For Dialogue on Race facilitators, the discussion on racism hasn’t changed—it’s working with police officers that is new territory
For months, Maxine Crump had been working to get a group of police officers to take her Dialogue on Race course.
Baton Rouge Police Department Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. had already taken the course—which discusses issues of racism in a small group setting—and encouraged Crump to put together a proposal.
She planned to send it to him by July 6, 2016. That turned out to be the day after Alton Sterling’s shooting death.
Crump woke up that morning to the shocking news and was unsure what to do with her proposal. “I sent it anyway and said, ‘I’m sure this is not a priority,’” she recalls.
But Dabadie still felt strongly about the program, even in the midst of citywide turmoil. In January, 23 BRPD cadets split into two groups and went through the program.
It was the first time Dialogue ever hosted groups entirely of police officers.
Participants are given readings before each session on topics like institutional racism, white privilege and affirmative action, and discuss with the group how those issues relate to their own experiences. For the average person, unpacking the whys and hows of racism down to its lasting effect on the way institutions operate can be difficult. For a group of police officers who represent one of those institutions, it can be even more uncomfortable.
“They are enforcing laws that many years ago did discriminate against people of color,” says facilitator, and a founding board member, Jan Bernard. “So it’s important that they understand the historical context.”
Crump says their approach to working with the officers wasn’t different from any other Dialogue group. The format stayed the same. But she admits there was some difficulty getting the cadets to open up while still immersed in their law enforcement training.
“They were focused on becoming a team,” she says. “And in the midst of training, it’s hard for them to focus on their individual thinking. If a facilitator asked a question, they would look to each other to figure out how to express themselves in a way the team would say.”
Bernard says despite that initial struggle, she thinks it will continue to be an important part of officer training—BRPD leadership has shown interest in putting more cadets through the program.
“I think they will be better police officers, even if they didn’t agree with everything that was discussed,” she says. “You have to remember that law enforcement, along with many other institutions in this country, came through the segregation era. … It’s not until you are really sitting shoulder to shoulder talking about these things that you can understand the power of the institution over you and understand how it can continue to cast a shadow of discrimination.” dialogueonracelouisiana.org
Read more from our cover story, featuring people standing up to solve racial issues in Baton Rouge.
This article was originally published in the June 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.
