In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, many of us heard the phrase “qualified immunity” for the first time in a new light - but what does the phrase even mean?  And why is it so important when we think about police, driving (or existing) while Black, and civil rights in this country?  We’ll talk about all of this in today’s episode, so we can help set some context for a major conversation happening in our country - one about abolition.  

 

Listen in, and if you want more, go buy our book, Dear White Women: Let’s Get (Un)comfortable Talking About Racism, and make sure you’re following this podcast for more!

 

What to listen for: 

• What it is - Qualified immunity is a defense that law enforcement and other government officials can use in defense against lawsuits that ask for monetary damages for alleged civil rights violations. In other words, it’s a way that officers can avoid being held liable for his or her actions.
• Examples of when qualified immunity has been called into action, to make it easier to understand
• Information about how qualified immunity is not actually a law; it was a judicial doctrine that was created and then restated by the Supreme Court through Section 1983 
• Why we still have qualified immunity - fear, not based in fact - and what we as a society might do differently to give victims a means of seeking justice

 

More information on qualified immunity through the Equal Justice Initiative and Public Justice. 

 

Related Episodes:

Episode 67: How the US Police System has Failed Black People Since Inception Link to episodes on Black Codes

Episode 140: Becoming Abolitionists, with Derecka Purnell