Michelle S. Phelps

every news story is worse than the one before

I’m told ICE attacked us—despite us being off the street, courtesy of the state police—to create a spectacle because Kristi Noem was present today. Here’s some footage of her and her team on the roof of Broadview. Everything is content creation to these fascists.

Sociologists of Minnesota | 2025 Conference A professional association whose mission is to promote and develop an understanding of sociology and sociological practice in the state of Minnesota.

We are excited to announce the upcoming conference of the Sociologists of Minnesota, hosted by Macalester College in St. Paul, on October 3rd and 4th, 2025.

For more information about the conference or its details, please visit the Sociologists of Minnesota | 2025 Conference website.

Minneapolis crime is down — even if it doesn’t always feel that way Producer Gretchen Brown talked with University of Minnesota Sociology Professor Michelle Phelps to try to make sense of the gap in crime perception versus reality.

Professor Michelle Phelps recently appeared on MPR for an interview about the discrepancy between the amount of crime in Minneapolis & the public's perception of crime.

Check it out!

Minneapolis crime is down — even if it doesn’t always feel that way Producer Gretchen Brown talked with University of Minnesota Sociology Professor Michelle Phelps to try to make sense of the gap in crime perception versus reality.

there's been a rash of recent mass shootings in minneapolis. but crime is actually down. why doesn't it always feel that way? i looked into it. www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...

There is no next step in the road to authoritarianism - it's just a matter of implementation. Trump declares war on the "enemy within" and his Secretary of War says the crackdown will be illegal and merciless. That's the whole enchilada right there.

Pls share w/ your students -- Univ. of Minnesota's Sociology department is hosting a "how to apply" event for PhD applicants. Visit cla.umn.edu/sociology/gr... for more info. The world of higher ed (and beyond) is in crisis, but sociology can help us better understand the problems + solutions.

Making racial demands: tracing the struggle over public safety in Minneapolis Abstract. In May 2020, the world erupted in protest after officers with the Minneapolis Police Department murdered George Floyd. In response, abolitionist

New in Social Problems: @michellesphelps.bsky.social & @dacuetovilla.bsky.social trace how Minneapolis activists debated public safety after George Floyd, showing how “racial demands” shape policy fights. doi.org/10.1093/socp...

That is 2 in 5! Every time I see these stats it breaks my brain how fractured America is.

haha, whoops. Thanks. Was trying to adjust the picture that displayed and dropped the link. 😂

Especially in this moment as the president direct troops to occupy cities in the name of "safety" for communities, it's vital we understand how and why these racial claims are made *and* better answers to the question of safety for all. (and pls email for a PDF if it's gated for you!)

New paper out with @dacuetovilla.bsky.social today at
@socprobsjournal.bsky.social -- in it we build a model for understanding how competing movement orgs make racial demands, using the debates in Minneapolis over public safety in 2021.

Farm Aid 40 | Sept. 20 | Minneapolis | Tickets, Lineup, Info Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Margo Price, Billy Strings and more artists come together for our annual festival.

Farm Aid 40, happening Sat @ U's Huntington Bank Stadium. Minnesota's 1st Farm Aid only happened bc Willie Nelson stood up for U of M Teamsters to help them get a fair contract + end their strike. Farm Aid 40 stands for good causes & good music. www.farmaid.org/festival/

It's not just the authoritarianism — it's how shameless, how *gleeful* this administration is about it

I am a professor because the McNair Scholars Program showed me what I was capable of. I will fight with everything I have to make sure others have the same opportunities.

McNair matters!

One of my favorite moments this year from ASA was meeting (to give a free drink voucher to!) *the* Patricia Hill Collins. Really appreciated her conversation with (now past) ASA President Adia Harvey Wingfield -- and you can watch online too now.

We're witnessing the most aggressive, fanatical crackdown on free speech in my lifetime. The speed and breadth of government censorship and private sector and nonprofit capitulation has been astonishing. As has the lack of urgency/silence from people who've long claimed to care about this stuff.

I wonder if all these threats to African American institutions are linked to the flood of Fox News personalities screaming “we need to fight back”?

Eh, probably just a series of incredible coincidences

The MSNBC commentator saying that most political violence has historically come from the left just once again showed how we suffer from failing to learn history. Lynching, pogroms, race riots, the political violence that ended Reconstruction, and against the Civil Rights Movement. Come on.

This is not a drill, nerds. The google scholar recommended readings are back!! This is such a helpful tool to keep in touch w/ new lit in your area, esp. after the collapse of academic twitter.

it’s like actually really uncool, man, that you won’t surrender to authoritarianism. stop being so square, man. you’re really killing the vibes, man.

If the Trump White House wants to ban all transgender people from owning guns because a handful were responsible for mass shootings, wait until they hear how many shootings straight cis white guys have done.

<that meme of the hot dog guy trying to find who did this.jpeg>

The good news is that we have evidence-based solutions that can address crime, violence, and disorder. Research is clear that more order does not require more law or more law enforcement. In fact, almost every major advance toward a safer society has been spurred by a policy change that did not have a primary goal of promoting public safety. Removing lead from gasoline and reducing its poisonous effects is linked to less impulsive behavior—particularly violence, but also incivility and disorder. The advances in pharmaceuticals to treat behavioral and mental health conditions have supported millions of Americans. The widespread removal of cash from society has reduced crime and disorder. A long, slow trend of fewer young adults drinking, using drugs, and engaging in other risky behaviors promises even more improvements in all three categories (incivility, disorder, and crime) in the future. And of course, the aging of America itself makes us collectively less tolerant of aberrant behaviors and less likely to engage in them as well. All of these huge advances—and many, many others—have occurred without any change in law or policing. All have reduced crime and violence. All have also reduced disorder. There is a lot we can do.

An important distinction about "Serious About Safety" policy making from @johnkroman.bsky.social

REDUCING DISORDER DOES NOT REQUIRE MORE POLICE, MORE SURVEILLANCE, OR MORE MILITARY INTERVENTION

TRY ALTERNATIVES THAT CREATE SAFETY

👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

johnkroman.substack.com/p/when-peopl...

At the end of the day here’s the thing - none of us can control these horrors single-handedly.

But we can work together to demand, and can CREATE, the programs that keep us safe.

There will be a candlelight vigil tonight at Lynnhurst Park (1345 W Minnehaha Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN 55419) from the 8-9pm to honor those lost at the Annunciation Catholic School this morning. I encourage you to join me in remembrance and grievance. Please walk or bike if you are able!

Someone needs to check in on Wendy.
(Spotted on my way to work!)

DEFCON 1 impeachable offenses happening hourly now

People need to understand what's happening today: Trump sent the FBI to investigate one of his most prominent critics, and then threatened to military occupy multiple US cities.

He's trying to become a full dictator who makes it illegal to oppose him.