A Dr. Phil episode featuring a North Little Rock police officer is set to air next week.
Officer Tommy Norman wrote on social media that the show, in which a panel of experts examined the topics of white privilege and microaggression, will air Thursday. Norman flew to Los Angeles last month to film, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.
His community policing work was also featured on a Dr. Phil episode in 2016.
Other panelists included Michael Eric Dyson, a Georgetown University sociology professor; Nancy Wang Yuen, a Biola University sociology professor; Laura Gomez, a UCLA law professor; Areva Martin, a civil-rights attorney and talk show host; Peggy McIntosh, a research associate at the Wellesley Centers for Women and Alonzo Bodden, a Los Angeles-based comedian.
The panel aimed to discuss how the country can “come together” and take a proactive stance to mend racial relations. The officer’s personal philosophy, he said, is that the way forward is by fostering relationships.
“Relationships have always been a factor in building trust and respect,” he said.
Norman said he was somewhat unfamiliar with the concept of white privilege before this experience, adding that the discussion veered into a debate at times.
“The conversation we had on the Dr. Phil show is one that people are uncomfortable having, but they’re also conversations that we as a country need to have more of,” he said.
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