A Dallas program that was created as a conversation starter for members of the community now has news of its own to talk about.
Project Unity, which fosters dialogue among people of all races and religions, will be in the spotlight at the National Law Enforcement Museum when it opens this fall in Washington, D.C.
It's the Dallas group's grassroots work to help heal relationships between law enforcement and Dallas citizens that captured museum officials' attention.
Since early 2017, the group has been holding Year of Unity events that encourage deep discussions into topics such as race relations, encounters with racism and feelings on stereotypes. The effort began as a response to the July 7, 2016, ambush in downtown Dallas.
That night, five officers were killed by a gunman after a peaceful rally protesting the deaths of two black men by officers in Louisiana and Minnesota.
Rev. Richie Butler of St. Paul United Methodist Church wanted to use Project Unity to help change the dynamic between Dallas police officers and the community.
Rebecca Looney, the new museum's senior director of exhibits, has taken notice of Butler's mission. On Friday, she and a photographer attended a Project Unity and Dallas Bar Association luncheon at the Belo Mansion for a display that will be part the museum's yearlong "Five Communities" exhibit. In addition to Dallas, efforts from Chicago; Cleveland; Charleston, S.C., and Somerville, Mass., will be showcased.
"We wanted to highlight the efforts in communities throughout the country [that] are looking at different ways of strengthening that relationship between law enforcement and the community," Looney said. "Dallas and Project Unity were doing something I thought was really interesting and unique."
Dallas police Sgt. Robert Muñoz agrees. "Dallas has really set the bar in terms of community engagement," he said at Friday's lunch. "What unites us is greater than what divides us, and I believe in that philosophy."
That's exactly the message Butler wanted to share when he began pushing Dallas residents to "listen, learn and engage" through Project Unity.
"Take your shoes off and put someone else's shoes on," he said. "They don't fit, they're not your same style, but I think if you get a sense of walking in someone else's shoes, we can begin to better appreciate and understand the point of view [someone's] coming from."
