The "Women on Wednesday" lecture series at St. Cloud State University will focus on racial profiling and police violence and how they affect communities of color.

St. Cloud State University Communications says Valerie Castile will speak about this issue in her talk "Valerie Castile One of 1,092 Lives Taken by Police Violence."

Castile is the mother of Philando Castile, a 32-year-old black man killed by a St. Anthony police officer less than 60 seconds after being stopped while driving in Falcon Heights.

Valerie is the founder, CEO, and president of the Philando Castile Relief Foundation, which assists gun violence survivors and provides school lunch payments for families with negative balances. Philando was a cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill Monterossi School in St. Paul.

Groups such as Black Lives Matter and the work of Castile and many others have pushed society’s knowledge and understanding of police gun violence, especially towards black men.

The number 1,092 comes from an article published by the Atlantic in May entitled "How Many People are Killed by Police Each Year." 

The event will take place at the Atwood Theater in Atwood Memorial Center on Wednesday, November 7 at noon.