Fight the Power: Clarence Taylor with Aaron Morrison

The history of police brutality in New York City and the black community’s struggle to resist.

The 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and others that followed were the catalyst for a national conversation about race, policing, and injustice. The subsequent surge of media coverage led to protests and clashes between the police and local residents that were reminiscent of the unrest of the 1960s. In Fight the Power: African Americans and the Long History of Police Brutality in New York City, Clarence Taylor explores the movements and the individuals who waged campaigns to end police abuse against people of color from the 1940s to today: the black church, the black press, black communists, and civil rights activists. They fought through politics, in the streets, and in the city’s courtrooms. Taylor argues that the only solution is a radical reduction of police domination of New York’s black citizens. 

Clarence Taylor is Professor Emeritus of History at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, CUNY.  He has written and edited six books including The Black Churches of Brooklyn, Knocking at Our Own Door: Milton A. Galamison and the Struggle to Integrate New York City Schools, and Reds at the Blackboard: Communism, Civil Rights and the New York City Teachers Union.

FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED

Registration does not guarantee admission. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A stand by line will form thirty minutes before the program.

The Program Room opens at 6 PM.

ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing accessibility@nypl.org.