Candace Dorsey has spent most of her career in law enforcement, but she’s found her calling at the University of Michigan as the first person to lead the Empowerment Self-Defense program. The program, which is an extension of her long career in law enforcement, teaches participants situational awareness and prevention skills to leave them better equipped to deal with everything from harassment to potentially violent people to sexual assault.
After 31 years in her industry, Dorsey came to U-M in 2017, where she — with the help of other colleagues — built the Empowerment Self-Defense program from top to bottom. It’s become an important resource for the campus and surrounding community to teach people personal strategies for staying safe.
“I’m helping people understand that they have the ability physically & mentally to protect themselves and feel safer. I also want people to know and understand is not that hard,” Dorsey says. “There are some very basic things that people can do that are not physical to make them feel safer and more comfortable. That’s my calling. And I don’t care who you are, where you’re from or what color you are, none of that matters. My focus has always been if someone is telling you that they’re feeling unsafe, first listen then (let’s) figure out why they’re feeling unsafe and answer some questions for them.”
She began her career in law Enforcement in 1986 at the Detroit Police Department before joining the Eastern Michigan University Police Department for 27 years. At Eastern, Dorsey became the first black female assigned as the crime prevention coordinator, she was the first female bicycle officer, the first female to teach the women’s self defense program, the first female Active Attacker Instructor and one of the first females assigned to the Special Victims Unit.
“When I started at Eastern, they assigned me to the residential halls where most of the Black students lived,” Dorsey says. “I suppose they felt that was the best place for me to be on campus, and they were right! I determined very quickly that that assignment to interact directly with the student population was indeed the right fit. I became an ally for all students when they didn’t have resources and support systems at home when things went awry. When students faced challenges or made bad decisions, I was their go-to. It was the best thing that ever happened in my law enforcement (career).”
At Eastern, Dorsey taught the Rape Aggression Defense Systems (RAD), which became similar to her work at the University of Michigan.
“I got a chance to walk into a room and teach participants different skills where they could feel more comfortable and build confidence and self-esteem, and it was exciting,“ Dorsey says. “(Just seeing) how they felt so much better about themselves (and) how they carried themselves differently. It’s an amazing transformation.”
Developing and creating a new program is what drove Dorsey to the University of Michigan, but she is still low-key about being a high-profile African American leader on campus. What’s more important, she adds, is that people can look at the front of the room and see someone who looks like themselves. She doesn’t recall seeing many Black or Brown instructors throughout her entire Law Enforcement career.
“Looking at a Brown or Black person teaching a (self-defense) class is not prevalent even till this day. It’s still rare. So yeah, there’s some pride in that. It feels great to stand in front of a group of people and change their lives for the better, empowering them to consider their own options of ways become more comfortable, feel safer, build self-confidence and self-esteem.”
Dorsey was creative when she started the program in 2017 with the assistance of now-retired Sgt. Gary Hicks, who helped her understand some of the U-M dynamics, which were different from her previous job at Eastern Michigan University.
Knowing that not everyone likes physical classes, Dorsey’s offerings in the personal safety class now includes a personal safety lecture. In 2024, she added a pressure point, a aerobic boxing, class for striking bags, and would like to add an aerosol pepper spray class in the future.
“I teach an array of workshops in tandem now,” Dorsey says. “Some groups take the lecture class, (but the) majority of my classes taught are the physical self-defense class.
“It’s not just self-defense, (it’s) personal safety and helping people understand that the skills and techniques are attainable by everyone, no matter if it’s a verbal or physical situation. There are some very basic things that people can do that are not physical to make them feel safer or more comfortable.”
That’s what Dorsey describes as her life’s mission.
“I don’t care who you are (or) where you’re from. I don’t care what size you are, what color you are — none of that matters,” Dorsey says. “My focus has always been if someone is telling you that they’re feeling unsafe, figure out why they’re feeling unsafe and answer some questions for them. Give them the tools to put in their toolbox.”