Open Access Publisher and Free Library
HUMAN RIGHTS.jpeg

HUMAN RIGHTS

Human Rights-Migration-Trafficking-Slavery-History-Memoirs-Philosophy

Posts tagged racial justice
Shoot First, Think Later, Pay Never: How Qualified Immunity Perpetuates the Modern-day Lynching of Black Americans and Why Abolition Is the Answer

By Abigail Sloan

Luke Stewart was twenty-three years old when he was killed for being a Black man asleep in his car. Luke was legally parked near a friend’s house in the Cleveland suburbs when two men woke him by knocking on his window. One of the men opened the door to Luke’s car and attempted to forcibly remove him by his head; the second man leaped into Luke’s car and began attacking him. Out of fear, Luke attempted to drive away, but within about one minute, the second man punched Luke, stunned him with a taser six times, and then struck him in the head before shooting him five times, killing him. The two attackers were police officers who never identified themselves to Luke––who was unarmed and did not pose a threat to them. As if Luke’s killing is not tragic enough, when a civil rights lawsuit was filed in response to his death, it was dismissed because of the doctrine of qualified immunity. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that even though a jury could find that the officer’s decision to shoot Luke had violated his constitutional rights, and that “the use of deadly force was unreasonable,” the officer could not be held liable. Qualified immunity holds officers liable only in situations where they have violated someone’s clearly established rights, and because a case with these exact facts has never been considered in court, the right for Luke to not be killed while asleep in his car had not been “clearly established.” The police department did not discipline the officer for his actions, and he was completely shielded from civil liability. Luke’s mother, who filed the lawsuit on his behalf, attempted to appeal the Sixth Circuit’s decision to the Supreme Court, but the Court declined to take the case, meaning Luke and his family will never see justice. Police officers’ use of deadly and excessive force leads to the violent, public, and horrific killing of thousands of Black men, women, and children––Luke’s story is far from unique. The reality is that Luke became yet another victim of a violent and oppressive American regime that has failed to rectify hundreds of years of calculated attacks on Black lives—Luke was lynched. Today’s perpetrators are not the same masses of self-appointed vigilantes, but rather they are police officers who hide behind their badges and the ever-powerful blanket of qualified immunity. Lynchings no longer resemble mobs hanging Black men and women from trees, but they continue to remain a violent act of terror against Black Americans.

37 Journal of Civil Rights & Economic Development 49 (Fall, 2024)

ENSLAVED ARCHIVES: Slavery, Law, and the Production of the Past

By MARIA R. MONTALVO

Explores the relationship between the production of enslaved property and the production of the past in the antebellum United States.It is extraordinarily difficult for historians to reconstruct the lives of individual enslaved people. Records—where they exist—are often fragmentary, biased, or untrue. In Enslaved Archives, Maria R. Montalvo investigates the legal records, including contracts and court records, that American antebellum enslavers produced and preserved to illuminate enslavers' capitalistic motivations for shaping the histories of enslaved people. The documentary archive was not simply a by-product of the business of slavery, but also a necessary tool that enslavers used to exploit the people they enslaved. Building on Montalvo's analysis of more than 18,000 sets of court records, Enslaved Archives is a close study of what we can and cannot learn about enslaved individuals from the written record. By examining five lawsuits in Louisiana, Montalvo deconstructs enslavers' cases—the legal arguments and rhetorical strategies they used to produce information and shape perceptions of enslaved people. Commodifying enslaved people was not simply a matter of effectively exploiting their labor. Enslavers also needed to control information about those people. Enslavers' narratives—carefully manipulated, prone to omissions, and sometimes false—often survive as the only account of an enslaved individual's life. In working to historicize the people at the center of enslavers' manipulations, Montalvo outlines the possibilities and limits of the archive, providing a glimpse of the historical and contemporary consequences of commodification. Enslaved Archives makes a significant intervention in the history of enslaved people, legal history, and the history of slavery and capitalism by adding a qualitative dimension to the analysis of how enslavers created and maintained power.

Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press , 2024. 178p.

BLACK AND BLUE: A MEMOIR OF RACISM AND RESILIENCE

may contain markup

By Veronica Corrie

In "BLACK AND BLUE: A MEMOIR OF RACISM AND RESILIENCE," the author bravely shares their personal journey through the complexities of racism and the unwavering resilience that carried them through. This poignant memoir delves into the stark realities of discrimination, prejudice, and systemic challenges faced by individuals of color, offering a raw and unfiltered account of the author's experiences.

Through candid storytelling and introspection, the author sheds light on the profound impact of racism on their life, while also highlighting moments of strength and perseverance in the face of adversity. "BLACK AND BLUE" serves as a powerful testament to the enduring human spirit and the quest for equality and justice in a world marred by intolerance.

This compelling memoir is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the insidious nature of racism and the remarkable resilience of individuals who dare to confront it head-on.

Scribe Publications Pty Limited, Mar 30, 2021, 256 pages