5000 Role Models conference forges trust, respect between police and young men of color | Opinion

The challenge of fractured relationships between police departments and communities of color took center stage nationally last year after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. At the same time, one of the best practices for collaboration between law enforcement and young men of color in South Florida took on additional significance.

Last year, The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project Police and Youth Conference first was canceled as Miami-Dade County Public Schools shifted to 100-percent virtual learning, but was put on the schedule again in the aftermath of Floyd’s killing, as the need for examples of police and community collaboration became especially pertinent.

In recent years, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, a dropout prevention and mentorship program founded in 1993 by Miami U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, partnered with the Miami Dolphins to host the event inside Hard Rock Stadium. Because of the pandemic, the June 2020 conference was moved onto the stadium field so the students and police officers could practice social distancing.

In a striking scene, everyone in attendance — from police officers to Dolphins players to the students and others, including Dolphins head coach Brian Flores and Hall of Famer Dan Marino — took a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds as the names of Black men who were killed from racial or police violence were called out.

It was a humbling show of solidarity and a powerful statement to South Florida — and the nation — about how police officers and young men of color can operate in a peaceful and respectful manner. The partnership between the 5000 Role Models and the Dolphins is a great example of how professional sports franchises can leverage their platforms and resources to dive deeply into social-justice issues in a way that makes a substantive and lasting difference. In fact, Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez announced at the conference that police use of the chokehold would be banned in the county.

As we approach this year’s 5000 Role Models Police and Youth Conference, which will be held virtually on March 17, we are reminded that these intentional efforts are needed to bridge the divide that exists between police and young men of color. For more than 25 years, this annual event has brought together hundreds of young men in high school and police officers from Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

It provides the police officers and the young men an opportunity to gain a better understanding of each other. The students receive guidance on how to act during interactions with officers and how to avoid behaviors that may lead to arrest and incarceration. The conference emphasizes prevention and cultivating a level of mutual respect.

During role-playing scenarios, the young men get a chance to see what it is like to be an officer and are able to gain a greater level of appreciation for the dangerous job of protecting and serving communities. The young men show themselves as the multi-layered people that they are as opposed to the stereotype of being criminals.

This is a key component to empower individuals and collectives to better use their discretion in proactive and productive ways. One of the most powerful forces in the lives of men of color has been the discretion of individual officers. They have the power to decide whether one has no association with a particular incident, is warned, arrested, injured or killed.

This power of discretion will remain regardless of what legislation is passed, as policy is shaped on the ground by individual officers. The cumulative impact of officers’ discretionary action is what has led to the disproportionate impact of policing and criminal justice on men of color.

The young men have agency over how they conduct themselves when being stopped. A greater number of preventive measures on both sides will decrease the number of negative encounters between police and young men of color. The hope is that the students and officers who participate in the conference will push their peers in a positive direction.

Over the years, the conference, no doubt, has prevented a countless number of unnecessary arrests — and even deaths — that stood to be the results of preventable misunderstandings.

Marcus Bright, Ph.D., is district administrator with the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project.

This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 3:44 PM.