WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Residents and police in Wichita, Kansas, broke bread together after a planned Black Lives Matter protest was turned into to a free community cookout amid racial tensions across the country.
After a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest last week, Police Chief Gordon Ramsay met with local activist leaders to discuss replacing another planned protest with the Sunday cookout.
The cookout’s goal was to open a dialogue and build trust between police and citizens. Smaller conversations between community members and police turned into a public forum later that evening where residents were able to ask Ramsay questions.
The earlier protest came in the wake of recent fatal police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.
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