tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/african-american-police-killings-17840/articlesAfrican American police killings – The Conversation2020-07-02T12:27:57Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1414212020-07-02T12:27:57Z2020-07-02T12:27:57ZPolice with lots of military gear kill civilians more often than less-militarized officers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344824/original/file-20200630-103661-1q6mq18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3473%2C2277&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A police tactical team in Ferguson, Mo., responds to 2014 protests against a white officer's killing of Michael Brown, a young Black man.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Trump-Police-Military-Gear/5e071ec6710d4ec3a876fdec7cb13b78/2/0">AP Photo/Jeff Roberson</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Police departments that get more equipment from the military <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168017712885">kill more civilians</a> than departments that get less military gear. That’s the finding from research on a federal program that has operated since 1997 that I have helped conduct as a scholar of police militarization. </p>
<p>That finding was recently <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912918784209">confirmed and expanded by Edward Lawson Jr.</a> at the University of South Carolina.</p>
<p>This federal effort is called the “<a href="https://www.dla.mil/DispositionServices/Offers/Reutilization/LawEnforcement/JoinTheProgram.aspx">1033 Program</a>.” It’s named after the section of the <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/104/hr3230/text">1997 National Defense Authorization Act</a> that allows the U.S. Defense Department to <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90513061/eliminating-this-federal-program-would-play-a-major-part-in-demilitarizing-the-police">give police agencies</a> around the country equipment, including weapons and ammunition, that the military no longer needs. </p>
<p>Much of the equipment is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2014/09/11/40-percent-of-used-military-equipment-given-to-police-is-brand-new.html">brand new</a> and some is innocuous – like file cabinets and fax machines. But the program has also equipped local police with <a href="https://www.npr.org/2014/09/02/342494225/mraps-and-bayonets-what-we-know-about-the-pentagons-1033-program">armored vehicles and helicopters</a>, as well as weapons meant to be used against people, like bayonets, automatic rifles and grenade launchers used to deploy tear gas.</p>
<p>The seeds of this program came in 1988 as the Cold War was ending. The military was shrinking, while police were feeling overwhelmed fighting the drug war. A <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/101/hr2461/text">provision in the National Defense Authorization Act</a> allowed military surplus to be distributed to state and federal agencies combating drugs. In 1997, the program was expanded to include all law enforcement agencies – <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/09/13/348242448/san-diego-school-district-s-new-15-ton-armored-vehicle-creates-stir">including school districts</a>. That additional eligibility led to a dramatic expansion in the program, and over the past 23 years police all across America received billions of dollars in military-grade hardware often <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a502075.pdf">designed specifically to fight in the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq</a>.</p>
<p>And yet, all that equipment has done more harm than good. Militarization of police <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1805161115">doesn’t reduce crime or improve officer safety</a> – but it does make civilians less trusting of the police, with good reason.</p>
<p>In our study, my coauthors and I found that the police agencies who <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/30/does-military-equipment-lead-police-officers-to-be-more-violent-we-did-the-research/">received the most military gear</a> had, in the year after getting the equipment, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168017712885">rate of civilian killings more than double</a> that of police departments that had received the least amount of military equipment through the 1033 Program. While data limitations limited our analysis to four states, our findings were replicated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912918784209">nationwide data</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344652/original/file-20200629-155322-1kb1rba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C2995%2C2056&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344652/original/file-20200629-155322-1kb1rba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344652/original/file-20200629-155322-1kb1rba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344652/original/file-20200629-155322-1kb1rba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344652/original/file-20200629-155322-1kb1rba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344652/original/file-20200629-155322-1kb1rba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344652/original/file-20200629-155322-1kb1rba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The police chief of Sanford, Maine, population 21,000, climbs into his department’s mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, one of five in the state obtained from military surplus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sanford-police-chief-thomas-connolly-steps-into-the-news-photo/454140118">Carl D. Walsh/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>On a wartime footing</h2>
<p>Federal records of how much <a href="https://www.dla.mil/DispositionServices/Offers/Reutilization/LawEnforcement/PublicInformation/">military gear has actually been given</a> to local police are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12212">inconsistent, poorly maintained and sometimes missing altogether</a>. But between 2006 and 2014, the available records reveal that <a href="https://www.npr.org/2014/09/02/342494225/mraps-and-bayonets-what-we-know-about-the-pentagons-1033-program">more than US$1.4 billion worth of equipment was distributed</a>. While the 1033 Program is the most significant source of military gear for police in general, it is not the only source of military equipment for police: There are other similar federal and state grant programs, and many big-city police departments have <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/23/metro/boston-police-spent-more-than-200000-militarized-equipment-during-first-five-months-this-year/">massive equipment budgets</a> of their own with which they can purchase military-grade hardware.</p>
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<p>The 1033 Program often requires receiving agencies to <a href="https://www.aclu.org/report/war-comes-home-excessive-militarization-american-police">use the equipment within the first year</a> after getting it, according to research done by the American Civil Liberties Union, even if a situation may not truly need it. That requirement exists alongside the proliferation of <a href="https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/the-rise-of-swat-sources/">heavily armed SWAT teams</a> and other military-style units <a href="https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/balko_whitepaper_2006.pdf">in U.S. police departments</a>, officers’ veneration of the revenge-killing comic-book character “<a href="http://archive.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/112982324.html">The Punisher</a>” <a href="https://www.inverse.com/article/39633-marvel-netflix-punisher-skull-meaning-cops-soldiers">and adoption of its logo</a>, as well as militaristic training programs such as “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2017/02/14/a-day-with-killology-police-trainer-dave-grossman/">killology</a>.”</p>
<p>Together, research has shown, those influences lead <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/police/pam065">police to emphasize the use of force</a> to solve problems they encounter in the community. The equipment comes at no cost to the departments, but they have to pay to maintain it, which can be <a href="https://www.nwherald.com/2014/09/24/mchenry-county-police-deal-with-hidden-cost-of-government-surplus-of-military-supplies-vehicles/axo0yhn/">very expensive</a>. To justify the costs, and help defray them, police often use the gear to serve search warrants targeting drug crimes. That can make the departments <a href="https://www.salon.com/test2/2013/07/13/radley_balko_once_a_town_gets_a_swat_team_you_want_to_use_it/">eligible for additional federal grants</a> – and for a <a href="https://www.drugpolicy.org/issues/asset-forfeiture-reform">share of the value</a> of any property and money seized during drug raids.</p>
<p>As a result, supposedly free weapons and vehicles can lead some police to use aggressive deployment strategies that make civilian casualties more likely. Other departments may <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-militarization-of-local-police-has-been-decades-in-the-making/ar-BB14WA8H">already have a military-style mindset</a> and are taking advantage of an opportunity to stockpile more equipment.</p>
<p>These increasingly aggressive deployment strategies of militarized police disproportionately harm communities of color, for instance in Maryland, where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1805161115">SWAT raids consistently target majority-Black neighborhoods</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344656/original/file-20200629-155308-7mkw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344656/original/file-20200629-155308-7mkw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344656/original/file-20200629-155308-7mkw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344656/original/file-20200629-155308-7mkw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344656/original/file-20200629-155308-7mkw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344656/original/file-20200629-155308-7mkw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344656/original/file-20200629-155308-7mkw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344656/original/file-20200629-155308-7mkw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Many police, including these officers in the Boston area, have military-like weapons and gear.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/heavily-armed-police-officers-belonging-to-the-metropolitan-news-photo/1196861989">Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Tragic, and deadly, results</h2>
<p>While police often claim that militarized gear is a necessity in order to prepare for “<a href="https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article243766852.html">worst-case scenarios</a>,” there is ample evidence that receiving agencies use military gear in inappropriate situations. While the killing of <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/14/breonna-taylor-what-know-louisville-emt-killed-police/5189743002/">Black EMT Breonna Taylor</a> in her home in March grabbed headlines, she is but one of <a href="https://reason.com/2020/03/16/maryland-man-killed-in-no-knock-swat-raid-was-shot-while-asleep-family-says/">many civilians</a> <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Court-filing-raises-more-questions-about-official-14131979.php">killed by police</a> <a href="https://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Family-files-lawsuit-in-no-knock-raid-that-left-local-man-dead-570853461.html">under</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/12/31/a-drug-informant-lied-swat-pounced-a-man-died/">questionable</a> <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jose-guerena_n_3988658?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVhcHBlYWwub3JnL2hvdy1hLW5vLWtub2NrLXJhaWQtaW4tYXVzdGluLXR1cm5lZC1pbnRvLWEtbGV0aGFsLXNob290b3V0Lw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADAluqwD7seYf7ux8B92E92KoRpOD8GScYMNHrr0fHOTagQMB8CfQGupyafOdwTBg6QfVhNOD-nTDfLxu7slFtO4kaRSJXgmOoy9qg88OTMcfPDaqcUs7wLehOEyzFVMSspso7hqOw2NOD-cgUqM6JH0fazYZntZANkJPLQwUNU6">circumstances</a> <a href="https://github.com/newsdev/nyt-forcible-entry">during no-knock raids</a>, when police force entry into a building or home without announcing themselves. </p>
<p>For obvious reasons, such raids carry an unreasonably high probability of death in a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/19/there-are-more-guns-than-people-in-the-united-states-according-to-a-new-study-of-global-firearm-ownership/">country with more guns than people</a>. These and other overaggressive deployments are the direct result of public policy that gives militarized gear to local police, with little training or oversight. </p>
<p>In our research, we don’t make any determination of whether specific killings by police were justified or not. In our view, too often the question of legal justification <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/us/tamir-rice-police-shootiing-cleveland.html">takes a very narrow look at the few seconds just prior to a lethal interaction</a>. We believe that a wider perspective is useful: Local, state and federal rules and training influence the behavior of police agencies across the country. When policing strategies are overly aggressive, an increase in civilian casualties tends to follow. While the resulting killings are often called “justified,” they’re more often the avoidable result of policy decisions made well before the incident in question.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141421/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Casey Delehanty does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Giving police military gear doesn’t reduce crime or keep officers safer – but it does hurt citizens’ trust of the police, and for good reason.Casey Delehanty, Assistant Professor of Global Studies, Gardner-Webb UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1405232020-06-18T12:18:06Z2020-06-18T12:18:06Z5 reasons police officers should have college degrees<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342557/original/file-20200617-94060-jq2gzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Does college hold the answer to police violence?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/new-police-officers-take-oath-during-new-york-police-news-photo/1175954210?adppopup=true">Pacific Press/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Following several deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police, President Donald J. Trump issued an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-safe-policing-safe-communities/">executive order</a> on June 16 that calls for increased training and credentialing to reduce the use of excessive force by police.</p>
<p>The order did not mention the need for police to get a college education, even though higher education was identified in the 2015 <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/blog/president-s-task-force-21st-century-policing-recommendations-print-action">President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing</a> as one of six effective ways to reduce crime and build better relations between police and the communities they serve.</p>
<p>As researchers who specialize in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=IcyJ9IEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">crime</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vREZA8gAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">punishment</a>, we see five reasons why police officers should be encouraged to pursue a college degree.</p>
<h2>1. Less likely to use violence</h2>
<p>Research shows that, overall, college-educated officers generate fewer citizen complaints. They are also terminated less frequently for misconduct and less likely to use force.</p>
<p>Regarding the use of force, officers who’ve graduated from college are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611109357325">almost 40% less likely to use force</a>. Use of force is defined as actions that range from verbal threats to use force to actually using force that could cause physical harm.</p>
<p>College-educated officers are also less likely to shoot their guns. A study of officer-involved shootings from 1990 to 2004 found that college-educated police officers were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854807313995">almost 30% less likely to fire their weapons in the line of duty</a>. Additionally, one study found that police departments that required at least a two-year degree for officers had a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611115604449">lower rate of officers assaulted by civilians</a> compared to departments that did not require college degrees.</p>
<p>Studies have found that a small proportion of police officers – about 5% – produce most citizen complaints, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.01.003">officers with a two-year degree</a> are about half as likely to be in the high-rate complaint group. Similarly, researchers have found that officers with at least a two-year degree <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854813486269">were 40% less likely to lose their jobs</a> due to misconduct. </p>
<h2>2. More problem-oriented</h2>
<p>The 2015 <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/blog/president-s-task-force-21st-century-policing-recommendations-print-action">task force</a> recommended community and problem-oriented policing strategies as ways to strengthen police-community relations and better respond to crime and other social problems. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1089">Problem-oriented policing</a> is a proactive strategy to identify crime problems in communities. The strategy also calls for officers to analyze the underlying causes of crime, develop appropriate responses, and assess whether those responses are working. Similarly, community-oriented policing emphasizes building relationships with citizens to identify and respond to community crime problems. Research has found that when police departments use community-policing strategies, people are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2017.1303771">more satisfied with how police serve their community</a> and view them as more legitimate. </p>
<p>Community policing and problem-oriented policing require problem solving and creative thinking – skills that the college experience helps develop.</p>
<p>For example, internships and service-learning opportunities in college provide future police officers a chance to develop civic engagement skills. It also gives them the chance to get to know the communities they will police. Among students who participated in a criminal justice service-learning course working with young people in the community, <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1016537.pdf">80% reported a change</a> from stereotypical assumptions that all of them would be criminals to a better understanding of them as individuals with goals and potential - some not so different from the students’ own dreams. Almost 90% said they had come to understand the community, which they believed would serve them in their criminal justice careers.</p>
<p>Among street-level officers who have the most interaction with the public, having a bachelor’s degree significantly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-04-2019-0044">increases commitment to community policing</a>. These officers tend to work more proactively with community members to resolve issues and prevent problems rather than only reacting to incidents when called.</p>
<h2>3. Enables officers to better relate to the community</h2>
<p>Higher education has been shown to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2011.563969">enhance</a> the technical training that police get in the academy or on the job.</p>
<p>For instance, as college students, aspiring or current police officers participate in internships, do community service or study abroad. All of these things have been shown to increase <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315605917">critical thinking</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380903449060">moral reasoning and openness to diversity</a>. College also leads to more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/24732850.2018.1510274">intercultural awareness</a>. Taken together, all of these skills are <a href="https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=sociologypub">essential for successful policework</a>.</p>
<p>Research has also shown that police officers themselves recognize the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/13639510710833893">value of a college degree</a>. Among other things, they say a college education improves <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2016.1172650">ethical decision-making skills</a>, knowledge and understanding of the law and the courts, openness to diversity, and communication skills. In one study, officers with criminal justice degrees said their education helped them gain <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/13639510710833893">managerial skills</a>.</p>
<h2>4. Helps officers identify best practices</h2>
<p>A college education helps officers become better at <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00459">identifying quality information and scientific evidence</a>. This in turn better enables them to more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paw019">rigorously and regularly evaluate</a> policies and practices adopted by their departments. </p>
<p>For example, many departments employ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611118784007">de-escalation tactics</a> that aim to reduce use of force. A critical step in knowing whether an approach is achieving its intended goal is evaluating its impact. Officers who have an understanding of scientific methods, as taught in college, are better positioned to adjust their department’s policies.</p>
<h2>5. Builds better leaders</h2>
<p>Bringing about meaningful police reform requires <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-016-9204-y">transformational leadership</a>. Higher education, including graduate degrees, can enhance the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/police/pav045">leadership potential</a> of criminal justice professionals and support their promotion through the ranks. </p>
<p>Police officers with at least some college experience are more focused on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854812458426">promotion</a> and expect to retire at a higher rank compared to officers with no college. It should come as little surprise, then, that police administrators, including police chiefs, are more likely to hold <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paz029">college and post-graduate degrees</a>. Leaders with a graduate degree are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128716642253">twice as likely</a> to be familiar with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716220902073">evidence-based policing</a>, which uses research to guide effective policy and practice. </p>
<p>Higher education and police reform efforts are at a critical juncture.</p>
<p>Educated law enforcement professionals will be better equipped to lead much-needed reform efforts. State and local agencies and governments can do more to encourage officers to seek a college degree, including through incentives, like the <a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-public-affairs-and-community-service/criminology-and-criminal-justice/about-us/news-and-events/tuition-waiver-law-enforcement.php">Nebraska Law Enforcement Education Act</a>, which allows for a partial tuition waiver or the <a href="https://www.mass.edu/osfa/initiatives/pcipp.asp">Quinn Bill in Massachusetts</a>, which provides scaled bonuses depending on the degree an officer holds or <a href="https://www.fop.net/CmsPage.aspx?id=81">tuition reimbursement scholarships</a> like those offered by the Fraternal Order of Police. Colleges and universities can help officers acquire the skills needed to help to reestablish trust between our communities and those who are sworn to protect and serve.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklysmart">You can get our highlights each weekend</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gaylene Armstrong receives funding from various state and federal granting agencies in support of criminal justice research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leana Bouffard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When it comes to making law enforcement professionals less likely to resort to use of force, higher education goes a long way, research shows.Leana Bouffard, Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, Iowa State UniversityGaylene Armstrong, Director, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice; Co-Director, Nebraska Collaborative for Violence Intervention and Prevention, University of Nebraska OmahaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/861392017-10-26T03:07:48Z2017-10-26T03:07:48ZWe cannot deny the violence of White supremacy any more<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191312/original/file-20171023-13940-189xqy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5973%2C3143&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">White nationalists at the Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rodneydunning/36401911981/">Robert Dunning/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is the third in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/black-lives-matter-everywhere-44608">Black Lives Matter Everywhere</a> series, a collaboration between The Conversation, the <a href="http://sydneydemocracynetwork.org/">Sydney Democracy Network</a> and the <a href="http://sydneypeacefoundation.org.au/">Sydney Peace Foundation</a>. To mark the awarding of the <a href="http://sydneypeacefoundation.org.au/peace-prize-recipients/black-lives-matter/">2017 Sydney Peace Prize</a> to the Black Lives Matter Global Network, the authors reflect on the roots of and responses to a movement that has re-ignited a global conversation about racism. The 2017 Sydney Peace Prize will be presented on November 2 (<a href="https://events.ticketbooth.com.au/events/22459">tickets here</a>).</em></p>
<hr>
<p>It is a time of strife, turmoil and vitriol toward the Black Lives Matter movement. </p>
<p>The movement began in peaceful protest against the killing of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/17/black-lives-matter-birth-of-a-movement">Michael Brown</a> in Baltimore. Yet a host of organisations and publics, including some <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2017/10/police-spied-on-new-york-black-lives-matter-group-internal-police-documents-show/">police organisations</a>, continue to censure the movement because its members have dared to suggest, in the face of the persistent state-sanctioned killings of unarmed Black men, that America should not forget that Black lives matter too.</p>
<p>Some police departments have taken heed. They are now trying to figure out how they, as police officers, can have a better relationship with African-American communities and all the communities of colour they serve. </p>
<p>But the denial about the scope and the breadth of racist and White nationalist ideas, beliefs and practices in the US runs deep. The reaction of many police officers and their supporters has been to insist instead that “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Lives_Matter">Blue Lives Matter</a>”. And nativists are quick to retort that “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Lives_Matter">All Lives Matter</a>”.</p>
<p>That was the point, and the origin, of “Black Lives Matter”. But the narrative that the US is a pluralistic democracy that welcomes immigrants and values diversity and excellence is floundering.</p>
<p>Globally, people were flummoxed by the intensity of the hatred they saw on the faces of the young White men who marched in the streets of <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-charlottesville-to-nazi-germany-sometimes-monuments-have-to-fall-82643">Charlottesville</a> only two months ago.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZN7vm9mIPBs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">White nationalists marched in Virginia in protest at the removal of a Confederate statue.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why would a country that prides itself on its migrant history light up torches of intolerance and – with pride and entitlement – bare the dirty underbelly of its racist institutions and political and social processes to the world?</p>
<p>Charlottesville was and shall remain a chilling reminder of the entrenched racism against Black people and other marginalised groups in the US. </p>
<p>Rather than embracing diversity and inclusion, the people who marched focused their anger on the apparent need to take back their country and “make it great again”. This means taking the country back for White people who want to make it theirs and only theirs “again”. It is not an inclusive or socially just sentiment.</p>
<h2>A history rooted in White supremacy</h2>
<p>Until recently, White Americans have been in denial about the fact that the police intentionally go after Black men and other men of colour. But the research and statistics kept by state and federal agencies show this happens.</p>
<p>Last year, police killed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/01/the-counted-police-killings-us-database">266 Black people</a> at a rate of 6.66 kills per million people. That makes a Black person more than twice as likely to be killed by police as a White or Hispanic/Latino person.</p>
<p>Black people are also regularly <a href="http://www.thinkprogress.org/police-medical-assistance-shootings-f13b85774f85/">left to die</a> – even after police officers disarm the wounded citizen (or discover they had no weapon at all).</p>
<p>High-profile police killings ended the lives of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/05/terence-crutcher-acquittal/527169/">Terence Crutcher</a>, 40, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/21/protesters-clash-with-police-in-charlotte-after-fatal-shooting-of-black-man">Keith Scott</a>, 43, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/19/tyre-king-shooting-columbus-police-examiner">Tyre King</a>, 13, among <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-kaepernick-police-killings_us_57e14414e4b04a1497b69ba6">more than a dozen</a> others in 2016. Scott’s killing led to massive protests in Charlotte, North Carolina. These were led by residents fed up with <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/215911-poll-african-americans-see-lack-of-accountability-in-police">law enforcement’s lack of accountability</a> and <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/5/12379390/police-ice-cream-video">racist policing practices</a>.</p>
<p>Black Lives Matter is committed to shining a spotlight on the arbitrary criminalisation of Black people in the US. In <a href="http://newjimcrow.com/about">The New Jim Crow</a>, Michelle Alexander exposes the intentional structuring of the US penal justice system based on the belief that African-Americans (especially men) are dangerous and suspicious, thus necessitating constant surveillance and containment.</p>
<p>The enduring belief in African American male criminality is symptomatic of the lingering <a href="https://www.facinghistory.org/holocaust-and-human-behavior/chapter-2/science-race">race science legacy</a> in the history of American anthropology and eugenics. These beliefs are deeply held and go back to the time of slavery when masters were in constant fear of “uprisings”. </p>
<p>The profound fear of Black criminality has through law, social norms and cultural practices of institutionalised racism obtained a kind of normalcy within national narratives around Blacks and crime in the US.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191313/original/file-20171023-13943-g3yfu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191313/original/file-20171023-13943-g3yfu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191313/original/file-20171023-13943-g3yfu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191313/original/file-20171023-13943-g3yfu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191313/original/file-20171023-13943-g3yfu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191313/original/file-20171023-13943-g3yfu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191313/original/file-20171023-13943-g3yfu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191313/original/file-20171023-13943-g3yfu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fear of black criminality has been institutionalised in the US.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cuboctahedron/22720802730/in/photolist-ABL457-rs8QBd-qqDKft-JRPcFh-r8NBYp-pu4Xjc-q5tqAG-JMUZkH-qiWCfm-q3BFGj-q8St7v-rTVkth-5Ktdsi-Agq7Kw-qczSuP-px1wjF-q9pNqB-qccozh-qcd2vd-zXm4gE-DmSHmN-K9ofCC-ptQt2Y-6Jgvof-K9Jo4i-q9pPEv-q9h72C-q9pMEt-qtGpuJ-HyPYB-VxuwtQ-qruwV5-qqPUNv-qccu2j-PrqEiH-qiAGFQ-5Ds6jh-qMN72m-qtDyLp-VWvubq-JqELPQ-JRDX94-5V4qaJ-pmwPGu-7UWHnT-8vEXkh-cjf8xs-5LztEk-bQDcbZ-qiBzSN">Ella/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2016 the UN’s <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Racism/WGAfricanDescent/Pages/WGEPADIndex.aspx">Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-police-un/u-s-police-killings-reminiscent-of-lynching-u-n-group-says-idINL8N1BZ3CF">described</a> the recent police killings of Black people in the US as reminiscent of 19th- and 20th-century lynchings:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Contemporary killings by police and the trauma that they create are reminiscent of the past racial terror of lynching.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The UN working group said these problems were intrinsically linked to US history. In particular, the legacies of colonialism, enslavement, racial terrorism, subordination, segregation and inequality remain a serious challenge. To date there has been no real commitment to reparations and to truth and reconciliation for people of African descent.</p>
<h2>A nation divided</h2>
<p>Though the election and re-election of President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 momentarily hushed the extreme fringe groups of White nationalists, we now find ourselves facing the blatant denial of White Americans in power once again. </p>
<p>Racist statements by President Donald Trump have emboldened and encouraged other White supremacists and Nazis to come out into the open and forcefully demand, among other things, to make America White again.</p>
<p>The truth is that we still live in communities separated by race and class, urban and rural, as well as political divides. But Black Lives Matter is an organisation that provides a platform for progressive people of all backgrounds to work together.</p>
<p>The movement joins a long tradition of Black activism that includes Martin Luther King’s protest marches and Marcus Garvey’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_nationalism">Black Nationalists</a>, who were labelled everything from “cop haters” to “terrorists”. </p>
<p>No doubt the current generation of Black activists, along with their supporters and allies, have reason to be wary. The police and FBI have the ability to put them under <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/surveillance-black-lives-matter-cointelpro_us_55d49dc6e4b055a6dab24008">surveillance</a>, to obtain their phone records en masse, to access their emails and to detain them indefinitely.</p>
<p>Black Lives Matter is protesting against the country’s treatment of Black people now because White supremacy is still present in the American population. Impunity for state violence has resulted in the current human rights crisis and must be addressed as a matter of urgency.</p>
<p>But with a history so steeped in racial violence, it will take much more than recognising the effect of prejudiced police brutality.</p>
<p>Despite substantial changes since the end of the enforcement of <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedom-riders-jim-crow-laws/">Jim Crow</a> and the fight for civil rights, racist ideology that ensures the domination of one group over another continues to suffocate the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of African-Americans today.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can read other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/black-lives-matter-everywhere-44608">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86139/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yolanda Moses does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>White Americans have been in denial about the fact that police go after Black men and other men of colour. But the research and statistics kept by state and federal agencies show this happens.Yolanda Moses, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, RiversideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/680292016-11-03T00:17:50Z2016-11-03T00:17:50ZDylann Roof, Michael Slager on trial: Five essential reads on Charleston<p><em>Editor’s note: The following is a roundup of archival stories related to race and violence.</em></p>
<p>Two white men are going on trial this month for shootings that happened in Charleston, South Carolina during 2015.</p>
<p>Michael Slager, a white former police officer, faces a murder charge for killing 50-year-old Walter Scott, a black man who was unarmed. Slager fired eight shots as Scott ran away.</p>
<p>Dylann Roof, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, faces 33 federal charges, including a federal hate crime for massacring nine black churchgoers at an AME church. He is eligible for the death penalty.</p>
<p>As the trials bring back memories of those horrifying events, we look at highlights from The Conversation’s archive.</p>
<h2>A dark past, present</h2>
<p>Parallels between the two shootings and South Carolina’s history of racial violence quickly rose to the surface.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-massacre-at-mother-emanuel-the-past-still-lives-with-us-43597">The past is still with us</a>, writes A.D. Carson, a Ph.D. student at Clemson University.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“In 1876, State Senator Simon Coker – who was in Charleston investigating violence against blacks – was seized by a mob and shot in the head as he kneeled in a last prayer. One of the perpetrators of that atrocious event was none other than the eventual governor and senator, Benjamin Tillman, who made his disdain for black people known…”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A statue of Tillman still stands on the grounds of the South Carolina State House in Columbia. Remembering, not honoring, this dark past is important to stop the past from repeating itself, Carson writes.</p>
<h2>A place of hate, hope</h2>
<p>It also was <a href="https://theconversation.com/emanuel-ame-has-long-been-a-target-for-hate-as-well-as-place-of-hope-43601">not the first time</a> the Emanuel AME church was the target of racial violence, writes Sandra Barnes, a religion scholar at Vanderbilt University. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Here are just a few examples of the assaults that took place on Emanuel AME and other churches over the years: white raids; black church services being made illegal in Charleston between 1834 and 1865; the burning of Emanuel AME after the slave rebellion lead by Denmark Vessey; the police harassment of civil rights protesters at Emanuel AME in the 1960s.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Roof’s attack was one of many – part of systemic violence embedded in the state’s history.</p>
<h2>All oppression is connected</h2>
<p>Before opening fire, Roof said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Not only are his words deeply racist, they are saturated with a form of sexism that reaches back to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-lethal-gentleman-the-benevolent-sexism-behind-dylann-roofs-racism-43534">colonial mentality of entitlement</a>, writes Lisa Wade, a sociologist at Occidental College.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It’s most clearly articulated in the history of lynching, in which black men were violently murdered routinely by white mobs using the excuse that they had raped a white woman. Roof is the modern equivalent of this white mob.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A vulnerable father</h2>
<p>South Carolina also has struggled with an issue related to Walter Scott’s death – child support. Reports from the Scott case suggest he ran from Officer Slager because he was afraid of being jailed for not paying child support.</p>
<p>In 2011, a case went to the Supreme Court in which a South Carolina man served one year in prison when he failed to pay child support. Incarcerating poor men often makes <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-crisis-revealed-by-the-killing-of-walter-scott-how-were-failing-vulnerable-fathers-40610">a difficult situation much worse</a>, writes Ronald Mincy, professor of Social Policy at Columbia University.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The fear of incarceration bears indirect responsibility for Scott’s death. And Walter Scott was not alone in feeling this fear. At present, there are approximately 9 million nonresident fathers (that is to say, fathers who do not live in the same household as their child or children) of whom over half are economically vulnerable.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A movement grows</h2>
<p>After a video of Scott’s death was released, members of the #BlackLivesMatter movement called for more citizen oversight of policing. <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ferguson-and-blacklivesmatter-taught-us-not-to-look-away-45815">This call to bear witness</a> has served as a form of resistance to oppression since the Jim Crow era, writes Nicholas Mirzoeff, professor at New York University.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The #BlackLivesMatter movement that began after the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012 insists not just that we sneak a sidelong glance, but that we pay full attention to the repeated deaths of African Americans. This looking is not a gaze, because it does not claim power over the victims. Rather, it creates the digital form of what Martin Luther King Jr called ‘the beloved community.’”</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68029/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Two major trials in the killings of black victims in South Carolina start this week. Learn about the state’s past and present struggle with racial violence in this roundup.Danielle Douez, Associate Editor, Politics + SocietyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/635762016-10-02T23:06:50Z2016-10-02T23:06:50ZWhat it means to be black in the American educational system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139951/original/image-20160930-6248-1p8gjs6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What do black Americans experience in the school system?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/masshighered/26681994970/in/photolist-GDNcw3-GDNchA-G9yU64-H4YTuk-G9tuSb-H4YT4R-H4YSfX-H4YRZX-G9yQai-H4YRLR-H4YRBn-H4YRxz-G9yNB8-G9tsgQ-GVDCaf-GDNaCo-GVDBqu-GVDAJu-GVDAj1-GDN8Su-GDN8FY-GDN8jf-GDN89f-GDN81u-GDN7i7-GDN6Xs-GDN6Ko-GDN6BC-GXUXbi-H4YRhp-GXUXuz-p9A9tY-diw1rt-divZYd-9W79Te-nqTT24-pUtPu7-nHcmr7-diwDmJ-divVWE-divWEr-nH6x8D-divYhW-nqTMq3-pUBowr-diwMKs-pUAzXx-pffwup-qbVxQv-pSHhyz">masshighered</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many people still think that racism is no longer a problem in America. After the election of President Obama, academic <a href="http://english.columbia.edu/people/profile/442">John McWhorter</a> argued that
racism in America is, for all intents and purposes, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/30/end-of-racism-oped-cx_jm_1230mcwhorter.html">dead</a>. The prominent conservative scholar and African-American economist <a href="http://www.tsowell.com/">Thomas Sowell</a> has argued that “<a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/427160/racism-america-history">racism isn’t dead, but it is on life support</a>.” Harvard professors <a href="http://sociology.fas.harvard.edu/people/william-julius-wilson">William Julius Wilson</a> and <a href="http://scholar.harvard.edu/fryer/home">Roland Fryer</a> too <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w16256#fromrss">have argued</a> about the <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18489466">declining significance</a> of race and discrimination.</p>
<p>However, as we wind down the final months of Obama’s presidency, the declining significance of race and discrimination narratives seem to be at odds with the lived realities for African-Americans. President Obama himself has faced <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/politics/why-black-america-may-be-relieved-to-see-obama-go/">racist treatment,</a> such as the <a href="http://politic365.com/2012/01/27/the-10-worst-moments-of-disrespect-towards-president-obama/#">birther controversy and a member of Congress saying “you lie.”</a> And then, one incident after another <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/31/the-counted-police-killings-2015-young-black-men">has highlighted</a> the painful reality that black men are disproportionately likely to die at the hands of the police in comparison to any other demographic group.</p>
<p>Sadly, racism and discrimination are facts of life for many black Americans. As an African-American scholar who studies the experiences of black college students, I am especially interested in this issue. My research has found that black college students <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2161-1912.2013.00029.x/abstract">report higher levels of stress</a> related to racial discrimination than other racial or ethnic groups. The unfortunate reality is that black Americans experience subtle and overt discrimination from preschool all the way to college.</p>
<h2>Here’s what studies show</h2>
<p>The results of a <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/27/blacks-with-college-experience-more-likely-to-say-they-faced-discrimination/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=9dca022fe6-_Weekly_July_28_20167_28_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-9dca022fe6-400094317">recent survey</a> by the Pew Research Center underscore this point. The survey found that black Americans with some college experience are more likely to say that they have experienced discrimination compared to blacks who did not report having any college experience. </p>
<p>Additional survey results <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/27/blacks-with-college-experience-more-likely-to-say-they-faced-discrimination/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=9dca022fe6-_Weekly_July_28_20167_28_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-9dca022fe6-400094317">revealed several differences</a> between blacks with college experience versus blacks without college experience. For example, in the past 12 months, 55 percent of people with some college experience reported people had acted suspicious of them, compared to 38 percent of those with no college experience. </p>
<p>Similarly, 52 percent of people with some college experience reported people had acted as if they thought the <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/27/blacks-with-college-experience-more-likely-to-say-they-faced-discrimination/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=9dca022fe6-_Weekly_July_28_20167_28_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-9dca022fe6-400094317">individual wasn’t smart</a>, compared to 37 percent of people with no college experience. </p>
<p>So, what are the race-related struggles experienced by African-American students throughout their schooling?</p>
<h2>Story of Tyrone</h2>
<p>Let’s consider the case of Tyrone. Tyrone is a four-year-old black male raised in a two-parent household. Like most four-year-olds, Tyrone is intellectually curious, and has a vivid imagination. He loves books, loves to color and paint, and also loves physical activities such as running, jumping and playing games with his friends. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139952/original/image-20160930-8472-1gu4fyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139952/original/image-20160930-8472-1gu4fyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139952/original/image-20160930-8472-1gu4fyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139952/original/image-20160930-8472-1gu4fyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139952/original/image-20160930-8472-1gu4fyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139952/original/image-20160930-8472-1gu4fyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139952/original/image-20160930-8472-1gu4fyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What’s the early school experience of black kids?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-138148640/stock-photo-elementary-pupils-counting-with-teacher-in-classroom.html?src=8DL8Z2jxKjYCqN5kBeJe3g-1-85">Teacher image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Behaviorally, Tyrone is also similar to many four-year-olds in that he often likes to talk more than listen, and he can be temperamental. He can engage in hitting, kicking and spitting behaviors when he is angry. </p>
<p>One day Tyrone was playing a game with a friend and he lost. Tyrone got angry and threw the ball at his friend. A teacher witnessed that and immediately confronted Tyrone about his behavior. </p>
<p>Angry about being confronted, Tyrone started to walk away. The teacher grabbed his arm. Tyrone reacted by pushing the teacher away. The teacher sent Tyrone to the principal’s office. After consultation with the principal, Tyrone was deemed to be a danger to students and staff. </p>
<p>He was consequently suspended.</p>
<h2>Early years of schooling</h2>
<p>On the surface this looks like a simple case of meting out the appropriate punishment for perceived serious student misbehavior. There does not appear to be anything explicitly racial about the interaction.</p>
<p>However, consider the fact that there have been many instances of white students engaging in the same behavior, none of which ever result in suspension. This is the racialized reality black students experience every day in American schools. </p>
<p>Black boys are <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-harsher-disciplinary-measures-school-systems-fail-black-kids-39906">almost three times</a> as likely to be suspended than white boys, and black girls are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/education/14suspend.html">four times as likely</a> to be suspended than white girls. Black students’ (mis)behavior is <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20150914-kevin-cokley-lets-end-racial-disparity-in-school-discipline.ece">more often criminalized</a> compared to other students.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139953/original/image-20160930-8472-12hu8is.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139953/original/image-20160930-8472-12hu8is.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139953/original/image-20160930-8472-12hu8is.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139953/original/image-20160930-8472-12hu8is.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139953/original/image-20160930-8472-12hu8is.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139953/original/image-20160930-8472-12hu8is.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139953/original/image-20160930-8472-12hu8is.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black boys are three times more likely to be suspended than white kids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-138148646/stock-photo-elementary-pupils-in-classroom-working-with-teacher.html?src=pd-same_model-138148640-8DL8Z2jxKjYCqN5kBeJe3g-3">Children image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While black kids make up 18 percent of preschool enrollment, they represent <a href="https://theconversation.com/racial-inequality-starts-early-in-preschool-61896">48 percent of students</a> receiving one or more suspensions. Getting suspended matters because it is correlated with being referred to law enforcement and arrested. <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-harsher-disciplinary-measures-school-systems-fail-black-kids-39906">Black students account for</a> 27 percent of students who are referred to law enforcement and 31 percent of students who are arrested, while they only make up 18 percent of enrolled students. As a general rule, black students do not often receive the benefit of the doubt when they engage in bad or questionable behavior. </p>
<h2>School experience</h2>
<p>When Tyrone entered fourth grade, teachers noticed a change in his demeanor. His enthusiasm for school and learning had diminished considerably. He no longer eagerly raised his hand to answer questions. He no longer appeared to love books and listening to stories. He appeared to have little joy participating in class activities. His teachers characterized Tyrone as “unmotivated,” “apathetic,” having “learning difficulties” and “a bad attitude.”</p>
<p>Educators and researchers have referred to this phenomenon as “<a href="http://people.terry.uga.edu/dawndba/4500FailingBlkBoys.html">the fourth grade failure syndrome</a>” for black boys. Early childhood educator <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442207448/Early-Childhood-Education-History-Theory-and-Practice-Second-edition">Harry Morgan</a> suggested that this phenomenon occurred during this time because the classroom environment changes between the third and fourth grade from a socially interactive style to a <a href="http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ220389">more individualistic, competitive style.</a></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139954/original/image-20160930-8030-1bx57fc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139954/original/image-20160930-8030-1bx57fc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139954/original/image-20160930-8030-1bx57fc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139954/original/image-20160930-8030-1bx57fc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139954/original/image-20160930-8030-1bx57fc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139954/original/image-20160930-8030-1bx57fc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139954/original/image-20160930-8030-1bx57fc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">By fourth grade, a child’s enthusiasm can diminish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-128729594/stock-photo-a-sister-are-helping-her-little-brother-with-his-home-work.html?src=8DL8Z2jxKjYCqN5kBeJe3g-1-83">Boy image via www.shutterstock,com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This change in style is counter to the more communal and cooperative cultural learning environment which, according to research, <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=2006-01954-005">black students tend to prefer</a>. The fourth grade failure syndrome refers to a bias in schools (e.g., cultural insensitivity, disproportionately harsh discipline, lowered teacher expectations, tracking black students into special education or remedial classes) that has the cumulative effect of diminishing black students’ (especially boys’) enthusiasm and motivation for school.</p>
<p>By high school Tyrone no longer identified with school. His sense of pride and self-esteem increasingly came from his popularity and his athletic abilities rather than his intelligence. <a href="https://ed.stanford.edu/faculty/steele">Psychologist Claude Steele</a> has referred to this as “academic disidentification,” a phenomenon where a student’s self-esteem is disconnected from how they perform in school. </p>
<p>Tyrone is not alone. According to one study based on national data from almost 25,000 students black males were the only students that showed <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=1997-43826-014">significant disidentification</a> throughout the 12th grade. My <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41343015?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">research</a> too has confirmed this, although I did not find evidence among black females, white males or white females. </p>
<h2>What’s the college experience?</h2>
<p>While the narrative of more black men being in prison than in college has been thoroughly <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2013/02/more_black_men_in_jail_than_college_myth_rose_from_questionable_report/">debunked</a> by <a href="http://www.journalnegroed.org/ivorytoldson.html">psychologist Ivory Toldson</a>, it is still the case that black men are <a href="https://www.jbhe.com/2015/11/a-snapshot-of-the-gender-gap-in-african-american-enrollments-in-higher-education/">underrepresented</a> in college. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 887,000 black women enrolled in college compared to 618,000 black men. </p>
<p>Owing in large part to the emphasis of education by his family, Tyrone is fortunate enough to be accepted to college. Excited and nervous about being away from home, Tyrone looks forward to starting his college experience. </p>
<p>Like <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/04/how-the-kids-do-it-now-partying/360367/">many college students</a>, Tyrone likes to go to parties thrown by Greek organizations, and he frequently attends parties thrown by black fraternities. While attending one party, Tyrone and his friends became upset when campus police broke up the party because of complaints of loud music and threaten to arrest the attendees. </p>
<p>Tyrone has partied with white friends and knows firsthand that their parties often involve <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/03/the-dark-power-of-fraternities/357580/">drugs and reckless behavior</a>, yet, as my students tell me, police almost never break up their parties. As it turns out, white fraternities are frequently the perpetrators of <a href="http://college.usatoday.com/2015/03/15/timeline-list-of-recent-sorority-and-fraternity-racist-incidents/">racist incidents</a>, which cause Tyrone and other black students to engage in campus protests.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/college-fraternity-holds-racist-mlk-day-party-article-1.1586776">For example</a>, in 2014, Tau Kappa Epsilon, a fraternity at Arizona State University, was suspended for having a racist Martin Luther King Jr. party at which they drank from watermelon cups, held their crotches, wore bandannas and formed gang signs with their hands. </p>
<h2>Resilience</h2>
<p>To add insult to injury, Tyrone and other black students read opinion pieces in the student paper complaining how affirmative action discriminates against white students and allows less qualified “minority” students on campus. </p>
<p>Tyrone finds refuge in black studies classes, where he learns about theories such as “critical race theory” and terms such as “institutional racism,” “white privilege” and “hegemony.” Exposure to these classes provides Tyrone with the vocabulary and critical analytical tools to better understand the challenges facing black people.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139955/original/image-20160930-8030-1m7li9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139955/original/image-20160930-8030-1m7li9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139955/original/image-20160930-8030-1m7li9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139955/original/image-20160930-8030-1m7li9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139955/original/image-20160930-8030-1m7li9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139955/original/image-20160930-8030-1m7li9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139955/original/image-20160930-8030-1m7li9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Interest among black students in obtaining a degree remains high.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chandlerchristian/14065260817/in/photolist-nqTWL8-nH6EeT-nH6Dhc-nqTUqL-nH6rYR-nqU4SJ-nHmCxj-8F9wcY-nKaVQp-nHcgfW-nqU8fn-nqU3US-nHorZx-nqTT24-nHcmr7-nHcqzY-nH6x8D-nqTMq3-nqTHzN-nqUefD-nHcm3m-nqTKEk-nqTR2m-nqTLAh-nKaNwM-nFkTpj-nKaVtH-nqTHeC-nH6sax-nFkLNo-nHmHJ1-nqU91R-nKb1G8-nHckGS-nqU9rd">chandlerchristian</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So it is not surprising that college-educated blacks like Tyrone <a href="https://www.jbhe.com/incidents/">are more likely</a> to report experiencing discrimination in college than blacks with no college experience in college environments where racist incidents and racial microagressions are frequently reported. In spite of the desire among many for America to be colorblind, at every level of education black students experience disproportionate amounts of discrimination. </p>
<p>In many ways my research on African-American students reflects my own experiences as a black male negotiating the challenges of being in predominantly white academic environments. The silver lining to this story is that black students are incredibly resilient and there are positive things to report. </p>
<p>In 2016, for example, enrollment at historically black colleges and universities <a href="https://www.jbhe.com/2016/09/more-good-news-on-enrollments-at-historically-black-universities/">has increased</a>. It is difficult to know if this increase is related to the negative experiences of discrimination black students often experience on predominantly white campuses, but it does suggest that interest among black students in obtaining a college education remains high. According to 2016 data reported in the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, black women now have the highest graduation rate of any demographic group at the University of Georgia. </p>
<p>For every positive outcome for students like Tyrone, there are unfortunately also too many negative outcomes for other similar students. The educational experiences of Tyrone and all black students matters should be of concern to everyone.</p>
<p>While education is not a cure all for experiences with racism and discrimination, education can equip us with the tools to better understand, analyze and ultimately find solutions to the tragic incidents we are seeing too frequently involving police killings of black people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63576/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin O'Neal Cokley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What are the race-related struggles that African-American students experience throughout their school years? Here’s the story of Tyrone.Kevin O'Neal Cokley, Professor of Educational Psychology and African and African Diaspora Studies, The University of Texas at AustinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/624612016-07-18T19:59:18Z2016-07-18T19:59:18ZDallas and Baton Rouge shooters: A reminder of the troubled history of black veterans in America<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130972/original/image-20160718-2133-17zojlg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A black U.S. Marine gives salute.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/marine_corps/16622403271">U.S. Marine Corps</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent shooting deaths of eight police officers in two separate incidents has shocked the nation and left us searching for answers.</p>
<p>On Sunday morning, Gavin Long engaged in a shootout with police in Baton Rouge that left three officers dead and three injured. Long was also killed. </p>
<p>Just 10 days earlier, on the night of July 7, Micah Xavier Johnson drove to a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Dallas, Texas, determined to kill white police officers. He killed five policemen and wounded seven others before he was killed after a long standoff with law enforcement. </p>
<p>While we may never fully know what caused Johnson and Long to commit such horrific crimes, the fact that they were both African-Americans and served in the military has received <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-baton-rouge-police-shooting-20160717-snap-story.html">significant attention</a>.</p>
<p>Johnson has been variously described as “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/07/09/dallas-attacker-was-an-army-veteran-who-targeted-white-police-officers-officials-say/?utm_term=.6179af9fd902">demented</a>,” a “<a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POLICE_SHOOTINGS_DALLAS_GUNMAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">disgrace</a>” and filled with hatred. Initial reports suspect Long suffered from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/17/baton-rouge-gunman-gavin-e-long-cosmo-setepenra-marines">“paranoia” and “mental instability.”</a> </p>
<p>African-Americans have a long and proud history of participation in the United States armed forces. Black soldiers have fought in every war from the American Revolution to the present. <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Torchbearers_of_Democracy.html?id=0ROwDrcmHssC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false">I have written about</a> their important role in World War I. They are powerful symbols of black patriotism and respectability, and demonstrate how in spite of slavery, Jim Crow and institutionalized discrimination, African-Americans have been willing to fight for their country and die for its ideals.</p>
<p>Micah Johnson and Gavin Long violently disrupt this narrative. Their actions speak to a rarely acknowledged aspect of the history of African-American veterans – one of injustice, disillusionment, trauma, racial militancy and undignified death. Johnson, Long and their troubled humanity remind us that the history of black servicemen and women has been fraught with tension.</p>
<h2>The meaning of service</h2>
<p>Johnson and Long were dedicated soldiers. Johnson’s mother, Delphine Johnson, said that her son, like so many black servicemen before him, “<a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/07/11/exclusive-parents-of-dallas-cop-killer-micah-johnson-speak-out-for-first-time-since-attack/">loved his country</a>” and wanted to protect it. Johnson served in the United States Army Reserves for six years, enlisting out of high school in 2009. He completed a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the 420th Engineer Brigade before receiving an honorable discharge in 2015. </p>
<p>Long was a former U.S. Marine who served for five years – including one year in Iraq as a data specialist. He achieved the rank of sergeant until his discharge in 2010. He received several awards during his time in the Marines, including <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/us/baton-rouge-shooting.html?_r=0">a good conduct medal</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130958/original/image-20160718-1906-18poeuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130958/original/image-20160718-1906-18poeuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130958/original/image-20160718-1906-18poeuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130958/original/image-20160718-1906-18poeuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130958/original/image-20160718-1906-18poeuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130958/original/image-20160718-1906-18poeuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130958/original/image-20160718-1906-18poeuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gold medal service for black Marines who were treated unfairly in segregated boot camps.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/marine_corps/7486605958">US Marine Corps</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Like Long and Johnson, black men and women have joined the military for various reasons throughout American history. While love of country has been an important motivation, other factors such as the opportunity for freedom, the desire for adventure and the promise of gainful employment have also <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=zXF1bhMrO5MC&printsec=frontcover&dq=african+americans+in+the+military&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwim2aqn1ffNAhWKVh4KHV5oBVMQ6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=african%20americans%20in%20the%20military&f=false">been meaningful</a>. More than just patriotic symbols, black servicemen and women, like all individuals, possess complex identities that have shaped their military experiences.</p>
<h2>Disillusionment and trauma</h2>
<p>These experiences have not always been positive. </p>
<p>According to his family, Johnson returned home from Afghanistan a different person. “The military was not what Micah thought it would be,” Johnson’s mother <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/07/11/exclusive-parents-of-dallas-cop-killer-micah-johnson-speak-out-for-first-time-since-attack/">has stated</a>, adding, “He was very disappointed, very disappointed.” In her words, he became “a hermit” and resentful toward the government. </p>
<p>After his discharge, Long also seems to have become <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/17/baton-rouge-gunman-gavin-e-long-cosmo-setepenra-marines">isolated and aggrieved</a>. He divorced his wife, changed his name to “Cosmo Setepenra,” accused the government of placing him under surveillance and in numerous online videos decried systematic racism against African-Americans, including the July 5 police <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/us/baton-rouge-shooting.html">killing of Alton Sterling</a> in Baton Rouge. </p>
<p>Johnson’s mother <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/07/11/exclusive-parents-of-dallas-cop-killer-micah-johnson-speak-out-for-first-time-since-attack/">said</a> that “it may be that the ideal that he thought of our government, of what he thought the military represented, it just didn’t live up to his expectation.” </p>
<p>In the longer historical context of African-Americans in the armed forces, Johnson would not be alone. For much of its history, the military has been <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Strength_for_the_Fight.html?id=B13CGJMiyOIC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false">a deeply racist institution</a>. Black soldiers, having to endure often virulent discrimination and abuse, naturally questioned the value of risking their life for a nation that refused to respect both their American identity and basic humanity. </p>
<p>Studies have shown that black soldiers suffer from <a href="http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treatment/cultural/ptsd-minority-vets.asp">higher rates</a> of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than their white counterparts. However, many black veterans suffer the added trauma of their disillusioning experiences in the armed forces and the cognitive dissonance between the ideals and reality of the United States, especially in regards to race. African-American veterans have often questioned how they could fight for freedom and democracy abroad while still confronting racism at home.</p>
<p>It is fair to ask: How did serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then seeing videos of police killing unarmed black people, possibly affect Long and Johnson’s respective psyches? Both men may not have served in combat, but they would not be immune from the psychological traumas of being black soldiers and the need to make sense of this conflicted identity at a time of heightened racial tensions.</p>
<h2>Black radicalism and the specter of violence</h2>
<p>That Long and Johnson apparently exhibited a stronger sense of racial militancy following their discharge should not be surprising. </p>
<p>Black veterans constitute an important part of the history of black radicalism in the United States. While Long and Johnson appear to have had <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-police-shooter-idUSKCN0ZX0WC">no formal affiliations and likely acted alone</a>, examples abound of African-American veterans participating in and leading militant organizations committed to black freedom and racial justice.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130963/original/image-20160718-2127-tsqdd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130963/original/image-20160718-2127-tsqdd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130963/original/image-20160718-2127-tsqdd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130963/original/image-20160718-2127-tsqdd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130963/original/image-20160718-2127-tsqdd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130963/original/image-20160718-2127-tsqdd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130963/original/image-20160718-2127-tsqdd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black soldiers of the 369th infantry return from World War I.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/5506534232">U.S. National archives</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Following World War I, many disillusioned black veterans joined groups such as the African Blood Brotherhood and, most notably, Marcus Garvey’s <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0ROwDrcmHssC&printsec=frontcover&dq=torchbearers+of+democracy&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiq-PO-7PfNAhWGmR4KHQCyCJkQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=torchbearers%20of%20democracy&f=false">Universal Negro Improvement Association</a>. Former soldiers played a significant role in the Civil Rights and Black Power movements of the 1960s. Ernest Thomas, a veteran of World War II, founded the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=8H9Me8LZ488C&printsec=frontcover&dq=deacons+of+defense&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj1mPv-4vrNAhUEKx4KHV0qDugQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=deacons%20of%20defense&f=false">Deacons of Defense</a> that provided armed protection for southern civil rights activists. The Black Panther Party was cofounded by <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=CJX_JX9jENgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=bobby+seale&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiR9L7fo_XNAhVG1B4KHSU-BH4Q6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&q=bobby%20seale&f=false">Bobby Seale</a>, who served three years in the United States Air Force until he was dishonorably discharged for fighting. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130970/original/image-20160718-2110-4yttnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130970/original/image-20160718-2110-4yttnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130970/original/image-20160718-2110-4yttnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130970/original/image-20160718-2110-4yttnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130970/original/image-20160718-2110-4yttnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130970/original/image-20160718-2110-4yttnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130970/original/image-20160718-2110-4yttnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black Panther Party cofounders Bobby Seale and Huey Newton.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party#/media/File:Black-Panther-Party-armed-guards-in-street-shotguns.jpg">Wiki Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The connection among African-American veterans, black militancy and the specter of violence is also not new. Historical fears of radicalized black soldiers and veterans sparking racial conflict – especially in the South – and killing white people <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Black_Flag_Over_Dixie.html?id=WRC9QOdYDYcC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false">date back to the Reconstruction era</a> and continued following <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Seeing_Red.html?id=rc-uwLkQmFAC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false">World War I</a> and <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=fJyJl6OT16AC&printsec=frontcover&dq=world+war+2+black+veterans&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHoI2n9ffNAhUBYT4KHbOHDKsQ6AEISjAI#v=onepage&q=world%20war%202%20black%20veterans&f=false">World War II</a>. </p>
<p>The Dallas and Baton Rouge shootings also invoke memories of more modern incidents. In 1973, a disgruntled black Navy veteran, Mark Essex, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=TfEDmROcZwEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=mark+essex&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwje3aHWpPXNAhXCrB4KHZszCI4Q6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=mark%20essex&f=false">murdered nine people</a>, including five police officers, in New Orleans. Essex’s rampage ended when law enforcement trapped him on a hotel roof and filled his body with over 200 bullets. Micah Johnson met a similarly grisly fate when he was cornered by Dallas police in a parking garage and killed by a robot-delivered bomb.</p>
<p>Should we mourn for Micah Johnson and Gavin Long? Did their lives matter? Do their violent actions erase the meaning of their years of military service? Do we ignore their humanity?</p>
<p>The actions of Micah Johnson and Gavin Long are inexcusable. They do not represent the Black Lives Matter movement. They certainly do not represent the millions of black veterans, past and present, who served their country and as civilians have made valuable contributions to society. </p>
<p>But there is also no denying that Johnson and Long speak to a more unsettling historical reality, that for many black veterans the nation they swore to protect and defend has ultimately failed them by not sufficiently protecting and defending black people.</p>
<p>This makes them American tragedies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62461/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chad Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The men who killed police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge were black veterans. A historian explains black veterans’ long struggle to live with inequality in their military service, and back home.Chad Williams, Associate Professor of African and Afro-American Studies, Brandeis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/622622016-07-12T13:50:35Z2016-07-12T13:50:35ZWhat troubled US police forces can learn from the civil rights era<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130220/original/image-20160712-9267-66it2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Martin Luther King Jr. and President Lyndon Johnson, 1966.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMartin_Luther_King%2C_Jr._and_Lyndon_Johnson_2.jpg">Yoichi Robert Okamoto/Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>Effective law enforcement requires the support of the community. Such support will not be present when a substantial segment of the community feels threatened by the police and regards the police as an occupying force.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These words could be read as a comment on the recent <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/11/us/dallas-shooting-investigation/">shootings in Dallas, Texas</a>. Or on the deaths of <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/officer-involved-shootings-castile-sterling/490349/">Alton Sterling</a>, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-live-streamed-police-killing-revealed-the-power-of-representation-62238">Philando Castile</a> in St Paul, Minnesota, who last week became the latest casualties on the tragically long and ever-growing list of African-Americans killed by white police officers.</p>
<p>But they actually come from the late 1960s, and specifically from the <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10730.html">Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders</a>. The Kerner Commission, as it is better known, was set up by President Lyndon Johnson, who tasked it with identifying the causes of the race riots that took place across the US in the five “Long Hot Summers” of 1964-68. </p>
<p>The report found a history of poor police practices was a common factor in many riots. And five decades on, it seems not much has changed. </p>
<p>In 2015, the report of President Obama’s <a href="http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/policingtaskforce">Task Force on 21st Century Policing</a> made the same point: “Law enforcement cannot build community trust if it is seen as an occupying force coming in from outside to impose control on the community.”</p>
<p>Among other things, the task force looked to new technology to provide a solution for old problems. It recommended that police officers wear body cameras to help with training and improve public trust. They should also carry <a href="https://theconversation.com/gun-or-taser-london-attacks-show-choice-is-tough-for-police-31430">tasers</a> as well as guns.</p>
<p>It sounds like common sense. If officers are filmed while they are on duty then they will think twice before stepping out of line; and using tasers to stop violent suspects will lead to fewer fatal shootings. But it’s not that simple.</p>
<h2>Unintended consequences</h2>
<p>Body cameras don’t come cheap. The Dallas Police Department has <a href="http://www.dallascitynews.net/city-council-approves-body-cameras-for-police">spent millions of dollars</a> on new cameras, but so far has only been able to kit out about 400 of its 2,500 officers.</p>
<p>And that’s just the start. Scrutinising the thousands of hours of footage generated every week means that many officers spend most of their time at the desk rather than out on patrol.</p>
<p>Cameras could also make things worse, not better. Some people stopped by the police will not like being filmed, making a difficult situation more tense. There is also a question of civil liberties. In August last year, the police union in New York sparked controversy by calling on officers to take photos of the 75,000 homeless people in the city to draw attention to “quality of life” offences. </p>
<p>Then there are tasers, which the 2015 task force report refers to as “Conductive Energy Devices” – a nice technical term that makes them sound harmless.</p>
<p>If only. A 2014 US Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2014/12/04/cleveland_division_of_police_findings_letter.pdf">report on the police department in Cleveland, Ohio</a> described the use of tasers. The electric current “instantly overrides the central nervous system, paralyzing the muscles throughout the body, rendering the target limp and helpless” and inflicting “excruciating pain”.</p>
<p>And that’s just in healthy adults. For the very young, the elderly or infirm it could be even worse; anyone tasered falls straight to the ground, so there is a risk of serious injury or even death. </p>
<p>The Cleveland Report also found widespread evidence of police abuse in the use of tasers. This included tasering a “suicidal deaf man who committed no crime, posed minimal risk to officers and may not have understood officers’ commands”. Another suspect was tasered while strapped to a stretcher in the back of an ambulance.</p>
<p>Most police officers do not abuse the trust placed in them in this way. They risk their lives on a daily basis for the public good, as was shown all too clearly in Dallas. It is important that police officers are given the support they need to do their job. State-of-the-art resources are a part of that – but they’re not a quick fix for deep seated policing problems.</p>
<h2>Long past time</h2>
<p>Back in 1968, the Kerner Commission called for changes of a different kind. They included better training and clearer policy guidelines for police officers, simpler and more effective complaints procedures for ordinary citizens, and more community policing. The commission also highlighted the need to recruit more black police officers to work in African-American communities. </p>
<p>A lot has changed since the 1960s, but some things remain the same. Good policing is about people. Police officers working with the communities they serve to make a better and safer society for everyone.</p>
<p>Today, police forces across America <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/01/21/police-redoubling-efforts-to-recruit-diverse-officers/21574081/">still fail to recruit from minority groups</a>. In too many towns and cities, police patrols are seen as nothing short of an occupying force. </p>
<p>In its day, the Kerner Commission’s recommendations were largely ignored. 50 years on, it’s high time they were finally put into practice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62262/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevern Verney received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as Co-Investigator for the Barack Obama Research Network, 2010-2013. </span></em></p>The reforms today’s police departments desperately need were set out five decades ago.Kevern Verney, Associate Dean (Research), Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/583962016-04-27T10:07:29Z2016-04-27T10:07:29ZFrom generations of infidelity and pain, Beyoncé makes ‘Lemonade’<p>Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. But apparently a woman scorned is also the foundation of a creative tour de force. </p>
<p>On HBO this past Saturday – in a time slot generally reserved for feature films – Beyoncé released “Lemonade,” a series of music videos compiled into a short film that’s both eclectically cinematic and starkly personal. The songs and accompanying visuals are laced with poetry; each offers historical and psychological codes for hurt, betrayal, depression and renewal.</p>
<p>The story begins with her suspicions of a cheating husband. By the next vignette, we know he’s been untrue. </p>
<p>As a professor of representations in media, I get to spend my days diving into popular culture, and picking apart why it inspires and entertains us. </p>
<p>In “Lemonade,” Beyoncé contrasts her life as a deity with the struggle of being a black daughter, wife and mother. At a time when race, gender, sexuality and politics are merging in her public life, they are also colliding inside of her home. In Beyoncé’s case, this collision leads to familial strife ending in hard-fought reconciliation.</p>
<p>Where Prince had “Purple Rain” and Michael Jackson had “Thriller,” Beyoncé, with “Lemonade,” now has her own authentic, self-reflective masterpiece. </p>
<h2>A gift from mother to daughter?</h2>
<p>In “Lemonade,” betrayal chips away at Beyoncé’s self-identity and, at points, sanity. Who is in the house when she’s not there? What secret is her husband hiding? Who is this bifurcated man – a good father during the day who, in the middle of the night, contributes to his family’s demise?</p>
<p>In one of the vignettes, she says she knows he’s been cheating because she sees him behaving in the same suspicious ways her father did <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/09/18/beyonce-matthew-knowles-love-child_n_5845276.html">when he cheated on Beyoncé’s mother</a>. </p>
<p>Although some might critique Beyoncé for airing her dirty laundry, others could argue she’s using “Lemonade” as a teaching tool for her daughter, Blue Ivy.</p>
<p>In one sense, Beyoncé is telling a story of recognition and rebirth to her daughter in the best way she knows how – through song. </p>
<p>In another, she’s surrounding her daughter with a support system that all women need as they navigate becoming women. In “Lemonade,” tennis icon Serena Williams, <a href="http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/uchclf1989&div=10&id=&page=">intersectional</a> feminists and actors <a href="http://www.bustle.com/articles/108133-the-hunger-gamess-amandla-stenberg-has-a-new-feminist-comic-niobe-she-is-life-and-we">Amandla Stenberg</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zendaya-feminism-flare_us_5638d383e4b079a43c049928">Zendaya</a>, and <a href="http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2016/04/25/beyonces-new-album-fueled-by-fire-from-young-somali-british-poet/">Somali-British poet Warsan Shire</a> make appearances; all have stories to tell of being broken, experiencing a rebirth and emerging stronger.</p>
<p>While women of all races can relate to stories of infidelity, “Lemonade” isn’t made for them. Instead, it is a mature lyrical epic of the journey black women take – the attempt to triumph in a world that frequently tells us we are not enough. </p>
<p>Within black families in America, <a href="https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/more/resources/family-values/">a legacy of struggle is passed from one generation to the next</a>. A dominant trope is that the mothers in this community are the ones that make the sacrifices. They are the ones that must stay, persevere, and succeed – even when their fathers or husbands mistreat them or leave. </p>
<p>This is the story Beyoncé is telling. And by interweaving these confounding societal structures, it makes her husband’s betrayal all the more poignant. </p>
<p>As images of a contented black women flicker across the screen, <a href="http://mic.com/articles/141642/here-s-the-malcolm-x-speech-about-black-women-beyonce-sampled-in-lemonade#.d1mUNK5Vn">an excerpt from a Malcolm X speech</a> tells viewers:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Their smiles convey resilience in the face of nearly insurmountable odds. </p>
<h2>For black men, society cultivates insecurity</h2>
<p>While Jay Z’s suggested infidelity isn’t excused, the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown and Eric Garner appear in “Lemonade” to remind viewers that the black man, too, has been literally broken and beaten.</p>
<p>Their sons, killed for simply looking or acting suspiciously, now symbolize the <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/trayvon-martin-son-black-male-code-135710728.html">pervasive fear black male persons feel</a>. The toll this takes has been highlighted by social work scholars Christopher Salas-Wright and Trenette Clark, who have <a href="http://www.universityherald.com/articles/11494/20140922/discrimination-mental-health-african-americans-caribbean-blacks.htm">shown</a> how the disrespect and hostility of racial discrimination negatively impacts mental health of black men.</p>
<p>How could any man – even a man as wealthy and famous as Jay Z – retain his psychological security in a world that cultivates his insecurity? </p>
<p>Of course, it is from “Becky with the good hair” (the other woman, according to Beyoncé). What more does a man who has everything need? More validation of his masculinity, of course.</p>
<p>By the end of the piece, it does appear that Beyoncé has forgiven her husband and father, deciding to let love heal the familial wounds. </p>
<p>Her decision to forgive – but clearly not forget – is her choice. This is significant, too: Beyoncé’s black feminism celebrates the ability of black women to choose out of love, not necessity. </p>
<p>The story of Beyoncé healing her black family is one of those rare moments where an artist ascends to icon status. </p>
<p>And by telling her truth, Beyoncé takes what is bitter and gives it new life, setting herself, her mother and her daughter free.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/okGJ-Fto36Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade.’</span></figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58396/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naeemah Clark does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Prince had ‘Purple Rain.’ Michael Jackson had ‘Thriller.’ And now Beyoncé has her own self-reflective masterpiece.Naeemah Clark, Associate Professor of Communications, Elon UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/377102015-06-19T10:18:03Z2015-06-19T10:18:03ZRacial and caste oppression have many similarities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84609/original/image-20150610-6817-1kav3a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Systems of oppression have much in common.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dfataustralianaid/10704037854/in/photolist-hiSZwN-pKU7xq-9Syz5f-6WQkvX-8rToTc-dtMFFE-7TXhS7-347557-juRZ2w-4VaYPb-4XGGLf-ifvfqv-evzE4p-8rE8pc-eiZwbu-9uKAQF-9PjRyc-4RZkK1-cmDTR3-2LgQTD-BR7W-8ENDrh-8AzDYr-6HHBGd-bzofcK-ap6JhZ-ofNdGA-fdMMYY-oryGSy-9xSTCc-o1CxxM-9uKAQR-9uNBSE-pzRTf6-9u6nW6-aPC766-ohh5gw-bGNiwK-rB2BGN-4AJGuE-bGNit2-4XAt5M-8rSDD4-9u9oLu-4Uqp7U-4xcMcF-5HHLcM-9uhk6g-9uhkex-9uhkrX">Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Comparisons can be risky, but not impossible.</p>
<p>Consider for a moment India’s Dalits, or “untouchables,” and African Americans. </p>
<p>Racial inequality in America has its parallel in caste inequality in India even though by definition, race and caste are not the same thing. The story of one struggle for social justice can illuminate the pitfalls and prospects of success of another.</p>
<p>As a researcher in applied ethics, human rights and global development studies, I am leading an ongoing research effort that will compare and contrast the nature of exclusion and marginalization faced by African Americans and Dalit Indians in their respective historical and contemporary contexts. </p>
<h2>The Dalit story</h2>
<p>Although the Indian constitution bans discrimination on the basis of caste, the social, religious and cultural practice of “untouchability” continues unabated. </p>
<p>Formerly known as “untouchables,” Dalits are excluded from social and public spaces, prevented from drawing water from public facilities and segregated in schools.</p>
<p>Since the caste system was formed over 2,000 years ago, a noticeable percentage of the <a href="http://idsn.org/india-official-dalit-population-exceeds-200-million/">200 million “Dalits”</a> have been thrust into the lowest occupations of society, such as scavengers and sanitation cleaners, with little upward mobility. </p>
<p>While there has been some progress since India’s independence from the British Empire, the pace of economic growth in mitigating social inequality has been <a href="http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Documents/SIG_WP13-1_InclGrowth.pdf">uneven</a>. </p>
<p>So, in an Indian nation that is rapidly modernizing and urbanizing, opportunities for the Dalits still remain limited. The degradation and the health risks of performing menial tasks are substantial. </p>
<p>Furthermore, with the <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/to-be-a-fundamentalist-hindu/">rise of Hindu fundamentalism </a>in national politics, the continuous expansion of liberty and equality of opportunity is by no means a foregone conclusion. </p>
<h2>Discrimination, exclusion, privilege</h2>
<p>One can draw parallels in different systems of oppression. </p>
<p>Despite 50 years having passed since the Civil Rights movement, the condition of the majority of poor, urban African Americans is <a href="https://www.aclu.org/infographic/school-prison-pipeline-infographic">dire</a>, and chances for survival are diminishing over time while the prison pipeline is increasing.</p>
<p>Let’s look at how both caste and racial discrimination perpetuate hierarchy, privilege, discrimination, marginalization and exclusion. </p>
<p>Data from the last few years show <a href="http://stateofworkingamerica.org/fact-sheets/poverty/">27% of African Americans at the poverty line</a>, which is much higher than <a href="http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/poverty-rate-by-raceethnicity/">other groups</a>. In India, the <a href="http://newint.org/books/reference/world-development/case-studies/inequality-dalits-in-india/">condition of Dalits</a> has been extremely dire for centuries.</p>
<p>Several African American economists in the US have looked at structural and institutional forms of racial exclusion in terms of wealth and poverty. They have also opened a dialogue with economists in South Asia, where exclusion and inequality <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=U5LL8JVqu8QC&pg=PA121&lpg=PA121&dq=Darity+racial+inequality+and+caste&source=bl&ots=9wueZ3x7yP&sig=aHI-c_ePKl6nBGOs1WZ2Wbx92Qo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBWoVChMI1pnt6syIxgIVhCisCh0DlADD#v=onepage&q=Darity%20racial%20inequality%20and%20caste&f=false">relate to caste</a>. </p>
<p>Although some progress was made in the 20th century that allowed greater inclusivity and equity – particularly in higher education – many issues remain despite constitutional bans on caste discrimination. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84612/original/image-20150610-6801-1b1tke8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84612/original/image-20150610-6801-1b1tke8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84612/original/image-20150610-6801-1b1tke8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84612/original/image-20150610-6801-1b1tke8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84612/original/image-20150610-6801-1b1tke8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84612/original/image-20150610-6801-1b1tke8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84612/original/image-20150610-6801-1b1tke8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dalits in India still struggle for their rights.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/82898203@N08/8650310763/in/photolist-ebp722-4XmxKf-ebuFuG-ebuJ3N-ebuJXG-ebp1ZZ-ebp3En-ebuFPU-ebuDrj-ebp1YD-ebp5fH-ebp33R-ebuKSj-ebp63r-ebuHaQ-ebp3kR-ebuGUE-ebuGbm-ebuKk9-ebuDwd-ebuDRd-ebuDtY-ebp6jK-ebp4Zr-ebp2DH-NU5F9-ebpBKB-qzo3gM-qRJbT5-6a77Xd-4BxFa3-kTFdcz-ebv9HY-ebpKvi-ebpAXV-ebvkfY-ebpCRc-ebv8EQ-ebpC3k-ebpAsz-ebveQ3-ebv9ru-ebvsuQ-ebpN2R-ebpDq6-ebpuHe-ebpMkM-ebvj3U-ebvhjw-ebvh2m">ActionAid India - Campaigns</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In America, cultural and political segregation of the public space continues to occur despite anti-segregation laws. </p>
<p>For example, there are concerns among some Supreme Court justices that redistricting of voting districts can lead to further <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/25/politics/supreme-court-rejects-alabama-redistricting/">racial inequality</a>. </p>
<p>In India, Dalits in rural villages are forbidden near Hindu temples or disallowed with their shoes on in higher-caste neighborhoods. Mob violence is committed against them with impunity, and a disproportionate number of rapes are committed against <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/rape-of-dalit-women-registers-500-increase-since-2001-rti-reveals/">Dalit women</a>. </p>
<p>In comparison, post-Civil War white mob violence against blacks has morphed into what one could describe as the state-condoned violence of homicides of African Americans by police today. As of June, out of 467 Americans nationwide who had been <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/where-police-have-killed-americans-in-2015/">killed</a> by cops since the beginning of 2015, 136 were African American. </p>
<h2>How race and caste work</h2>
<p>Looking at exclusion in America forces us to grapple with issues of violence against African Americans, racial inequality and racial injustice at a time that is often deemed “post-racial,” namely, five decades after the Civil Rights movement. </p>
<p>We see a similar pattern in India, wherein the Dalits are asked to believe that the Indian constitution bans discrimination, even though it does not abolish the caste system itself. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84613/original/image-20150610-6817-1qzwda1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84613/original/image-20150610-6817-1qzwda1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84613/original/image-20150610-6817-1qzwda1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84613/original/image-20150610-6817-1qzwda1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84613/original/image-20150610-6817-1qzwda1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84613/original/image-20150610-6817-1qzwda1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84613/original/image-20150610-6817-1qzwda1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Racial tensions continue in America.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenmelkisethian/16581479664/in/photolist-rgfqdq-snFD7z-rrw5LX-rgrTkZ-s6LcdL-rVEmX5-rVNoWv-sdfvwn-smHsf7-bJFHhV-sdfx2B-rTVoyc-rTVtmt-rTVtF6-so91VH-sd752s-rVEkZ3-rVEhN3-rTVu3Z-rgrWj4-rTVsoX-rVFm77-sdcD2K-sdfAYz-rgfpQS-rrjTch-s68Af9-rrweLk-s6JX1j-rrwjr2-rriQsG-s6Ad79-rrac2q-s6JL5v-soaxK6-rruYw4-s4R9zi-sogTox-soaTiW-skqY2W-s4oMUn-snyxnd-snyxDf-rqHH3u-s8dqDo-spXTZ6-snn2bg-sncyZd-s5MMCS-rqxYYX">Stephen Melkisethian</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is after the successes of the African American Civil Rights movement that we have witnessed the birth of the <a href="https://www.aclu.org/fact-sheet/what-school-prison-pipeline">school-to-prison pipeline</a>, state violence against a disproportionate number of African American men in police killings, and the turning back of affirmative action at public universities in some states’ constitutional amendments, such as <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/22/justice/scotus-michigan-affirmative-action/">Michigan</a>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, with right wing conservative political power in India, caste discrimination is intensifying. </p>
<p>For example, Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims are not eligible for reservations, or what we in the US would call affirmative action benefits at universities, because technically “untouchability” exists only in <a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-not-in-favour-to-give-sc-reservation-to-christian-and-muslim-dalits-government-2042306">Hinduism</a>, when in social reality it occurs <a href="http://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/indias-christian-and-muslim-dalits-say-they-are-more-untouchable-than-hindus-22756">across religions</a> in India. </p>
<p>Historically, both race and caste have been used to divide society in many ways to the unfair advantage of certain groups over others. Again, there are similarities in the construction of how people have been forced into these categories. </p>
<p>Here in America, people are born into a “race,” and America uses race as a defining demographic category in its census. Biological race by nature, for now, is inescapable, even though some would say that “race” is an artificial category that is socially constructed.</p>
<p>Dalits, too, are born into a caste, which is unalterable, as they are told, and it is due to the sins of a previous life that they are paying the price in their current life. Hinduism believes in the transmigration of the soul, in which the soul enters a new body after death. The caste that one enters into depends upon the actions of a previous life. </p>
<h2>The two democracies should learn from each other</h2>
<p>So how can the US and India learn from each other in order to solve some of the most pressing problems for the world’s two largest democracies, both of which consider themselves secular and free? </p>
<p>If nations can cooperate on trade and development, there is no reason that they cannot participate in a global dialogue on minority rights through the lens of their religious, cultural and social heritages. </p>
<p>They must learn to come to grips with the fact that the mere assertion of a democratic society does not necessarily translate in to a free and equal one.</p>
<p>Modern democratic superpowers with sizable national wealth, such as the US and India, also have a dark side, involving what some would consider gross human rights violations. </p>
<p>My work will set out to explore how different democracies can promote tolerance, inclusion and pluralism while combating various forms of discrimination and exclusion based on race and caste. </p>
<p>The question will be how to evaluate the claim that both societies make, as the two largest, most “peaceful and successful” democracies in the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37710/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rajesh Sampath does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Racial inequality in America has its parallel in caste inequality in India. What can the world’s two largest democracies learn from each other?Rajesh Sampath, Assistant Professor of the Philosophy of Justice, Rights, and Social Change , Brandeis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.