Perspectives

Several faculty members have written pieces recently about gun violence and racism, shared on the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute’s blog. The articles are part of a special series by the law institute’s and the Institute for Public Health’s gun violence initiatives.

International lawyers and legal scholars sometimes treat the ICC as fundamentally different than other international institutions and regulatory regimes. It is not. It is an integral part of the global legal order, an order that promotes international peace and security for all, including Americans, writes Leila Sadat.

I fear that removing episodes — some of which actually open discussions about racist representation — simply goes for an easy, non-substantive approach to harder questions about more dangerous racist logics and practices in Hollywood culture, writes Rebecca Wanzo.

The coronavirus will fade eventually, but the uncertainties of today’s world continue to grow. It is more important than ever to build a long-term financial security system for U.S. families, and this system should include undocumented workers, writes Yingying Zeng.

Gen. Roscoe Robinson Jr. should join his fellow U.S. Army generals, Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman, as immortals on the Loop, writes Andrew Betson.

Kenneth Remy, MD, at the School of Medicine, writes a poignant op-ed published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about how COVID-19 has distanced loved ones from family members at moments when they need them most.

Kimberly Norwood, at the School of Law, co-writes an analysis about her experience as a black American as the pandemic and the protests over killings of black people have unfolded. She questions if 2020 will lead to lasting change and ponders how to teach students about justice.

What if we dedicated ourselves to making our home, St. Louis, not a name on a list of racial violence and inequity but instead a model of a future of urban equity and democracy? What if we led the nation in finding models for police accountability and equitable policing? From our grief and rage there are only two options left—action or despair, writes Adrienne Davis.

A new documentary by 2020 alumnus Brian Goodfriend and rising senior Isabelle Roig profiles 2019 alumnus Demetri Kavadas. Better known as “Ninja Turtle Backpack Guy,” Kavadas was once described by Michael Bloomberg as the university’s “most famous icon.”

The best argument for eliminating qualified immunity is less about deterrence and more about symbolism. Qualified immunity routinely requires courts to say that there will be no penalty for a police officer who has violated the Constitution. That sends the message — to officers and the public — that the police are above the law, writes Daniel Epps.