The University of Central Arkansas Division of Outreach and Community Engagement will host a free workshop, titled RESPOND-I-BILITY, that will address ways individuals should respond when encountering law enforcement officers.
The workshop will be held in the UCA Student Center, Room 213, from 5:00 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, April 9. The public is invited to this free workshop.
Author and historian Edmond Davis will facilitate RESPOND-I-BILITY. The vision of RESPOND-I-BILITY is to raise awareness and show how each citizen (“I”) has the ability to respond responsibly when engaging with all officers of the law. The presentation is designed to address cultural and social etiquette skills for all Americans when encountering officers of the law.
In the presentation, Davis provides 10 simple tips that citizens can utilize in preventing or deescalating situations when encountering officers. The presentation also promotes communication skills and the social competence of citizens to help avoid any negative provisions and includes preventative measures that are needed to help avoid misunderstandings that could lead to arrests, altercations, or worse.
Davis is the author of the book, Pioneering African-American aviators featuring the Tuskegee Airmen of Arkansas. Davis has authored a number of articles on the Tuskegee Airmen, the Civil Rights Movement and women in aviation. He is a former board member of the Aerospace Education Center and is a current member of the Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Inc. History Committee. A native of Philadelphia, Penn., Davis earned a master’s degree in history from Louisiana Technical University and a bachelor’s degree from Grambling State University.
For more information about the presentation, contact Shaneil Ealy, director of programs and services, at 501-450-5275 or sealy@uca.edu or visit uca.edu/outreach/davis.
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