EUGENE, Ore. – The Lane Community College Black Student Union invites the community for a discussion on proactive solutions to improve the relationships between communities of color and law enforcement on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m. at the Center for Meeting and Learning, Building 19, main campus, 4000 E. 30th Ave., Eugene. Doors open at 5 p.m.
The event begins with a screening of the film, “Fruitvale Station,” that chronicles the last day of Oscar Grant, the 22-year-old Oakland, California, man shot and killed by a public transportation officer in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009. A panel discussion featuring Grant’s family members who started the organization Love Not Blood to provide advocacy support and services to families affected by homicide will follow the screening. Grant’s fatal encounter with police is viewed by many as the catalyst for the ongoing national conversation about police violence and racism in the country and marked the advent of the public’s documentation of police encounters with hand-held technology.
The panel features Grant’s family members: Cephus “Uncle Bobby X” Johnson and Beatrice X Johnson, of Love Not Blood; Carl Stubbs, a safety officer with 4J Schools and a former Eugene Police officer; and Ruth Koenig, a community advocate and representative of the advocacy group Standing Up for Racial Justice. Lane counselor Mark Harris will moderate.
The event is part of the college’s Black History 365 events to honor the history of black Americans year-round. Dr. Lawrence Rasheed, Lane’s Black/African American Student Program Coordinator, said that he hopes the event contributes to proactive policies and action plans in the community.
“Usual and easy responses to the plight of people of color and black males in particular in America has often included historic indignation, protest and demands that raise public awareness—the stuff ‘moments’ and not ‘movements’ are made of,” he said. “However, what is lacking is a comprehensive, well-conceived, sustained proactive plan, which requires massive community building efforts, direct-actions, and ameliorative policies.”
For accommodations to attend this event, contact the LCC Center for Accessible Resources at (541) 463-5150 (voice), 711 (relay), or email AccessibleResources@lanecc.edu.
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Lane Community College educates over 25,000 students annually at six locations across Lane County and online. Students and alumni from all 50 states and 79 countries create more than an $850 million dollar impact on the local economy, helping to support more than 13,000 local jobs. Lane provides affordable, quality, professional technical and college transfer programs; business development and employee training; academic, language and life skills development; and lifelong personal development and enrichment courses.