Undue Police Violence Toward African Americans: An Analysis of Professional Counselors' Training and Perceptions

Abstract Dehumanizing language, or language used to describe human beings as non-human entities, is increasingly prevalent in political life. This dehumanization also occurs frequently in the world of sports. Sports and politics intersected notably in 2016, when Colin Kaepernick of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers started protesting the national anthem to raise awareness about police violence against African-Americans. Kaepernick’s protests generated considerable vitriol towards him and other protesters, some of which was dehumanizing. In this study, I examine how dehumanizing language used against anthem protesters of different races influences political attitudes. Using experimental data, I find that, when a Black player protesting the national anthem is dehumanized, White citizens are considerably less supportive of the anthem protests and protesters. This effect does not persist when the dehumanized player is White.

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Black Media Matters

Film Quarterly ◽

10.1525/fq.2015.68.4.8 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 68 (4) ◽

pp. 8-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Karen Beckman

Keyword(s):

African Americans ◽

Critical Reflection ◽

Political Protest ◽

Toni Cade Bambara ◽

Police Violence ◽

Residential Neighborhood ◽

Women And Children ◽

Black Media ◽

The Military ◽

The City

On May 13, 1985, the City of Philadelphia bombed the home of the radical black organization MOVE that was founded by John Africa in 1972. The military-style attack killed 11 occupants of the house, including 5 children, and destroyed almost two square blocks of a residential neighborhood, rendering 250 men, women and children homeless. In the midst of both contemporary protests responding to excessive police violence against African Americans and the military’s use of drone airpower, “Black Media Matters” returns our attention to the 1987 documentary, The Bombing of Osage Avenue, produced and directed by Louis Massiah, written and narrated by Toni Cade Bambara. Drawing on the archives of both Massiah and Bambara, this essay explores the film as a model of a media response to black political protest, death and suffering that resists spectacularization and oversimplification, and instead fosters historical awareness and critical reflection.

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Shut Up and Play: Black Athletes, Protest Politics, and Black Political Action

Perspectives on Politics ◽

10.1017/s1537592719002597 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 111-127 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Christopher C. Towler ◽

Nyron N. Crawford ◽

Robert A. Bennett

Keyword(s):

African Americans ◽

Political Action ◽

Political Engagement ◽

Black Athletes ◽

President Obama ◽

Police Violence ◽

Black Voter ◽

2016 Election ◽

American Society ◽

The Relationship

The convergence of sports and celebrity can have a powerful influence on everyday politics, especially for groups underrepresented in mainstream American society. This article examines the relationship between race, celebrity, and social movements, specifically Colin Kaepernick’s protest of police violence and whether his activism mobilizes black Americans to political action. Using the 2017 Black Voter Project (BVP) Pilot Study, we explore African American political engagement in the 2016 election, a time devoid of President Obama as a mobilizing figure. We find African Americans who strongly approve of Kaepernick’s protest engage in politics at elevated rates, even after accounting for alternative explanations. Moreover, approval for Kaepernick also moderates other forces rooted in group identity, such as identification with the Black Lives Matter movement. In the end, Kaepernick and the protest movement he leads offers a powerful mobilizing force for African Americans.

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