I think McWhorter's basic conservatism shines through if you compare his writing on the subject with actual leftwing scholars/activists who also stress the fundamental threat of the carceral state to people of every race and ethnicity and who call for a broad based, multiracial coalition to oppose police violence. I'm thinking of people like Marie Gottschalk, Barbara Fields, and Cedric Johnson. If you're interested sampling what they have to say about the matter and how it differs from McWhorter, a great place to start is with the Fields co-authored 2020 piece in Dissent, The Death of Hannnah Fizer (https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-death-of-hannah-fizer/). You might also check out Gottschalk's Caught (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017I2M8SO/) and Johnson's After Black Lives Matter (https://www.amazon.com/After-Black-Matter-Cedric-Johnson/dp/1804291676/).
Nancy,
I think McWhorter's basic conservatism shines through if you compare his writing on the subject with actual leftwing scholars/activists who also stress the fundamental threat of the carceral state to people of every race and ethnicity and who call for a broad based, multiracial coalition to oppose police violence. I'm thinking of people like Marie Gottschalk, Barbara Fields, and Cedric Johnson. If you're interested sampling what they have to say about the matter and how it differs from McWhorter, a great place to start is with the Fields co-authored 2020 piece in Dissent, The Death of Hannnah Fizer (https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-death-of-hannah-fizer/). You might also check out Gottschalk's Caught (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017I2M8SO/) and Johnson's After Black Lives Matter (https://www.amazon.com/After-Black-Matter-Cedric-Johnson/dp/1804291676/).
Thank you. I've read the Rothman/Fields essay and I agree.