Alex Vitale is Professor of Sociology and coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College. Vitales book The End of Policing, is an accessible study of police history as an imperial tool for social control that continues to exacerbate class and racial tensions. Vitale also goes deep into the shortcomings of reform and in contrast, deepens the conversations around meaningful alternatives to ultimately ask the reader to consider the end of policing.
Then we'll meet people challenging polluters in their own backyard. Not to push hazardous industries into another neighborhood. Instead they're developing visionary solutions for a better life for all and for the future of the planet. From urban to rural communities, we'll learn about indigenous-led efforts to protect public health and the environment for future generations.
We'll meet Community Storytelling Fellow and environmental and indigenous leader Isabella Zizi. Zizi talks about how the 2012 Chevron refinery fire in Richmond, California sparked her involvement in indigenous-led environmental movements. Zizi walks us from one refinery town to the next, showing us what it's like living next door to an oil refinery and how these towns have come together to protect the sacred systems of the planet.
Then we head to Maine where we meet communities fighting the expansion of a landfill. The Penobscot Nation lives on the river that shares their name. Just upstream from their island reservation is Juniper Ridge, Maine's largest landfill and the only one that's state-owned. Casella, the corporation operating the landfill wants to double its size. Penobscots who rely on river fish as a culturally important food source are worried about the river being polluted by the growing dump. Along with their neighbors, they've been fighting to halt the expansion. In the process they've exposed backroom dealings that have paved the way for the landfills continued growth.
Featuring
Alex Vitale, Professor of Sociology, coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College, and author of The End of Policing.
Laura Flynn
Contributing Producers: Isabella Zizi, Meaghan LaSala, Lisa Bartfai, and Laura Flynn
Staff Producers: Anita Johnson, Marie Choi, Monica Lopez, R.J. Lozada
Executive Director: Lisa Rudman
Audience Engagement Manager: Sabine Blaizin
Development Associate: Vera Thykulske