CANA GIRL SPEAKS
Kelley also hosts a podcast called CANA Girl Speaks where she seeks to encourage , inspire , and empower the community by spotlighting local voices and telling their stories .
“ One day I decided I wanted to do a podcast but had no idea where to start ,” she said . “ I reached out to a few people who helped me get started , and it has been trial and error , but I always enjoyed broadcast journalism and took TV and radio classes in high school and college .”
Kelley said the podcast gave her the opportunity to meet new people but it was a good fit for her personalty .
“ I have never met a stranger ,” she said . “ I ’ ve always been the type to get to know people .”
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
In addition to working for DART during the July 7 , 2016 racially-motivated attack on police officers , Kelley said this wasn ’ t her first brush with adversity . She was on the job in 1993 when 29-year-old Craig Thomas , a Black man , died while in police custody .
“ I was working that day and when I came back from lunch things were weird ,” she said . “ I was called into the office and asked if I could do my job effectively because I was African-American . It hurt me because they thought I would be biased and couldn ’ t do my job . That whole time period was horrible for Corsicana .”
Kelley said , as a 21-year-old at the time , it really opened her eyes to the Black community ’ s relationship with law enforcement .
“ It was tough being an African-American in law enforcement because people would think I was a snitch or a traitor . I couldn ’ t believe our community was at odds with each other .”
THE FUTURE OF POLICING , COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
“ I know we still have work to do ,” she said . “ But my goal is to make it better for then next generation . I ’ m not going to dwell on the past but we have to learn from it and move on .”
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My goal is to make it better for the next generation . I ’ m not going to dwell on the past but we have to learn from it and move on .
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Kelley said when she went to work at DART , she found the force was a melting pot of people .
“ We had white , Black , Hispanic , Asian and gay officers ,” she said . “ So it was a culture shock for me to go to Dallas and see the diversity . Our kids , who are not growing up with the type of segregation we experienced , are going to change things .” Kelley said she would also like to see more underprivileged kids participate in the local arts and music programs , something she said was more common in the city .
“ I believe we have some young leaders here , we just have to steer
them in the right direction ,” she said . “ I try to look at the big picture . We are going to make things better . We are almost there but its going to happen and I want to be a part of making it happen .”
MAKING TIME
“ It was important for me to make time to both work and serve the community ,” she said . “ I would get up at 3 a . m , and commute to Dallas to work and come back home and do what I had to do . People who make excuses just aren ’ t making the time .”
“ I enjoyed it , even through the ups and downs ,” she said . “ I hope I did the best job I knew how to do . It ’ s not an easy job and we are just starting to address mental health . Help was always available for the officers but not dispatchers . It ’ s hard not taking stuff home .
Kelley said , in the end , she had a fulfilling career as a telecommunicator , sometimes talking to people and helping them through some of the worst times of their lives .
Fall 2022 | Explore Corsicana 17