June 28th Program
CALL TO JUSTICE:
Reducing Racial Disparity and Enhancing Public Safety
Program: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
| 8:00 – 8:30 a.m. | Registration and Seating |
Morning Program
| 8:30 – 8:45 a.m. | Introduction and Topic Overview |
- Reverend Albert Gallmon, Pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church and
Chair of Board of Directors of Council on Crime and Justice
| 8:45 – 9:00 a.m. | Racial Disparities and Minnesota’s Changing Demographics |
- Donna Zimmerman, Vice President of Government and Community Relations
at Health Partners and Member of the Racial Disparities Committee of the
Itasca Project
This presentation will feature demographic and socio-economic trend data,
including racial disparity trendlines, developed by the Brookings Institute for
the Itasca Project Consortium of more than forty CEO’s, mayors and community
leaders funded by the McKnight Foundation and the St. Paul Foundation.
| 9:00 – 9:45a.m. | Causes and Consequences of Racial Disparity in the Justice System: Key Findings and Recommendations
|
- Tom Johnson, President of Council on Crime and Justice; former Hennepin
County Attorney
This presentation will present a synthesis of seventeen studies conducted by the Council on Crime and Justice examining the causes and consequences of the racial disparity in Minnesota’s justice system. The focus will be on the Key Findings and Recommendations,
along with proposed Action Steps for addressing the disparity.
| 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. | Causes of the Racial Disparity: A Multi-Perspective Examination |
- Panel Moderator: Judge Tanya Bransford, Hennepin County District Court
- Panel Members:
- Professor Michael Tonry, University of Minnesota Law
School
- Clayton Robinson, Ramsey County Attorney’s Office
- Steve Glaze, Community Activist
- Sr. Commander Bill Martinez, St. Paul Police Department
- Birch Jones, Assistant Superintendent, Minneapolis Public Schools
- John Poupart, President of the American Indian Policy Center
- Ebony Ruhland, ResearchAssociate for Council on Crime and Justice
This panel discussion will explore in depth the Key Findings from the Council
on Crime and Justice’s multi-year research on the causes of the racial disparities
in Minnesota’s justice system.
| 11:00 – 12:00 p.m. | Collateral Consequences of the Racial Disparity |
- Panel Moderator: Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson
- Panel Members:
- Jim Rowader,Director of Labor & Employee Relations and
Assistant General Counsel, Target Corp.
- Professor Chris Uggen, University of Minnesota Department of Sociology
- Dr. Bravada Garrett-Akinsanya, Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Executive
Director of the African American Child Wellness Institute;
- Richard Amos, Director of Housing Services at St. Stephens
- Anita Selin, member of the Minneapolis Police Relations Council
- Hilary Whitham, Research Coordinator for the Council on Crime and Justice
This panel will explore in depth the Collateral Consequences identified by
the Council on Crime and Justice as arising from the racial disparity in
Minnesota’s justice system.
| 12:00 – 12:30 p.m. | The Mayors’ Views
|
- Mayor R. T. Rybak, Mayor of Minneapolis
- Mayor Chris Coleman, Mayor of St. Paul
Mayors Rybak and Coleman will reference the increasing crime rate; Minnesota’s changing
demographics; the need to reduce racial disparities through improved relationships between
the justice system and communities of color; and the need to reduce the
negative collateral consequences of justice system involvement.
| 12:30 – 1:15 p.m. | Lunch (Provided)
|
Afternoon Program
| 1:15 – 1:45 p.m. | Luncheon Speaker
Racial Justice: The Ethical Dimension |
- Professor Kenneth Goodpaster, Koch Endowed Chair in Business Ethics,
University of St. Thomas
Professor Goodpaster will offer his reflections on business ethics, corporate responsibility
and the common good, all in the context of the racial disparity in the justice system.
| 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. | The Linkage between Consequences and Causes:The Inverted Relationship |
- Mike Miles, CEO Space Center Inc. and former Chair of the Board of Directors of
Council on Crime and Justice
This presentation will focus on the self-perpetuating aspects of the justice
system’s racial disparities, linking the consequences of involvement in
the justice system to the causes of the disparity and the ethical issues raised.
| 2:30 – 3:45 p.m. | Action Steps for Undoing the Racial Disparity Within the Justice System: The Ethics of Acting Now! |
- Panel Moderator: Judge Kevin Burke, Hennepin County District Court
- Panel Members:
- Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page
- Senator Julianne Ortman, Minnesota Senator
- Deputy Chief Sharon Lubinski,
Minneapolis Police Department
- David Schechter, WCCO Television
- Sam Grabarski, Executive Director, Downtown Council
- Barbara Lickness, Community Resident
- Russ Balenger, Executive Director, Amicus
- Shane Price, African American Men Project
- Sarah Walker, Call-to-Justice Coordinator for Council on Crime and Justice
This panel will discuss in depth the proposed Key Action steps for addressing
the racial disparities in Minnesota’s criminal justice system. It will also explore
the social/ethical issues involved in moving (and not moving) forward.
| 3:45 – 4:30 p.m. | First Reflection, Then Action!
|
REFLECTION:
- Presenter: Professor Michael Tonry, University of Minnesota Law School
- Responders:
- Suzanne Koepplinger, Executive Director of the Minnesota Indian
Women’s Resource Center
- Lissa Jones, Executive Director, African American Family Services
- Luz Frias, External Affairs Director for St. Paul’s Mayor, Chris Coleman
Professor Tonry will review the strongest (and weakest) substantive aspects of the
Forum. The Responders will then augment this review from their unique perspectives.
ACTION:
- Presenter: Guy Gambill, Advocacy Coordinator for Council on Crime and
Justice
This presentation will summarize the follow-up action to the Forum and identify volunteer opportunities.
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