When I read about Amy Cooper, the woman in Central Park who called the police on a black birder because he’d asked her to leash her out-of-control dog, I was horrified. But, as a sociolinguist who studies and writes about language and discrimination, I was also struck by the name given to Cooper in several...
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During Floyd Protests, Media Industry Reckons with Long History of Collaboration with Law Enforcement
In a recent interview, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was asked why it’s so difficult to prosecute cases against police officers. “Just think about all the cop shows you may have watched in your life,” he replied. “We’re just inundated with this cultural message that these people will do the right thing.” While two of...
Uprisings After Pandemics Have Happened Before – Just Look at the English Peasant Revolt of 1381
As a professor of medieval Europe, I’ve taught the bubonic plague, and how it contributed to the English Peasant Revolt of 1381. Now that America is experiencing widespread unrest in the midst of its own pandemic, I see some interesting similarities to the 14th-century uprising. The death of George Floyd has sparked protests fueled by...
Coronavirus: How Artists in the Spanish-Speaking World Turn to Religious Imagery to Help Cope in a Crisis
While millions of people across Europe and beyond have been forced into lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, some artists have used their time in isolation to create work using religious imagery as a way to tell the story of the crisis. On the streets of Madrid, graffiti artist Ernesto Muñiz reimagined the imagery related to...
Coronavirus: Narco Gangs Could See Big Popularity Boost from Helping Residents in Latin America
La Loma is an area of the city of Medellin, Colombia, which is divided into small neighbourhoods controlled by gangs known as “combos”. Each combo is loyal to one or other of the country’s organised-crime groups. La Loma is also a main route for trafficking drugs, narcotics and weapons to different parts of the country....
COVID-19 is Deadlier for Black Brazilians, a Legacy of Structural Racism That Dates Back to Slavery
The United States and Brazil have much in common when it comes to the coronavirus. Both are among the world’s hardest-hit countries, where hundreds die daily. Their like-minded presidents, Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, have both been widely criticized for their poor handling of the pandemic. And in both countries the virus is disproportionately affecting...
Overcoming Crime in Costa Rica
ta Rica is known around the world over for its rainforests, coffee and beaches. But despite Costa Rica’s reputation for safety and its recent economic growth, criminals use its strategic location for smuggling activities. A team of U.S. forensic science experts, led by two West Virginia University professors from Costa Rica, aim to fix that. A new...
Two-Thirds of African Americans Know Someone Mistreated by Police, and 22% Report Mistreatment in Past Year
Sixty-eight percent of African Americans say they know someone who has been unfairly stopped, searched, questioned, physically threatened or abused by the police, and 43 percent say they personally have had this experience—with 22 percent saying the mistreatment occurred within the past year alone, according to survey results from Tufts University’s Research Group on Equity...
Ankle Monitors Could Stigmatize Wearers
Electronic ankle monitors – increasingly used as an alternative to incarceration – are bulky and difficult to conceal, displaying their wearers’ potential involvement with the justice system for all to see, according to a new article by a Cornell researcher. Though these monitors have been widely used since the 1980s, their design has not significantly...
Unfounded Fear Helps Fuel Police Violence
As Congress and local governments across the United States consider police reform, one important question is why police use excessive force, even after scores of protests across the country against police brutality following the death of George Floyd and other people of color. A common answer is that officers are afraid of being injured or...