Stonington — The Black woman who has helped lead rallies in front of the police station in support of the victim of an attack involving alleged racial slurs at a Mystic hotel has submitted an application to be appointed to the town's Board of Police Commissioners.

Activist Rae’Ven Kelly Dinwoodie of Pawcatuck, a former childhood actress who grew up in cities such as Atlanta and Los Angeles, is seeking to fill any vacancy that may occur. If appointed, she would become the fifth woman to serve on the board and the first Black woman.

Her application also comes as some in the community have called for Commissioner Robert O’Shaughnessy, a retired state trooper, to resign after his recent controversial Facebook posts involving race, immigration and gender and criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement. He said Sunday he will not step down. Another seat is expected to become available at the end of October, when Republican Chairman Henri Gourd's term expires.

“Stonington is a lovely place to live. However, as a minority within our community it is easy to feel marginalized, and I have had countless people of color in our community express that they feel like outsiders in their own town, where over 95% of the residents are white,” she said in announcing her desire to be appointed to the commission.

“At a time when we are struggling to thwart the evils of racism within our society and issues of systemic racism and racial unrest are the leading headlines across our great nation, I was deeply disturbed and saddened to see the recent social media post from Stonington Police Commissioner Robert O’Shaughnessy,” she added. “Bigotry and bias based on race, sexual orientation, and gender identification have absolutely no place in our society, especially in places of power within our local government. ”

In an interview Monday, Kelly Dinwoodie said she wants be a voice on the commission for accountability and equality and for the marginalized in the community, whether they be persons of color or members of the LGBTQ community.

She said she has heard about racial incidents in the community not just from people of color but from their “white allies.”

Kelly Dinwoodie, whose godmother was the late activist Yolanda Denise King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., stressed that she has “immense reverence” for the dedication of police officers having worked with departments from San Bernardino and Los Angeles, Calif., to Atlanta, Ga., and Winston-Salem, N.C., as a peace liaison and with gang intervention programs. She said four of her family members are police officers.

“If anyone has respect for police officers, it’s me,” she said, adding that when she sees protesters at Black Lives Matter rallies holding “(Expletive) The Police” signs, “that is not reflective of my beliefs or values.”

“First, we must have police accountability. We must support good police officers. I believe most officers are good officers. Second, we need to support Black Lives Matter and third, bad officers who have racist beliefs must be held accountable,” she said, adding that police officers who want to do better should be given a second chance.

Kelly Dinwoodie moved to Pawcatuck with her husband, Sean, a Pawcatuck native, three years ago to help care for his mother.

Organizing rallies

Crystal Caldwell of Groton was working as a clerk at the Quality Inn in Mystic in late June when she was allegedly beaten and called racial slurs by a white couple from New York. The Board of Police Commissioners is now awaiting the results of an independent investigation into how the police department handled the subsequent investigation. Some residents have criticized Stonington police because the couple fled after being released from the hospital. They were apprehended 16 days later in New York.

Since that incident, Kelly Dinwoodie has organizing weekly rallies calling for justice for Caldwell. She also has co-founded Rae of Hope, which is described as a 150-member community racial justice and equality organization serving southeastern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island that was formed in the wake of the police killings of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky., and George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Meanwhile, the school system recently announced that it would take steps to address systemic racism and structural inequality after receiving a petition signed by more than 500 people. On Wednesday, the Board of Selectmen is expected to discuss an initiative to address “diversity, inclusion and sensitivity.”

Kelly Dinwoodie said she first expressed her interest in being on the board with First Selectwoman Danielle Chesebrough, whom she met with last month to discuss the Caldwell assault, the need for racial equity within the community and possibly being named as the minority relations liaison to the Board of Police Commissioners.

She said she is encouraging other women and people of color to apply for seats on the board and to other positions of leadership.

“It is now more important than ever that our voices be heard and we all have a seat at the table,” she said.

Kelly Dinwoodie, now 35, appeared in numerous films and television shows. She played Samuel L. Jackson’s daughter in John Grisham’s “A Time to Kill” and a young Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to do With It?” She also appeared in roles on television series such as “ER’ “Roseanne” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” A UCLA graduate, she won best lead actress award at the NAACP Theater Awards in 2009 and has been involved with numerous organizations, including the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, NAACP Image Awards and The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

j.wojtas@theday.com