The work of a New Orleans grassroots organization called BreakOUT! and its “We Deserve Better” campaign of 2010-2013 will be the focus of the Wednesday, Nov. 6, Conversations on Race and Policing program, which will take place at 1 p.m. on Zoom.

Free and open to the public, it can be accessed from a PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android at https://tinyurl.com/csusb-race-policing.  

The talk will be presented by Lydia Pelot-Hobbs, a University of Kentucky assistant professor of geography, and will trace BreakOUT!’s campaign “to reign in the everyday racial and gender profiling and state sanctioned sexual violence of the New Orleans Police Department,” according to the program’s synopsis. “This case highlights the centrality of policing racialized gender and sexuality in the contemporary carceral state and how struggles over everyday criminalization have served as a pivot point for the future of post-Katrina New Orleans.”

Pelot-Hobbs’ research interests include carceral geography, racial capitalism and social movements with a focus on the United States and Gulf South. She is the author of carceral geography, racial capitalism, and social movements with a particular focus on the US and Gulf South. Pelot-Hobbs has also authored “Prison Capital: Mass Incarceration and Struggles for Abolition Democracy in Louisiana,” which details “Louisiana's unprecedented turn to mass incarceration from 1970 to 2020,” according to the publisher’s website.

The Conversations on Race and Policing program began after the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, and its aftermath. Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer, triggering extensive protests, demands for systemic reform in policing, and profound dialogues on race and racism. This also led to the inception of Cal State San Bernardino’s Conversations on Race and Policing, abbreviated as CoRP.

In subsequent court cases, three other former Minneapolis police officers implicated in Floyd’s death were given prison sentences.

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

Upcoming programs, all set for 1 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesdays, include:

The series organizers currently include CSUSB faculty, staff, alumni, and community members, as well as collaborators from other institutions: Amber Broaden (CSUSB and CSU Dominguez Hills, psychology), Stan Futch (president, Westside Action Group), German (Brennan Center for Justice), Robie Madrigal (Pfau Library), Jeremy Murray (CSUSB History), Matt Patino (Crafton Hills College adjunct faculty and CSUSB alumnus), and Mary Texeira (CSUSB sociology).

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

Also visit the Conversations on Race and Policing webpage.