California University holds first of Black History Month panel discussions
The assistant chief of Pittsburgh Police said she knows trust between law enforcement and the community is a big issue right now.
“We don’t trust each other. The African American community doesn’t trust the police, and the police are not going to admit it, but they don’t trust them either,” Lavonnie Bickerstaff said.
But finding a way through that isn’t impossible.
“We have to find common ground,” she said during a Thursday panel discussion at California University of Pennsylvania. “We need listening sessions. The police and the community to get together and sit down and talk about what are those historical grievances, and they are valid, that the Black community has.”
Bickerstaff was part of the panel to talk about “Policing in Dichotomous Worlds: Black Law Enforcers/Black Lives Matter.” It is one of several panels scheduled at Cal. U during Black History Month. Panelists are all members of NOBLE, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
State police Cpl. Aaron Allen said he grew up having a negative opinion of police because of the bias of the people around him.
“Having positive interactions with law enforcement as I was growing up changed the bias that I had harbored from my mom and dad telling me that maybe police aren’t the greatest, don’t talk to police, run from police, and that is a big issue in the minority community, and the Black community in general is people are being taught those things at an early age,” he said.
Bickerstaff said part of the action that she believes needs to take place is to overhaul all the policies and procedures the police have and evaluate them closely, with the help of the community, to remove any biases within those policies.
“I think at this time, with this movement, race plays a role not just in law enforcement but in all of society,” said Regina Scott, deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. “Our role is to make it better than it was before, lead with integrity so that those who come behind you have an opportunity.”
Scott said being in law enforcement is a way of living a life of purpose, something each person should strive to do.
Allen, who also teaches on the collegiate level, said he tells students he teaches to “be the change that you want to see,” because the only way change will happen is if people become part of the change.
Paris Pratt, assistant special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency, said he initially looked into getting into law enforcement because he was aware that people in the field needed to be more fair and just. He noted that it’s much more difficult to initiate change from the outside of a situation.
“It really starts on the inside, with law enforcement, with politics,” he said. “You have to be engaged and be a part of whatever it is you want to change.”
Cal. U will hold its next virtual panel at 11 a.m. Tuesday, when psychologist and Cal. U faculty member Darla Timbo will present, “Lean on Me: Supporting Our Diverse Student Population.” The panel is open to the public, and links to the virtual events are located on the university’s website.