The event takes place on on election night, Tuesday, November 8, 2016 from 5 – 7 p.m. in Bohannon room 90, 1207 Ordean Court.
Mayor Emily Larson, Police Chief Mike Tusken, Mending the Sacred Hoop’s Jeremy Nevilles-Sorrell, and civil rights activist Kym Young are scheduled to attend.
UMD students, faculty, and staff are invited to share their experiences with police. Carl Crawford, Duluth’s Human Rights Officer, and UMD Sociology Associate Professor Emily Gaarder will facilitate the conversation.
Organizer Deborah Petersen-Perlman, associate professor of Communication, says it made sense to host a forum on police-community relations on campus. “In my 28 years at UMD, I’ve heard numerous stories about African American and African students being followed while shopping at the mall or stopped off campus for ‘driving while black.”
Petersen-Perlman adds that Duluth Police Chief Tusken’s promotion of a non-lethal system of responding to crises struck her as very timely.
Participants are invited to share their stories either in advance or at the event.