Jelani Cobb: Contingent Citizenship (Race and Democracy in the Age of Ferguson and Baltimore)

From the NSA’s mining of citizens’ personal data to the police’s use of lethal force in Ferguson, Cleveland, and Staten Island, recent events have called into question U.S. authorities' exercise of power. In this talk, journalist and University of Connecticut history professor Jelani Cobb discusses citizenship in an age of expanded state authority. How much power should we afford those who keep us safe? How have strained relationships between minorities and governing authorities defined the nation's first black presidency?