Abstract:Notwithstanding national and local efforts over the past several decades, Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) remains a significant problem in the United States.
This session will inform about the current nature of the problem in the US and share what efforts have been made to address the problem and what are promising practices identified for successful integration of minority youth (back) in society and reducing Disproportionate Minority Contact.
Disproportunate Minority Contact with the Police and Juvenile Justice Systems seems to be not only a problem in the US, but more so a problem in other societies around the globe, hindering successful integration of minorities into society or supporting disintegration and isolation.
By sharing these efforts a discussion will be initated, if these strategies can be in any way helpful for other societies and/or to learn from the negative impact of disproportunate minority contact issues in the US. In addition, personal experiences as a female leader and member of the afro-american community, will be shared to illustrate the different shades of silent discrimination.
Vita:Hon. Judge Dr. Ernestine Gray , born 1946, studied Law at Spelman College, Atlanta (Georgia) and Louisiana State University School of Law, Doctorate Degree and admittance to the Louisiana Bar in 1976.
Past President of the National Council of Youth and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), National CASA, the YWCA, YMCA and Volunteers of America Boards of Directors.
Dr. Gray has received national recognition for her work. .She. regularly appears before the State Legislature and has been invited to several Committees of the United States Congress to provide information regarding youth in the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems.
Dr. Gray was first elected to the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court in 1984 and re-elected in 1986, 1994, 2002 and 2014 without opposition. She frequently trains judges and other stakeholders on various topics, such as: Disproportunate Minority Contact in the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems, Implicit Bias, Multi-System Involved Youth, Domestic Violence a. o.
She received many awards, such as
-American Bar Association Franklin D. Flaschner Judicial Award (1995)
-OJJDP Award for Achievements for children and families in America’s Communities (2000)
-Lousiana Association of Black Women Attorney’s Trailblazer Leadership Award for blazing new trails in the Louisiana legal community (2011);
-City of New Orleans Business “Leadership in Law Award” (2013)
