Clinton Clad-Johnson

This work was completed while Clinton Clad-Johnson was a transfer student at UCLA engaged in two seperate research projects. In addition to a small research project on Slavery in Montgomery County Virginia at the Kentland Farm plantation he was engaged in a multi-year and interdisciplinary study of the historic and contemporary Los Angeles Police Department. Clinton lived in New Zealand before moving to Washington, D.C. where he lived in the White-Black biracial home of his maternal uncle. After living in affluent and impoverished communities in Washington, D.C. while working in service industries he moved to California where he pursued education at community college and then UCLA. Clinton’s diverse background and working-class experiences are utilized in his studies of the LAPD and Slavery. His racial perspective is uniquely singular, and he applies it to his research of the LAPD and its episodes of racial tension, and handling of civil disturbances. The LAPD study utilizes the perspective of other UCLA students, local activists, local professors and current and ex-LAPD employees in addition to a many primary and secondary source materials to develop an understanding of LAPD history. He aims to find and clarify the past and present points of contention that lead to unproductive and frustrated relations between the LAPD, the communities they police and police activists. The purpose of this study was to develop discussion and theorize reforms conducive to the creation and maintenance of communities safe from crime in a more cohesive society.
Supervisors: Juan Gómez-Quiñones