Documentary, ‘Slavery by Another Name,’ will be screened at the next Conversations on Race and Policing

The PBS documentary, “Slavery by Another Name,” will be screened and followed by discussion led by Marc Robinson, CSUSB assistant professor of history, when the next Conversations on Race and Policing convenes virtually on Wednesday, Feb. 24.

The presentation will be livestreamed on Zoom beginning at 3 p.m. and can be accessed from a PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android at https://csusb.zoom.us/j/97960458784.

The documentary, released in 2012, is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same title written by Douglas A. Blackmon. According to the film’s website, “‘Slavery by Another Name’ … challenges one of Americans’ most cherished assumptions: the belief that slavery in this country ended with the Emancipation Proclamation. The film tells how even as chattel slavery came to an end in the South in 1865, thousands of African Americans were pulled back into forced labor with shocking force and brutality. It was a system in which men, often guilty of no crime at all, were arrested, compelled to work without pay, repeatedly bought and sold, and coerced to do the bidding of masters. Tolerated by both the North and South, forced labor lasted well into the 20th century.

“For most Americans this is entirely new history. ‘Slavery by Another Name’ gives voice to the largely forgotten victims and perpetrators of forced labor and features their descendants living today.”

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.  

For more information, contact Robie Madrigal at rmadriga@csusb.edu or Jeremy Murray at jmurray@csusb.edu.