D.C. cops take African-American history program to improve policing

Image via John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty

D.C Cops To Learn African-American History To Improve Policing

This sounds like a class that every police department in the country needs to take…

According to WTOP, every sworn-in and civilian member of the blue team will participate in a program that has been conceptualized by University of the District of Columbia Community College and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History in the hopes of improving policing in the community.

“I think there are some that would like to ignore that troubling history of law enforcement in our country. But, we believe it’s critically important that it remains a part of our education and understanding. And most importantly, it’s something we can learn from,” said D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham at a news conference Friday, April 13.

The 10-hour seminar will be helmed by professors and include a lectures at the museum, history lessons on Africa and the slave trade, as well as neighborhood tours.

“We start at 6 a.m. for three hours of lectures that go from Africa to present day. For three hours after which, we walk here and we begin our tour at 9:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon,” said professor Bernard Demczuk.

“We also take officers on to a U Street tour where we spend four or five hours in the Shaw community examining police brutality, examining history, examining the black Mecca of America, Washington, D.C. and the black Broadway along U Street; and the officers get a real good sense of D.C. history, D.C. policing and how we here are changing policing in America,”

We are out here trying our damnedest to save our own lives, but the question is, will police and white people en masse do the work required to be better? Guess only time will tell…