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Springfield Police Chief Joe Behl has defended his officers in several brutal attacks on civilians. The latest is a chase involving a 14-year-old boy who had headphones on and was unaware that he was being followed by police. A lone officer followed the boy for two blocks on the 2100 block of Lawrence Ave. When the boy finally noticed the officer, he told the officer that he would not speak with him alone and that the officer could come to speak with his mother. He was one b

Something has been on my mind for weeks, and I will TRY to say it nicely. Many people find it very difficult to watch other people imitate their ideas. But the Unveiling Black Springfield (UBS) research project is not devised to hold on to or hoard ideas that build social support for economic, family, and emotional well-being. The idea is to collaborate to implement projects that others reject or don't think of, then watch those projects thrive, and support others with proj

I just taught a Sociology of Work and Occupations course where we discussed readings on DEFERENCE. I planned to show parts of the Springfield City Council Meeting last night, but we didn't even get past the discussion on 2025-470. Students had already read empirical studies on the Social Psychology of Race at Work, so we had an excellent time analyzing only about 10 minutes in last night's discussion. We got to the part where Hanauer asked about how much the landlord registry

I woke up this morning thinking about the words “professionalism” and “emotional display.” Many of us attend courses and workshops that help us to become more “professional” so that we can adhere to the standards of the society and increase our chances at success. But adhering to the standards of a society that already stigmatizes you for your race/ethnicity, gender, the way you dress, or the money in your bank account, means that you have to also adhere to the ideology that