NBA star Carmelo Anthony hosted a town hall meeting Monday called ‘Leadership Together: A Conversation With Our Sons & Daughters’, discussing police relations at the Boys and Girls Club in L.A.

Joined by 80 teenagers, community leaders, USA Olympic men’s and women’s basketball team members (including Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors and Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky) with Los Angeles Police Department officers, Anthony helped lead a discussion on the fear young African-American men have when facing police, as well as recent events.

The crowd of 200 split up into groups of eight to share their experiences with racial profiling and unfair treatment from police officers on a more personal level. They later shared the experiences and emotions discussed in small groups among everyone. Anthony gave a special shoutout to the officers in attendance, who he says were actively listening to the stories from attendees.

“I know in situations like this they can feel awkward being in front of these people and hearing all of the negativity that comes by,” Anthony said to The Undefeated, “It’s easier to hear it when you turn on TV about how bad the police are. It’s very difficult to hear it coming from the actual youth sitting there in small groups to take that information and decipher that.”

Anthony also donated an undisclosed amount to the youth club where this meeting took place.

This conversation is just the beginning of fixing issues between the community and police not only in South Central L.A., but in ALL of our communities. Participation from key parties in open and honest discussions is an awesome start, and we commend Carmelo Anthony for leading the charge for change.

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