KAPPAS IN THE COMMUNITY NEWS
District of Columbia law enforcement personnel take participants through an intense simulation. Students are implementing best practices gained through the Learn 2 Live training.
mistrust, anger and frustration. Some- thing has to change; Kappa has to be at the forefront of stimulating change in this arena. It’s something that the 33 rd Grand Polemarch is extremely passionate about and has established as an action item for his administra- tion. While the road to equity in social justice is long, complicated and requires a multi-pronged course of action, this initiative is Kappa’s first step down that path. We know that in some situations, tragic outcomes may be unavoidable because of the cop that agitates the situation. We need institutional and systematic change on the policing side. We’re dealing with that next! We recognize the need for a legislative strategy. We’re working on that! We know that both of those things take time to approach properly. I can confidently say that Kappa Alpha Psi ® will deal with those issues during future steps of this initiative. But, we had a real opportunity to mobilize our troops, partner with a Black law enforcement agency and leverage our presence nationwide to immedi-
ately provide portals that offer critical education and information that can potentially save the lives of our kids. And in addition to saving lives, we can empower them to effectively pursue proper resolution to inappropriate or unlawful encounters when they’re forced to interact with the police, documenting and shining a spotlight on social injustice. Q: What did you need from NOBLE to make this a successful partnership? McMikle: We needed their input. They developed a program called, “The Law and Your Community,” which we thought was very powerful. We sat down with their executive director, discussed their program, our idea and gave them a proposal of how the two could combine to form Learn 2 Live. They gave us the flexibility to modify and supplement their curriculum to include the interactive scenarios and the law enforcement Q&A panel, which made it more kid-friendly and presentation appropriate to reinforce learning in youth. That’s how the partnership between Kappa Alpha Psi ®
and NOBLE was forged.
But, NOBLE’s importance is also tied to the fact that they’re Black cops that share our same concerns. They know police procedure and protocols. They understand how cops think. They can communicate a message with a level credibility that we don’t possess. Their knowledge, experience, insight and advice were key in developing success strategies for our target audience. Q: How would you assess the Learn 2 Live initiative as we head into the 83 rd Grand Chapter Meeting? McMikle: It’s going strong. It’s rel- evant for current times and the sense of urgency has never been greater. We just received $25,000 in sponsorship from Nationwide Insurance Company to further the causes of this initiative and we’re speaking with other compa- nies that understand the importance of what we’re going to accomplish. Q: Where have the sessions been delivered since it began?
26 | SUMMER 2017 THE JOURNAL
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