On Tuesday, November 19, we will be discussing chapter 6, "Is police brutality really about race?", from Ijeoma Oluo's book _So You Want to Talk About Race_. We will meet at the Waterbury Public Library from 6:30-7:30.

Oluo notes "most people of color I know do not enjoy driving" (p. 88). In Vermont, where we have the highest incarceration rate for Black males in the U.S., driving is certainly more fraught for some folks than others. According to the report "Driving While Black and Brown in Vermont" (Seguino & Brooks, 2017), compared to white people, Black and Hispanic drivers in Vermont are more likely to be pulled over, ticketed, searched, and arrested; while being less likely to actually have contraband than white drivers. The authors conclude by noting that this is evidence of systemic racism rather than personal intentional racism: "What might be the cause of these disparities? Negative stereotypes and implicit bias against Blacks and Hispanics are likely factors that to contribute to disparities" (p. 25, full study at http://www.UVM.edu/giee/pdfs/SeguinoBrooks_PoliceRace_2017.pdf).

Please join the conversation on Tuesday. First-timers and non-chapter-readers are more than welcome.

Dec 23, 2024, 12 to 5 PM

Dec 23, 2024, 7 to 8 PM

Dec 24, 2024, 4:30 to 6 PM