History of Oakland PD focus of next Conversations on Race and Policing

The authors of a recently published book that examines systemic corruption and brutality of the Oakland Police Department will be the guest speakers when the Conversations on Race and Policing resumes its spring 2023 programs, 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 11.

The talk featuring Ali Winston and Darwin BondGraham, authors of “The Riders Come Out at Night: Brutality, Corruption, and Cover-up in Oakland,” is free and open to the public. The livestream on Zoom can be accessed from a PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android at https://csusb.zoom.us/j/97960458784.

From the publisher’s website for the book: “‘The Riders Come Out at Night’ is the culmination of over twenty-one years of fearless reporting. Ali Winston and Darwin BondGraham shine a light on the jackbooted police culture, lack of political will, and misguided leadership that have conspired to stymie meaningful reform. The authors trace the history of Oakland since its inception through the lens of the city’s police department, through the Palmer Raids, McCarthyism, and the Civil Rights struggle, the Black Panthers and crack eras, to Oakland’s present-day revival.”

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 50 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, staff and faculty, including recent history master of arts graduate, Cecelia Smith; history master of arts student Matt Patino; Mary Texeira, professor emerita, sociology; Jeremy Murray, 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.

The spring semester lineup of Conversations on Race and Policing, each at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays, includes:

• April 18: “In Conversation with Dr. Craig Futterman.” A clinical professor of law at The University of Chicago Law School, Futterman is the founder of the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, serving as its director since 2000.
• April 25: “From Rhetoric to Action: Police Reform in a ‘Post’ Racialized America,” with Thaddeus Johnson, assistant professor of criminal justice, Georgia State University, and senior fellow with the Council on Criminal Justice.
• May 2: “In Conversation with Kenneth Alyass,” a Ph.D. student in history at Harvard University where he studies race, class, and crime in American cities during the late 20th century.

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