Protests Against Police Brutality

WBUR's coverage of the anti-police brutality protests in America in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

Terrence Floyd, brother of George Floyd, speaks at George Floyd Square after the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial on April 20, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

I'm Not Celebrating The Chauvin Verdict

I fear that congratulatory celebration may lead to complacency -- a complacency that does not fully acknowledge that there have been and will be many George Floyds, writes Lee Pelton.

Apr 22, 2021

A pro-Trump protester is tended to by a police officer while suffering the effects of chemical agents used to disperse crowds after protesters stormed the grounds the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Of Course The Mob That Stormed The Capitol Wasn't Afraid

These far-right activists have been courted by law enforcement to help control Black Lives Matter and other racial justice protesters, writes Karen J. Pita Loor.

Jan 11, 2021

Black Lives Matter protesters march past the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on Friday, July 31, 2020, in Portland, Ore. (Noah Berger/AP)

American History Records Our Struggle Toward Freedom. Trump Shouldn’t Erase The Failures

Acknowledging the faults, the bigotry and the blind spots in our past is not unpatriotic, write Fernande Raine and Adam Strom. These stories help us understand who we are as...

Oct 13, 2020

Activist Tamika Mallory marches with a child during a demonstration on September 23, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Protesters marched in the streets in response to Attorney General Daniel Camerons handling of the Breonna Taylor case and the grand jury verdict indicting one of three officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police officers at her apartment on March 13, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Deval Patrick: 'Policing In America Has To Change For Peace In America To Exist'

I pray that as we protest we show the strength of controlled resolve, and channel our rage into the ballot box, writes former Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick. And that America...

04:14Sep 26, 2020

A crowd of climate activists marching behind a banner. A coalition of climate, Indigenous and racial justice groups gathered at Columbus Circle to kick off Climate Week with the Climate Justice Through Racial Justice march, Sept. 20, 2020. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)

How To Create Anti-Racist Energy Policies

We need a national policy to end utility shutoffs until we have a vaccine or treatment for COVID-19, writes Shalanda Baker.

Sep 23, 2020

Police officers stand guard at City Hall as protesters gather near an encampment outside, Tuesday, June 30, 2020, in New York. (John Minchillo/AP)

Want To Reform The Police? Get Rid Of Qualified Immunity

An obscure legal doctrine often shields government officials who violate our rights from liability, even when egregious violations have occurred, writes Colin Doyle.

Jul 28, 2020

The author's father in the U.S. Army in about 1944. (Courtesy)

My Father Helped Liberate Dachau. After He Saw The Worst In Humanity, He Refused To Remain Silent

For a long time, I couldn’t see how my father's unfiltered, combative way of being had shaped me, writes Jessica Keener.

Jul 17, 2020

A model attends a Black Lives Matter fashion show and protest by fashion designer Jason Christopher Peters at Washington Square Park on July 12, 2020 in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)

'It Doesn’t Matter If It’s Your Fault': I Warn My Daughter About Police As My Father Warned Me

Desmond Hall has personally experienced police brutality. He’s been recalling the anger and shame he felt during those incidents as his teenage daughter joined the protests against police violence.

02:57Jul 16, 2020

An Aug. 28, 1968 file photo shows National Guardsmen lining the street as they are confronted by protesters in front of the Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago, headquarters for the 1968 Democratic National Convention. (AP Photo)

Protests, Chaos, Needless Deaths And A Looming Election: It Feels Like 1968. Why 2020 Is Different

We don't know how far Trump will go to hang onto power. That makes 2020 even more threatening than 1968, writes Michael Ansara.

Jul 14, 2020

Medical workers in face masks hold signs during a rally organized by a group named White Coats for Black Lives in Central Park on June 6, 2020. (Maria Khrenova/Getty Images)

The 'Shame And Rage' Of Being A Minority In America Kept Me Silent. Not Anymore

I will never be the one with a bullhorn, leading the rally, writes Huma Farid. That doesn’t mean that the only other alternative is silence that will uphold the status...

Jul 13, 2020

Robert Morris, the state's second Black lawyer, defended African American civil rights in legal cases on Boston school desegregation, slavery and citizenship. (Wikimedia Commons)

Robert Morris Was A Black Bostonian Who Fought For Freedom. Why Don't We Have A Statue Of Him?

We know historically that African Americans were agents of their own freedom, writes Kabria Baumgartner. Let's start recognizing them.

Jul 9, 2020

Demonstrator Elisha Ewing raises a fist as she stands during a protest Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Seattle, where streets had been blocked off in an area demonstrators had occupied for weeks. (Elaine Thompson/AP)

We Can't Wait Until November To Fix Our Democracy. Here's What You Can Do Now

In a recent poll, half of young voters named systemic racism and discrimination -- a persistent driver of civic distrust -- as their top issue, writes Yordanos Eyoel.

Jul 3, 2020

Orange County Sheriff deputies maintain a police block as a firecracker thrown by a protester explodes behind them during a protest against the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd during the coronavirus pandemic on May 30, 2020 in Santa Ana, California. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

July 4th Is Different This Year, And Also The Same. 'Independence' Day Is Complicated

Independence Day this year comes against the backdrop of a pandemic, an economic depression, a reckoning on racism and the most divisive election in modern history. We wanted to try...

05:18Jul 2, 2020

Black Lives Matters activists and criminal justice reform advocates hold a protest rally calling for the abolishment of all jails and prisons outside the Tombs, the Manhattan jail renamed the Manhattan Detention Complex, on June 20, 2020 in New York City. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Prisoners Are Brutalized In Many Ways. Don’t Leave Them Behind

We're beginning to recognize the need to reduce the footprint of policing in our communities and invest in systems of care to address harm and violence, writes Bonita Tenneriello. We...

Jul 1, 2020

In this June 1, 2020, file photo police begin to clear demonstrators gathered as they protest the death of George Floyd near the White House in Washington. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (Alex Brandon/AP)

After 9/11, Policing Underwent Radical Change. It’s Time To Course Correct

We must demilitarize the police, writes former Marine Jake Auchincloss. To do this, we must shift the paradigm of public safety, at home and abroad.

Jun 26, 2020

My Wife Is Black. My Son Is Biracial. But White Supremacy Lives Inside Me

To protect my son and other Black children, we must do the work of stamping out white supremacy where it lives: in our systems, and in ourselves, writes Calvin Hennick.

02:56Jun 22, 2020

Members of the parade perform during the 48th Annual Juneteenth Day Festival on June 19, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

It’s Time To Make Juneteenth A National Holiday

It is time we declare -- once and for all -- that the emancipation of Black people is worthy of celebration and recognition in every corner of our country, writes...

Jun 19, 2020

A Dual Degree From Oxford. A Medical Degree From Harvard. Neither Protected Me From Racism

Frequent subtle and less-subtle messages betray the assumption that I’m lacking in smarts, untrustworthy or even a threat, writes Tafadzwa Muguwe.

03:12Jun 18, 2020

Families participate in a children's march in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and national protests against police brutality on June 9, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. (Angela Weiss/ AFP/Getty Images)

Why I Decided Not To Bring My Black Child To The Protests

For young children who are still processing the world around them, writes Kristen L. Pope, a protest can be like putting them on the front lines of a battle they're...

Jun 17, 2020

The statue in the city's Park Square is a replica of the Emancipation Memorial in Washington and depicts Lincoln with one hand raised above a kneeling man with broken shackles on his wrists. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Black Bostonians Fought For Freedom From Slavery. Where Are The Statues That Tell Their Stories?

Contrary to the image of the kneeling slave, Black abolitionists did not wait passively for the "Day of Jubilee," writes Kevin M. Levin. They led the charge.

Jun 16, 2020

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Protests Against Police Brutality

I'm Not Celebrating The Chauvin Verdict

Of Course The Mob That Stormed The Capitol Wasn't Afraid

American History Records Our Struggle Toward Freedom. Trump Shouldn’t Erase The Failures

Deval Patrick: 'Policing In America Has To Change For Peace In America To Exist'

How To Create Anti-Racist Energy Policies

Want To Reform The Police? Get Rid Of Qualified Immunity

My Father Helped Liberate Dachau. After He Saw The Worst In Humanity, He Refused To Remain Silent

'It Doesn’t Matter If It’s Your Fault': I Warn My Daughter About Police As My Father Warned Me

Protests, Chaos, Needless Deaths And A Looming Election: It Feels Like 1968. Why 2020 Is Different

The 'Shame And Rage' Of Being A Minority In America Kept Me Silent. Not Anymore

Robert Morris Was A Black Bostonian Who Fought For Freedom. Why Don't We Have A Statue Of Him?

We Can't Wait Until November To Fix Our Democracy. Here's What You Can Do Now

July 4th Is Different This Year, And Also The Same. 'Independence' Day Is Complicated

Prisoners Are Brutalized In Many Ways. Don’t Leave Them Behind

After 9/11, Policing Underwent Radical Change. It’s Time To Course Correct

My Wife Is Black. My Son Is Biracial. But White Supremacy Lives Inside Me

It’s Time To Make Juneteenth A National Holiday

A Dual Degree From Oxford. A Medical Degree From Harvard. Neither Protected Me From Racism

Why I Decided Not To Bring My Black Child To The Protests

Black Bostonians Fought For Freedom From Slavery. Where Are The Statues That Tell Their Stories?

Sections

Radio

Podcasts

CitySpace

Support

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I'm Not Celebrating The Chauvin Verdict

Of Course The Mob That Stormed The Capitol Wasn't Afraid

American History Records Our Struggle Toward Freedom. Trump Shouldn’t Erase The Failures

Deval Patrick: 'Policing In America Has To Change For Peace In America To Exist'

How To Create Anti-Racist Energy Policies

Want To Reform The Police? Get Rid Of Qualified Immunity

My Father Helped Liberate Dachau. After He Saw The Worst In Humanity, He Refused To Remain Silent

'It Doesn’t Matter If It’s Your Fault': I Warn My Daughter About Police As My Father Warned Me

Protests, Chaos, Needless Deaths And A Looming Election: It Feels Like 1968. Why 2020 Is Different

The 'Shame And Rage' Of Being A Minority In America Kept Me Silent. Not Anymore

Robert Morris Was A Black Bostonian Who Fought For Freedom. Why Don't We Have A Statue Of Him?

We Can't Wait Until November To Fix Our Democracy. Here's What You Can Do Now

July 4th Is Different This Year, And Also The Same. 'Independence' Day Is Complicated

Prisoners Are Brutalized In Many Ways. Don’t Leave Them Behind

After 9/11, Policing Underwent Radical Change. It’s Time To Course Correct

My Wife Is Black. My Son Is Biracial. But White Supremacy Lives Inside Me

It’s Time To Make Juneteenth A National Holiday

A Dual Degree From Oxford. A Medical Degree From Harvard. Neither Protected Me From Racism

Why I Decided Not To Bring My Black Child To The Protests

Black Bostonians Fought For Freedom From Slavery. Where Are The Statues That Tell Their Stories?