Hope and Struggle - Police, Black Men and Violence

Benedictine College to Feature Experts with Solutions for Urban Violence

Published: Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Benedictine College will present a timely discussion on the relationship between police and the black community on Monday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. in O’Malley-McAllister Auditorium on the college’s Atchison campus. Rev. Gene and Dr. Jacqueline Rivers, Executive Directors of the Seymour Institute on Black Church and Policy Studies at Harvard University and two of the country’s foremost experts on urban violence and possible solutions, will be on campus to offer their presentation, “Hope and Struggle: Police, Black Men and Violence.” The event is sponsored by the college’s Gregorian Fellows and is free and open to the public.

Jacqueline C. Rivers is a Doctoral Fellow in the Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy of the J. F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Kennedy School, and is a Graduate Research Fellow of the National Science Foundation. The Reverend Eugene F. Rivers, III, who was educated at Harvard, is a former member of the Somersville street gang in Philadelphia. An activist for over 35 years, he is recognized nationally and internationally as one of the most effective crusaders against gang violence. He is the founder and director of the Ella J. Baker House that has provided intensive mentoring, educational programming and job readiness training for thousands of high risk youth over the last 20 years.

Through their positions at the Seymour Institute, they seek to create and promote a philosophical, political and theological framework for a pro-poor, pro-life, pro-family movement within the ecumenical Black Church both domestically and internationally.

Founded in 1858, Benedictine College is a Catholic, Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college located on the bluffs above the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas.  The school is proud to have been named one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report as well as one of the top Catholic colleges in the nation by First Things magazine and the Newman Guide.  It prides itself on outstanding academics, extraordinary faith life, strong athletic programs, and an exceptional sense of community and belonging.  It has a mission to educate men and women within a community of faith and scholarship.

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