As the nation witnesses increasing public support for a reimagining and transformation of the criminal justice system, calls for defunding the police and reinvestment of those funds have dominated recent discourse. This moment also presents an opportunity to simultaneously achieve safety and justice through a more community-driven approach. How do we and our leaders make change happen in a way that takes into consideration historic injustices, as well as the underlying social, economic, education and health disparities in the United States?
The Aspen Institute Conversations with Great Leaders Series, in Memory of Preston Robert Tisch, in partnership with the Aspen Institute Criminal Justice Reform Initiative, welcomes Art Acevedo, Chief of Police, Houston Police Department, Roy L. Austin, Vice President of Civil Rights, Facebook, and Karol Mason, President, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in conversation with Bill Whitaker, CBS News and 60 Minutes Correspondent.
Art Acevedo is the Chief of Police for the Houston Police Department (HPD) in Texas, where he leads a department of 5,400 sworn law enforcement officers in the fourth largest city in the United States. As the first Hispanic to lead HPD, Chief Acevedo brings a unique understanding to the concerns of the diverse communities in Houston, and as a proponent of community policing, firmly believes that good, two-way communication is vital for a successful community and its police department.
Roy L. Austin, Jr., a nationally renowned civil rights attorney and advocate, has recently joined Facebook as its first Vice President of Civil Rights. Prior to this position, Mr. Austin was a partner with the law firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP, and worked with the transition team of President-Elect Joseph R. Biden advising on the Department of Justice. Austin was previously Deputy Assistant to President Obama for the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity and a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division and Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, DC.
Karol Mason is President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Formerly, as United States Assistant Attorney General and head of the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs under the Obama Administration, she was a leader in juvenile justice issues, bail reform and re-entry for individuals leaving prison, and led programs including the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice. In her distinguished career at Alston & Bird LLP, she was the first African-American woman elected as chair of the management committee at any major national firm.
Bill Whitaker has covered major news stories domestically and across the globe for CBS News over four decades, and has been a 60 Minutes correspondent since March 2014. His reporting has garnered numerous awards including the DuPont-Columbia University award, the Peabody, an Emmy, and an RTDNA Murrow award. Whitaker’s 60 Minutes reporting has taken him to Asia, Africa, Europe, Mexico and the Middle East, but domestically, his stories have provided keen insights into the issue of race and policing in America.
