The Black Church, the Civil Rights Movement, Black Lives Matter, and Police Training

Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests have ignited conversations about racism, religion, and our moral conscience. Many have called for a stronger response from the Black church. The writer discusses strategies used during the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s vis-à-vis the BLM movement assessing Civil Rights Movement strategies as a “best fit” model to affect social change in policing. Nostalgia for “authentic” change lends to recommendations for establishing a symbiotic relationship with police and clergy. Partnerships with the Black church are described as part of police training that would foster a sense of wholeness, healing, and reconciliation where social transformation and social change can take place.