Social Movements & the Law

Breonna Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, met with officials from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division on Monday to ask them to investigate the fatal shooting of her daughter during a botched police raid in 2020 -- and ultimately to bring federal charges against the officers involved.

In response disparate groups quickly came together to organize against white nationalist violence and right-wing organizing throughout the Rose City and the Pacific Northwest. It Did Happen Here compiles interviews with dozens of people who worked together during the waning decades of the twentieth century to reveal an inspiring collaboration between groups of immigrants, civil rights activists, militant youth, and queer organizers. This oral history focuses on participants in three core groups: the Portland chapters of Anti-Racist Action and Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice, and the Coalition for Human Dignity. Using a diversity of tactics—from out-and-out brawls on the streets and at punk shows, to behind-the-scenes intelligence gathering—brave antiracists unified on their home ground over and over, directly attacking right-wing fascists and exposing white nationalist organizations and neo-Nazi skinheads. Embattled by police and unsupported by the city, these citizen activists eventually drove the boneheads out of the music scene and off the streets of Portland. This book shares their stories about what worked, what didn’t, and ideas on how to continue the fight.

The Intercept’s Mehdi Hasan speaks with Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar about systemic racism, the militarized police response to protests in Minneapolis — which is in Omar’s district — and what real justice looks like for George Floyd’s family and black and brown communities across the country.

Blacks and whites in the U.S. disagree over police performance and differ on the causes of fatal encounters between blacks and police.

Condemns Reopening Economy As “Reckless” Washington, DC (April 24, 2020) Today, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued a new demand letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), calling for increased transparency and immediate action in response to COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on Black communities and other communities of color.  This letter follows […]

A book list compiled by The Book Table.

"The Louisville Kentucky metro council unanimously voted to pass an ordinance called "Breonna's Law" on Thursday banning no-knock search warrants in wake of Breonna Taylor's death."

"Our focus is on trauma as it impacts and applies to lawyers and clients in practice, legal education, courts and judges, and the legal system and profession as a whole. This book gives voice to only some of the many traumatic experiences that arise in all aspects of law. Unless we hear these voices, we cannot begin to address the many legal, ethical, moral, educational, juridical systems or other issues they raise even where we have tools to do so. The pursuit of justice means voices of trauma in the legal system deserve to be heard, individually and collectively, even when it's difficult to listen"--

Buried within Adelante is evidence of a fleeting attempt at prison reform and oversight in Connecticut. Is history repeating itself?

The emergence of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, is causing great concern due to its rapid spread and high death rates, particularly among vulnerable

"The contributions of black writers to American literature span genres and generations. Black History Month is a great time to highlight the work of black authors in the U.S. (and beyond) but of course these literary works are worth honoring year round. This February we’re taking a look at recent history and celebrating contemporary icons and rising stars in fiction nonfiction poetry and more. Here are 50 commendable books by black authors published in the past five years."

"New York legislators passed a package of bills providing for comprehensive police reform and Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he intends to sign them all quickly."

"In the post-World War II period, students rebelled against the archaic university. In student-led movements, they fought for the new kinds of public the university needed to serve--women, minorities, immigrants, indigenous people, and more--with a success that had a profound impact on the intellectual landscape of the twentieth century. Because of their efforts, ethnic studies, women's studies, and American studies were born, and minority communities have become more visible and important to academic debate. Less than fifty years since this pivotal shift in the academy, however, the university is fighting back. In We Demand, Roderick A. Ferguson shows how the university, particularly the public university, is moving away from "the people" in all their diversity. As more resources are put toward STEM education, humanities and interdisciplinary programs are being cut and shuttered. This has had a devastating effect on the pursuit of knowledge, and on interdisciplinary programs born from the hard work and effort of an earlier generation. This is not only a reactionary move against the social advances since the '60s and '70s, but part of the larger threat of anti-intellectualism in the United States."--Provided by publisher.

From passionate pleas for reform to poetic turns of phrase, these talks take an honest look at everyday realities of Black Americans and illuminate the way forward.

This continuous publication journal is is the primary publication for peer-reviewed articles relating to all forms of coercive confinement, including imprisonme...

We analyze gender and racial disparities in traffic and street stops, including arrests, searches, and use of force that occurs during stops.

"Of course some of Oprah's favorites made the list."

Washington, DC's Metropolitan Police Department made roughly five times as many arrests during the height of last June's Black Lives Matter protests compared to the US Capitol insurrection on Wednesday, a CNN analysis of the police department's data found.

Documenting the impact of COVID-19 on Black America.

“The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it,” writes professor Ibram X. Kendi. This is the essence of antiracism: the action that must follow both emotional and intellectual awareness of racism. Explore what an antiracist society might look like, how we can play an active role in building it, and what being an antiracist in your own context might mean. This conversation was recorded during the 2019 Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado. The week-long event is presented by the Aspen Institute in partnership with The Atlantic. Prominent leaders and thinkers across business, politics, media, culture, science, and more participate in hundreds of panels, interviews, presentations, and screenings. Learn more at https://www.aspenideas.org

Recent controversial interactions of police with the public have become an issue of important concern for public and governmental leaders, who have openly quest...

Freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal

"Even though I'm a kid, it's important to speak my voice so people can hear me and know they can share their voice too, just like me," the young organizer said.

This article examines critical issues regarding criminal profiling, its misuse by law enforcement, and its utility to solve serious crimes with the technique, hereinafter known and called "Criminal Profiling". The specific issue under investigation is the misuse of criminal profiling in the United States, and its impact on African Americans, and other minorities. In that realm, a discussion and analysis of the importance of criminal profiling, the development of criminal profiling and, the misuse of criminal profiling as a critical issue in the 21st century are analyzed.

"Race Racism And The Law considers race racism and racial distinctions in the law. It examines the role of domestic and international law in promoting and/or alleviating racism. This website makes law review scholarship (and related material) more accessible to community activists students and non-legal faculty."

As protests erupt throughout the nation to hold law enforcement and criminal justice institutions accountable, UIC's Richard J Daley library has created this research guide to help our community understand systemic racism and demand justice for all.

November 17th, 2019 - New York Times Best Selling Author, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Moral Movement Architect, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II engage in conversation led by author Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove on how the systems of our shared lives must change if we are to progress as a people.

The health worker was shot dead during a police raid and protestors say she too must be remembered.

"What follows is an articulation of the five key policies that our experience and research reveal as the most critical to advancing public safety in America. Rather than a summary or laundry list, we offer these five recommendations as the fundamental next steps. Each makes the rest of the policies we have collectively endorsed easier, more likely, and more effective. In other words, these are the five steps that we believe can do the most work towards turning a just public safety system from a goal to a reality."