LNGC2701

This course will be taught by Shanelle Matthews, inaugural TNS Activist in Residence and former Communications Director for the Black Lives Matter Global Network. In the fight for rights, recognition, and resources, historically, Black activists in the United States have faced unconstitutional scrutiny, surveillance, harassment, and even assassination by both the government and local law enforcement who see their demands for equality and justice as a threat to the status quo. From COINTELPRO to Black Identity Extremism, this semester we will explore the government’s role in surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations. We will also study how global oppressive regimes use various fear tactics to thwart dissent and suppress movements for resistance and true democracy. Our goal is to understand the government’s attempts and successes in neutralizing people or organizations whose attitudes or beliefs they perceive as threatening, and more specifically, how Black organizing and activism are understood and policed in the United States. We will be joined by movement leaders from different movements and hear their stories of suppression and resistance. Together, we will study FBI files, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, movement and organizational demands, and long-form investigative pieces about how social change is fought for and won and how the government suppresses movements for freedom.