Starting next month, journalist Soledad O’Brien is embarking on a tour that will highlight one of today’s most critical conversations.
Based on her November CNN special, O’Brien’s tour, “Black in America 2015,” is traveling to college campuses across the country and will focus on police brutality against minorities. Acacemics, students and community members will sit down and have a much-needed discussion on an issue that is plaguing our society.
Audiences will see exlusive footage from Eric Garner’s attack and will hear from both victims of police brutality and police officers, such as one Black NYPD cop, who think that “stop and frisk” laws help keep communities safe. Experts will weigh the benefits of police presence with the fear toward police that is increasingly present in Black communities.
“‘Black in America’ is about Americans talking about the uncomfortable issue of race, about opening the floor to new perspectives, problems and the powerful experiences of regular people,” O’Brien said in a statement. “This is a forum for the conversation America is ready to have—why do so many Black Americans fear the very people that are supposed to protect them?”
Featured guests and panelists include St. Louis’s 21st Ward Alderman Antonio French; CEO of the NAACP, Benjamin Jealous; Public Enemy rapper Chuck D.; economist, author and commentator Dr. Julianne Maleaux; and comedian W. Kamau Bell.
The tour kicks off on Tuesday, February 3, at Bucknell University and includes stops at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, Purdue, the University of Georgia and the University of Houston.
Check out the trailer above, and for more information, visit www.iamtheconversation.com.