Mobilized by Injustice: Criminal Justice contact, Political Participation and Race

Today at 5pm, Dr. Hannah Walker (Assistant Professor, UT Austin) will discuss her award-winning book, Mobilized by Injustice: Criminal Justice contact, Political Participation and Race(Cambridge University Press, 2020). Professor Kami Chavis will moderate the Q & A session following Walker’s presentation. This virtual event is sponsored by the WFU Politics department, Intercultural Center, Slavery, Race & Memory Project, Center for Research, Engagement, & Collaboration in African American Life (RECAAL), and the Office of Civic & Community Engagement (OCCE).

Dr. Hannah L. Walker is an assistant professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research examines the impact of the criminal justice system on American democracy with special attention to minority and immigrant communities. Previously, she served as and assistant professor of Political Science and Criminal Justice at Rutgers University (2017-2020), and a postdoctoral fellow with the Prisons and Justice Initiative at Georgetown University (2016-2017). She received her PhD in 2016 from the University of Washington.

Her book, Mobilized by Injustice (available through Oxford University Press), explores the impact of experiences with the criminal justice system on political engagement. Springing from decades of abuse by law enforcement and an excessive criminal justice system, members of over-policed communities lead the current movement for civil rights in the United States. Activated by injustice, individuals protested police brutality in Ferguson, campaigned to end stop-and-frisk in New York City, and advocated for restorative justice in Washington, D.C. Yet, scholars focused on the negative impact of criminal justice on resources and public trust did not predict these pockets of resistance, arguing instead that demeaning policy leads individuals to withdraw. Mobilized by Injustice excavates conditions under which, despite other negative outcomes, criminal justice experiences catalyze political action. When understood as resulting from a system that targets people based on race, class, or other group identifiers, contact can politically mobilize.

The Mobilized by Injustice book can be purchased here:  https://global.oup.com/academic/product/mobilized-by-injustice-9780190940652?q=hannah%20walker&lang=en&cc=us#