Columbia journalism dean suggests a ‘self-hating dynamic’ from the officers played role in Tyre Nichols death

The dean of Columbia’s School of Journalism claimed on PBS that the five black police officers involved in the killing of Tyr Nichols may have been influenced by “white supremacy.”

Jilani Cobb, dean of Columbia University’s journalism school and New York native, said in an interview last week on “Amanpour & Co.” The staff writer suggested that the police officers responsible for killing Nichols were motivated by racism, arguing that black “white supremacy” could be responsible for the murder of a black citizen.

Host Christine said, “There’s always a lot of discussion about systemic racism in America. And yet, there were five black police officers responsible for this death. So, people say, oh, well, obvious.” It’s not about racism at all,” said host Christine Amanpour.

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“That’s not necessarily true,” Cobb replied. “….You know there’s always been a long tradition of people criticizing racism, always recognizing that racism is not only White supremacy is not only eradicated or purged by white people. By white people, that there are black people who have these kinds of thoughts and adopt a similar mentality….but the fact that they include all black people, doesn’t mean that That there is none. The possible theme of racism intensifies what we see happening,” he argued.

Amanpour notes that police officers were “raised in a system that was largely created by the white establishment”, before claiming that the notion of black people hating themselves dates back to the era of slavery. Is.

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This photo provided by the Nichols family shows Tyre Nichols, who loved photography and was described by friends as happy and sweet. Nichols was just minutes from his home in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 7, 2023, when he was pulled over and fatally shot by police. Five Memphis police officers have since been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes.
(Courtesy of Nichols Family via AP)

“I mean — you know, like the system of slavery was, in many cases, administered by black overseers,” Cobb said in agreement. “It was not an unusual dynamic in the United States.”

Cobb, who created PBS’ 2016 “Policing the Cops.” The documentary on police in Newark, NJ drew on the 1954 desegregation decision in Brown v. Board of Education to illustrate how “white supremacy” can be internalized by black people as well. .

“Psychologists point to the self-loathing dynamics that racism and white supremacy instill in the minds of those who are subjected to it,” he said. “So there’s a very long history here, and it’s impossible to understand what happened to Tire Nicholas without taking into account.”

Memphis officials Police have released bodycam footage from a Jan. 7 traffic stop that preceded the death of 29-year-old Tyree Nichols, who spent three days in the hospital with critical injuries, according to authorities.

Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith were fired on Jan. 18 and later charged with second-degree murder. The former officers could face up to 60 years in prison if convicted.

Joseph A. Wolfsohn of Fox News contributed to this report.