By Vivian Shipe
Photos by Vivian Shipe
KNOXVILLE, TN — There have been three so far. Listening conversations have been held in East Knoxville, Lonsdale, and in the Latina community. Each session is designed to follow a specific pattern. The youth sit around in a circle with the police officers that patrol their communities; parents and community leaders sit around the perimeter of the circle. These conversations are youth led. Their questions are asked first and only after all questions have been answered to the satisfaction of the young people are the adults allowed to ask their questions. Following each conversation, the officers and youth share a meal together where more relationships are formed.
For Knoxville Police Chief Paul Noel who attends every event, it’s an opportunity to listen and learn, an opportunity to share his experiences with the young people with a hope for a better future. Offering a opportunity to listen to the experiences of the youth and their perceptions of police officers is a way the Alliance for Community Transformation, the organization behind the movement is working to increase understanding. It’s not an easy conversation as some of the stories shared by both sides are hard to hear.
Police stops, random school checks, deadly force use, no question is off the table. The young people ask, the officers answer. Seeds of understanding and trust are being planted around the city in hopes of forging a new path. It’s a beginning.
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