Quevaughn Caruth

1

Quevaughn Caruth

Professor Prody PCA-336

Action Proposal

Overview:

The action I plan to propose addresses public concern about disproportionate policing of minority communities. Racial profiling has undoubtedly produced racial disparities in states across the nation. According to Center for American Progress, “African American youth have higher rates of juvenile incarceration and are more likely to be sentenced to adult prison” (Kerby). This is an issue within our criminal justice system that is difficult to solve. The officers concern seem to be crime control, while some community members feel harassed. As a result, the tension between the police and citizens [of all ages, ethnicities, and genders] within these communities has risen. Moving forward with this plan, I intend to positively address the current police-community relationship as it pertains to black youth in Harlem, NYC. The location of the center is 106 W. 145th Street NY, NY. The goal of this clinic is one step closer to repairing the relationship between law enforcement and inner-city youth. As a result of my three day clinic, I hope to better understand this group of inner-city youth, inform them on their rights, and allow a space of dialogue with police officers. This effort is an attempt to use community resources to spark social change.

Step I:

Send Proposal via Email. - To Ashley Sharpton

Email:

When: Friday, November 6th by noon.

Goals/Intended outcomes: Similar to my action proposal, this email is something I promised to send will describe in more detail the plan of action. This will allow Ashley to think ahead of time and be prepared to update me on any questions/concerns during our conversation the following Monday.

Step II:

Call - Ashley Sharpton | Phone: 347-986-7449

When: Monday, November 9th @ 7 p.m.

Goals/Intended outcomes: Ashley is my main contact, she is the founder of the youth group known as “Youth Huddle”. This group is backed by a national social justice organization known as National Action Network. Since Ashley works closely with the “huddlers”, she will better be able to inform me on how the kids like to interact and the sorts of approaches I should take. This conversation will be to discuss the plan of action and conceptualizing any problems we may face. We will discuss the content and material that I may need in order to be successful.

Step III:

Call Mr. Arthur | Phone 646-260-4469

When: Wednesday, November 11th Between 5-7 p.m.

Goals/Intended outcomes: Since Mr. Arthur is the building coordinator this conversation is crucial to my action plan.I intend to work with him to solidify the dates available for the session. He also will be helpful in deciding and organizing the setup of the room. Mr. Arthur has managed this building for a long time and therefore can locate and set up things such as chairs, tables, microphones, etc. Overall, I believe that this conversation will help create an environment where my sessions will work effectively.

Step IV:

Organize Materials

When: DueFriday, November 20th

Goals/Intended outcomes: I will begin organizing the lesson plan for the three-day clinic. I will need a stack of index cards for day one and the ice breaker session. I will also need to print out the info pamphlets that I intend to hand out on day two. The info pamphlets will contain their rights on one side and what they can expect from an officer on the other. Lastly, I will provide cards, or help create thank you cards that will be given to the officer on day three. The goal here is more so to prepare for the amount of members I will be interacting with and a scheduled itinerary for my allotted time with them.

Step V:

Meeting with Ashley S.

When: Saturday, November 21st in NYC

Goals/Intended outcomes: This meeting will be important as Ashley and I will sit down and go over the action plan. We will also take this opportunity to send a reminder email to the huddlers about the event. We will take this moment to organize food and beverages and the budget surrounding that. I hope to receive feedback from Ashley during this session and have the police presence confirmed for the third day. This meeting is to prepare one final time prior to engaging with the youth for the three-day clinic. Lastly, this meeting will be important to confirming the officer's presence on the third day of the clinic. I believe that this will be one of my obstacles because their cooperation is not guaranteed as yet.

Step VI:

Day One: Meet and Greet

When: Sunday, November 22nd

Goals/Intended outcomes: During this session I hope to meet the members of this group, and engage so that we get to know one another. I plan to start up the session with “icebreakers” and “name games” prior to any discussion. This will be an important session because it will kick start the clinic. This will allow a space where the members feel comfortable enough with me to talk about pressing issues and express their perspective. I will end the session with an assignment that will be related to a discussion we will have on day two. I will document this and all up coming sessions with photos and video.

Step VI:

Day Two: Info session and forum

When: Monday, November 23rd

Goals/Intended outcomes: During this session I intend to continue where we left off the day before and then introduce some key basic rights and concepts. I want to make this session interactive and interesting, so I can keep the huddlers engaged and also teach them. I intend to hand out pamphlets that list their rights and what they can expect from police officers. This session is important because it will allow me to access what they do know and inform them on what they do not. This will allow them to be better prepared for real world experiences and day three with the officer. I will also end this session with an assignment where I will ask members to come up with questions in preparation for day three.

Step VII:

Day Three: Q & A with the police officer.

When: Tuesday, November 24th

Goals/Intended outcomes: During this last session I intend to introduce the officer to the youth members and vice versa. I will allow the officer to introduce themselves and speak to the group. I will them moderate and open the floor for questions. I would have already required them to prepare questions and formulate questions as the officer presented. This will make for a better session because the officer will be engaged in the questions coming directly from the youth. I feel as if this will be a learning experience and the beginning of a relationship with the officer/precinct that visits and the members of this community. This component of the three-day clinic is important because it involves both the community and an officer.

Step VIII:

Debrief with Ashley

When: Saturday, November 28th

Goals/Intended outcomes: During this meeting we will discuss the positives and negatives of the session. We will discuss all the strengths and weaknesses of the clinic and look into continuing action similar to the three-day clinic. This is an important session because I will thank Ashley for the opportunity and receive feedback on the session.

Work Cited

Kerby, Sophia. "Center for American Progress." Center for American Progress. N.p., 2015. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.