State violence in contemporary Europe: interview with Dr Eddie Bruce-Jones

Dr Eddie Bruce-Jones from Birbkeck’s School of Law has a new book, Race in the Shadow of Law: State Violence in Contemporary Europe. The book is available now and published by Routledge. The book looks at structural and institutional racism in Germany, and how the work of Black-led anti-racism activists has tried to combat this. The main case in the book is that of Oury Jalloh, a Sierra Leonean man who, in 2005, burned to death in a police cell in the city of Dessau while in the German asylum system with temporary leave-to-remain. The circumstances of Jalloh’s death remain unclear more than a decade later, despite a campaign to establish them, with which Dr Bruce-Jones was involved as a legal observer. Through the case of Jalloh and others who have died at the hands of the police in Germany, Dr Bruce-Jones draws connections between contemporary legal knowledge practices and colonial systems of thought, arguing that many people of colour experience the law as a part of a racial problem, rather than a solution, to racial injustice. For the first time in academic legal scholarship, Dr Bruce-Jones’ book positions Black and anti-racist perspectives at the centre, rather than the margins, of critically thinking through the intersection of race and law. Further information: Race in the Shadow of Law: State Violence in Contemporary Europe - bit.ly/2mvbT1p Dr Eddie Bruce-Jones - bit.ly/2mvcsZ9 School of Law - bbk.ac.uk/law Courses in law - bit.ly/2lLNiHc .