| The protests against the killing of George Floyd that continue nationwide represent different things to different people: hope for some, frustration and anger to many, and fear to others. But one thing is clear: America isn’t the same as it was 10 days ago. As OZY CEO and co-founder Carlos Watson wrote on Monday in his letter to you, our OZY family, we will wrestle with difficult questions in the coming days — including those you’ve raised in your responses to his letter. Let’s keep the conversation going. |
| | | | Is the U.S. at a Tipping Point? |
| 1 Failed Experiment? President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously tried to bend capitalism so that it would work for underprivileged Americans. Some, like political philosopher Cornel West, believe the police murders of Black Americans show that the country is a “failed social experiment.” Others see promise in the protests — if we listen carefully. Read the full story here. | 2 Pivotal Moments It often starts with a single incident. From the bloody raid that sparked the Civil War in 1859, to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, some of America’s most pivotal moments were triggered by an individual act. Read more here. |
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| | | | How to Police the Police? |
| 3 What Makes Cops Change? From authoritarian takeovers to racist killings, from a bold cop who broke his department’s code of silence to brutal blindings, it has taken seismic events — and often, Supreme Court intervention — to bring about police reforms in major democracies like the U.S., India and the U.K. Read more. | 4 Policies That Work Campaign Zero, a team of prominent police reform activists, have launched an #8CANTWAIT campaign, detailing eight policy changes that reduce police killings. | 5 Color-Coded Cops What if a citizen could demand interaction with a cop of his or her race? After all, in many nations, only a female officer can arrest a woman. Read more. | 6 Female Police Or does the answer lie in gender? Only 12 percent of police officers nationally are women — and they are known to use less force in citizen encounters, and have fewer complaints filed against them. Read here. |
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| | | | A Deeper Look at the Floyd Case |
| 7 Trying the Case Millions have seen the video of Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin pinning Floyd to the street with his knee, an act that culminated in the 46-year-old African American man’s death. But Thomas B. Heffelfinger, a former U.S. attorney for Minnesota (under both Presidents Bush) who prosecuted law enforcement officers, tells OZY that a murder conviction is far from certain. Find out why. | 8 Expanded Charges Chauvin’s third-degree murder charge has been elevated to second-degree, and the three other officers who were at the scene have now been criminally charged. | 9 Where Are the Previous Chauvins? Only 1 percent of officers involved in killings are even charged. From the officer who shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice dead but nearly got rehired by another police department, to the policewoman who killed Terrence Clutcher and then taught her colleagues how to deal with bad press, find out where cops who’ve been in Chauvin’s shoes before are now. | 10 Help the Floyd Family Directly, by going through their GoFundMe campaigns here and here. |
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| | | 11 Africa’s Angst Half a century ago, African independence movements and the civil rights movement in the U.S. provided critical support to each other. The Floyd killing has rekindled that bond. Leaders of the continent have demanded America do better. | 12 Rivals Relish Meanwhile, China and Russia have used the moment to corner the U.S. on its blood-splotched record on race. |
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| | | | | 13 Brown vs. Black? Ethnic tensions among the Black, Latinx and Asian communities aren’t new. But the protests — and the violence that has accompanied them in some cases — is now threatening to spill into clashes of a different kind. In Chicago and New York, reports of such incidents have emerged over the past two days. |
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| | | | | 14 Listen to This Season three of OZY’s popular history podcast, The Thread, explores the revolutionary and even dangerous idea of nonviolent resistance. | 15 Read This The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander. You’ll never look at the mass incarceration of Black Americans the same way again. | 16 Watch This Reconstruction (PBS). It’s history, told in a way that makes you feel like you’re living it. |
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| | A Few Things That You Can Do Now |
| 17 Donate Food One in 5 American children is hungry. Support minority communities battling hunger by donating to these organizations. | 18 Be a Mentor Check out the Mentoring Connector, the only national database of initiatives for mentoring youth. | 19 Talk to Us Thank you for your responses to Carlos’ letter. But our journey to reset America has just started. Click here — or simply reply to this email — to send us your thoughts on today’s special newsletter. Carlos would love to hear more from you, and we will be publishing a roundup of the most compelling comments. |
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