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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27. 2014
PAGE 3
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Ferguson forum characterized by race, media
ALLISON KITE
@Allie_Kite
The underlying theme throughout Tuesday's open forum about Ferguson was race: how children of different races are taught to trust police, how people of different races are treated by the police and how the media portrays people of different races.
Associate Professor Clarence Lang wraps up the Ferguson forum Tuesday in Spooner Hall. Members of the University and Lawrence community came together for a discussion about the events in Ferguson, Mo., over the past two weeks, led by Lang, who works with the African and African-American Studies departments.
The open forum was held in The Commons at Spooner Hall on Tuesday. The event allowed attendees to voice their opinions about what has happened in Ferguson, Mo. and what they could do to help, similar to the Aug. 25 demonstration, "Hands Up, Walk Out."
AARON GROENE/KANSAN
"I think that, in part, we're having a conversation more so ... because of the media's role."
CLARENCE LANG Associate professor of American and African & African-American studies
Clarence Lang, associate professor of American studies and African & African-American studies led the discussion. In his introduction, Lang said the situation in Ferguson brought several things he said he believes to be issues into light including the criminal justice system and police methods.
The audience discussion began by calling into question some of the actions of media. While some said they believed the media's coverage of
Ferguson was contributing to issues of race in the story, others said the media coverage brought the issues into light to be discussed.
Omar Rana, a junior from Tulsa, Okla., majoring in history, said he believes the media tends to associate certain types of crime with particular races and gives the benefit of the doubt to whites.
Lang said he believes the role of the media in the case of Ferguson has been a productive one.
"I think the media's role — as it always is — is both problematic, but also it can be creative. It can be productive," he said. "It at least gives some exposure, and I think that, in part, we're having a conversation more so than we have in some time about the militarization of the police, in part because of the media's role."
Amanda Wright, a graduate student and graduate assistant in Student Conduct and Community Standards said she has noticed a difference between the way white children and black children are raised to perceive the police. She said she believes white people have an assumption that police officers are above the law and above other citizens while black people are brought up with less trust for police.
"I think there are issues in our entire system based on this misconceived notion that the men that are wearing the badges and carrying the guns know better than everyone else and do better than everyone else when we know, in reality, and in statistics, they don't," Wright said.
She said she believes it's important for her as a white person to understand that she has a different perception and level of trust for police than others may have.
"I have to be willing to challenge those perceptions when they come up." Wright said.
One of the attendees who refused to give her name said Michael Brown's death wasn't at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan or someone openly racist. She said racism isn't about extremists, but rather normal people who think of themselves as
good. She said people like this reinforce racial problems without actively trying.
She also said she is frustrated with "white progressives" responding to the conflict in Ferguson. She said she's frustrated with the idea that people who spend the majority of their time around other white people believe they can reach a place of understanding with black people concerning Ferguson. She encouraged white progressives to think about "how they are implicated" in the recent events.
Maxwell Moore, a junior from Gardner, majoring in English, said he was frustrated and felt he was being told how he could and couldn't feel for the people of Ferguson because he is white.
"I understand my unjust and unfair privilege," Moore said. "I will say that it hurts a lot that segregated persecution has to lead to segregated consolation. I ache for the people that are going through what they're going through in Ferguson. My heart hurts, not as much as the people who are related to or know Michael Brown or
the people that are being persecuted unjustly. But it hurts my heart, and it's not fair that I'm told that I'm not allowed to feel that way."
The open forum, which wrapped up around 1 p.m. was sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Student Union Activities.
Lawrence support for Ferguson will continue at 7:30 p.m. Thursday with a vigil and rally at Saint Luke AME Church at Ninth and New York streets.
Edited by Casey Hutchins
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