“What were your feelings or reactions to incidents like the shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland?”Imagine Statesboro and Bulloch County law enforcement officers sitting down with African American citizens, including high school and college-age young people, to answer questions like that. Imagine that everyone gets time to speak uninterrupted and that the focus is on listening rather than responding.Imagine more localized questions including, “What are your perceptions of relationships between law enforcement and African American communities here in Bulloch County?”An eight-hour day of facilitated group listening took place a week ago at the Statesboro Food Bank. In all, 42 people attended the August 1 gathering.
We could have been Ferguson
Black citizens, law officers gather, listen to concerns at 'Beloved Community' meeting


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