Activist and author Ibram X. Kendi gave two presentations during his recent visit to the Western Illinois University campus in Macomb.
One was for the general public. The other session included the Macomb Police Department, city leadership, the WIU Office of Public Safety, Illinois State Police, and members of the Quincy Police Department.
Macomb Police Chief Jeff Hamer feels it’s important to learn about issues of race and implicit bias in the country.
“The more we learn, it can affect the way we act or react and maybe the way we treat people,” Hamer said.
“I’ve had a pretty solid career on the foundation of dignity and respect, and I think this is just another way to get that message across to officers.”
The chief said everyone from his department who was not on patrol at that time or on a special assignment was required to attend.
Hamer said he learned from Dr. Kendi about incorporating how to be an antiracist into the daily role of being a police chief or officer. He said that involves learning how to identify bias and overcome that.
The chief found it to be a thought-provoking session that generated discussion, and he hopes it leads to further conversations and action across the community.
“We have a lot more in common than we generally think about. I just want people to learn and explore that,” Hamer said.
He also attended the public session at WIU, which he described as “phenomenal.”
How it came about
Hamer said Dr. Kendi’s appearance was the result of the town and gown relationship in Macomb.
He said the Macomb and WIU communities have been holding conversations and town hall events in which they’ve discussed different speakers, workshops, and other ideas.
He said as “kind of a longshot,” WIU Political Science Professor Julia Albarracin-Green wrote to Dr. Kendi’s people about coming to Macomb.
“And it began to generate like a snowball effect, that it actually looked like it could work, and so we put a lot of effort behind making it work,” Hamer said.
The police department and WIU each received $25,000 grants from Healing Illinois, and used the money to pay for Kendi’s presentations.
“WIU and Macomb are so interwoven that it was easy to strike that partnership for something with this gravity,” Hamer said, adding that such training needs to be ongoing.
“I think it needs to be a constant. I think it needs to be woven into the fabric of what makes Macomb and WIU great.”
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