Understanding “Defund the Police” with Alex Vitale

15 Nov 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

You’ve likely heard the calls for defunding the police, during this summer’s demonstrations against police killings. You may agree and wonder how we could get there, or you may think that defunding goes too far, or you may just wonder what it means. Whatever your reaction, here’s a chance to find out more.

Alex S. Vitale will be our guest speaker on this morning. Professor Vitale, who teaches in the Department of Sociology at Brooklyn College and has researched and written about the future of policing for 30 years, will explain the “defund the police” movement and its relationship to the long struggle for racial and economic justice.

Riverdale Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture meeting will begins on Zoom at 11:00 am ET, with gathering time until about 11:10. RYSEC Ethics Matters theme for November is Healing.

Alex S. Vitale is Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College and a Visiting Professor at London Southbank University. He has spent the last 30 years writing about policing and consults both police departments and human rights organizations internationally. Prof. Vitale is the author of City of Disorder: How the Quality of Life Campaign Transformed New York Politics and The End of Policing.

His academic writings on policing have appeared in Policing and Society, Police Practice and Research, Mobilization, and Contemporary Sociology. He is also a frequent essayist, whose writings have been published in The NY Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Nation, Vice News, Fortune, and USA Today. He has also appeared on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, NPR, PBS, Democracy Now, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

How to Participate
– On Android, iOS, Windows, Mac Join Zoom Meeting or enter the Meeting ID: 718 548 4445
– Video: We can see you if you have a camera in your phone or laptop and have it turned on. If you’re using a phone, the experience is better if you turn your phone horizontally and place it on a surface to point it at your face. If you get a message that your internet connection is unstable, you may want to try STOP VIDEO. Also stop video, please, if there is distracting activity at your location.
– Sound: If you’re using a desktop or laptop, after you log in, you can choose your computer microphone or the option of using your phone for sound (phone audio). Click the arrow next to the microphone (“Mute”) at the bottom of your screen if you aren’t automatically offered the choice.
– If you’re using computer audio, be sure your microphone is plugged in, turned on, and selected, if it is not automatically on.
– If you choose phone audio, phone numbers will be offered, along with the Meeting and Participant IDs you will be prompted to enter after you make the call.
Dial a number from the list below and, when prompted, enter Meeting ID: 718 548 4445
You’ll be asked to identify yourself, so we know who is participating.
Suggested call-in numbers:
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)