The “post-racial America” supposedly evidenced by the election of Barack Obama continues to produce incidents of violence against unarmed Black people. These incidents and others beg the question, in the criminal justice system and in U.S. society generally, who gets the benefit of the doubt?
Lisa M. Brown was raised in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She is a professor of psychology at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, USA. She and Austin College Chaplain, John Williams, are the co-chairs the Inclusion and Diversity Task Force appointed by the president of Austin College, Marjorie Hass. She did her undergraduate work at Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and her graduate work at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Her research interests include ethnic identity and sexual orientation identity as they relate to intergroup relations and identity management. She enjoys running, basketball and ultimate frisbee, and is actively involved in her church’s music ministry.