Black Bodies on the Ground: Policing Disparities in the African American Community—An Analysis of Newsprint From January 1, 2015, Through December 31, 2015

Abstract

This article tests the thesis that policing today is a consequence of its history with the Black community. The author provides a brief historical account of policing in America as it pertains to Blacks from slavery to the 21st century. An account of the role of the slave patrols and the various codes and laws enacted to control Blacks are also discussed. This research will examine the historical relationship between police and the Black community by taking a closer look at the killing of unarmed Black men from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2015, using and analyzing newsprint retrieved from two data sources. Specific cases are discussed, and the author provides possible solutions to address the social problem of the killing of unarmed Black males by police.

Applying Medicine’s “Never Events” Model to Law Enforcement’s Disparate Killings of Black Male Civilians

“…The earliest documented deaths of unarmed black men date back to the arrival Open Journal of Social Sciences of the first slave ship in 1619-a Dutch Man-of-War vessel (Robinson, 2017).…”

“…These men were primarily composed of various middle to upper class professionals, including doctors, lawyers, merchants, prosperous farmers, and printers-the same types of men who would later form the original and resurgent Ku Klux Klan (Parenti, 2001). Due to their role in stabilizing the economic interests of slave holders from uprisings, slave patrols were highly instrumental in maintaining the social order of the institution of slavery (Robinson, 2017).…”

Why the Racial Politic of Colour-branding should be Discontinued

“…The fact remains that, at least, there is a minimal consensus that such inequality exists. In recent articles, Michael Robinson (2017) and Dale Craig Tatum ( 2017) discuss in detail the thriving of racism in American institutions. While…”

Fighting Back Against Criminalization of Homelessness: Martin v. City of Boise Case Study

“…Following the legacy of Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, originating in 1876, enforced segregation of Black people in public space (Robinson, 2017) (Ortiz & Dick & Rankin, 2015). Sundown towns were another form of policies and actions taken by cities to exclude Black and Brown people from public space.…”

“…As the housing crisis continues to grow and more people are living on the streets, cities continue to rely heavily on policing and exclusionary policies instead of getting to the core of the issue (United Nations, 2018). Finally, it is important to note historical and modern exclusion policies are typically enforced at the discretion of police officers, giving police a lot of individual power to control public space (Robinson, 2017) (Ortiz & Dick & Rankin, 2015).…”