The university’s Conversations on Race and Policing series continues with “The Impact of the Carceral State on the Lives of African American Women,” which will take place at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, on Zoom and is free and open to the public.

It can be accessed from a PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android at https://csusb.zoom.us/j/97960458784.

Carceral, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, refers to, or relates to, or suggests a jail or prison. A website, “What Is the Carceral State?” published in May 2020 by the Documenting Criminalization and Confinement, a research initiative of the University of Michigan Carceral State Project, discusses the topic at great length.

Guest panelists for CSUSB’s Conversation on Race and Policing will be:

  • Allison Monterrosa, a sociologist and assistant professor of ethnic studies at Cal State San Marcos. Her areas of specialization address racialized gender-based violence, the criminal-legal system, state violence and the health implications of racism. As a community-based researcher who centers the experiences of racial-ethnic marginalized communities, her research and teaching pedagogy emphasizes structural and cultural competence and intersects with community and service work to promote social justice and health equity. Her work has been published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Feminist Criminology and Rutgers Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books.
  • Sophia Davis, a recent graduate of the United Nations International School in Manhattan. While there, she developed an interest in race, social justice and the criminal justice system. She is currently doing an internship with Police Reform Organizing Project (PROP) under the direction of executive director and activist Robert Gangi. She will discuss the organization as well as her current summer research.

Conversations on Race and Policing, also known as CoRP, began in the aftermath of the May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd while in the custody of four Minneapolis, Minn., police officers. A video of the incident posted on social media led to widespread protests, the firing of four police officers, the arrest and conviction of one officer on a second-degree murder and related charges, the other three on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder – and a spotlight worldwide on race and policing.

The series has featured scholars, journalists, law enforcement officers, lawyers, activists, artists, educators, administrators and others from throughout the nation who shared their experience and expertise on issues related to race and policing.

More than 40 forums have taken place, and video recordings of the sessions are posted online on the Conversations on Race and Policing Lecture Series Archive.

The series is organized by CSUSB students Marlo Brooks, Zoralynn Oglesby, Evelyn Jimenez, Jade McDonald, Jaime Castro and Connie Cornejo; Mary Texeira, CSUSB professor of sociology; Jeremy Murray, CSUSB associate professor of history; Robie Madrigal, public affairs/communication specialist for the CSUSB John M. Pfau Library; and community member Stan Futch, president of the Westside Action Group. 

More conversations are scheduled for the fall semester and include:

For more information, contact Robie Madrigal at rmadriga@csusb.edu or Jeremy Murray at jmurray@csusb.edu.

Also visit the Conversations on Race and Policing webpage.

Conversations on Race and Policing, Sept. 21 event flier