Social Science Conversations on the Legacy of George Floyd

After Derek Chauvin’s conviction for the murder of George Floyd, calls for reform and the restructuring of institutions fuel continuing calls for racial justice, with much of the conversation from or influenced by social and behavioral science. What is the impact of bearing witness to such brutality and forcible arrest? What is the culture of work at police offices that can grow ‘toxic masculinity’ or ‘warrrior cops’? This conviction is part of a greater and ongoing narrative on racial justice, human and civil rights, and systemic racism, which members of the social and behavioral science community across the globe contribute to. Here, we have compiled articles on various topics surrounding the case and the conviction in hopes of continuing the ongoing discussion on racial justice.

• Black women and trauma – this piece from The Conversation addresses the long-term deadly effects on the living of police killings and violence.
• Reform and change policing – a discussion on police accountability and considerations on who is recruited for policing.
• Policing research from the POV of the arrested – From 2019, conversations between Todd Foglesong, Ron Levi, and research teams at the LSE and individuals jailed in Baltimore and Cleveland.
• Police immunity in court – suggestions for systemic reform that involve a two-track approach for the individual and system.
• The law and racial justice – the role of racism in seeking justice in the American court of law.
• Police unions – the difference between police unions and other trade unions in America.
• Whitewashing and white spiritualism – mediums who claim to have contacted Floyd’s spirit, and political ventriloquizing by white spirit mediums.
• Police violence against black men – five stories on police violence, Chauvin, and the racist roots of American policing.
• Fighting racial stereotyping – stereotypes in the world of science.
• Article collection on preventing police killings – January 2020 volume of The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science centered on current social and behavioral research on reducing deaths when law enforcement interacts with the public.
• Planning for social change in 2020-2021 – Patricia Reid-Merritt reflects on the current protests, the history of civil rights movements, and the next steps for social change in America.
• Protesting and hope – the politics of exhaustion, solidarity in protests, and lessons learned.