Posts

Turner on the Need for Disruptive Protest

A Los Angeles Times column about recent clashes between L.A. public officials and protesters cited David C. Turner, assistant professor of social welfare. Scandals have enveloped City Hall, with three former council members facing federal corruption charges and continuing fallout from a leaked recording of a racist conversation among city leaders. In response, members of the public have been loud, aggressive and disruptive, and high-ranking officials have openly condemned their detractors. Turner said it’s a deeply troubling sign when elected leaders or their supporters attack their constituents and critics. All protest is by nature confrontational and no social movement has ever succeeded without violating the rules of decorum, he noted. “There’s always this dichotomy drawn between those who protest nicely versus those who are disruptive or confrontational,” Turner said. “But if you study social movements, you know that they need one another. Real change doesn’t happen without both.”

Vestal on Whether Access to Housing Will Become a Fundamental Right

In a YES! magazine story profiling the activities of the Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU), UCLA Luskin’s Marques Vestal talks about the long-term impact of the pandemic and whether it will lead to changes in housing access. The assistant professor of urban planning and critical Black urbanism at UCLA is also a member of LATU. He says it remains to be seen whether the public will accept “going back to normal” or instead back mass movements that demand that housing be treated as a fundamental right. “That’s what’s going to give a future political movement of tenants that’s happening in the country right now longevity,” Vestal said.


 

Weisburst on Pinpointing the Source of Racial Disparities in Policing

Assistant Professor of Public Policy Emily Weisburst co-authored an EconoFact article highlighting racial disparities in policing from an economics research perspective. Protests following the death of George Floyd have brought a new focus to racial disparities in U.S. policing. Economics research has historically sought to understand the role of police officer prejudice or bias in perpetuating the disparities. Newer studies have attempted to evaluate police use-of-force patterns and the effectiveness of reforms such as civilian oversight, de-escalation training and predictive analysis in hiring. Weisburst’s research looks at the extent to which disparity in treatment corresponds to widespread police behavior versus the actions of particular police officers. “Race disparities in policing reflect multiple potential sources of inequities and discrimination,” the authors wrote. They called for more research to pinpoint the source of the disparity and identify the most effective reforms.