In response to the National Endowment for the Humanities’ call for public programming on humanities and the legacy of race in the United States, the Free Library of Philadelphia will host a panel discussion titled "The Legacy of Race and Policing" on Wednesday, October 25, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The panel is supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. This free event will be held in the Montgomery Auditorium, on the ground floor of the Parkway Central Library located at 1901 Vine Street.

Dr. James Peterson, Director of Africana Studies at Lehigh University, will moderate the discussion between Andrea Ritchie, attorney and activist; Andrea Custis, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Urban League; Councilman Curtis Jones of Philadelphia’s 4th District; and Kevin Bethel, Stoneleigh Fellow and former Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department.

This event is in step with the Free Library’s broader goal to increase dynamic public programs dedicated to civic engagement and discourse. We are committed to diversity and inclusion — seeking to encourage and host conversations about differences and complex social issues, supported by educational resources, access to a vast array of information, and ideas that transform communities and open minds.

This event, part of the National Endowment’s Legacy of Race and Ethnicity initiative, has been made possible in part by a major grant from the NEH: Exploring the human endeavor.