A Conference on Law Enforcement and Civil Rights
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Birmingham Division, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI), will sponsor its annual conference on civil rights and law enforcement, “The Civil Rights Act @ 50: Education and Empowerment” on Sunday and Monday, April 27-28, at the BCRI at 520 Sixteenth Street North, Birmingham AL 35203. The sessions are free and open to the public. Registration is required at www.bcri.org.
The conference begins on Sunday, April 27 at 4:30 p,m. with a tour and reception at BCRI. The opening program begins at 6 p.m. with a panel discussion on “Civil Rights @ 50: 1964-2014.” The discussion will include the background of the historic act, its expansion, and implications for law enforcement today and in the future. Panelists include Doug Jones, attorney with Jones & Hawley PC who prosecuted the 16th Street bombing cases for the U.S. Attorney’s Office; Montre D. Carodine, University of Alabama School of Law; Frank Mackaman, Dirksen Congressional Leadership Research Center; Amanda Wilson, Executive Director, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and Hezekiah Jackson, president of the Metro Birmingham Branch NAACP.
The conference continues on Monday, May 20 at BCRI from 8 a.m. –3 p.m. with registration and continental breakfast from 8-8:30 a.m. The early program begins at 8:45 a.m. with Rev. Thomas Gilmore, a civil rights activist who was elected Greene County’s first Black sheriff in 1971, and James Felte, Deputy Chief of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The speakers will share their “Reflections on Community, Law Enforcement and Civil Rights.”
Other topics to be discussed by esteemed law enforcement professionals and community leaders include “Human Trafficking;” “Current Issues in Civil Rights Enforcement,” and “Color of Law: From Encounter to Incarceration.” “Color of Law” refers to abuse of power by law enforcement and others in authority and the panel will discuss policies, practices and related cases.
“The objective of this conference is to broaden and deepen the engagement of attendees about civil rights laws and how they play a role in our community. As the primary federal agency responsible for investigating all allegations regarding criminal violations of federal civil rights statutes, the FBI is pleased to be able to partner with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in this endeavor,” stated Richard D. Schwein, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Birmingham Division.
Priscilla Hancock Cooper, BCRI Vice-President of Institutional Programs, said. “This year’s conference is particularly important because 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Many of the legal protections and social policy that we now take for granted were made possible by that federal law. This conference is designed to educate members of both the general community and law enforcement so that they will be empowered to more effectively use these laws.”
