KUNM Call In Show Thu. 8/21 8a.m.
Images from the ongoing protests in Ferguson, MO have starkly outlined the reality of racial inequality and police militarization throughout the United States. Has this led to an "us v. them" mindset both within a police force and for community members? And how much do the levels of fear and distrust increase when the make-up of a department doesn't reflect a community's ethnic and/or racial composition?
We'll take a look at whether and how the situation in Missouri may be instructive here in New Mexico and ask what steps can be taken to heal the rifts between different ethnic and racial communities and police. Your voice is welcome - please join us!
Email callinshow@kunm.org, post your comments online, or call in live during the show.
Guests:
- Alfred Mathewson, UNMAfricana Studies Program, UNM Law School
- Amanda Gallegos, Senior Youth Intern, Southwest Organizing Project
- Richard Moore, Los Jardines Institute, Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice
- Alex Vitale, Brooklyn College, New York Police Reform Organizing Project
Resources:
- How To End Militarized Policing - Alex Vitale, The Nation
- Challenging A Militarize Police State In The U.S. - Kent Paterson, Americas Program
- How Did America's Police Get So Militarized? - Matthew Harwood, Mother Jones
- IN CHARTS: The Militarization of America's Police - Economic Policy Journal
- The Changing Law Enforcement Agency: A Microcosm of Society - Robert Shuster, et al., Multicultural Law Enforcement