♪ welcome to "beyond the headlines." i'm cheryl jennings. today's show features a special roundtable discussion in celebration of a national commemoration known as juneteenth which reminds us to remember the end of slavery and also looks to the african-american community with the focus on education and communication. abc7's eric thomas is here with an in-depth discussion with local leaders they see facing our members. >> it's a time for reflection and planning the future. we have in our studio, ronald davis, who heads u.s. department

of justice of community-oriented police service, known as c.o.p.s. diane wood, founding member of the university's master of social work program. and steven anthony jones, artist director of the lorraine ha hansbury theater who has been directing and acting all over the country. thank you for joining us. we'll start with ron davis, who may be familiar to you in the bay area. 20 years with the local police department and east palo alto's police chief and director of the c.o.p.s. office on the federal level, which i take it requires a more broader view of law enforcement. >> yes, it does. >> i heard you say a few weeks back, recidivism, how your views changed to being chief of paola

alto. >> 20 years of law enforcement, coming to oakland, my views on recidivism is people don't really change. my idea of re-entry was to re-enter people back in prison because once a criminal, they never changed. and over 20 years, evidence bears out that's so far from the truth. people deserve second chance. they do, in fact, change. when given a great opportunity of services and support, you can reduce recidivism, reduce the need to incarcerate, especially young men of color, disproportionate amount of young men of color going to jail. that's what would he looking at the national level, finding alternatives to incarceration and not putting so many people in jail. >> talk about my brother's keeper. >> this morning president launched a 90-day report. i'll paraphrase the president. creating an opportunity for men

of color, that want to work hard and have a fair ability to succeed. it's working around the country, local level, state level, to provide opportunities for our young men of color so they have a fair shot, whether it's the criminal justice system, education, jobs, all the opportunities that are part of the american dream should be available for any young man that's willing to work hard, especially young men of color. >> that dovetails directly into what you do, dr. wood. we don't niecely have all the advantages, the direct path to secondary education that other groups do. >> that's correct. or our to strengthen the african-american males and females. i mean, we're looking at lags that occur from elementary school -- preschool, actually, through high school and so we have to really work to make sure that we strengthen the pipeline, have opportunities and develop programs. >> you know, it's interesting. google put out a report this week talking about their

diversity. 2% african-american, 3% latino. what does that say to you? >> that says to me there isn't anyone who's really focusing on that. it has to be a mandate. people have to embrace diversity and make sure that's part of what it is they want and to make a business case for it. if you make the business case that people have to work in teams, in diverse teams, they have to understand their customer base, then you want a workforce that is really reflective of your customer base. >> mr. jones, i'm going to get you in here because when we talk about education for your young black men or young people, period, we're often talking about tech work, you know, computer work, things like that. we're not talking so much about the arts. in fact, we're not funding the arts very well, are we? >> you know, listening to the conversation, it reminded me of an experience i had some years ago in the alameda county juvenile hall. i would go there while i was a

company member at american conservatory theater. i would go there and work with young men on plays of august wilson. it was an amazing experience because there was such an appetite for this complex, complicated, dramatic literature. those young men would read that play, have read it before i got there. i'm in maximum security with young men who have done some pretty serious things, who had just an amazing, an amazing craving for an opportunity to talk about the work of august wilson. and what that says to me is that we are not fully doing the in terms of serving creatively and intellectually this particular population. and getting back to the point you were making about recidivism and keeping people from recommitting and staying in that system, that particular program,

that kind of thing, with people like myself from the community taking some time to go in and work with these young people is one of the things that i think addresses that directly. >> but it's also the first thing to go when you're cutting budgets. >> exactly. >> it's got to hurt you. >> yeah. it's been some years. when we talk about the arts and education, i think because the arts require you to kind of multitask intellectually, they should be a major component in everyone's education, particularly early on. and developing that kind of problem-solving capacity, critical thinking, the ability to travel through literature that's a bit more challenging than the daily newspaper. >> we're going to get back to that and some other topics we would like to discuss with you as well. we have to take a short break right now. we'll continue our conversation

? uh just gonna hang out.

it's a school night. with gary and todd? yea. not sure about those two. i've been meaning to ask you - this is tougher than i thought - is there any drinking going on in this crowd? no. i hope not, because alcohol can lead you to say things and do things you that you really wish you hadn't. isn't this what you're supposed to say? i know. so if any of your buddies ever pressure you to take a drink, just tell them you promised your dad you wouldn't. i'd do anything to keep you safe. ok. i will. i hope this is working. i promise. i love you too dad. they really do hear you. brian? yea? so start the conversation even before they're teenagers. good idea. for tips on what to say visit underagedrinking.samhsa.gov a message from the substance abuse and mental health services administration.

edition of "beyond the headlines." i'm eric thomas. we're having a roundtable discussion about issues relating to bay area's african-american community. ronald davis with department of justice c.o.p.s. office, and steven anthony jones from lorraine hansbury theater. dr. woods, let's start with you this time. there's an interesting program called the african-american student success initiative. what's that about? >> we have a group of faculty members that -- who voluntarily came together when i put out a call that we have an initiative to graduate our african-american students at east bay. this is nationally, actually. there's a major gap between graduation rates for european-american students and african-american students. it's almost 20 to 30%. we want to look at what the problem is and to come up with programs that would help our students graduate. we get students in to -- onto

the campus. they're 10%, 11% of our population. but then only half of that or less than half graduation in six years. so, we have to do something about that. we're talking about monitorship programs. we sent five of our faculty staff to akron, ohio, where there was an african-american male summit and they found out about the best practices and came back totally excited about what was going on. and we're talking about academic programs. getting funding for academic programs that would tutor and mentor our students. >> briefly, let me ask you this because i think this has been a taboo or bugaboo for us for decades. is it still tough to get students -- certain students to want to learn or appear smart or appear, you know, as if they read books and know things? >> i think it is difficult if you don't know how to connect with them. there's a program called the

deroga program. i went to visit. they had 35 african-american students in the classroom. and tom dewitt was the professor. he was engaging them with a particular type of book, asking them questions and they were totally engaged. clearly had read. at the graduation ceremony, reported out on their reading. and it was clear that there is a way to do it. the question is, do we have the methodology? and do we have the will? when you have the will and can come up with the best practices, you can definitely do it. >> when you have admittedly theater is not the easiest thing to understand sometimes, i'm speaking shakespeare, things like that, have you to interpret it. how do you do that with young people with short attention spans? >> well, you know, i think sometimes we sell our young people short. one of the first things that atrablgted me to the theater early on was a school trip to see a a production of a

shakespearean play at the cleveland playhouse. i grew up in cleveland, ohio. those things in public education have gone away. they not only have looked towards creating future audience for the professional theater but they contribute to a kind of intellectual awakening and planting a little seed of curiosity. everyone can appreciate the beauty of the language. it is sometimes better to hear it than it is to read it. and that first experience in the theater can be so important in terms of the intellectual -- the formation of the intellect of a child. and so i think -- i would like to see public education begin to put money back into those things. i know that's a tall order. that's asking for a lot. but it isn't just because i'm in the theater, but because having raised children and having grandchildren myself, i understand the importance of that and the will the he intelll

development of a child. >> speaking of money, one of the biggest parts of your money is you have grants. how are you trying to affect law enforcement across the country by where you put that money and how you get people to agree to do certain things? >> i think, once again, you're 100% right. you use the money to incentivize certain activities and behavior. our office is about advancing community policing. the programs we are granteding is based on the agency's desire, commitment to engage the community, to solve problems and to look at crime on a holistic basis, which includes education, which includes culture. i mean, you asked the question about, is it still cool to be kind of dumb, actually. i think breaking that idea that education is somehow negative, that is a very positive thing. i mean, celebrating juneteenth, for example. we have to make sure -- it's kind of hard to know who you are when you don't know where you

come from. it's hard to understand your strength as an african-american male if you can't appreciate your own culture. provide, culture, theater, education, these are crime strategy reduction we want to fund. >> we have to take a short break. we'll finish that conversation and hear about our arts community when we come back with

welcome back to "beyond the headlines." i'm eric thomas with a special program commemorating june tenth. i'm joined by mr. davis, professor wood and steven anthony joan with the lorraine hansbury theater. i was going to ask some arts questions but as you know, we just very recently lost a giant in maya i was going to ask you about

this woman that was so eclectic, so influential. >> she is truly, truly, a giant. a great, great artist, intellectual who has worked with great sensitivity and insight, helped us better understand who we are, where we've come from and where we have to go. what's still left. none of us live forever but she will be missed. i had the pleasure of meeting with her years ago. she came backstage. i'm not generally one who's overwhelmed by celebrity. i was speechless. i was just absolutely speechless. >> as each of you know, it's tough enough to do one thing extremely well, to be a poet and author and a teacher and an actress and all those things. what are your thoughts about

that? >> well, she was just a renaissance person. she came from a time when it wasn't unusual that one's expertise just spread across many areas. a writer, director, mentor, teacher. all of those things at an extremely high level. absolutely brilliant person. truly -- i always say art -- one of the things art does is shine light in dark places. and she held a light that shined in some dark places in terms of american culture, with great courage and with great, great clarity. >> dr. woods? >> well, there's for me growing up there was a sense of who i was and what i could do was, you know, as the very beginning was somewhat limited. but seeing maya and reading what she wrote and seeing what she did in her activist role

expanded my world, you know. and i think that that -- that there are those people who hold that place in your world. and we need that. you know, our students today need that. they need the mentors. they need to see what it is we can do. and she pushed against all of the barriers. and just achieved so very much. great loss. >> as i look now, actually a couple things. one, thinking back, her addressing president clinton's inaugural event, which as you think back in history, was very unique. and then we fast forward to having an african-american president, it really means something. but listening to her story, it thinks of my former role not as a cop but as a parent. the tragedy she went through and her mother telling her how beautiful she is and she can do anything she wants to do. as a result of that, she turned out to be one of the iconic figures of our lifetime. it really reminds us, especially this whole idea of juneteenth,

the month of young men and women of color, we should get behind them, support them, make them realize they are beautiful, they can succeed even with mistakes. that life story for me hits home as a parent. >> not just being an intellectual giant, but survivor of abuse. >> that's right. i think she stopped stalking for a while. her mom brought her out by saying she could do anything she wants to do. that makes me think as a community, as a parent, we should tell our kids that. >> do we give messages like that to our kids, that you can be anything you want nowadays? >> it's difficult. i don't know that we do. i think that people kind of look at a deficit model. and talk about what our kids can't do. and that we have to dmrflip tha. we have to be insistent we talk about culture wealth and who our kids are and how beautiful they are. i remind myself that all the time with my son. i have a reaction and then i counter that reaction and let them know how much i love them

and how i'm proud of them. >> you know, that thought brings to me as an actor, how it must have been for you coming up when it must have been easier to get a role as a pimp or drug dealer than -- >> oh, gosh, the change from the beginning of my career to this present time is absolutely amazing. when i look back -- and i guess i date myself some, but this is my 41st year as a professional. i think i became interested in the theater in like 1958, '57, '58. and the way that the world was changed, the way that opportunity is now available, we existed at every level. writer, director, producer. we have institutions like the lorraine hansberry theater and other parts of the country, the african-american theater is alive and well as a part of the american theater. and we're going to continue to grow. we just have to continue to support those institutions if we

say we want them. >> when we come back, we'll give each of you the final word here. we do have to take another break. we'll be rightlatters ) that sounds awful. ( music stops ) but a lot better than last week. ( rock music playing ) ♪ we weren't born to follow. ♪

we're back with "beyond the headlines." a special roundtable recognizing juneteenth. i'm eric thomas. now, for this final segment, i'm going to give each of you the opportunity to discuss something that you find interesting or troubling or whatever. you have about a minute apiece for each of you. we'll start here with ron davis. >> the biggest challenge and concern would be the issue of the criminal justice system and our young men of color. clearly, the statistics are dire. they are tragic. we should be as a culture, a community, embarrassed, that the amount of young men of color we're putting in prison is destroying a whole future of a community. i think there's better ways. we need to find ways in which the police departments are working with the community, they're a part of the community, we're solving problems and

creating the opportunities that make strong neighborhoods. and i think right now, we need to really focus on that and this is not just the bay area, around the country. i'm really concerned with that. with the incarceration, people think about just a temporary loss of freedom. but if you think about it, it has economic impacts. it has the ability to vote in many cases. political impact. and so there's no better way to destroy an entire generation than to incarcerate them at an early age. we need to focus on education. making sure our kids can read at the third grade. we need to strengthen our opportunities for men of color so we don't fill up prisons with men of color. we fill up institutions with young men of color. >> well said. >> thank you very much, because that really is the issue, the pipeline. we want people to go down the right pipeline. so, it is about pre-kindergarten. it's about kindergarten, learning math and learning english and having communities that wrap around our children to provide what they need.

what we're really working on is working with corporations, working with nonprofit, working with theaters, working with a variety of folks to make sure that our children get what they need. so, we have a gateway project, a promised neighborhoods promise based on the harlem children's zone. we need to do things like that. the universities have to come off of the hill and make the connections with the communities. and make the connections with the churches, by training churches to do some of the work to understand what the children need and provide that through counseling and advising. >> both sets of comments make me think back to the way that the community that i grew up in as a child attempted to utilize every resource it could find to enrich the lives of the people in the community. the theater, the arts. one of the things, aside from opening the gym door and putting a basketball out or opening a pool, you can introduce children

to the visual arts, to the theater, to dance, to music. it will help them to grow. literally, it will build character, it will build community and help us understand who we are, where we come from, how we stay together and how we can continue to go forward. >> and the arts is not competing with, like, sports. >> no, no. >> it's an adjunct to. >> it's a component of the communities we live in. it's always been there, but it's so often underutilized. some people should come out. try, it you'll like it. >> admittedly. i mean, you see some great athletes out there playing basketball who would be fabulous ballet dancers. whoa. wouldn't that be something? >> uh-huh. >> i want to thank all of you for joining me for this really interesting discussion, juneteenth coming up. great thing. talking about the youth, a great thing. and that's all the time we have today. i'd like to thank director

ronald davis, dr. woods, and steven anthony jones as well as thanking you for being here and sharing with us your insights and interests there at home. cheryl? >> thank you, eric. for more information about today's program, go to our website, abc7news.com/community. we're also on facebook and follow me on twit twitter @cher. i'm cheryl jennings. have a great week.

regardless of their age or experience level, when your kids play soccer or any other sport there's one person on the sideline who is key to help recoize and seek medical care for sports-related concussion. it's you. you need to know the signs and symptoms of concussion and you need to act if you think your child has been injured. remember, when in doubt sit them out. to learn more go to cdc.gov/concussion. one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, one thousand four...

achl bc 7 presents "profiles of excellence." >> hello. for the past 26 years through our "profiles of excellence" series, we've featured people in the bay area who are making important contributions to the community. today we celebrate the bay area's cultural diversity with the exploratorium as the backdrop for our special program. sitting right on the san francisco bay, the exploratorium is a place for creativity and an open mind. for more than 40 years the innovative exhibits and interactive activities have encouraged people of all ages have explore science, art and the imagination. here you can discover new ways to understand how our world works. with 600 exhibits inside and out, the exploratorium is