In the aftermath of the protests and unrest in Baltimore yesterday, President Obama described the situation as a “slow rolling crisis.” This is a unique and significant moment in the history of our nation. At a conference this weekend on Othering & Belonging, New York Times columnist Charles Blow observed that “we are in the … Continue reading »
blacklivesmatter
Maybe it’s time to reinvent the police
The astoundingly crude and arrogant response of NYPD rank and file to the tragic murder of two officers by an unstable young man last month (read the fascinating story by Kim Barker, Mosi Secret and Richard Fausset in the New York Times on the man who killed the officers) raises an interesting question: do we really … Continue reading »
Banning, yet institutionalizing, racial profiling
Whenever I tell people that I study racial profiling, they exclaim how timely the work is. It is in fact not so much timely as timeless. It seems like there is always a story involving Black suspects and excessive policing. When the specifics are shocking, as in the Garner case, and they gain media attention, … Continue reading »