The Slow Death of Sagon Penn: Police Violence in Reagan-era San Diego

In 1985, Sagon Penn, a young black martial-arts expert, was acquitted of the murder of a white police officer on the grounds of self-defence, in a case which lifted a veil on police racism and violence in San Diego. In this talk, Dr. Adriane Lentz-Smithexplored this disturbing case and how contrasting martial masculinities played out in a militarized city in a militarized era. The devastating effects of state violence as it travels across communities were examined in an episode that has strong contemporary resonances with more recent examples of the policing of African American communities.

This event was held on 9 November 2021 as part of the Race, Gender and Politics in the USseminar series, co-hosted with the Department of International History.

Header image: "National March Against Police Violence Washington DC USA 50309" by Ted Eytan is licensed under CC BY SA 2.0