Processing Police Brutality:

Self-Awareness 

George Perry Floyd Jr. and Daunte Wright

On May 25th, 2020 (Memorial Day) ~  46 years old, George Floyd was murdered by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin when being questioned about a counterfeit bill that he presented at a neighborhood store. Chauvin in addition to three other officers , Keung, Lang, and Thao were charged with his death after witnesses reordered the entire ordeal on their cell phones.

On April 18th, 2021, ~ 20 year old Daunte Wright was shot and killed in a traffic stop by Kimberly Porter, a former Brooklyn Center Police Officer.  Daunte, was also a former Minneapolis Public School student. Daunte's murder was recorded by the police officers body camera,  and shared with the public. In this video, you could also hear Porter screaming, "taser" as she shot him with her gun. 

Processing Police Brutality Collectively

Together, we will process the police brutality that has been taking place within our community.  Therefore, it is imperative that you first review the presentation on Processing Police Brutality (PPB), before holding conversations with others regarding this sensitive topic.  As you review the presentation, spend some time identifying how you are feeling about police brutality. The goal here is for you to build a strong foundation for yourself prior to "holding space" with others. By reviewing this information on your own, you will be able to build empathy and also reduce the amount of anxiety you may or may not be feeling at this given time. As you process this information, please be sure to ask yourself: What am I feeling right now? Where am I feeling -it, in my body? Notice your breath, is it shallow or deep? Notice your face, are your jaws tight or your eyebrows cringed? Be advised that your disposition will dictate the emotional climate within your space. 

Lastly, please be mindful of all of your privileges. It's best that you limit your comments during these discussions to allow students' voices to take center stage. This gives our students the opportunity to create healing centered and civically engaged spaces for themselves. In order to increase student engagement, it is also recommended that time be made available for these conversations take place on a consistent basis (same time, location, and day of the week). This will help create an environment that is founded on support, safety, and respect for all.

As you prepare for the conversations, consider this:

Notes for the presentation:

Setting the Stage

Ask your audience to start by processing their own individual feelings. Ask them to take some quiet time for self reflection and fill out the prompt on the slide:

• I am feeling ______ because _______. 

Create Agreements on Engagement

There are some suggested engagement agreements in the notes section of the Processing Police Brutality presentation. 

• Questions to help guide this process: In order to have a space where your audience can process thoughts/feelings about police brutality and what "must" we agree to do? How will we all "show-up" for ourselves and for our peers?

Values

Everyone’s experience, thoughts, and feelings are filtered through their values - our lives are shaped by our values. During today’s conversation we will have a chance to talk about our feelings and thoughts as well as how our values impact our experiences. First let’s talk about what values we bring to school (our spaces) and the values we bring to the conversation today. 

Engaging heads, hearts and hands 

This section will help set up the work on later days. 

• Students will be reminded about empathy.

• Establish What do we know/ What we don’t know. 

  • Example: What do we know : “Over the past five years there has been no reduction in the racial disparity in fatal police shooting”

  • Example: What we don’t know: We don’t know if George Floyd and Chauvin knew each other.

Where can you find factual information (Legal Rights Center : Trial Community Support)