This is an online interpersonal perspectives course focused on diverse communities, cultural competence, bias prevention, and a history of the American civil rights movement.

Section one defines cultural competence and explores why the concept is important to the law enforcement community. It explains how cultural competence can be practiced at the individual and organizational level.

Section two examines elements of culture and describes how those elements distinguish one culture from another. It explores concepts of race and ethnicity, including how racial labels can vary over time and from one location to another. The lesson describes the following elements of culture and how those can shape a person’s experiences and perspectives: language and communication; geographic location; values and traditions; family and kinship; gender roles; socioeconomic status and education; immigration and migration; heritage and history; sexuality; perspectives on health, illness, and healing; and religion and spirituality.

Section three provides a summary of certain noteworthy people and events that are part of the history of the American civil rights movement, including: slavery; abolition; reconstruction; the Jim Crow era; lynchings; school segregation; the Great Migration; World War I and the Red Summer; mass violence against Black Americans; civil rights protests of the 1960s; Rosa Parks; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Malcom X; the Little Rock Nine; the Freedom Riders; and other people and events.

Section four examines paths for self-evaluation and engaging with diverse communities. It explains how individuals can examine how culture has influenced their own perspectives and that of others. It explains how law enforcement agencies can practice cultural competence and how an agency might use a racial equity toolkit.