If we’re honest with ourselves, because of the history of our country, and because of the images we receive as we’re growing up etcetera—oftentimes there’s a presumption that Black men are dangerous. And so, that has to be worked through. And so police officers who are getting that training end up being able to engage and de-escalate encounters more effectively.
–President Barack Obama
In the past few years, technology and social media have allowed the world to see the victimization of unarmed Black men and women by law enforcement. High-profile cases such as those of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, John Crawford, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, and Sandra Bland have sparked social movements, protests, demonstrations, and public discourse as it relates to race and the fight against social injustice. Those movements have forced many people to address, or at the very least to acknowledge, that there is a racial bias problem in America, and that it impacts our entire society, especially the criminal justice system.