The Glastonbury MLK Community Initiative invites you to a Workshop on Implicit Bias on September 26 at the Riverfront Community Center. This free event will begin with a reception at 6:30 and a workshop/training session will follow at 7:00. Pre-registration is preferred by emailing glastonburymlkci@gmail.com with a note that you would like to attend. A confirmation email will follow.

Implicit bias takes place when we make generalizations or stereotypes about people without even noticing it. This tendency, which happens with most people, often leads to discrimination even when people feel they’re being fair. Implicit bias may relate to an unconscious favoring of men over women in the workplace, seeing men most qualified for scientific or technical jobs or white people associating criminality with black people without even realizing they’re doing it.

The workshop will help participants recognize that everyone holds biases on race, gender, equality, appearance, etc. and will review steps to reduce bias.

The session will be led by Ken Barone who manages the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project (CTRP3) on behalf of the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at the University of Connecticut. The project works to implement the state’s Alvin W. Penn Racial Profiling law which requires law enforcement agencies to collect information on traffic stops and report that information to the state. Ken has extensive experience in conducting implicit bias training, having lead workshops at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Central Connecticut State University and numerous municipal police departments throughout Connecticut.

In addition to his work overseeing the state’s racial profiling program, Ken has also been at the forefront of criminal justice policy reform in Connecticut for a decade. He served as a member of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Policing Task Force and co-chaired their Data Subcommittee. He provided staffing and research support to the Connecticut Police Transparency and Accountability Task Force. Ken also serves as a member of the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council Social Justice Committee. 

Ken has also worked in Rhode Island, California and Oregon, analyzing municipal and state police data for evidence of discrimination and implementing statewide traffic stop data collection systems.

The goal of the GMLKCI Community Conversations program is to engage residents of Glastonbury and surrounding towns in conversations about social justice issues and to inspire service and action. Our facilitator will provide both a starting point and a resource for what we hope will be an inspiring, lively, informative, and thought-provoking conversation.  

The Glastonbury MLK Community Initiative’s mission is to increase knowledge about, and understanding of, the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, and to provide leadership and active engagement to build an inclusive community. We believe that bringing people together to discuss openly and honestly important issues relating to social justice will help build a more inclusive and tolerant community.

This is a free event open to all. For additional information, please contact David O’Connor at 860-810-2368 or visit www.glastonburymlkci.org.