Policing Inside Out and Police Training by Black People

• In Event: Policing Inside Out: HBCUs in the DMV Unite Around Transformative Education and Innovative Community Policing

Abstract

Being Black, being Black in America, and living the realities of American policing lends itself to the
sense of urgency regarding the need to be trained, cultivated, and lead five cohorts of a Policing Inside
Course in Baltimore city. Being Black comes with some level of expertise as it relates to American
Policing and how to engage in powerful spaces to that end. As a contributor and author of the 20-
chapter edited volume - Why the Police Should Be Trained by Black People - the author of this paper
offers and guides historical, lived, tactical, pedagogical, and empirical references written from the lens of
Black people as epithets to train police. The Policing Inside Out Course demonstrates applicable means
to engage students, community, and the law enforcement community within Historically Black Colleges/
Universities . This paper highlights a journey that begins with an acknowledgment of the visceral social-psychological
impact of American policing on Black lives, including the Black police officer, and the need
to bring stakeholders together to build an impactful legacy, acknowledging what works when it comes to
police-community relations and reform.

Author

• Natasha Pratt-Harris, Morgan State University