Racial Justice Town Hall

 On June 18th, 2020, the Racial Profiling Advisory Board of Wichita Kansas held a Town Hall meeting in the Urban Preparatory Academy gym.  A diverse group of over 100 citizens of Sedgwick County came together to discuss then vote to rank order which Racial Justice Reforms will have the greatest impact to protect lives plus assure transparency and accountability throughout the Sedgwick County judicial system.

The initial list of 23 reforms included Recommendations to Transform Policing by members of the RPAB of Wichita, the national NAACP, the national Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) and the ACLU. Suggested reforms from other cities and individuals who attended the Town Hall were also included. 

Since 1980, there have been 48 people killed by Wichita Police. In addition, there are still over 20 excessive use-of-force cases against WPD officers. Many of these cases involve people of color. However, the City always claims that their police officers were justified to injure or kill.

Black people living in our Community are disproportionately impacted. For example, six research studies conducted since the year 2000 ALL confirm that Black drivers in Wichita are twice as likely to receive a traffic citation even though they are less likely to speed, run a red light or fail to signal a turn. In addition, Black drivers or their passengers were three times more likely to be arrested, searched or have force used against them by the police officers who stopped them.

It is now up to Concerned Citizens to work together with our elected and appointed officials in Wichita and Sedgwick County to implement these LONG OVERDUE REFORMS. This includes Police Chief Gordon Ramsay, City Manager Bob Layton, Mayor Brandon Whipple, each City Council member, each County Commission member, County Manager Tom Stolz, Municipal Court Chief Judge Jennifer Jones, City Attorney Jennifer Magana, Sheriff Jeff Easter, District Attorney Marc Bennett, and District Court Chief Judge Jeffery Goering. 

 
Please download and share the PDF below of this prioritized list of Reforms. The Racial Profiling Advisory Board asks that all citizens in Sedgwick County WORK TOGETHER to stop the various ways that our local Judicial System discriminates against Black citizens and other people of color.

Click HERE to watch the KAKE-10 news report of this important Town Hall meeting. Click HERE to read the KSN-3 coverage. 

We welcome new members to our Board.  Our next meeting will be on Thursday, July 16th   Please come and participate.  We meet every 3rd Thursday of each month at McAdams Park Pavilion starting at 6:30pm. 

And,  watch our Facebook page for announcements about upcoming conversations with government officials as we work together with other Community leaders  to implement these top priority Racial Justice Reforms.

You may also email your questions and suggestions by going to our Contact Us Page.  So get involved.  We value your input.