Our National Moment

Corporate public relations firms are bombarding the airwaves these days with the message that “we are in this together.” But as the horrific events in Minneapolis, Central Park, Louisville, KY, and Brunswick, GA brutally demonstrate (George Floyd, Christian Cooper, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery-say their names), this presumption of being “in this together” has never been […]

A City Divided: Race, Fear, and the Law in Police Confrontations

Dr. David Harris On July 26, 2020, David Harris gave a sobering presentation, looking backward and forward into the future, pondering the challenges of Public Safety in our time. We hope you were able to join, but if you missed it or would like to watch it again, you can see the recording of the […]

Continue McLay’s good work

When Mayor Bill Peduto hired former police Chief Cameron McLay two years ago, it had been just a couple of short months since the killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York City. Across the nation, people were waking up to the reality that people of color are more than twice as likely to be shot by police than whites. Many were finally questioning how police officers operate in communities of color and the disparate treatment to which people of color are subjected.

Tony Norman: Confronting ‘the psychology of bias’ without fear

Last Thursday, Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay did something extraordinary at St. James AME Church. Speaking before a gathering of faith leaders assembled by the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network, Chief McLay spoke with the honesty and bluntness that has characterized his nearly two-year stint in Pittsburgh.