The Killing of African Americans Must Stop

April 5, 2005

On March 18, 2005 the California State Conference and the Los Angeles Local Branch conducted a hearing on Police Brutality in Los Angeles, CA.

The hearing focused on getting to the root causes of these unfortunate events that happen primarily to African Americans in their communities, as well as search for actions that will lead to long term and lasting solutions.

Many experts in this area gave positive contributions, which helped us find solutions to this distressing problem that we are facing. Participants in this hearing included the following: Dr. Devon Carbado, UCLA Professor of Law and author on race theory; Khalid Shah, President, Stop the Violence/Increase the Peace; Wren T. Brown, Actor/Filmmaker; Bill Overton, Author of “The Media: Shaping the Image of a People”; Danny Bakewell, owner and publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel; Hal Snow, Assistant Director, Piece Officers Standards Training (POST); Alice A. Huffman, State NAACP President and National NAACP Board Member; Willis Edwards, National NAACP Board Member; Angela Ciccolo, Interim National Legal Counsel; Geraldine Washington, President, Los Angeles of the NAACP; Sgt. Ronnie Cato, President, Oscar Joel Bryant Foundation; Ron Daniels, African American Summit on Violence Prevention; and Marqueece Harris–Dawson, Community Coalition.

Other attendees included: Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Assemblywoman Judy Chu, Chair Assembly Select Committee on Hate Crimes, and the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

All of these knowledgeable individuals gave great testimonies at this much needed hearing on Police Brutality. They brought their expertise which help form solutions. Many members of the public were also instrumental components in shaping solutions and making this event a success.

Contact: CANAACP Office, 916-498-1898.