Summary
The US federal law-enforcement agency whose confidential August 2017 report on “Black identity extremists”, Black Identity Extremists Likely Motivated to Target Law Enforcement Officers, Matthew Abraham examines as a moment of recognition by the state that subject positions associated with Black Power represent a discursive target in need of state management and control (Recognizing and Saving Black Lives, Recognizing and Saving Palestinian Lives: The Power of Transnational Rhetorics in Locating the Commonality of Liberation Struggles, PDF p.4-6 / printed p.80-82).
Details
- Abraham quotes the report’s definitions of black identity extremists (report footnote b, p.2, as cited) and of sovereign citizen extremists (report footnote c, p.3, as cited), and its assessments that further controversial police shootings of African Americans would likely drive violence against law enforcement and that police officers of minority groups are also likely targets (report p.7, as cited) (PDF p.5-6 / printed p.81-82).
- Abraham argues the report’s release shows that expressions of a racial or religious identity can be reframed as a form of extremism challenging state formations, because racial politics makes claims of injustice against the state that are radically disruptive (PDF p.8 / printed p.84).
Related pages
Recognizing and Saving Black Lives, Recognizing and Saving Palestinian Lives: The Power of Transnational Rhetorics in Locating the Commonality of Liberation Struggles, Black Identity Extremists Likely Motivated to Target Law Enforcement Officers, Michael Brown, Black Lives Matter