#CouchConversations: Defund The Police, One Year Later

COUCH CONVERSATIONS PRESENTS: Defund the Police, One Year Later

Thursday, April 29th, 2021 6:00PM – 8:00 PM EST Zoom Webinar PROGRAM Lines Open:

Ariel Baker, NEBiP Program Coordinator

Opening Speakers:

Bithiah Carter, NEBiP President & CEO; Jefferey Bellows, BCBS MA

Panelist:

Lt. Lisa Butner, Sean K. Ellis, Zach Norris, Lt. Edwin Raymond

Question and Answers:

Audience

Adjourn:

Bithiah Carter, NEBiP President & CEO

DESCRIPTION

Almost one year after Breonna Taylor’s, George Floyd’s, and (the discovery of) Ahmaud Arbery’s murders and the subsequent protests and cries for justice, New England Blacks in Philanthropy asks: where have we landed, one year after the campaign to defund the police began?

As we continue to reconcile with the glaringly disparate treatment of Black people by police forces in the United States, we invite you to join NEBiP and four activists across various fields in the criminal justice sector to learn, from each of their perspectives, what “Defund the Police” means, and how they see the future of criminal justice for Black communities. Then, join the conversation, as we discuss how Black philanthropy can help to further our understanding of the issues surrounding policing and police brutality in order for us to ultimately create the world that we want to live in.

Our panel of experts will each provide a wealth of knowledge from their various positions; as an academic scholar who studies policing; two currently serving police officers; and a wrongfully accused victim of a false conviction, whose charges were finally dismissed after pursuing his exoneration. They will have an honest discussion on what defunding the police can mean in the Black community and if that is even a feat that can be accomplished in our lifetimes. Our goal is to provide a safe space to honestly discuss what safe and effective policing can look like in our communities, as well as viable interim alternatives to the systems that we currently have in place.

_________________________________________________________________

ABOUT NEW ENGLAND BLACKS IN PHILANTHROPY (NEBIP) Our mission is to inform, reform and transform philanthropic giving in the black community. We inform by providing tangible facts about, and a deeper understanding of, black philanthropy. We reform by offering an alternative view of the Black community and the power of Black philanthropy. We transform

by assisting in establishing strategic philanthropic partnerships for black philanthropy.

SPEAKERS’ BIOS Lisa Butner is a Detective Lieutenant with the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) assigned as the Cadet Program Coordinator, which involves the development and implementation of a Cadet Program designed to increase the level of Diversity within the sworn uniformed branch of the MSP. She has three Masters Degrees, two from Suffolk University in Public Administration and Crime and Justice Studies and one from the University of Massachusetts (Lowell) in Criminal Justice. To read more about Lt. Lisa Butner, please click here.

Sean K. Ellis was born July 11th, 1974, in Boston, MA. On October 5th, 1993, nineteen-year-old Sean was wrongfully charged as a co-venturer in the robbery and murder of a Boston Police Detective.

Today, Sean is a staunch advocate of criminal justice and prison reform. He co-founded the Exoneree Network and is involved with the NAACP, Violence in Boston, The Ministry of Justice, Massachusetts Community Action Network, and Essex County Community Organizing. To read more about Sean K. Ellis, please click here.

Zach Norris is the Executive Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, author of Defund Fear: Safety Without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment, and co-founder of Restore Oakland, a community advocacy and training center that will empower Bay Area community members. To read more about Zach Norris, please click here.

Lt. Edwin Raymond is currently serving as an active NYPD Lieutenant and is running for New York City Council District 40. He has dedicated his early life to activism. In 2014, he, along with his childhood friend, co-founded PLOT (Preparing Leaders of Tomorrow) which serves vulnerable youth by offering them mentors, resources, and support. A year later, he became an advocate for “Raise the Age,” an initiative that reformed the practice of automatically charging teenagers as adults no matter how minor the offense they committed. To read more about Edwin Raymond, please click here.

We would also like to thank NEBiP’s #CouchConversation supporters: