WICHITA, Kan. -- An expert on the thorny topic of racial profiling by police will be taking a novel approach to teaching the sensitive subject this semester at Wichita State University.

In addition to his own textbook, students in the Racial Profiling class taught by Dr. Michael L. Birzer will read and discuss The Real Education of TJ Crowley -- an award-winning young adult historical novel that chronicles a young white teen’s racial awakening during the Civil Rights era in Wichita.

The advanced course for criminal justice and ethnic studies majors explores how black and brown citizens experience, interpret, and give meaning to what they believe to be racial profiling by police. All aspects of the topic will be discussed, including police perspectives on the issue.

In the selected novel, TJ Crowley’s racial prejudice is encouraged by his mother and her boyfriend, but mediators at school and elsewhere help counter the biases that he is exposed to. As the novel unfolds, the hero gains a new perspective through his experiences with people of color, to the point where he rejects racism and is willing to risk his own life for what he comes to believe.

The novel, written by Grant Overstake, will be featured in four in-class discussions in which groups of students will be asked to discuss the race-related issues found in the book. In addition, students will look at the “mediating factors” (positive influences) in the story that help the characters in the story overcome personal biases and racism, using TJ Crowley’s life as an example.In the syllabus, Birzer writes, “Because we will discuss racial profiling and other issues centering on race and the criminal justice system, it is important that our discussions are civil in tone, and that we are courteous and respectful to each other.”Birzer believes the novel will help foster the helpful discourse he's looking for.

“I’m convinced that The Real Education of TJ Crowley is powerful enough that students will engage in what professors love to see, critical reflection and introspection,” Birzer said. “I believe that students can begin to understand how race is interwoven not only in the criminal justice system but also society through TJ Crowley.” The book is endorsed by many experts in the realm of race relations, including anti-hate activist Mark Potok, former Senior Fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center; and was named national Book of the Month by Bookclubz.com, which hosts some 5,000 book clubs and 20,000 readers. The book also won two of the most coveted award categories from the Kansas Authors Club last year, including Book of the Year for 2019.

Birzer himself grew up in Wichita and spent 18 years as a Sedgwick County Police Deputy before entering academic life. He first read the story when selecting novels for the citywide Candid Conversations Book Club sponsored by the Wichita Public Library, and then led the group's discussion of the story this past summer at the Maya Angelou Branch in northeast Wichita, less than a mile from where the novel is set. He went on to co-author the book’s 32-page Educator Guide, and was eager to add the book to the Racial Profiling class he has taught at WSU since 2012.

In an email interview, Birzer wrote, “After carefully reading the book twice, once preparing for the book discussion, and once in my professorial way, highlighting and making many margin notes, it occurred to me that the novel could be used to teach just about any course relating to race and the criminal justice system. A fair amount of the material we discuss in the course can be found in TJ Crowley (i.e., profiling, red lines, discrimination, stereotyping, implicit and explicit bias, community relations, hate crime, police-minority relations, self-fulfilling prophecy, the symbolic assailant, procedural justice etc.).

"Dr. Birzer's highly regarded textbook, “Racial Profiling: They Stopped Me Because I'm ------------!”  is based on exhaustive research and examines how minorities experience racial profiling by police. He has conducted dozens of police workshops and community and panel presentations related to racial profiling, including the Kansas Defense Lawyers Association and the Federal Bar Association, and frequently consults with law enforcement and community leaders on the topic. He recently was called upon by Wichita city officials to help determine if the doubly high number of traffic citations issued to black motorists by Wichita police was, in fact, due to racial profiling.

Of the 400 students majoring in criminal justice at Wichita State, Birzer says 30 percent of them will end up in some sort of police work, and 30 percent in corrections, probation, and parole services. Around 10 percent will end up in law school, and the rest in victims and court services professions.There are 23 students enrolled in his Racial Profiling class this semester, and about a third of them aspire to police careers. Regardless of whether they plan to become police officers or not, Birzer says racial profiling is an important topic which needs to be discussed by everyone.

“Race intersects in each of our professions, policing and others,” he said. “We can stick our heads in the sand and conveniently ignore it, or we can begin to discuss it, I mean really, really discuss it. TJ Crowley can help tremendously in this goal.”

Author Overstake, who also grew up in the neighborhood depicted in the story, drew upon experts such as Dr. Birzer to establish “The Real Education Project” with the goal of fostering candid and safe discussions about race related matters in school classrooms and lecture halls across the nation, in part by utilizing his book and educator guide.

“There are young people today from all backgrounds who haven’t had an opportunity to really experience how other people live. They need a safe way to examine and discuss the biases and prejudices that we all tend to have toward people who are different, and we believe that a historical novel can help make it easier to do that in the classroom,” Overstake said. “Some of Dr. Birzer's students are going to be police officers. I think it would be great if what they learn from TJ Crowley helps them in the future when interacting with people who are different, especially when wearing a badge.”

Overstake’s well-researched novel is also being read in Dr. Jay Price's "History of Wichita" class at Wichita State this semester.

The book may be purchased at independent bookstores nationwide, including Watermark Books & Café in Wichita. It's also available through major online sales outlets, and readers can take an additional 10 percent off the list price by ordering directly from the publisher's sales portal, here. (At checkout, enter code word: readtjcrowley)