WFU law school to host discussion on community/police tension

A campus-wide discussion, “Close to Home: Comprehending Community/Police Tension in Charlotte,” will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight, Sept. 28, in the Worrell Professional Center, Room 1312.

The event is free and open to the public. A live webcast will be available here.

A panel discussion from 5 to 6:30 p.m. focusing on recent events of police brutality and public unrest — including last week’s police shooting in Charlotte and the subsequent riots — will be followed by a student leadership roundtable and small group discussions. Light refreshments will be served.

“Our discussion will be led by a panel of academic scholars, attorneys and law enforcement personnel who seek to provide and facilitate the inclusion of varying perspectives about the underlying causes of unrest in Charlotte,” explains Kami Chavis, director of Wake Forest law school’s Criminal Justice Program, who will act as the moderator for the event.

Confirmed panelists include:
Catrina Thompson, Assistant Chief, Winston-Salem Police Department
Hana Brown, Wake Forest Department of Sociology
Shannon Gilreath, Wake Forest School of Law
Derek Hicks, Wake Forest School of Divinity
Ronald Neal, Wake Forest Department for the Study of Religions
Ronald Wright, Wake Forest School of Law

The event is co-sponsored by the Criminal Justice Program at Wake Forest School of Law, the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), and Wake Forest’s sociology department and American ethnic studies program.