TULSA -- A Tulsa outreach program is making it a mission to improve police relations with the diverse communities they serve.
For the “Safer Together” program, it is a mission of understanding among all walks of life.
“You can be a part of the African American race,” Risha Grant, founder of “Safer Together” said. “You can be a part of the Hispanic or Latino race. You can be a part of Asian [race], whatever, but we are all a part of the human race if we stand together. We are stronger. We are safer together."
Ron Owens and Risha Grant, an internationally known diversity consultant, founded the “Safer Together" program to bring Tulsans together to talk about their biases.
“People need to identify that we all have bias, and where those biases come from and how that impacts us on a daily basis,” Owens said.
The issue is evident from multiple events throughout the country. In Tulsa, the officer involved shooting that killed Terence Crutcher left many frustrated.
“What can we do outside of all of this just to try to bring people together,” Grant said. “We need to have a conversation about this."
The hope is to make people understand that bias cannot be placed on an entire group based off the actions of one person.
“This thing that we all think is a horrible thing is part of our humanity, but we have to be able to manage it effectively and not let it determine the outcome of relationships in a negative way,” Owens said.
“Safer Together” is asking people from all walks of life to come together in a safe environment to talk about what fuels their distrust toward others and walk away with a new perspective.
In the end, the program will teach the public ways to implement understanding toward one another by allowing people to "talk it out" rather than "act it out."
The next “Safer Together” event is open to everyone. It's March 29 at the downtown Tulsa Community College from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M.
2 Works for You is proud to partner with the group to help bring our communities together.
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