Name: Emmanuel Olusheki

Social Justice Group: 2018-2019, Race & Policing

Date of Fieldwork: January 8, 2019

Name of Organization: PROP (Police Reform Organization Project)

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Robert Gangi, PhD

Type of Fieldwork: Direct Action

What I did:

We went to a courthouse called the County Criminal Court on 100 centre street NY, NY to meet with Robert Gangi to do some court monitorings. Robert Gangi told us that if someone with power supporting minorities observes a case, the judge is less likely to give a harsh punishment to the person being prosecuted. we monitored 6 court cases and 5 out of 6 of the prosecuted people were of colour.

What I learned:

One thing we learned is that people of colour are arrested for minor crimes. For example, someone can get arrested for biking on the sidewalk or tinted windows. We also learned that many of these minor arrested are targeted towards vagrants or people without homes. for example, you can be brought to court for public urination but it isn’t their fault because there isn’t a bathroom too. Also, being in the park after Dark can get you arrested but you might just want to take a nap.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned that cruelty exists in many areas of the justice system. It happens in police departments and in the courts according to Robert Gangi. I also learned that minor rules that people get arrested and trialled for are stupid and unnecessary.