Dig in, discuss: Cadets weigh-in on Brown, Garner cases

  • Published
  • By Amber Baillie
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The evening before the last day of classes, cadets and Academy staff gathered at the Falcon Center to unpack their thoughts and questions surrounding the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in Staten Island, N.Y - two unarmed black men killed by white police officers this year.

About 100 attended the two-hour event Dec. 11, including around 45 cadets, who split into breakout sessions to consider different perspectives and history concerning issues of race, police use of force, criminal justice and flag burning in the United States.

Faculty members from the English and Fine Arts, Behavioral Sciences, History, Law and Political Science departments facilitated conversations to create a safe and engaging opportunity for cadets to speak their minds and gain a deeper understanding of recent protests surrounding Brown and Garner's deaths. In both cases, criminal charges against the officers involved were dismissed.

"The event stemmed from cadets expressing a need to us," said Lt. Col. Candice Pipes, head of the Academy's English and Fine Arts Department. "They came to us and said, 'We want to talk about this issue, can you help us?'"

Gregory Laski, an assistant professor in the English and Fine Arts Department, facilitated a discussion on U.S. flag burning including the questions, "Can we use protest to fuel change and how does social change happen and is social change necessary?"

"One rich piece of the conversation was, 'Can the U.S. flag as a symbol, ever be elevated above or separated from the citizens it represents?'" he said. "That question challenged a number of students in the room. Some cadets said they felt burning the U.S. flag is never right, even if the Constitution allows it. We had a cadet on the Cadet Honor Guard mention how he can't imagine his position in relation to the flag being anything other than of reverence and honor."

Pipes facilitated a conversation on current and historical racial considerations, such as connecting people through empathy.

"For example, understanding how a person can be positioned very differently than you and how that might affect how they read situations very differently," she said. "It's about trying to put yourself in another person's shoes and using that to bridge a gap instead of it being a divisive force."

Those who showed up to the event are active observers of what's happening in our country, said Cadet 2nd Class Nolan Mayhew.

"Cadets were real and honest," he said. "They expressed their personal views but were very civil. A lot was accomplished."

Mayhew said the discussion gave cadets the opportunity to learn from one another and utilize great academic sources here.

"We went far beyond the Ferguson case," he said. "We tapped into the idea that there are African-Americans in this country who are disenfranchised and statistics support that. I thought, 'Wow, this specific discussion we're having about institutions, stereotypes, perceptions and the mood of this country in regards to what happen to Michael Brown and Eric Garner is an incredible discussion."'

Following the breakout sessions, cadets and staff regrouped to discuss "Where do we go from here" and "How do we engage a broader audience to talk about these things?"
"Read the newspaper and have these conversations," Mayhew said. "For me, it's essential as a future officer I not only complete all of my duties here but learn more about the diverse people I will serve. If there is an opportunity to have these discussions again on a variety of social issues - it needs to happen."

The event was not about getting people to agree to any agenda, but rather to broaden understanding, Pipes said.

"I think we fulfilled the goals we had, which was to have an open, honest, respectful conversation that deepened people's understanding about the complexities of this moment we're living in our history," she said. "We had a vested interest in getting as many voices heard as possible, and would like to have more of these conversations in the future."