There is significant debate right now about policing, race, and violence in America. As protests against systemic racism and police brutality continue around the country, I understand the fear, anger and downright weariness the seemingly endless news cycle of tragic police killings has produced in our communities of color. As a black man in America, I have had my share of uncomfortable (and unforgettable) moments with the police. I flashback to being pulled over in Chicago for going one mile an hour over the speed limit -- the fear and anger I felt upon seeing the flashing lights in my rear view mirror and knowing I had to remember what my parents taught me when confronted by white police officers—“be careful and do not make them angry. All they will see is a black man in the ‘wrong’ neighborhood.” 

I understand firsthand what people of color are feeling right now and why they are feeling it. I know why the call for the dismantling of police departments is gaining traction.  I understand why I have been receiving emails from former and current students asking me to sever ties with local police departments, to support defunding them, and to disband our police academy and use the money to fund community wellness programs. 

However, I do not believe any of these options will make our communities or people of color any safer. Nor do I believe they are sufficient answers to the very difficult and complex problem of race, policing and violence in America.

The vast majority of cadets going through our Basic Law Enforcement Academy are decent people who are drawn to law enforcement for good and idealistic reasons. They want to protect and help people. I know that our Law Enforcement Academy instructors do their best to prepare cadets to be equipped emotionally, physically and with the right skills to meet the herculean challenges of today’s police force.  I believe our graduates sincerely aspire to make a positive difference in our communities.

However, despite the training and all the good intentions, people of color in our communities remain fearful, distrustful, and disillusioned by law enforcement and racial disparities in the criminal justice system persist. So, what is a solution to the cognitive dissonance? 

As a president of a higher education institution, it will come as no surprise that I strongly believe education can make a difference. We already include implicit bias, procedural justice, community interaction, crisis intervention, and de-escalation in our law enforcement curriculum.  However, given our current challenges, we feel it is necessary to assess and possibly change the nature of how we educate our police cadets.

Our assessment will include the discussion and review of our current curriculum with an augmented Basic Law Enforcement Academy Advisory Committee comprised of local law enforcement leadership as well as representatives from Native Tribes and Black, LGBTQ, and Latinx interest groups. I want to thank CR colleagues Jose Ramirez and Professor Michelle Haggerty and community members Monique Harper-Desir, Mykia Washington, Dr. Kishan Lara-Cooper, and Don Chin for agreeing to serve as ad hoc members of the advisory committee.

Furthermore, to address the questions of resource allocation and behavioral change, I believe that training new officers is only part of the solution. The CR Foundation is underwriting a new Innovative Policing Initiative that will be dedicated to identifying new approaches to ongoing questions: what role should policing play in a diverse society and how can we affect changes to police departments to serve and protect everyone in our community.

As HSU President Tom Jackson wrote in his June 11^th College Matters Column: I am a Black Man: Your Neighbor “As a community, and as a campus (HSU)…stand(s) for many things greater that ourselves”.  As President of College of the Redwoods, I want to echo President Jackson’s statement and say that CR stands for things greater than itself. We want to collaborate with the community to find a way out of the mass cognitive dissonance we find ourselves in today.  It is up to the leadership of our community to choose where we go from here: community or turmoil. I believe that we have a chance and duty to lift up our discussion on race, policing, violence and human dignity.  I know that College of the Redwoods will join others to rise to meet the very grave moment in which we live.