The University of North Florida in Jacksonville officially launched its new Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations with the screening of the documentary film 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets. The film relates the story of Jordan Davis, an African American teenager who was gunned down in the parking lot of a Jacksonville gas station in 2012 during an argument over loud music. The screening of the Sundance Film Festival’s award-winning film was followed by a panel discussion. Ron Davis, Jordan’s father, was a member of the panel.
The new institute is one of only two centers focusing on issues of race in the Florida state university system and the only one that focuses on research. The institute will sponsor six research symposiums this year.
JeffriAnne Wilder, an associate professor of sociology at the University of North Florida is the founding director of the Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Wilder is a graduate of Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She holds a master’s degree from Cleveland State University and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Florida.
The trailer for the documentary film shown at the first official function of the new institute can be seen below.
