Red Emma’s

How can we make sense of the images coming out of Ferguson, MO, where police look more like an occupying army than anything else?  Kara Dansky is the author of the ACLU's new report on exactly this disturbing trend.  In War Comes Home: The Excessive Militarization of American Policing, Dansky focuses on more than 800 SWAT raids conducted by law enforcement agencies in 20 states and on the agencies’ acquisition of military weaponry, vehicles, and equipment to paint a comprehensive picture of a national trend, fueled by federal policy that continues to not just prosecute a failed War on Drugs, but also subsidizes the transfer of military equipment and training to local police departments. While many commentators are entirely correct to point out that demilitarizing the police is not going to, by itself, undo the pervasive connections between our criminal justice system and the mass incarceration and brutalization of communities of color, it's nevertheless vitally important that we reign in the insidious trend towards treating those communities, as well as antisystemic activists, as military enemies.  We're thrilled to welcome a national expert on the front lines of the struggle to understand and undo this distrubing trend for what should be a vitally important discussion!