Episode 136: How can we problematize white supremacy, mass incarceration and police violence?

The Arch and Anth Podcast

In this episode, Dr. Orisanmi Burton (American University) calls in from Washington, D.C. to share his view on the Black Lives Matter movement this week, speaking as a social anthropologist who examines state repression, grassroots organization and the Black radical demands generated within U.S. prisons that imagine alternative futures.

What important ideas did Ori learn from prominent thinkers on prison reform and abolition such as organizer and educator, Miriame Kaba, prison reform visionary, Eddie Ellis, and Black Marxist professor, Cedric Robinson? How important is language use in academic discourse and popular media in defining what white supremacy, state repression and police violence actually entail and how can overgeneralizations miss important aspects of historical context or axes of analysis? Why is racism a 'malleable' concept that does not only denote white-on-black violence and oppression? According to Ori, who (or what purpose) do prisons serve?

In addition, what drives huge collectives of protestors to take part in these movements? What might reformed social systems or new world orders look like and do anthropologists or academics have a role to play in imagining them? As a father, how does intergenerational oral history factor into the way Ori frames his research?

You can find more information in the show notes under the episode on our website.

Give support to the Justice For Breonna Taylor fund, learn from Miriame Kaba on her website and this podcast episode of How to Survive The End of the World, and consider giving to Project Nia, which aims to end the incarceration of minors and young adults.

You can find Ori on his university webpage or Twitter profile if you have questions for him.

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