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Michigan Tech’s Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture wrapped up its “Justice in Transition” speaker series with the famous, and controversial, DeRay McKesson from Black Lives Matter Thursday night. He brought his trademark antagonism towards law enforcement to a virtual forum that featured lofty goals that would reshape policing and prisons across the country.
Perhaps most surprising was McKesson’s assertion that he finds law enforcement in small cities like Houghton to be worse than urban areas like Detroit, Chicago, or Minneapolis.
McKesson sidestepped important aspects of police reform, namely the consequences that come with sweeping changes. Several of the country’s largest municipalities have signaled an end to their “defund the police” pushes after seeing an explosion of violence. Homicides have jumped in most major metropolitan cities by 25 percent to 33 percent, the largest single-year rise in history. That equates to thousands of extra murders.
He also avoided a growing scandal involving one of the founders of Black Lives Matter. Patrisse Khan Cullors was profiled in the New York Post recently over a string of real estate purchases. The homes bought are located in rural and suburban markets.
Following events in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland, McKesson became a staple of mainstream media profiles, and leveraged connections with Obama Administration officials to create the “Pod Save the People” podcast.
