UC Press Blog

Today is the ten-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death and a critical moment to reflect on the uprisings. While some view these contemporary revolts as solely driven by police aggression, our modern unrest narrative is more complex. Through interviews for my new book Slow and Sudden Violence, Ferguson and Baltimore community leaders identified police brutality as a cause of the uprisings, but they also voiced other significant frustrations.

by Carolyn McLaughlin, author of South Bronx BattlesLast year, I released South Bronx Battles, a chronicle and tribute to the South Bronx as a community that has worked to create a vibrant, diverse culture while remaining a safe haven for poor families. Resisting the ravaging forces of syste

By Nikki Jones, author of The Chosen Ones: Black Men and the Politics of RedemptionCalls to defund the police often elicit fear. How will I stay safe, wonder people who associate the police with safety. This response ignores the fact for many people, the police are what they fear. When I hear c

From the massive prison system of California, to an abolitionist sanctuary movement, and the reimagining of how to provide safety in Puerto Rico, the following recommended titles offer in-depth research on alternatives to policing and incarceration. Golden GulagPrisons, Surplus, Crisis,

By Andrea S. Boyles, author of recent book You Can’t Stop the Revolution: Community Disorder and Social Ties in Post-Ferguson American and previous book Race, Place, and Suburban Policing: Too Close for ComfortI am Andrea S. Boyles, a Black feminist race scholar, sociologist and critical crimino