On The Issues With Michele Goodwin Who Killed George Floyd?
In this episode, we confront the question at the center of Derek Chauvin’s trial: Who killed George Floyd? Our guests unpack that question as an issue central to police and societal violence. Examining who killed George Floyd means taking stock of legacies of racism in the Twin Cities, including redlining, school segregation, policies that undermine equality, and disparate rates of policing and mass incarceration.
As attention has turned to the horrors of the old South, has racism of the new North been overlooked? And at what cost to Black lives? Have liberal allies made a difference or exacerbated harms in the Twin Cities?
We also explore the trauma associated with George Floyd’s death and other officer-involved killings. Experts on our show explain how racism produce physical and psychological health harms.
Helping us to sort out these questions and how we should think about these issues and more are very special guests:
- Judge Pamela Alexander, a Fourth Judicial District judge for Hennepin County, Minnesota. She began her legal career as a criminal defense attorney with the Legal Rights Center and then moved to the Hennepin County attorney’s office as a prosecutor in the criminal division. Since 1983, she has been a Hennepin County district court judge where she presided over the juvenile division and served as assistant chief judge for the court as a whole.
- Dr. Patricia Jones Blessman, a licensed clinical psychologist with over three decades of experience as a clinician and administrator of mental health programs. Jones Blessman is the founder and former president of the Institute for Psychodiagnostic Interventions and Services—one of only a few minority-owned, private sector psychological service corporations nationwide.
- Tasha R. Green Cruzat, executive director of Voices for Illinois Children, an independent child advocacy group that champions strong public policies and investments for all Illinois children and their families. A U.S. Navy veteran, she brings more than 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors of education, business and government. Prior to joining Voices, Cruzat first served as deputy chief of staff then chief of staff to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
- Dr. Roderick A. Ferguson, professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Yale University. An interdisciplinary scholar, his work traverses such fields as American studies, gender studies, queer studies, cultural studies, African American Studies, sociology, literature and education. Most recently, he is the author of One-Dimensional Queer (Polity, 2019). He is currently working on two monographs—In View of the Tradition: Art and Black Radicalism and The Bookshop of Black Queer Diaspora. Ferguson is the 2020 recipient of the Kessler Award from the Center for LGBTQ Studies.
- T. Mychael Rambo, a regional Emmy Award-winning actor, vocalist, arts educator and community organizer. He also an accomplished residency artist and professor in the College of Liberal Arts, Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota.
- Dr. George Woods, a practicing physician, specializing in neuropsychiatry. His private practice focuses on neurodevelopmental disorders, acquired neurocognitive disorders, cognitive impairments secondary to neuropsychiatric disorders, traumatic brain injury, ethnopsychopharmacology and workplace safety. In addition to his clinical practice, Woods consults with legal teams dealing with complex criminal and civil litigation.
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