The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation will prioritize racial profiling, police brutality, and other discriminatory practices in the criminal justice system at its 45th Annual Legislative Conference on Sept. 17.

“The headlines are too often dominated with stories of deadly encounters between African Americans and those who are sworn to protect and serve,” A. Shuanise Washington, president and chief executive officer of the CBCF said in a statement. “The National Town Hall provides a platform to explore solution-orientated policies to solidify and secure equal rights and protections for all people.”

African Americans make up 50 percent of those incarcerated for low-level drug crimes, according to the Sentencing Project. Black children are ten times more likely to be arrested for drugs compared to white children. The National Town Hall panel will address the over-representation of African Americans in the penal system, and the new movement for social and criminal justice reform.