UO philosophy professor Naomi Zack discussed white privilege and the philosophy of race in a column appearing this week in The New York Times.

In the newspaper’s column The Stone, Zack is interviewed by Duquesne University philosophy professor and author George Yancy as part of series of columns on race and philosophy. They discuss the persistence of racial disparity and the growing public concern over the deaths of young black men by white police officers.

Zack discusses her work on racial philosophy and the ways race continues to affect the social fabric of communities across the nation. In particular, she talks about how “broken windows” policies in many communities, where stepped-up enforcement of minor crime is seen as a way to deter more serious crime, has resulted in fatal encounters between police and unarmed young black men.

“The recent unarmed young black male victims of police and auxiliary police shootings have not been criminals,” she says. “Their initial reactions to being confronted by police are surprise and outrage, because they cannot believe they are suspects or that merely looking black makes them suspicious.”

The column appeared Wednesday, Nov. 5, and has drawn more than 400 comments.