Race, Policing Examined by Experts

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 13, 2016) — A one-day symposium, titled "Black and Blue: Critical Issues in Race and Policing in the U.S.,” is slated 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, at the University of Kentucky Helen G. King Alumni House ballroom. The event is hosted by the UK Center for Equality and Social Justice with support from Qualitative Initiative for Policy and Social Research and the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Psychology.

The symposium will examine the critical and complex issues about race and policing in the United States from multiple scholarly perspectives.

Keith Payne, a social psychologist of the University of North Carolina, is an expert on implicit racism and shooter bias. Justin Nix, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Louisville, conducts research on police fairness and what shapes beliefs in police legitimacy. Anita Jones Thomas, a community/clinical psychologist at the University of Indianapolis, researches African-American mothers’ discussions with their children following traumatic, public and racially motivated events. Lawrence Weathers is a veteran to law enforcement, a former assistant chief of the Lexington Police Department. 

The ultimate goal of the symposium is to be a thoughtful scholarly voice in the midst of a public social-justice crisis. It is open to faculty, students, staff and the community.

After the symposium, the UK Center for Equality and Social Justice will issue a report with guidelines for the Kentucky legislature, local and UK police, and the news media.

Friday’s schedule includes:

9 a.m. – Registration and continental breakfast 9:15 a.m. – Introduction by Christia Brown, UK, psychology 9:30 a.m. – “Implicit Bias in Policing and in Life” by Keith Payne, University of North Carolina, social psychology

10:30 a.m. – Response by Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi, UK, psychology 10:45 a.m. – “Policing in the Post-Ferguson Era” by Justin Nix, University of Louisville, criminal justice

11:45 a.m. – “Real Life Issues from the Front Lines: Observations from the Former Assistant Chief of the Lexington Police Department” by Lawrence Weathers, director of law enforcement for Fayette County Public Schools

12:15 p.m. – Response by Carrie Oser, UK, sociology 12:30 p.m. – Lunch 1 p.m. – “The Racial Divide in Support for Punitive Crime Policies” by Mark Peffley, UK, political science

2 p.m. – “Run in a Zig-Zag” by Anita Jones Thomas, University of Indianapolis, community/clinical psychology

3 p.m. – Response by Kenneth Tyler, UK student

3:15 p.m. – Concluding remarks

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

MEDIA CONTACT: Gail Hairston, 859-257-3302, gail.hairston@uky.edu