TALK A MILE 2
We hosted our second Talk A Mile event earlier in October and once again welcomed members of the Central Catholic High School Black Students United group and Portland Police Bureau (PPB) trainees. It was also the first time that we were joined by trainees and officers from the Multnomah County Sherrif’s Office. Based on learnings from our first event, we discovered that many of the participants wanted an opportunity to talk longer. So this time, we factored in more time for people to stay and converse following their mile-long discussions with each other.
For us, the opportunity to continue fostering deeper conversation, more connection and learnings was key. After their 1:1 conversations wrapped, we encouraged our 40 participants to keep the conversations going — while also enjoying delicious ice cream sandwiches (thank you Ruby Jewel!)
For the mile itself, we encouraged folks to make the conversations their own but we also provided prompt cards for each person to help guide their conversations. It’s interesting that many participants said they ended up shaping their own topics naturally as they learned more about each other and found more things in common. One pair said they realized they both grew up in Portland. Another pair had a shared contact they they both were very fond of. Then there were people who just came away with a new perspective. One trainee shared that they had aways wanted to know more about the Black experience in Portland and they were grateful that Talk A Mile gave them that opportunity.
We too are very grateful. We appreciate every participant who took their first step with us and shared their thoughts on the experience. It’s been incredibly rewarding to host 1:1 conversations between Black youth and police trainees where they walk together and discuss their vision for our community. These are some of the reflections following the event that faculty, students and trainees expressed in their own words:
We thank everyone who joined us today for sharing their story and for talking a mile.
We are now working closely with Portland Police Bureau to partner on more training events. Stay tuned for updates as we continue this journey!
TALK A MILE STATS FOR THE DAY
Miles Walked: 40
Number of Participants: 40
Likely to Recommend Talk A Mile: 9.5 (on a scale of 1 to 10)
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