The United States (U.S.) has a robust gun culture centered on the Constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to legally own and use firearms. Overall 30% of Americans own a gun and approximately another 11% of Americans live with someone who does. There are more guns than ever in private citizens’ hands – gun ownership has increased…
Tag: racism
Ph.D. Spotlight: Criminal Justice Institutions: Human Behavior in a System of Neutral Competence
Within the majority of courtrooms throughout the U.S. you will find statues of lady justice in all sizes. Generally, she is depicted as a woman wearing a toga in a powerful pose, holding a scale in one hand, sword in the other, and is blindfolded. Lady justice is said to stem from Greek and Roman…
Black Women Business Owners’ Struggles and Survival Strategies
This was first posted on January 27, 2020. According to the 2018 Report on the State of Women Owned Businesses, Black women-owned businesses experienced the highest growth rate (164%) of all women-owned businesses from 2017 to 2018. An appealing alternative to the formal labor market, entrepreneurship provides Black women the opportunity to escape hostile working…
Like All Black Lives, All Black History Matters
This first posted on February 19, 2018. There’s something that needs to be said before we go any further: Black history is American history is the world’s history. That said, there’s no denying that some histories are told more often than others. Those narratives get told over and over again, changing just a bit with…
Social Equity: The Predictable Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Minority Communities
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has demanded global attention as it claims the lives of more than 560,000 humans globally and more than 135,000 humans in the United States alone. COVID-19 death data in the United States by race, reveals a striking image of inequity. The data indicate that there are disproportionate deaths in Black and…
Protests and Pressure: Why is Trump Responding to the Black Lives Matter Movement Now?
Today, Donald Trump is scheduled to sign an executive order on police reform. According to senior White House officials, the order will create a database to track police officers with histories of misconduct and use federal monies to incentivize police departments to meet higher standards on the use of force. The order will not address…
George Floyd and the Future of Police Misconduct
This piece first appeared in The Beacon. The death of George Floyd at the hands of a cop with a history of excessive force complaints has spurred protests, demonstrations, and riots across the nation. Unfortunately, the violence some protesters have unleashed on these cities is likely to exacerbate existing cultural and political schisms, making meaningful…
Queen and Slim’s Cynicism Should Prompt Serious Discourse on Race and Criminal Justice
This post first appeared on the Independent Institute. When Queen and Slim went into wide release in November 2019, trailers suggested the movie was a story of a “black Bonnie and Clyde.” It’s not. That’s also the point. The movie, directed by Melina Matsoukas and written by Lena Waithe, is a disturbing commentary on racial injustice in America. Most white…
Featured Blog by Award-Winning Faculty: Shared Histories
As the Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal highlights, this is a story with broader purchase. Focusing on a particular place, Shared Histories highlights how racial injustices developed through the complex mixture of local, provincial, and federal policies. But it also registers the possibility of implementing different policies and building different relationships. It is important to share the story of Indiantown, so it does not happen again. So we can learn from it and create a new and different future.
Wicked Problems, Wicked Solutions 