THE INITIATIVE

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I've been blessed with the opportunity to create a national initiative and chair the movement that has gained sweeping momentum across the United States in the social justice arena.  The initiative partners two national African-American organizations [Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE)] to formally address one of the most critical issues affecting people of color in the United States. Incidents of racial profiling, a lack of comprehensive policing policies, and the increasing frequency of tragic outcomes between law enforcement and persons of color have produced an environment of anger and frustration, widening the trust gap between police and communities of color. In fact, the subject of policing in African-American communities is arguably the largest civil rights issue of our current generation. While the road to equity in social justice and the process of “bridge building” is long, complicated and requires a multi-pronged course of action, we need people and organizations who are committed to the journey. This initiative is the first step, featuring a series of 100 community forums nationwide to provide information, education and training to prepare the youth in communities of color for the law enforcement encounters that they have a statistically high probability of experiencing.

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FORUM STRUCTURE

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Each Learn 2 Live forum is divided into three parts. Attendants will first experience NOBLE’s recently developed presentation, “The Law & Your Community,” which is designed to provide insight and understanding into three key subject matters. Law enforcement and community policing is the first. The second is an individual’s legal rights. The third subject equips attendants with a set of law enforcement rules of engagement, which includes recommended legal steps to follow in the event that an individual feel as though his or her rights have been violated in a police encounter. The rules of engagement provide a strategic game plan when forced to deal with law enforcement personnel during a traffic stop, in the community or if they are called to your home setting. An experienced NOBLE trainer ensures that information is disseminated in a professional and comprehensible manner consistent with the programs design and intent.

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The second component of each forum allows persons to experience a set of simulated mock police encounters. Youth volunteers are selected from each forum’s audience to participate in staged scenarios that combine engaging interactive activity with visual learning to reinforce critical concepts, ideas and information that may literally save their life.

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The forum concludes with an interactive panel discussion featuring members of local and state police departments as well as from other agencies or organizations affiliated with the law enforcement system qualified to add constructive value to the panel. The panel discussion allows student and community attendants to engage in dialogue with local law enforcement personnel in a non-threatening question and answer format that allows both parties to breed familiarity, dispel misconceptions and ill-conceived notions while enlightening and cultivating positive thinking and appropriate action. This format also allows police intimate interaction and dialogue with the persons who they have sworn to protect and serve. 

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The initiative is not an indictment, proclamation, sweeping generalization or statement of condemnation on police or policing. In fact, there is an unquestionable need for and clear recognition of the importance of policing, recognizing the thousands of dedicated upstanding persons who wear a badge with honor and dignity throughout the United States. However, recent events, the actions of some officers, growing tensions and increasing statistics of tragic outcomes have made the subject of policing in African-American communities a hot button topic, making this initiative necessary. We are providing information, educating and training for youth in order to prepare them for law enforcement encounters in whatever setting they might occur.  

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The Learn 2 Live initiative has a target goal of 100 forums in various cities across the country, from the initiative’s launch date through August 2019. We are more than half way towards our goal.  The forums target young persons of color who stand in harms way as potential victims of tragic outcomes resulting from encounters with law enforcement personnel. More specifically, the target age span includes middle school; high school, college aged students as well as young persons of color in their twenties. 

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