Taking the Knee No More: Police Accountability and the Structure of Racism

From before the birth of the republic to the present day, police brutality has represented a signature injustice of state authority, especially against African Americans. Defining that injustice is the lack of accountability for official misconduct. The rule of law has systematically failed to deter...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inWashington and Lee law review Vol. 79; no. 5; pp. 1765 - 1828
Main Author Troutt, David Dante
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Lexington Washington & Lee University, School of Law 01.01.2023
Subjects
Accountability
African Americans
Black people
Citizenship
Civil law
Civil rights
Criminalization
Critical race theory
Demonstrations & protests
Design
Fathers
Floyd, George
Injustice
Law enforcement
Police
Police brutality
Race
Racism
Rule of law
Systemic racism
Violence
White supremacy
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Summary:From before the birth of the republic to the present day, police brutality has represented a signature injustice of state authority, especially against African Americans. Defining that injustice is the lack of accountability for official misconduct. The rule of law has systematically failed to deter lawbreaking by its law enforcement departments. This Article explores the various legal and institutional means by which accountability should be imposed and demonstrates the design elements of structured immunity. Using Critical Race Theory and traditional civil rights law notions of how structural racism operates, this Article argues that transformative change can only come about through recognition that the current system achieves the objectives for which it was designed. These objectives must change.
ISSN:0043-0463
1942-6658