The Black Lives Matter movement was monumental in calling out police brutality in our nation. It brought to light countless gruesome stories of victims and officers who dodged accountability.
But the police force has had a long history of brutality against the Black community, even Black police officers.
To fight back against the discrimination they faced, Cleveland police officers began the Shield Club, an organization representing Black officers. For decades, the group tried to bring reforms to the police system. Sometimes the efforts were fruitful, but many times, a lost cause.
How did Black police officers reconcile working for the same system that they felt put their own community at risk? And can you really fix a system from within?
Journalist Wilbert L. Cooper uncovers the story of being a Black cop in America in his recent book The Black Shield.
He shares the stories of his own family members, who were almost all police officers, and shares the history of one of the country’s oldest Black policing organizations.
Guest:
- Wilbert L. Cooper, journalist, The Marshall Project/author, The Black Shield