Black Shootings, Conflict Theory, and Policy Implications

Abstract

Recently, the news media has reported the deaths of many young, unarmed African-American males who have been killed by police officers who have not been held criminally-responsible for their actions. These events have ignited social tensions, served as a topic of debate for presidential candidates, as well as sparked the Black Lives Matters Movement. Furthermore, when there has been public outcry staged at peaceful demonstrations, many protesters have been arrested or violently put down by police officers. These occurrences are eerily similar to the social unrest and political movements of the 1960s and 1970s, when minorities and other dissident groups were routinely harassed and subjected to extreme violence by local police and other governmental agencies. Conflict theories provide a general framework that allows more insight into these events.