Easing the deep and long-held mistrust between law enforcement and communities of color has no easy fix. But in Newark, N.J., police have embarked on an experiment that they hope will calm tensions by immersing both cops and residents in uncomfortable truths about slavery and Jim Crow, coupled with lessons on epigenetics and trauma.
The Newark Police Department has mandated that each of its approximately 1,110 officers participate in three days of training alongside city residents, swapping stories and ideas more commonly heard on a therapist’s couch or college classroom, not in a precinct house.
As of April, the training — believed to be the first of its kind in the nation — has included 117 officers and 163 members of the public, who sit at cafeteria-style tables to share tales of personal trauma. The lessons go on to include an animated film about slavery, a debate about whether a police badge symbolizes oppression, lectures about various forms of trauma, and talks about why police tend to avoid talking about their struggles with stress and mental health.
[For more on this story by SIMONE WEICHSELBAUM, go to https://www.themarshallproject...nd-cops?ref=hp-1-111]
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