Amanda Alexander, Deanna Van Buren: The Care(ful) Work of Abolishing Prisons
How to kick our national addiction to prisons
Abby Zimet: Acts That Defy Humanity
The arrests offer little solace to friends and family grieving for a kind, joyful, “good human,” “quirky and true to himself,” “good spirit and soul” who attended church youth group and worked to be a good dad.
Rashad Shabazz: Black police officers aren’t colorblind – they’re infected by the same anti-Black bias as American society and police in general
Policing in the U.S. has, from its inception, treated Black people as domestic enemies.
Zane McNeill: Movement to stop Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ calls for support after police kill forest defender
Atlanta activists are calling for an independent investigation and solidarity, after police killed an Indigenous land defender in a heavily-armed raid.
George Yancy: Let’s Honor Kevin Johnson by Dismantling the Systems That Failed Him
Last week, on November 29, the State of Missouri killed Kevin Johnson.
Susan Kelly-DeWitt: Photograph of Your Father Sewing Needlepoint At Precinct Headquarters, 1956
tugging the yarn taut, as though it was
the most natural thing
in the world for a burly
detective, a tough Irish cop
Abby Zimet: Watering While Black
Having grown up (black) in the American South, the good Rev. Michael Jennings, 56, both was and wasn’t surprised last May 22 by the “surreal” arrival of (white) cops in his small Alabama town to confront his nefarious crime of watering a neighbor’s flowers like the good Christian he is.
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley: A Dirge for Our Murdered Sons
Oh, America, how many tears do you want
before you stop killing our sons?
Jefferson Carter: Life Partner
For convenience, I & my life partner
(the woman formerly known as my wife)
have numbered our arguments.
Thaddeus L. Johnson, Natasha N. Johnson: American cities have long struggled to reform their police – but isolated success stories suggest community and officer buy-in might be key
Getting police and community on board with reforms is crucial for success.
Peter Makuck: Recycled (corrected version)
His girlfriend sat in the car. The other cop was at the passenger door, probably shouting for her to exit the vehicle with your hands above your head where I can see them. I watch too many “Law and Order” reruns.
Richard Levine: One Night in America
The first time I noticed my hands
trembling, I was still a young man,
just returned from a war…
Video: Standby
Gary and Jenny share the same cramped “office space” as all beat cops: the front seat of a patrol car. Their evolving relationship is an emotional rollercoaster ride that stands in often-comedic contrast to the procession of thugs and criminals filling the back seat.
Frank Edwards & Michael H. Esposito: Police kill about 3 men per day in the US
Police in the U.S. kill on average more than 1,000 men per year, or about three men per day. According to our estimates, police are responsible for about 8 percent … Continue reading
Vox Populi 