NATIONAL CONVENINGS
We are living in challenging times, but we are fit for the task. We channel Dr. King's retort, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
We invite you to journey toward justice with us during a four-part national convening entitled "The Reckoning, The Resolve, The Restoration, and The Resilience." The deliberations will culminate with "The Resilience" during a national symposium in early 2024. In this series, the Museum will bring together thought leaders, policymakers, surviving families, and activist to examine the historical connections of systemic racial violence and find solutions for today’s challenges.
The Resolve: Eliminating Systemic Racism & Toxic Cultures
June 7, 2023 • 6:00 pm Reception • 6:30 Panel • Hybrid
The National Civil Rights Museum will host the second, hybrid, national convening entitled “The Resolve: Eliminating Systemic Racism and Toxic Cultures.” During this gathering, participants will discuss the historical context of policing in the U.S., from the creation of slave patrols to apprehend runaway slaves, the enforcement of Black Codes following the end of the Civil War, and the emergence of Jim Crow laws in response to the 14th Amendment, to the modern era of American policing use of military tactics to “maintain peace.” The panel discussion will examine how structural racism has influenced toxic cultures that negatively impact law enforcement and produce bias-based policing strategies.
We look back to move forward to course-correct how society views people of color, Black people in particular, as subhuman or superhuman. Like everyone else, we’re HUMAN, global citizens with a full range of emotions and complexities. We employ all forms of resistance toward systemic racism at its very root, drawing on the strength of our ancestors and the creativity of a new generation.
The Panelists
A 20-year veteran sergeant who retired from service in East Orange, New Jersey in 2006, Dr. De Lacy Davis is an activist, author, and community leader. In 1991, he founded the community-based organization, Black Cops Against Police Brutality (B-CAP), which led to his national voice on police-community matters. The organization has worked with countless victims of police violence across the United States as a police reform advocate. Since 1998, Dr. Davis has held the copyright for “What to Do When Stopped by the Police?” a primer that preceded “The Talk” that Black parents give to their sons to prepare them for when they may be stopped by the police on the street corner, in a motor vehicle, or when the police are knocking at their front door.
Currently, De Lacy Davis is the Director of De Lacy Davis Consultants, LLC, where he leads a team of talented professionals from around the United States of America with expertise in the areas of education, organizational development, organizational leadership, police practices, advocacy, community-police relationships, counterterrorism, and domestic violence.
Dr. Howard Henderson is a professor of criminal justice and founding director of the Center for Justice Research at Texas Southern University. A Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Howard’s research focuses on structural and cultural predictors of criminal justice system disparities.
Howard’s most recent research has appeared in the Journal of Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice & Behavior and the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics. His public scholarship has been published in The Hill, Huffington Post, Houston Chronicle, Texas Tribune, and Newsweek. Awarded the Outstanding Educator Award by the Michigan Diversity Council in 2022, Dr. Henderson has appeared on CNN, FOX, NBC, CNBC, ABC, and the Black News Channel and his research has been cited by Politico, Vice, Aljazeera, Yahoo News, and The Crime Report.
Amber Sherman, a political strategist, activist, and organizer is a native Memphian and a graduate of Hodges University with a Master of Legal Studies degree, Summa Cum Laude. Her thesis, “Innocent until proven guilty: An argument for the unconstitutionality of the US Bail System” has been studied at law Schools and used to draft End Money Bail legislation in Tennessee. Amber uses her platform as a millennial and Black liberationist to advocate and educate on a plethora of issues. She has been featured on MSNBC, VICE News, Revolt, The Washington Post, BBC, and NBC. She enjoys using her voice and platform to inspire her peers and the next generation through her “The Law According to Amber” blog and podcast.
Ryan Jones, Interim Director, Interpretation, Collections, and Education, serves as the museum’s historian and curator, validating interpretation and reviewing
scholarly content shared by the Museum. Before joining the Museum in 2012, he interned at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas and has presented at history conferences about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other topics related to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Jones is currently a dual masters-doctoral candidate in the University of Memphis History Department and is writing his dissertation on the violence in the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi and Alabama, focusing specifically on little-known, cold cases that impacted legislation in those states in the mid-1960s.
The Moderator
President/CEO of The Carter Malone Group, LLC (CMG), a public relations, marketing, advertising, and government relations firm headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, Deidre Malone plays an active role in the Memphis community. She was elected to the Shelby County Commission in 2002, where she served as chair of the budget, community services, and housing and economic development committees and vice chair of the education committee.
In September 2008, she made history, becoming the first African American woman to chair the Shelby County Commission and the first female to chair the budget committee. Malone is a member of the Memphis Regional Chamber, Black Business Association, Mid-South Minority Business Continuum, Public Relations Society of America, PRSA Counselors Academy, and the Tennessee Public Relations Alliance.
Livestream – The Reckoning: Community Policing and Accountability
The Reckoning: Community Policing & Accountability
Part I – March 30, 2023
RAPID RESPONSE EXHIBIT: Lifting Up the Light: A Tribute to Tyree Nichols
Included with admission
Together, we identify hostile forces of intimidation and violence in our neighborhoods at the hands of those sworn to protect them. We use our collective power to exact justice against perpetrators lawfully. We remain vigilant to hold accountable those with the civic responsibility to carry out the charges. We protect our voice and our right to vote in doing so.
During the first gathering on March 30, 2023, we addressed "The Reckoning: Community Policing & Accountability" with panelists RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, Attorney Benjamin Crump, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Cheryl Dorsey, and Alex Vitale with moderator Joy Reid.
Upcoming Convenings
The Restoration: Community Healing Toward Solutions
September 6, 2023 • National Civil Rights Museum • Hybrid
We reject all forms of racism and oppression. We are no longer victims. We are in control of the way we move in this world. We envision a brighter future for all people that affirms we live in a world where all lives truly matter. We reclaim Black Joy.
The Resilience (NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM)
February 2024 • Location TBD • Hybrid
The 2024 culmination of intensely fruitful, data-verified deliberations toward solutions for and by today’s changemakers. Delivering more than manifestos, we endeavor to make plain the vision, to lay bare the strategies for sustainable change from a wide range of resistance techniques. We train from civil disobedience to boardroom decisions while painting the sociopolitical landscape with a broad stroke of real reform.
CATALYST FUND PARTNERS
The National Civil Rights Museum partners with national corporations and foundations that engage with the Museum on these initiatives through June 2024. For more information, contact Tiffany Graham at tgraham@civilrightsmuseum.org.
The national convenings are made possible through the generous support of the following:
