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Montclair State U Criminologist Prof Jason Williams Weighs in Nationally on Trump Attack on Black Led Cities

“I am a Black male revolutionary criminologist against vicious and racist social control!” – from Jason Williams Facebook homepage.

Jason Williams teaches Justice Studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey. He has been quoted extensively in a deep dive USA Today article about racial implications of Trump’s introduction of troops and massive repression into Washington DC without factual cause and threats to attack other Black led cities as well.

Hats off to Jason Williams with his insightful commentary as NJ is dealing with the New Brunswick NJ police murder of 67 year old Deborah McCalla-Terrell and the false and racist prosecution of Black Palestine Solidarity activist Lisa Davis we will be guided by many strong voices in NJ to struggle against the pending onslaught of repression – growing every day in NJ and throughout the USA – Jason Williams among them!

USA Today: Notice a theme to Trump’s planned takeovers of cities? These Black mayors do.President Trump has warned he might send the National Guard to other cities. The Black mayors of those cities vow to push back.

USA Today Article References to Jason Williams Commentary:

While the president didn’t specifically mention race then or in his recent references, it’s clearly implied, said Jason Williams, a professor of Justice Studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Williams said urban centers historically have been code for talking about Black people or communities of color.

“He doesn’t necessarily have to say it in order for his base to know what the implications are,” said Williams, adding that most people know DC has a significant Black population. “It does give him some plausible deniability. Not that I think this president would care.”

‘We’ve been here before’

Federal officials have sometimes used their powers to undermine Black urban leadership and portray leaders as chaotic and incompetent or crime-prone, Williams said. He pointed to examples such as the urban renewal of the 1960s and 1970s, when federal officials displaced Black neighborhoods with highways and a century earlier, after Reconstruction, when governments dismantled post-Civil War gains.

“We’ve been here before with federal overreach and an attempt to try to roll back hard-won wins,” Williams said. . . .

“DC has always been this sort of political football for the Republicans,” Williams said.