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Unit 4: Anti-Black Violence in the U.S.
The imprinting of power on the bodies of Black people is historically specific. How do we trace this process from slavery to the present? How do lynching and sexual violence function as racial violence?
View the following cases on RDIC:
“Michael’s death was a tragic loss for his eight year old son, to whom he was a very loving father, and to the rest of his family, as well as to his friends. We are finding it very difficult to understand and to deal with Michael’s death. There does not appear to be any justification for Michael’s death. Michael was not a violent individual, and our family is deeply saddened by our tragic loss. As a family, we are committed to advocating for justice, and preventing future unfortunate deaths.” Michael Eligon Sr.
Social science research suggests that cops see Black children as older and as less innocent than their white peers. The research confirms what most of us already know: Black children are considered to be disposable and dangerous mini-adults…History offers evidence of the intractability of the problem of police violence. What should we do then? Quite simply, we must end the police.
Readings:
- Nicholas Mirzoeff, “The Murder of Michael Brown: Reading the Ferguson Grand Jury. Transcript.” Social Text 34. 1 (2016): 49-71.
- Holly Fulton-Babicke, “I Can’t Breathe”: Eric Garner and In/Out-Group Rhetorics.” Rhetoric Review 37:4 (2018): 434-446.
- Mariame Kaba, “Summer Heat”, June 8, 2015
For additional reading, please see:
- Mapping Police Violence
- Dora Apel, “Review: On Looking: Lynching Photographs and Legacies of Lynching after 9/11.” Reviewed Work(s): Witness: Photographs of Lynchings from the Collection of James Allen and John Littlefield by ; Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America by James Allen and Julia Hotton
