Examining Historical and Contemporary Policing Disparities in the Black Community: Implications for Social Work. Issue 1 (8th November 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wilson, Betty L; Wooten, Nikki R; Pitner, Ronald O
• Is Part Of: Social work. Volume 68:Issue 1(2023)
• Page Start: 8
• Page End: 17
• Publication Date: 2022-11-08
• Subjects: Black communities -- critical race theory -- police violence -- social work -- United States; Social service -- Periodicals; Social service -- United States -- Periodicals; Social policy -- Periodicals; Social problems -- Periodicals; 361.3
• DOI: 10.1093/sw/swac049
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0037-8046

Abstract

Abstract: An alarming number of unarmed Black men and women have been killed by police in the United States. Though research suggests that police violence is not a new phenomenon in Black communities in the United States, several shocking high-profile incidents of unarmed Black people killed by police in recent years have catapulted this problem more sharply into our nation's consciousness. Despite recent efforts to engage in critical discourse about police violence against unarmed Black people in mainstream media and across multiple disciplines, limited research exists on the connection between historical and contemporary acts of police violence in Black communities. This article conducts a critical analysis of the extant literature on historical and contemporary policing in the Black community and identifies linkages between these time periods using critical race theory. This article concludes with implications for social work to combat the issue of police violence in Black communities.