City of Baltimore Police Accountability Town Hall: Community Policing & Mental Health from Reactive to Proactive Behavioral Health Responses

Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, Ph.D., is the founding executive director of the Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice and a professor of communication and African and African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland. She is the host of the award-winning radio show “Today with Dr. Kaye” on WEAA, 88.9 FM, and the recent recipient of two Telly television Awards; the Rev. John LaFarge, S.J. Award; the Vernon Jarrett Medal for Journalistic Excellence for her outstanding reporting on the impact racial reckoning has had in helping to close social/racial wealth gap for Black people in America; a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and three Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters Association Awards. She is the author of five books, including my mother’s tomorrow: dispatches from Baltimore’s Black Butterfly; RaceBrave: new and selected works; Notes from a Colored Girl: The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Frances Davis, which received both the Darlene Clark Hine Book Award from the Organization of American Historians and the Letitia Woods Brown Book Award from the Association of Black Women Historians; and Letters to My Black Sons: Raising Boys in a Post-Racial America. She is also the National President of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Maryland, Baltimore. She lives in Baltimore with her family.

Ray C. Kelly is a dedicated community organizer and advocate, indigenous to West Baltimore. He is the Principal and Executive Director of the Citizens Policing Project, and has held various significant roles in Baltimore’s police reform efforts, including Lead Community Liaison for the Consent Decree Monitoring Team and Chair of the Community Oversight Task Force. Recognizing his extensive experience in community engagement and justice policy, he was appointed by the Governor as Community Policing Expert for Maryland’s Police Training and Standards Commission and Baltimore’s Administrative Charging Committee. His efforts have earned him numerous awards and commendations, such as the Faith in Baltimore Award, OSI’s Strategic Action Award, and the Pax Christi International Peace Award with the No Boundaries Coalition. Ray is committed to creating an inclusive path to a safe and equitable Baltimore

Adrienne Breidenstine is Vice President of Policy and Communications at Behavioral Health System Baltimore, Inc. She directs the development of communications and policy and advocacy activities for Behavioral Health System Baltimore, coordinates BHSB’s policy priorities with non-profit and governmental partners, implements media, public education and advocacy campaigns to create positive behavior and policy change, and oversees the implementation of the Greater Baltimore Regional Integrated Crisis System (GBRICS) Partnership.

Dayvon Love is a Baltimore-based political organizer and the Director of Public Policy for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS), a grassroots think-tank that advances the public policy interests of Black people. In 2010, Love co-founded Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS), one of many organizations that successfully pressured the state of Maryland to disband its plans to build a juvenile jail downtown. LBS has also led legislative efforts and advocacy efforts regarding criminal justice reform, youth and community empowerment. Dayvon is also the author of “Worse than Trump: The American Plantation”, a book that offers an important critique of the American political left and a political alternative to the exploitative relationship that Black people have to white institutions. Dayvon is also the author of “When Baltimore Awakes” which is a comprehensive critique of the way the white supremacy is embedded in the Human/Social Service Sector in Baltimore.

Behavioral Health System Baltimore, Inc. will be a resource vendor at the town hall. Visit them in the gallery space!

NAMI Baltimore will be a resource vendor at the town hall. Visit them in the gallery space!

Baltimore Crisis Response will be a resource vendor at the town hall. Visit them in the gallery space!

The Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice Partnership Coalition of Mental Health Association of Maryland will provide literature and resources. Find their materials in the gallery space!