Joshua Clark Davis

How Police Harassed and Infiltrated Civil Rights Groups Efforts to surveil and undermine activists went far beyond infamous operations such as Cointelpro.

People tend to associate law enforcement repression of black activism w/ the naked violence of Birmingham or the Panthers vs the FBI. That's not the whole story. I reviewed a new book abt local police surveillance of the civil rights movement for
@newrepublic.com:
newrepublic.com/article/2028...

I didn’t write about it but others have. Check out Bloom and Martin’s Black Against Empire. Scot Brown’s books on US might also have something.

The University of Alabama is claiming two student publications violate federal law because one of them focuses on women students and the other on Black students, and it has shut them both down.

Newly Unveiled Photos of MLK Jr. Show Depth of NYPD’s Surveillance After J. Edgar Hoover cast civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. as a “liar,” the New York City Police Department’s spy unit heeded the call.

theintercept.com/2025/11/29/m...

Newly Unveiled Photos of MLK Jr. Show Depth of NYPD’s Surveillance After J. Edgar Hoover cast the civil rights leader as a “liar,” NYPD’s spy unit heeded the call. by Joshua Clark Davis

My new Intercept piece on the NYPD’s targeting of MLK is up today, with never-before-published police surveillance photos of King.

How North Carolina Rose Up Against Trump’s Latest Anti-Immigrant Crackdown “Operation Charlotte’s Web” may mobilize North Carolina’s working-class Latino members and allies to shift the political balance of power at the local, state, and national levels.

"Siembra NC was at the center of a counter-movement that saw thousands quickly mobilize in churches, neighborhoods, and schools across North Carolina...They also began training an army of volunteers across the state to monitor Border Patrol activity and ensure the safety of immigrant communities."

Thank you!

Proud to see that two of our favorite author interviews each made the NYT Best Non-Fiction list this year!

Well-deserved congratulations to John J. Lennon (The Tragedy of True Crime, OA1210) and Professor Michelle Adams (The Containment, OA 1198)

Police Against the Movement A bold retelling of the 1960s civil rights struggle through its work against police violence—and a prehistory of both the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements that emerged half a century...

press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

Joshua Clark Davis: "Police Against the Movement"

calendar.prattlibrary.org/event/joshua...

Cover of Police Against the Movement: The Sabotage of the Civil Rights Struggle and the Activists Who Fought Back

Baltimore and Atlanta: I'm doing two more talks in 2025. Two cities that have been home, and I'm looking forward to both. Tues, 12/02 at the Enoch Pratt Central Library with Senator Emerita @jillpc.bsky.social + Thur, 12/04 at Auburn Ave Research Library with @jduffyrice.bsky.social. Come say hello!

My latest: In 2015, a Cumberland police officer told his boss he'd had "filthy" conversations with a high schooler.

In 2020, Cumberland city leaders made that officer chief of police.

Greenville native Petey Pablo says border patrol used his "Raise Up" anthem without permission On Sunday, as ICE agents began their descent on Charlotte, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino posted a video that contained Petey Pablo's anthem "Raise Up" without the artist's permission.

Great story by @brianburns.bsky.social at @wunc.org

On Sunday, as ICE agents began their descent on Charlotte, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino posted a video on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, with a familiar soundtrack. The video features Petey Pablo's 2001 hit "Raise Up" played over footage of federal agents traveling to the city and making arrests. Pablo confirmed he did not authorize the use of his song in the video.

On Sunday, as ICE agents began their descent on Charlotte, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino posted a video on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, with a familiar soundtrack. The video features Petey Pablo's 2001 hit "Raise Up" played over footage of federal agents traveling to the city and making arrests. Pablo confirmed he did not authorize the use of his song in the video.

Shout out to Petey Pablo for standing up to ICE!

Atlanta officials quietly rebrand city’s DEI office The city of Atlanta office overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion is getting a rebrand amid assaults at the federal level on such initiatives.

www.ajc.com/business/202...

Atlanta officials quietly rebrand city’s DEI office The City Council recently passed an ordinance changing the equity office to the ‘Office of One Atlanta.’

Anticipatory obedience in "the city too busy to hate," where local council members have renamed the DEI office the "Office of One Atlanta.

I’m glad you like it!

A cover of the book Police against the Movment: the sabotage of the civil rights struggle and the activists who fought back by Joshua Clark Davis

If you haven’t picked up a copy of Police Against the Movement yet, what are you waiting for? Essential for anyone who studies civil rights, political movements, surveillance, or policing.

Any community--no matter their politics--would be outraged to have federal troops occupying them!

Washington Post headline: How a tech billionaire philanthropist got caught between Trump and San Francisco Backlash over the Salesforce CEO’s now-retracted suggestion of a National Guard deployment highlights the challenge facing business leaders with roots in liberal communities as they navigate Trump’s second term.

Absurd how the Washington Post is normalizing federal troops occupying U.S. cities by describing opposition to occupation as a "challenge facing business leaders with roots in liberal communities."

Don't Buy Starbucks! At any location, today and beyond, while workers are on ULP strike!

As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.

Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX

Police Against the Movement: The Sabotage of the Civil Rights Struggle and the Activists Who Fought Back Scholar Joshua Clark Jackson will discuss his new book Police Against the Movement: The Sabotage of the Civil Rights Struggle and the Activists Who Fought Back. This session is part of the Zinn Educat...

We know about police violence during CRM, but there was also COINTELPRO type surveillance by local dep'ts.

And resistance by CORE & SNCC who confronted police abuses head-on, with sit-ins at precincts, blocking streets to protest officer abuse, & more.

Join us Monday to learn more. Free class ⬇️

We’ve reached the ‘show me your papers’ stage of American authoritarianism “It’s just really, really bleak, and I don't think people outside of Chicago understand the scope of it,” CODEPINK co-director Danaka Katovich says. “What I saw is Border Patrol agents barreling out o...

“It’s just really, really bleak, and I don’t think people outside of Chicago understand the scope of it,” @codepink.bsky.social co-director Danaka Katovich says. “What I saw is Border Patrol agents barreling out of their vans, rolling up on two men who were working… and asking for their papers.”

Police Against the Movement: The Sabotage of the Civil Rights Struggle and the Activists Who Fought Back by Joshua Clark Davis

Joshua Clark Davis

Tomorrow (Nov 6) at 7:00pm EST, The Word Is Change welcomes @joshuaclarkdavis.bsky.social for a discussion with @chenjerai.bsky.social on his book, Police Against the Movement, shattering the myth that the civil rights movement endured police violence without fighting it

Learn more: buff.ly/OVXgWpc

Please join us as we help launch Police Against the Movement: The Sabotage of the Civil Rights Struggle and the Activists Who Fought Back by Joshua Clark Davis in conversation with Chenjerai Kumanyika, Thursday November 6th. Police Against the Movement shatters one of the most pernicious myths about the 1960s: that the civil rights movement endured police violence without fighting it. Instead, activists confronted police abuses head-on, staging sit-ins at precinct stations, picketing department headquarters, and blocking traffic to protest officer misdeeds. In return, organizers found themselves the targets of overwhelming political repression in the form of police surveillance, infiltration by undercover officers, and retaliatory prosecutions aimed at derailing their movement.

I'll be in Brooklyn to discuss POLICE AGAINST THE MOVEMENT with @chenjerai.bsky.social next Thursday, 11/06 at the Word is Change!

@princetonupress.bsky.social

Please join us as we help launch Police Against the Movement: The Sabotage of the Civil Rights Struggle and the Activists Who Fought Back by Joshua Clark Davis in conversation with Chenjerai Kumanyika, Thursday November 6th. Police Against the Movement shatters one of the most pernicious myths about the 1960s: that the civil rights movement endured police violence without fighting it. Instead, activists confronted police abuses head-on, staging sit-ins at precinct stations, picketing department headquarters, and blocking traffic to protest officer misdeeds. In return, organizers found themselves the targets of overwhelming political repression in the form of police surveillance, infiltration by undercover officers, and retaliatory prosecutions aimed at derailing their movement.

I'll be in Brooklyn to discuss POLICE AGAINST THE MOVEMENT with @chenjerai.bsky.social next Thursday, 11/06 at the Word is Change!

GALLATIN HUMAN RIGHTS INITIATIVE SPEAKER SERIES ON LAW, AUTHORITARIANISM AND DISSENT: POLICING AND COUNTERINSURGENCY Chenjerai Kumanyika (New York University), Stuart Schrader (John Hopkins Univerisity), Christina Heatherton (Trinity College) THURSDAY, OCT 30 2025 IN-PERSON EVENT 5:00pm - 7:00pm Ettinghausen Library, Kevorkian Center 255 Sullivan Street New York, NY 10012

Excited for this event on Policing and Counterinsurgency ft @chenjerai.bsky.social, @stschrader1.bsky.social, & @cheatherton.bsky.social next Thursday at NYU! Info & RSVP here: as.nyu.edu/research-cen...

Ohio National Guard member Sgt. Devon Beck was not amused by this satire. On September 11, 2025, Mr. O’Hara saw Sgt. Beck, along with several other Guard members, walking in uniform in the Logan Circle neighborhood, near the intersection of 14th and R Streets NW. Mr. O’Hara calmly walked behind the Guard members, began playing The Imperial March aloud on his phone, and started recording. In less than two minutes, Sgt. Beck turned around and threatened to call D.C. police officers to “handle” Mr. O’Hara if he persisted. Mr. O’Hara continued recording and playing the music. Sgt. Beck contacted the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Defendant MPD Officers Brown, Campbell, Reyes-Benigno, and Lopez Martinez came to the scene and, in essence, did what Sgt. Beck had threatened, putting Mr. O’Hara in handcuffs and preventing him from continuing his peaceful protest.

The DC ACLU is suing on behalf of a man who was arrested by a National Guardsman and MPD officers for playing the Imperial March (from Star Wars) as an act of protest. www.acludc.org/app/uploads/...