Professor Emeritus Fran Shor discusses weaponized whiteness at Humanities Center Brownbag

Weaponized Whiteness: Racist Currents in American Gun Violence

Why does the United States have so much gun violence and why is it so difficult to overcome? Although there are numerous contributing factors to the persistence of the high amount of American gun violence, from the frontier past to the continuing proliferation of guns, one significant, but often overlooked, aspect is the role of systemic racism and the accompanying white racist frame.

This 50-minute PowerPoint presentation will explore the long history of racist currents in American gun violence. Drawing from material in my forthcoming, Weaponized Whiteness: The Constructions and Deconstructions of White Identity Politics (Brill 2020), the racist dimensions of colonial and imperial war and repressive policing will be examined for their impact on American gun violence. In addition, recent challenges to these racist currents in American gun violence, from Black Lives Matter to the March for Our Lives, will be highlighted.

When and where

October 22, 2019, 12:30-1:30 p.m., 2339 FAB

Francis Shor is a professor emeritus of history at Wayne State University. He is the author of four books. Other publications, covering a broad range of topics in 20th century U.S. and global history, have appeared in scholarly journals and popular online journals. In addition to his academic work, he has been a longtime peace and justice activist. In that regard, he is currently the Director of the Public Education and Community Engagement (P.E.A.C.E.) project, an affiliate of Peace Action of Michigan and an advisory board member of the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights.