April 20, 2021
CONTACT: Jill Rosen
Cell: 443-547-8805
jrosen@jhu.edu jhunews@jhu.edu
Vesla Weaver
As a jury in Minneapolis begins to deliberate in the trial of white police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with the murder in May death of George Floyd, who is black, a Johns Hopkins University expert in racial inequality, particularly in the realm of policing, is available to offer perspective.
Vesla Weaver, the Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Political Science and Sociology, can discuss how this case fits in broader historical context, what it signifies for responses to police brutality, how it will likely be felt in communities enduring police violence, how race-class subjugated communities perceive the justice system, how it fits into broader movement for police reform and transformation.
Weaver’s research aims to better understand the causes and consequences of racial inequality in the United States, how state policies and institutions shape political life and identity, and especially the effects of increasing punishment and surveillance in America.
She is working on a book about the Portals Policing Project, in which 850 people across 14 neighborhoods in six cities entered portals to talk about their experiences with police, the most extensive collection of first-hand accounts of policing to date. She is also co-author of Arresting Citizenship: The Democratic Consequences of American Crime Control, the first large-scale empirical study of what the tectonic shifts in incarceration and policing meant for political and civic life in communities where it was concentrated.
To reach an expert, please contact Jill Rosen, jrosen@jhu.edu.
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