Policing, racial violence and the LGBTQIA community will be the focus of the eighth program in the weekly Conversations on Race and Policing series, presented by the Cal State San Bernardino John M. Pfau Library.

The discussion will be on Zoom at 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, and can be accessed on Zoom from a PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android at https://csusb.zoom.us/j/97960458784.

 Panelists for this week’s program are:

  • Manijeh Badiee, CSUSB associate professor of psychology;
  • Jacob Chacko, assistant director of Diversity and Inclusion, CSUSB Cross Cultural Center; and
  • Angela Asbell, CSUSB English lecturer.

Join this student-hosted dialogue between CSUSB and community leaders from San Bernardino. The hosts and panelists will examine policing, racial justice, and potential actions to promote greater equity in the local community.

Series organizers also plan to pay tribute to one of its past panelists, Don Griggs of the Westside Action Group (he participated in the June 24 conversation) who passed away from COVID-19, as well as Civil Rights leader and Georgia congressman John Lewis. Both died on July 17.

And also plan on attending the July 29 conversation, which will feature Alex S. Vitale, professor of sociology at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project, and author of “The End of Policing.” Vitale has been a much sought-after interview since the topic of defunding police departments has come up in discussions about police reform.

CSUSB students Marlo Brooks, Kameron Pyant and Yvette Relles-Powell will host the event. The series is organized by CSUSB faculty members Mary Texeira (sociology), Marc Robinson and Jeremy Murray (history), and Robie Madrigal, public affairs/communication specialist for the CSUSB John M. Pfau Library.

This series of discussions and conversations began in the aftermath of the May 25 death of George Floyd while in the custody of four Minneapolis, Minn., police officers. A video of the incident posted on social media has led to widespread protests, the firing of four police officers, the arrest of one officer on a second-degree murder charge, the other three on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder – and a spotlight worldwide on race and policing.

Previous forums also are posted online:

On June 16 the College of Arts and Letters presented “Structural Racism, Civil Disobedience, and the Road to Racial Justice in the Age of COVID-19,” which is also posted on YouTube.

The university’s June 9 memorial for Floyd also focused on the Black Lives Matter movement.

For information, contact Robie Madrigal at rmadriga@csusb.edu or Jeremy Murray at jmurray@csusb.edu.

Conversations on Race and Policing No. 8 flier