Join us on Sunday, August 21 (4pm) for a special Sundays@4 presentation, in conjunction with BRG’s new exhibition, Cloudburst: The Work of Matt Kenyon.
Inspired by Kenyon’s piece, Alternative Rule, which addresses the deaths of children due to gun violence, this discussion will look at the state of gun violence and mass shootings both locally and nationally. The discussion will include the findings of a Southern University professor’s study on mass shootings as well as perspectives from local nonprofit leaders and an EBR Parish school board member.
This event, moderated by The Advocate’s Charles Lussier, is free and open to the public. Scroll down to learn more about our speakers.
About the panelists:
Stephone Addison
Interim Chair, Criminal Justice Department, Southern University
Stephone Addison (J.D., Southern University Law School) is the Interim Chair for Southern University’s Criminal Justice Department, where he also serves as an Assistant Professor. His areas of interest include Criminology and Criminal Justice.
In 2020, Addison published “An Examination of Perceived Factors of Influencing Mass Killings in the United States of America,” in the Journal of Law, Policy, and Globalization (Vol. 104).
The data-driven study “investigates and examines the relationship between the number of mass killings and race, gender, political party affiliation, use of assault weapons, and mental illness.”
Dadrius Lanus
Executive Director, 100 Black Men of Metro Baton Rouge & EBR Parish School Board (Dist. 2)
Dadrius Lanus is a product of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System where he attended Forest Heights Elementary, Glen Oaks Middle School, and Glen Oaks Magnet High School. Currently, Mr. Lanus serves on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board where he represents District 2. He also serves as the Executive Director and CEO of 100 Black Men of Metro Baton Rouge. Since serving on EBR Parish’s School Board, Mr. Lanus has been “a voice for our teachers, support staff/workers, schools and most importantly our students.” Some of his work includes a $30-million-dollar renovation of Glen Oaks Magnet High School, the construction of the first Aviation School in North Baton Rouge, the construction of the newly created Forest Heights Academy of Excellence Middle School, and over $60 million dollars in new investments across District 2.
“There are a lot of roses growing through the concrete,” [Lanus] said. “Some of them just need some help.”
Jazzika Matthews
Director, Safe Hopeful Healthy Neighborhoods
Jazzika Matthews’ passion for youth work and mentorship fueled an extensive career in Youth Development serving the most vulnerable communities. In the wake of the tragedies of 2016 (the great flood, the murder of Alton Sterling, and the ambush of Baton Rouge Police Officers) Jazzika served as Project Director for Baton Rouge Collective Healing.
Presently Jazzika is the Director of Safe Hopeful Healthy Neighborhoods for the Office of Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome. She plays a major role in the development of a Community Based Public Safety Ecosystem within the city of Baton Rouge. Over the course of a year Safe Hopeful Healthy has (1) stood up an innovative intervention strategy that employs credible messengers to address violence in Baton Rouge, (2) developed a pilot project for the EBR Public School System that supports students in personal and professional development, (3) identified and provided resources to CBOs who support the efforts of making Baton Rouge a safer city, and (4) received national recognition and support (Baton Rouge is presently one of 15 cities working with the Biden Administration around community-based solutions to violence).
Alternative Rule
Cloudburst: The Work of Matt Kenyon is open to the public, at no cost to visitors during normal gallery hours, through August 31, 2022.