Joe Gutierrez | CSUSB Office of Strategic Communication | (951) 236-4522 | joeg@csusb.edu
Michael Sierra-Arévalo, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, makes a return visit to CSUSB’s Conversations on Race and Policing when he presents “The Perils of Policing.”
The program will be livestreamed on Zoom beginning at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, and can be accessed from a PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android at https://csusb.zoom.us/j/97960458784.
Drawing on observations and interviews across three U.S. police departments, Sierra-Arévalo, who participated in the series’ July 1 program, will discuss the concept of “perilous policing.” This approach to policing emphasizes danger and death in officers’ understanding and practice of police work, and has profound consequences for officer safety, public well-being, and social inequality.
Sierra-Arévalo’s research shows how danger and violence influence police culture, officer practice, and social inequality. His first book, “Peril on Patrol: Danger, Death, and U.S. Policing,” is under advance contract at Columbia University Press. His writing and research have appeared in The Washington Post, Times Higher Education, NPR, Vox, GQ, and The New Republic. One of his more recent interviews appeared on Politifact, in which he discussed the approach police took at the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot in contrast to a Black Lives Matter protest.
Conversations on Race and Policing began in the aftermath of the May 25 death of George Floyd while in the custody of four Minneapolis, Minn., police officers. A video of the incident posted on social media has led to widespread protests, the firing of four police officers, the arrest of one officer on a second-degree murder charge, the other three on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder – and a spotlight worldwide on race and policing.
Previous forums also are posted online (more recordings will soon be available for viewing) on the CSUSB History Club Lecture Series YouTube channel.
The ongoing Conversations on Race and Policing series is hosted by CSUSB students Marlo Brooks and Yvette Relles-Powell.
The series is organized by Brooks and Relles-Powell, CSUSB faculty members Mary Texeira (sociology) and Jeremy Murray (history), Robie Madrigal, public affairs/communication specialist for the CSUSB John M. Pfau Library, and community member Stan Futch, president of the Westside Action Group.
Also, save the dates for upcoming Conversations on Race and Policing, including:
- Feb. 10, featuring Annika Anderson, CSUSB assistant professor and director of Project Rebound; and
- Feb. 17, with Mike Davis, UC Riverside professor emeritus, creative writing, and Jon Wiener, UC Irvine professor emeritus, history, authors of the book, “Set the Night on Fire: LA in the Sixties.”
For more information, contact Robie Madrigal at rmadriga@csusb.edu or Jeremy Murray at jmurray@csusb.edu.
