October 5, 2015

Speakers to examine increasing tension between U.S. police departments and communities

MEDIA ADVISORY

WHAT:
"Community Policing: Building Trust, Reducing Violence" will be the topic addressed by experts during the Arthur L. Johnson Urban Perspectives Lecture Series event, sponsored by the Wayne State University Alumni Association.

Increasing tension in the interactions between U.S. police departments and their communities are indicators that the relationships between police and those they serve - particularly those in minority communities - are in serious disrepair.

Featured speakers include:

Carl S. Taylor, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Sociology, senior fellow in university outreach and engagement, and extension specialist at Michigan State University. Taylor has extensive experience in field research aimed at the reduction of violence involving American youth. As a sociologist and urbanologist, Taylor's merging of the two disciplines has given him a unique viewpoint on emerging social issues.

Mark Fancher, American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU) racial justice staff attorney. Through his work with the ACLU of Michigan, Fancher has addressed racial discrimination against public school students of color, racial profiling, attacks on the democratic rights of communities of color and abusive police practices. He has lectured across the country and written extensively on issues such as the U.S. military presence in Africa, political repression in the United States, and the land and resource rights of traditional indigenous communities.

WHEN:
Noon- 1 p.m., Monday, Oct. 26, 2015

WHERE:
Wayne State University, Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium, Law School, 471 W. Palmer, Detroit.

For more information or to make a reservation, call 313-577-2300, or email wsuaa@wayne.edu.

The Arthur L. Johnson Urban Perspectives Lecture Series began in 1992 and is named in honor of the civil rights leader and former Wayne State University administrator. The series features distinguished corporate and civic leaders who speak on a wide range of topical issues including politics, business, law and the arts.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering more than 380 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 27,000 students.