Who the System Was Built to Protect

Who the System Was Built to Protect

Who has policing in the United States historically been designed to protect? In this episode of The Revolution Resolution, Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs examines the origins of American policing and asks a foundational question: when we talk about public safety, whose safety are we talking about? Tracing the history of policing from slave patrols and property protection to modern law enforcement, this episode explores how institutions are shaped not only by their stated purpose, but by the social systems they were created to preserve. This conversation invites us to distinguish between order and justice—and to consider how race, gender, class, immigration, and power have influenced who has historically been protected and who has been treated as a threat. Because understanding a system's origins helps us better understand its outcomes. And clarity is the first step toward imagining something different. If this episode resonates, share it with someone willing to have thoughtful conversations about the systems shaping our lives.

Who Protects the Hierarchy

Who protects a system built on hierarchy? In this episode of The Revolution Resolution, Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs examines the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in shaping American life and asks a fundamental question: are institutions ever truly separate from the values of the societies that create them? Exploring constitutional interpretation, originalism, and the lasting influence of the nation's founders, this episode looks at how ideas about power, authority, gender, and equality continue to shape judicial decisions that affect millions of lives. This conversation also considers how beliefs are passed from one generation to the next—and why institutions endure because people choose to preserve them. Because systems do not maintain themselves. People do. If this episode resonates, share it with someone who encourages you to think more critically and courageously about the institutions shaping our lives.

What the System Protects

A system built on hierarchy will repeatedly protect power before it protects vulnerable people. In this episode of The Revolution Resolution, Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs examines what happens when the institutions people are taught to trust fail to protect them—and what those failures reveal about the systems themselves. Through the story of Jessica Lenahan, this episode explores the devastating gap between the promise of legal protection and the reality many survivors experience. After repeatedly seeking help to enforce a restraining order, Jessica watched the system fail her family in unimaginable ways. This conversation asks us to look beyond individual tragedies and examine the structures that allow them to happen. Because systems reveal themselves not only through what they punish—but through what they permit. Understanding that truth is essential if we hope to build something more just. If this episode resonates, share it with someone who has helped you see the world more honestly, even when that honesty was difficult.

Refusing Erasure

One of the most radical things a person can do inside an oppressive system is refuse to disappear. In this episode of The Revolution Resolution, Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs explores the story of Chanel Miller and what it reveals about how systems of hierarchy attempt to silence, diminish, and erase those who challenge them. After surviving sexual assault, Chanel Miller was known publicly only as "Emily Doe." While much of the public conversation focused on the future of Brock Turner, Miller fought to reclaim her own identity, voice, and humanity through her memoir, Know My Name. This episode examines how oppressive systems often reinforce themselves not only through violence, but through erasure—asking survivors to become smaller while protecting those who hold power. But history also offers another possibility. When people refuse to disappear, they create language, recognition, and hope for others who believed they were alone. If this episode resonates, share it with someone whose courage has inspired you to live more fully and honestly.

Through Vicious Reminders

How do oppressive systems convince people to stay silent? One way is by making examples of those who refuse to comply. In this episode of The Revolution Resolution, Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs examines how systems rooted in hierarchy preserve themselves through punishment, humiliation, fear, and what she calls "vicious reminders"—messages designed to warn others about the cost of challenging power. Through the story of Anita Hill and her testimony during Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court confirmation, this episode explores what happens when someone interrupts the script a system expects them to follow. This conversation is about more than one moment in history. It's about understanding why backlash often follows truth-telling—and why that backlash should not be mistaken for failure. Because sometimes the people who speak first make it possible for countless others to speak after them. If this episode resonates, share it with someone whose courage helped make honesty safer for others.