Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?: Police Violence and Resistance in the United States PDF
Preview Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?: Police Violence and Resistance in the United States
Who Do You Serve_cover 11.pdf 1 5/3/16 5:40 PM “This brilliant collection of essays, written W What is the reality of policing by activists, journalists, community organizers and survivors in the United States? Maya Schenwar is Truthout’s editor- h Editors of state violence, urgently confronts the criminalization, police in-chief and the author of “Locked o violence and anti-Black racism that are plaguing urban communities.” Do the police keep anyone safe and Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t —Beth Richie, author,“Arrested Justice” D secure other than the very wealthy? Work and How We Can Do Better.” o How do recent police killings of young “This powerful collection ... takes us beyond the ‘few bad Joe Macaré is Truthout’s publisher. Y Black people in the US fit into the apples’ theory of police violence, insisting that we inter- historical and global context of o rogate the essential role and purpose of police and Alana Yu-lan Price is Truthout’s content u anti-Blackness? policing in our society.” relations editor. —Barbara Ransby, author, “Ella Baker S This collection of reports and essays and the Black Freedom Movement” e (the first from Truthout in collaboration r with Haymarket Books) explores police Alicia Garza is special projects director for “I cannot recommend this anthology any more highly. v Fthoe Nraetiownaol Drodmestic Workers Alliance It’s an indispensable primer for anyone who wants e , violence against Black, Brown, Indigenous and other marginalized and a cofounder of Black Lives Matter. to understand the current rebellions and , W communities, leading up to a C uprisings against police impunity.” Who compelling and provocative argument M —Mariame Kaba, founder and director, Project NIA h against calling the police. Y o CM “Simultaneously enraging, invigorating, Do You D Contributions address a broad range of radically imaginative, practical and inspiring, MY William C. Anderson Contributors o issues, including recent killings by this essential book relocates justice CY Candice Bernd police of Black men and women, in accountable social, economic and Y Police CMY Aaron Miguel Cantú histories of repression against Latino cultural relationships, pointing the way o Thandisizwe Chimurenga K Violence and Indigenous communities, law toward foundational transformation u Ejeris Dixon Edited by Maya Schenwar, enforcement treatment of pregnant Alison Flowers rather than cosmetic reform.” Joe Macaré and P and Resi staSnceerve people and those with mental illness —Kay Whitlock, co-author, Alicia Garza r “Queer (In)Justice” Alana Yu-lan Price in the United States and the impact of racist police violence Kelly Hayes o on parenting. Vivid stories highlight Rachel Herzing tt ? “‘Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?’ is an specific miscarriages of justice, like a Adam Hudson e invaluable resource for asking questions about the Detroit police conspiracy to slap Victoria Law c emergence of racist violence and state terrorism as a defining murder convictions on young Black Mike Ludwig tt principle of everyday life and how they can be addressed. Everyone men using police informants or the ? Sarah Macaraeg who cares about justice and democracy and a future in which they Who failure of Chicago’s much-touted Page May mutually inform each other should read this book.” CA Independent Police Review Authority. Nicholas Powers o T —Henry A. Giroux, author, “Disposable Futures” lleru Andrea J. Ritchie Social Science ct You th Roberto Rodriguez ISBN: 978-1-60846-612-2 $18 ioo nu Do Asha Rosa t Foreword by Monica Trinidad HaymarketBooks.org and Eisa Nefertari Ulen Alicia Garza A Truthout Collection Protect Praise for Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? “This brilliant collection of essays, written by activists, journalists, community organizers and survivors of state violence, urgently con- fronts the criminalization, police violence and anti-Black racism that is plaguing urban communities. It is one of the most important books to emerge about these critical issues: passionately written, with a keen eye toward building a world free of the cruelty and violence of the carceral state.” –Beth Richie, author of “Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence, and America’s Prison Nation” “‘Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?’ is a powerful collection of essays by organizers, legal activists and progressive journalists that takes us beyond the ‘few bad apples’ theory of police violence, insisting that we interrogate the essential role and purpose of police and polic- ing in our society. These writers have highlighted some of the critical questions that the anti-state-violence movement is wrestling with.” –Barbara Ransby, author of “Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision” “This timely and essential set of essays written by activists, organizers and journalists offers a window into our particular historical moment centered on an ongoing struggle against state violence. As a long- time organizer immersed in the current Movement for Black Lives, I read the contributions hoping to learn and to be inspired. I found the essays to be informative, illuminating and challenging. The book covers topics ranging from police torture and the fight for account- ability to how we might best engage in transformative organizing that could lead to a world without police. I cannot recommend this anthology any more highly. It's an indispensable primer for anyone who wants to understand the current rebellions and uprisings against police impunity.” –Mariame Kaba, founder and director of Project NIA “‘Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?’ is an extraordinary col- lection of writings by activists living and working at the epicenter Who Do You Serve_text_3.indd 1 5/10/16 12:41 PM of police violence and the anti-Blackness and structural racism so foundational to US systems of policing. Simultaneously enraging, in- vigorating, radically imaginative, practical and inspiring, this essential book relocates justice in accountable social, economic and cultural relationships, pointing the way toward foundational transformation rather than cosmetic reform.” –Kay Whitlock, co-author of “Considering Hate” and “Queer (In)Justice” “America is at war, and the violence that propels that war is large- ly directed at people of color, especially Black youth. One instance of such a war is evident in the violence by the police against Black communities, the criminalization of everyday behavior, the assaults on Black bodies, and the ever-growing incarceration state. ‘Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?’ addresses this violence in a way no other book has done in the last forty years. It reveals the under- lying causes, economic and ideological, that drive such violence so as to provide a comprehensive understanding of its roots, its multiple layers, history, and different forms, while at the same time it offers a discourse of critical engagement and transformation in order to ad- dress it. ‘Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?’ is an invaluable resource for asking questions about the emergence of racist violence and state terrorism as a defining principle of everyday life and how they can be addressed. Everyone who cares about justice and democ- racy and a future in which they mutually inform each other should read this book.” –Henry Giroux, author of “Disposable Futures: The Seduction of Violence in the Age of Spectacle” “We know the names: Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Rekia Boyd, Laquan McDonald. And we’ve seen the uprisings: L.A., Ferguson, Baltimore, Chicago. “Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?” goes behind the headlines to ask the deeper questions: Do the police make com- munities (particularly, communities where Black and Brown people live) safer? Who do community residents fear? Are there ways to ad- Who Do You Serve_text_3.indd 2 5/10/16 12:41 PM dress those fears without the police and carceral state? What would we have to create in order to do this? What steps must we take to get there? Each of the essays examines these interrelated questions in depth. Read together, they provide an extremely thorough, and timely, examination of the issues underlying these recent events, forcing us to rethink the very idea of justice in this country.” –Alan Mills, Uptown People's Law Center “Resisting state-sanctioned violence, especially by police, has be- come a paramount issue as a result of grassroots activists mobilizing throughout the country. ‘Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?’ gives journalists, writers, and activists at the forefront of activism and reporting on state-sanctioned violence in the United States a wel- come platform to present their ideas for growing a movement against this violence so activists may have a lasting impact, which empowers and lifts up communities of color.” –Kevin Gosztola, managing editor of Shadowproof.com Who Do You Serve_text_3.indd 3 5/10/16 12:41 PM Who Do You Serve_text_3.indd 4 5/10/16 12:41 PM Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? Police Violence and Resistance in the United States Edited by Maya Schenwar, Joe Macaré and Alana Yu-lan Price Foreword by Alicia Garza Haymarket Books Chicago, Illinois Who Do You Serve_text_3.indd 1 5/10/16 12:41 PM Who Do You Serve_text_3.indd 2 5/10/16 12:41 PM To everyone engaged in the struggle against police violence in the United States and beyond. Who Do You Serve_text_3.indd 3 5/10/16 12:41 PM © 2016 Maya Schenwar, Joe Macaré and Alana Yu-lan Price Published in 2016 by Haymarket Books P.O. Box 180165 Chicago, IL 60618 773-583-7884 www.haymarketbooks.org [email protected] ISBN: 978-1-60846-612-2 Trade distribution: In the US, Consortium Book Sales and Distribution, www.cbsd.com In Canada, Publishers Group Canada, www.pgcbooks.ca In the UK, Turnaround Publisher Services, www.turnaround-uk.com All other countries, Publishers Group Worldwide, www.pgw.com This book was published with the generous support of Lannan Foun- dation and Wallace Action Fund. Cover design by Rachel Cohen. Cover art by Jared Rodriguez. Printed in Canada by union labor. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Who Do You Serve_text_3.indd 4 5/10/16 12:41 PM Contents Foreword vii Alicia Garza Introduction 1 Maya Schenwar, Joe Macaré and Alana Yu-lan Price Part I: Police Failing to Serve and Protect 7 1. Killing the Future: The Theft of Black Life 9 Nicholas Powers 2. Ring of Snitches: How Detroit Police Slapped False Murder Convictions on Young Black Men 21 Aaron Miguel Cantú 3. Amid Shootings, Chicago Police Department Upholds Culture of Impunity 33 Sarah Macaraeg and Alison Flowers 4. Beyond Homan Square: US History Is Steeped in Torture 47 Adam Hudson 5. “Never Again a World Without Us”: The Many Tentacles of State Violence Against Black-Brown-Indigenous Communities 57 Roberto Rodriguez 6. Killing Africa 69 William C. Anderson 7. Say Her Name: What It Means to Center Black Women’s Experiences of Police Violence 79 Andrea J. Ritchie 8. Your Pregnancy May Subject You to Even More Law Enforcement Violence 91 Victoria Law 9. Black Parenting Matters: Raising Children in a World of Police Terror 103 Eisa Nefertari Ulen Who Do You Serve_text_3.indd 5 5/10/16 12:41 PM
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