Mary Frances Berry
During the 2007-2008 academic year generous support allowed us to bring Dr. Mary Frances Berry, former Chairperson of the Civil Rights Commission, to our campus as part of the Diversity Summit.
During September 2008 the lecture series sponsored the showing of the film, "Crash." "Crash" is a three-time Academy Award winner for best picture that examines the complexity of racial intolerance in contemporary America. The screen play for "Crash" was co-written by Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco. To learn more about the movie "Crash", you may want to visit the film's website. Then click on "Experience the Film."
In addition the lecture series also hosted a panel discussion on racial profiling as part of the events associated with Constitution Week. Presented were the views from two members of the Governor's Taskforce on Racial Profiling, Danielle Dempsey-Swopes, the Executive Director of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission, and Steve Cisneros, the Executive Director of the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission. Kansas Court of Appeals Judges Nancy Caplinger, Henry Green and Richard Greene, talked about the operative laws in Kansas and federal cases that have addressed the issue of racial profiling. Kyle Smith, current legal adviser of the Topeka Police Department and former Deputy Director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation moderated the panel.
