COVER STORY
Point #5 Youth Initiatives - The final pledge point calls for active police involvement in youth initiatives. This pledge point not only provides a ben- efit to community youth, but also exposes law enforcement personnel to the persons that they police, providing a familiarity and fostering a comfort- able working relationship to decrease tensions and foster growth and “bridge building” opportunities.
ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, eco- nomic status, religious beliefs or age. Point #2: Police Training - Our second point is a commitment to ongoing and regular cultural diversity and sensitivity training for all departmental personnel to ensure fair and equitable practices in law enforcement. Point #3: Workforce Diversity - The third point calls for a concentrated departmental effort to recruit officers of statistically underrepresented cultural groups in order to present a department representative and reflective of a diverse 21 st century population. Point #4 – Community Engagement & Empathy - Point four calls for a com- mitment to consistent outreach and con- structive conversations and interaction by law enforcement agencies with mem- bers and leaders of the African Ameri- can community, including events and activities. These steps are important to break down social and cultural barriers to cultivate ideal interactions between police and cultural communities.
than ever) Kappa Alpha Psi is committed to playing a larger role in the demand for change and the follow up until it hap- pens. The five-point plan is one strategy in our attempts to change policing prac- tices through measured action. In addition to legislation efforts, change has to be instituted at the top levels of law enforcement, more specifically in the Chief ’s office, to be effective. This pledge challenges departments to establish levels of accountability and allows us to create partnerships with those departments who are truly com- mitted to eradicating the practices and procedures that place us in harm’s way. With 80 forums left for us to facilitate, we will charge (at least) 80 departments to stand in unison with us and work to create effective change by measurable standards across the board. Q: Can individual brothers get involved with this initiative? Can any chapter host a forum? Is there a process?
Q: Why is this five-point plan important?
McMikle: We’re all sickened by the recent murders of our people at the hands of police officers (Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks). We’re beyond tired of the historical consistency of these acts (whether we’re talking Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice or Botham Jean). And we’re fed up with the institutional racism and systemic policing issues that continu- ally go unchecked and unchanged. We understand that it’s going to take a mul- tipronged approach and a large effort to overall complete change, but (now more
McMikle: The answers are: Yes…Yes…
Learn 2 Live on location in in Gary, Indiana. The panel discussion also provided the opportunity for audience members to engage in Q&A.
172 | SPRING 2020 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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