The African-American Community’s Relationship with Law-Enforcement: A Live Houston Matters Town Hall

On this special edition of Houston Matters, we devote our entire hour to exploring the relationship between Greater Houston police and Houston's black community with a number of guests in front of a live audience at Houston Public Media.

Our guests include:

• Harris County Sheriff-elect Ed Gonzalez
• Houston Police Department Executive Assistant Chief Michael Dirden
• Cherry Steinwender from the Center for the Healing of Racism
• Dr. Assata Richards from the Emancipation Economic Development Council
• Ashton Woods from the Houston chapter of Black Lives Matter
• Dr. Everette Penn, a professor of criminology at the University of Houston-Clear Lake who directs the Teen and Police Service (TAPS) Academy

We look at how Houston is faring in building relationships and bridging the divide between law enforcement and the African-American community.

We consider whether Houston has the same problems as other parts of the country and what steps already exist — or can be taken — to address those divides, particularly in light of nationwide division brought front and center through the 2016 presidential election.

DiverseCity Initiative

This conversation is a part of Houston Public Media's DiverseCity intiative, a year-long look at what Houston's diversity means for the region, how it connects or divides us and how it shapes the nation's fourth-largest city.