a really good job at allowing for open communication,” Navarro said. “He definitely has ideas and brings forth concerns that are very important and should be on the table. But he brings it with an approach to say ‘We need to discuss this. This needs to change. But I also want to hear what’s going on at the other side of the table.’”

Schwedhelm said “this isn’t a one and done,” and both he and Navarro will march beside Scott and protesters at a demonstration July 2.

The bravado and bluster that can overtake moments of civil unrest make it difficult for elected officials to know who to listen to, Schwedhelm said. Scott has been a pragmatic voice so far.

“There are some people over my career both in law enforcement and an elected (official), it may be harsh to say but they do it for themselves,” Schwedhelm said, noting Scott’s selflessness. “But Rubin’s not that way. This is who he is.”

You can reach Staff Writer Yousef Baig at 707-521-5390 or yousef.baig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @YousefBaig.