BLACK, BROWN AND BLUE
This past Sunday, close to 100 people came together to discuss issues concerning structural racism. At the end of our discussion, several resources and other opportunities were mentioned for anyone who would like to dig deeper into these issues. Read on for all the details.
UPCOMING EVENTS
(as shared by “Black, Brown and Blue” participants at the conversation on 11/8/15 at The Open Table)
Stand up KC Rally and March
Rally at Nov. 10, 2015 at 5:00 p.m., march at 5:30
Barney Allis Plaza, 12th & Wyandotte, KCMO
http://standupkc.org/
“We are fast food and retail workers from across KC coming together to demand good wages and a voice for low-wage workers.”
Honest Conversation about Race hosted by MORE2
Nov. 16, 2015 from 6:00-9:00 p.m.
St. Stephen Baptist Church, 1414 E. Truman Rd., KCMO
http://www.more2.org/
“Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity is committed to dismantling structural racism in our metro area. This event will include speakers, Dr. Jacob Wagner and Dr. Angela Sims, who will help us begin a process of examining our own community, sharing our stories, and advancing our understanding of racism, that we may transform ourselves and the world around us! This faith based event is free and open to the public.”
One Struggle KC – Monthly Meeting
Nov. 17, 2015 from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Southeast Community Center, 3601 E. 63rd St., KCMO
https://onestrugglekc.wordpress.com/
“Ryan Stokes was a loving father, son, friend, church member and neighbor. Known as a peacemaker, it is not surprising, that in the last few minutes of his life, he was trying to diffuse chaos. Ryan was murdered by the Kansas City, MO Police Dept, on July 28, 2013. He was 24 years old. We invite you to learn Ryan’s story.”
Ferguson Revisited: One Year Later Discussion
Nov. 19, 2015 from 6:00-9:00 p.m.
UMKC Student Union, 5100 Cherry St., KCMO, Room 401
“Ferguson Revisited: One Year Later is a social justice event that hopes to facilitate discussion on the issues of race that have boiled over to the forefront as a result of the Death of Mike Brown and Beyond. every generation has a wake up call this is ours. The conversation will include several presentations from the Men of Color and also discussion with the crowd.”
Panel about Violence in the Black Community – sponsored by the KC Black History Group
Dec. 5, 2015 from 1:30-3:30 p.m.
The Black Archives of Mid-America, 18th and Woodland
http://blackarchives.org/
“The Black Archives of Mid-America serves to collect and preserve the history of African Americans in the Midwest. Our collections, educational programs, research services and special projects facilitate both scholarly inquiry and public understanding of African American history.”
Strategic Planning Meeting for the Concerned Clergy Coalition of KC
Dec. 11, 2015 from 10:00-3:00 p.m.
KCMO Health Department (Multipurpose Room, Lower level) 2400 Troost KCMO
http://concernedclergykc.org
“Join us for a full day of focusing and developing goals and initiatives for the upcoming year. Our Mission is to join with other Pastors and Clergy Members to foster relationships that cross denominational barriers to provide programs and services focused on meeting the spiritual, physical and social needs of the Kansas City Greater Community.”
CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESOURCES
DOJ Report on Ferguson: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/04/politics/document-justice-department-brown-shooting/index.html
RECOMMENDED READING
On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City, by Alice Goffman. University of Chicago Press, 2014.
Forty years in, the War on Drugs has done almost nothing to prevent drugs from being sold or used, but it has nonetheless created a little-known surveillance state in America’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Arrest quotas and high-tech surveillance techniques criminalize entire blocks, and transform the very associations that should stabilize young lives—family, relationships, jobs—into liabilities, as the police use such relationships to track down suspects, demand information, and threaten consequences.
Alice Goffman spent six years living in one such neighborhood in Philadelphia, and her close observations and often harrowing stories reveal the pernicious effects of this pervasive policing. Goffman introduces us to an unforgettable cast of young African American men who are caught up in this web of warrants and surveillance—some of them small-time drug dealers, others just ordinary guys dealing with limited choices. All find the web of presumed criminality, built as it is on the very associations and friendships that make up a life, nearly impossible to escape. We watch as the pleasures of summer-evening stoop-sitting are shattered by the arrival of a carful of cops looking to serve a warrant; we watch—and can’t help but be shocked—as teenagers teach their younger siblings and cousins how to run from the police (and, crucially, to keep away from friends and family so they can stay hidden); and we see, over and over, the relentless toll that the presumption of criminality takes on families—and futures.
While not denying the problems of the drug trade, and the violence that often accompanies it, through her gripping accounts of daily life in the forgotten neighborhoods of America’s cities, Goffman makes it impossible for us to ignore the very real human costs of our failed response—the blighting of entire neighborhoods, and the needless sacrifice of whole generations. ~ from Univ. of Chicago website
President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, Final Report. Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2015.
In the wake of highly publicized conflicts, President Barack Obama convened a diverse panel of policing experts and charged them to identify steps to strengthen community policing and trust among the police and the public. The Task Force conducted research and performed a series of listening session across the country to receive expert testimony and recommendations. Main topics included:
Building trust and legitimacy
Policy and oversight
Technology and social media
Community policing and crime reduction
Training and education
Officer wellness and safety
A full report is available at http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/TaskForce_FinalReport.pdf
RECOMMENDED READINGS | HEALTH AND SOCIAL EQUITY
Books:
Social Determinants of Health Second Edition, Michael Marmot & Richard G. Wilkinson
Health and Community Design, Lawrence Frank, Peter Engeleke, Thomas Schmid
Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
Saving Capitalism, Robert Reich
The Invisible Safety Net, Janet Currie
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, Jeff Hobbs
Films:
Race: The Power of an Illusion
Unnatural Causes (especially, “Place Matters” and “When the Bough Breaks”)
The Waiting Room
The Raising of America (Coming Soon!)
Articles:
Childhood abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction and the risk of illicit drug use: the adverse childhood experiences study. Dube, et al. 2003.
Stress and health: major findings and policy implications. Thoits 2010
Insights into causal pathways for ischemic heart disease: adverse childhood experiences study. Dong, Giles, Felitti, et al. 2004
Life course health development: an integrated framework for developing health, policy, and research. Halfon & Hockstein 2002
Association between children’s experience of socioeconomic disadvantage and adult health: a life-course study. Poulton et al. 2002
The Effects of Parental Imprisonment on Children. Murray and Farrington 2005
Black–White Health Disparities in the United States and Chicago: A 15-Year Progress Analysis. Orsi, et al. 2010
Levels of Racism, a Theoretical Framework. Jones 2000
(Also see a great keynote address “On Race and Racism” https://vimeo.com/36931934)
See this TED talk on inequality: https://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinsonIncome inequality and population health: a review and explanation of the evidence. Wilkinson & Pickett, 2006 (Blackboard)
The Education-Health Gradient. Conti, Heckman, & Urzua, 2010
Rethinking Gender Differences in Health. Rieker & Chloe, 2005
Gender Disparities in Health. Gorman & Read, 2006
Adolescent Vulnerability to Media and Promotion. Penchmann et al., 2005
Understanding and Representing ‘Place’ in Health Research. Cummins et al. 2007
LIFE-COURSE DESISTERS? TRAJECTORIES OF CRIME. Sampson 2003
Physical Activity and Public Health. Sallis and Glance, 2009
The Psychology of Eating. Cohen & Farley, 2008
