Two historians visiting MSU to discuss policing

Oct. 30—MANKATO — Minnesota State University will host Yohuru Williams and Michael Lansing for a History Department Fall Forum on Tuesday to discuss policing.

The free event will be 7-8:30 p.m. at the Ostrander Auditorium in the Centennial Student Union.

Williams, a professor at St. Thomas University, and Lansing, a professor at Augsburg University, will be providing their historical perspectives on policing in Minneapolis during their presentation, "Over Policed and Under Protected in Minneapolis."

Williams and Lansing have been collaborating for about a year now.

"We're hoping to provide an orientation to the ways in which history and, in particular, the history of policing in Minneapolis, can help us think about the present and future of policing in the city of Minneapolis and elsewhere around the country," Lansing said.

"I think it's really important to bring historians into conversations that are usually only happening with policymakers, community organizers and activists, or people in the criminal justice system or in law enforcement."

Lori Lahlum, professor and program coordinator in MSU's Department of History, agrees with Lansing, which is why she invited him and his colleague to speak this year.

"What happens in the present doesn't happen in a vacuum. Things that happened in the past shape how we get to where we are today," she said. "So this isn't actually something new in Minneapolis. This is part of a long history."

It is a history that both Lansing and Lahlum believe should be talked about.

"It's important to better understand and make sense of that history if we're going to have any chance of creating a better public safety situation for our present and our future," Lansing said.

Following the presentation will be a question-and-answer session and a reception with refreshments.

"I just hope that people will come out for the lecture and for the conversation. It's such a significant and pressing issue. It's one that everybody in the community has a stake in and, of course, it's an election year," Lansing said.

"Things are very complicated and politicized. But I think the kind of careful work that we've done as scholars can hopefully inform some of that public conversation."