POLICE
Does being questioned by the police silence people? The evidence says ‘no’.
The killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, as well as news of police arresting large numbers of African Americans during the pandemic, demonstrates again the deadly consequences of over-policing and bias in the criminal justice system.
While institutional racism has contributed to on-going persecution and driven mass incarceration, it is less clear the impact on politics.
What happens to the political life of a neighborhood when a large portion of residents are regularly arrested, incarcerated, or worse? Does being stopped and questioned lead to silence or political voice?
Dr. Hannah Walker, a professor at Rutgers University, offers some compelling answers in a new book, Mobilized by Injustice: Criminal Justice Contact, Political Participation, and Race.
