Press Room

Washington, DC - Protests and demonstrations continue throughout the country following the death of Alton Sterling of Louisiana, Philando Castile of Minnesota, and five police officers in Texas including Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael J. Smith, Brent Thompson, and Patrick Zamarripa. The deaths have sparked national conversations about race, the Black Lives Matter movement, and police violence.

• Is there more than one message being conveyed by the #BlackLivesMatter movement?
• How can communication between police and communities be improved?
• What role does technology play in the issues being discussed (civilian camera-phones, Facebook Live, police body cameras)?
• Could police communication training improve interactions with communities?

Communication expert Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead of Loyola University Maryland says that the recent incidents can be viewed through various lenses, including from a communication perspective. Professor Whitehead specializes in the intersections of communication, race, class, and gender.

WHO:
Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead
Professor of Communication and African American Studies
Department of Communication, Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore

Dr. Whitehead’s research focuses on communication, race, class, and gender. She frequently provides media with commentary on race, including a four-part series in the Baltimore Sun, “From Enslavement to Freedom,” and she is the award-winning author of three books including “Letters to My Black Sons: Raising Boys in a Post-Racial America,” released in 2015. Her latest book released in March of 2016 is titled “RaceBrave: New and Selected Works” and focuses on Black Lives Matter and last year’s Baltimore uprising.

CONTACT: 
To schedule an interview with Dr. Whitehead, please contact Natalia López-Thismón at nlopez-thismon@natcom.org or 202-534-1104.