Dialogue on Race and Policing Series Launches in Baton Rouge
The July 2016 death of Alton Sterling at the hands of two Baton Rouge police officers and the subsequent decision by the Louisiana Attorney General and Department of Justice to not prosecute these officers added new chapters to the long, troubled history between local law enforcement and the city’s minority communities. For many Baton Rouge residents, these are not seen as isolated instances of injustice. Rather, they are part of the systemic pattern of law enforcement misconduct in interactions with marginalized communities that had gone unacknowledged for far too long. Others in the community, though, believe the officers acted reasonably under the circumstances. They view the ensuing civil protests, like other criticism of the police, as largely unjustified.
The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure equal justice for all through the rule of law, targeting in particular the inequities confronting African Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities. The Lawyers’ Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to enlist the private bar's leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity - work that continues to be vital today.