Harvard Professor Roland Fryer has recently spoken about the apparent racial bias in terms of police shootings. He shared research that questioned the mainstream narrative of systemic racial bias in police shootings. His comments have received backlash as they challenge traditional beliefs on the subject.
Study Methodology and Findings
Fryer’s groundbreaking study was first published in 2016. It is titled “An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force.” The study focused on alleged racial bias in how the police use force on civilians. The study confirmed the police are more likely to use non-lethal force on black and Hispanic people than other races.
New Findings
However, in terms of police shootings, the results were different. The study found that there were “no racial differences in officer-involved shootings.” This came after Fryer considered various contextual factors. This conclusion is very different from many people’s beliefs, sparking widespread criticism.
Initial Reaction
When he initially published the findings, Fryer faced some immediate and intense backlash. Some of the critics questioned the study, criticizing Fryer’s methodology and claiming the results were not true. This criticism was so intense that Fryer claimed he feared his public safety. At one point, he actually required police protection for his day-to-day activities.
Critiques and Counterpoints
In Fryer’s own words, “all hell broke loose” after he published his results. Critics of his study pointed out its apparent limitations and disagreed with his conclusion. They argued that Fryer did not gather enough data to make these claims and also argued that the data itself was geographically limited.
Questions of Data
Most of the data came from urban areas with significant black populations, and Fryer did not appear to consider places with a minority black population. Other critics compared Fryer’s results with the findings of similar studies, such as that by Cody T. Ross. They argued that more analysis is needed and that this could lead to a different conclusion to Fryer’s study.
Professional and Institutional Fallout
Additionally, Fryer also suffered professional consequences over the study. Before publishing it, many of his colleagues allegedly warned him, “Don’t publish this. You’ll ruin your career.” In 2019, Fryer was suspended from Harvard after sexual allegations emerged against him. The Dean at the time, Claudine Gay, claimed that Fryer’s behavior did not follow Harvard principles, which is why he was let go.
Fryer Suspended
Fryer was accused of sexual harassment due to several inappropriate jokes and text messages. He was suspended from Harvard for two years without pay, and his research lab was also closed. Fryer has consistently maintained his innocence and has found some support from his colleagues like Glenn Loury, who claimed that Harvard “effectively buried vital research not because it was flawed but because they found the results to be politically inconvenient.”
Closing a Lab
Fryer’s research lab was called EdLabs. Following its closure, many of Fryer’s colleagues and followers expressed their anger at this decision. EdLabs’s research was focused mostly on minority groups and education. Many people argued that closing the lab was a huge loss to academic and social research.
The Dean Leaves
However, Gay herself was also the subject of controversy. She resigned from the university after she was accused of plagiarism and inaction against antisemitism on Harvard campuses. A report claimed her work had “a few instances of inadequate citation” but also said there was “no violation of Harvard’s standards for research misconduct.”
Fryer’s Thoughts
Following Gay’s resignation, Fryer claimed that it was an example of karma. He recently spoke to journalist Bari Weiss on The Free Press podcast and shared his experience of the personal and professional challenges he faced after the study was published. According to Fryer, he required an “armed guard” after publishing the results.
Educational Insights
Outside of the study, Fryer has also shared his insights into the educational system. He spoke about the impact of school board decisions and the high expectations in schools. As a black professor, he has spoken about his commitment to addressing the systemic issues that affect minority communities.
Fryer’s Academic Journey
Throughout his career, Fryer has tackled several controversial topics related to race. This included the idea of “acting white,” which he investigated in terms of its impact on black students’ academic performance. He also researched the successes and failures of the Harlem’s Children Zone.
Benchmarking and Police Shootings
Benchmarking involves setting a specific standard to avoid any disparities in terms of race, sex, sexuality, or other factors. The debate over police shootings involves questions over benchmarking and how to achieve this. One study by Joseph Cesario highlighted the challenges of interpreting data on police shootings and how this relates to benchmarking.
Cesario’s Study
Cesario’s study reached a similar conclusion to Fryer’s. He found that there was “no systematic evidence of anti-Black disparities in fatal shootings” after studying two years of police shootings. However, unlike Fryer’s, his study focused on 16 different areas with varying levels of crime rates. The study suggested that there were actually anti-white biases instead of anti-black ones.
Methodological Approaches
Some critics have called for a more methodological approach to studying police shootings. One proposal includes collecting a detailed data set that includes police shooting incidents alongside a “risk set” of encounters that did not result in a shooting. They argue that this would allow for more detailed analysis and comparisons across racial groups.
Disagreements With Defunding
During an interview with the Hoover Institution, Fryer and Rafael Mangual discussed the consequences of defunding the police departments. They spoke about the importance of effective policing and rejected some people’s calls to defund law enforcement. They argued that no matter people’s race or class, many people believe effective policing helps to create safe neighborhoods.
Other Appearances
In a separate appearance on EconTalk, Fryer spoke about the idea of affirmative action and diversity. He argued that discrimination is very difficult to manage and spoke about the need to differentiate between disparities and discrimination. He argued that there needs to be better ways to address racial biases than through affirmative action.
Continuing Issues
Almost a decade after the study was published, Fryer’s study continues to be at the center of debates on racial bias and policing. This is a clear example of the challenges in addressing alleged racial imbalances in law enforcement. Greater research is needed to solve this pressing issue.
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