Policing, pandemic and the American racial divide

Abstract

Over the past month the United States has experienced the greatest civil unrest since 1968. Demonstrations have occurred in more in 1700 towns and cities in all 50 states. Outrage over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, caught on video, drew people into the streets to protest racial injustice. To understand why this single incident provoked such a response Thomas Mockaitis, Professor of History, DePaul University, examines the confluence of three factors: systemic racism, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the nature of American policing.