While Congress debates police reform measures, The Lesniak Institute for American Leadership at Kean University will be hosting a Zoom forum on Tuesday, May 25 from 5-6:30 p.m. to commemorate George Floyd's murder one year after the tragic event and discuss what New Jersey can do to reform police policies and enhance public safety.
The forum, The Root of Reform: Reflecting on the state of race and policing one year after the murder of George Floyd, will feature police reform leaders and academic experts.
“We are all asking ourselves if we have really made meaningful changes within police reform,” former New Jersey Sen. Raymond Lesniak, founder and president of the Lesniak Institute, said.
“Our Root of Reform event will allow us all to see just how far we have come and what our priorities need to be in order to disassemble the deep-rooted systematic issues that plague our country and our state.”
Notable speakers at the event will include:
- Lamont O. Repollet, Ed.D., president of Kean University
- Peter Harvey, independent monitor at the Newark Police Department
- N.J. State Senator Linda Greenstein, chair of the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee
- N.J. State Senator Sandra Cunningham, chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee
- Brennan Sumner, law and governance graduate student at Montclair State University
- Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, president of The Lesniak Institute for American Leadership
The event will be moderated by Lynette Zimmerman, executive director of the Liberty Hall Academic Center and acting director of the Galleries at Kean University.
The Galleries at Kean this year presented two original exhibitions that spoke to the power of civic engagement to affect change, Protest Art and Come Together, featuring work from professional artists and Kean University students.
“Ensuring all voices are heard and our community is part of the policy-making process is vital as we channel efforts to effect positive change,” Zimmerman said.
Education is the first step toward generating change, and this event aims to educate the public regarding police reform and systemic racism by examining passed and pending New Jersey legislation, the successful implementation of community-based policing models, and the history of these systemic problems.
Register to reserve your spot at: LesniakInstitute.org/RootOfReform.