Author: TheConversation

By Angélica Durán-Martínez, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell The U.S. Justice Department has dispatched federal agents and U.S. marshals to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where a police shooting left an unarmed Black man, Jacob Blake, paralyzed. The August 23 shooting triggered fury, protest and nights of deadly conflict. Kenosha is the latest city to see federal intervention in demonstrations against police violence. Citing its responsibility to stop “violent anarchists rioting in the streets,” the Trump administration sent armed Justice Department agents to Portland and Seattle in July. In May, after the police killing of George Floyd, it...

By Paul F. Clark, School Director and Professor of Labor and Employment Relations, Pennsylvania State University In the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, news reports have suggested that police unions bear some of the responsibility for the violence perpetrated against African Americans. Critics have assailed these unions for protecting officers who have abused their authority. Derek Chauvin, the former police officer facing second-degree murder charges for Floyd’s death, had nearly 20 complaints filed against him during his career but only received two letters of reprimand. Many people who support labor unions...

By Jonathan Obert, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Amherst College It is a contentious time in the United States, with a pandemic, racial equality, police violence, and a presidential election all occupying the public’s attention. Given all that stress, it can seem like people are taking the law into their own hands more often. It is not just in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In recent weeks, there have been confrontations over removing monuments to the Confederacy, clashes over the use of face masks, attempts to protect – or intimidate – Black Lives Matter protesters and even a renewed interest in “citizen’s...