Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan is donating $120,000 to fund a program geared towards teaching New Orleans cops not to be racist.
On Monday, the Saints star announced that the funds would go towards expanding an anti-racist training program that will help “80 cops confront and overcome biases over the next two years.”
According to NOLA.com:
Jordan decided to donate $120,000 to the effort after watching racial justice demonstrations rage last year in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis cop who has since been convicted of murder.
The expansion will allow the nonprofit Crescent City Corps to offer 80 hours of instruction to participating officers on topics such as racial equity, responding to the effects of trauma, and leadership development, officials said at a news conference. The group will teach four classes, with approximately 20 officers each, over the course of two years.
Jordan says that he wants to show his children that he did something about issues of social justice.
“I wanted to do something that makes them proud,” Jordan said. “This is not a solution; this is not a completion … (but) we have a chance to create a positive impact in this way.”
The program has already been through its trial run. Ten NOPD officers took part in the first anti-racism training class in 2019. Crescent City Corps’ Chief Executive Director Brent Godfrey says the program seeks “to speak directly to officers so they begin re-imagining what public safety agencies might look like,” NOLA.com reports.
According to NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson, officers who undergo the training will be given a certificate in innovative policing from Loyola University New Orleans.
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