Dartmouth College Professor Shamell Bell argued during a recent virtual event that Abraham Lincoln only wanted to free slaves to increase the size of the Union. During the event, Bell also defended recent efforts by leftists around the nation to “defund the police.”
According to a report by Campus Reform, Dartmouth College Professor Shamell Bell shed doubt on the notion that Abraham Lincoln wanted to free the slaves during the American Civil War.
“I want to first talk about Abraham Lincoln not freeing the slaves,” Bell said during the event. “I mean the moment that I figured that out, I was at UC-Santa Barbara and I took a class in Black Studies.”
“It was purely political, it was a purely political move and it had nothing to do with anything but other than, you know, actually wanting Black folks to fight for the Union when he passed the [Emancipation Proclamation] and [to] increase the size of the Union,” Bell continued.
The virtual event also featured a discussion on the recent efforts to “defund the police.” Bell suggested that “defunding” the police is not enough. Instead, Bell encouraged the audience to join the efforts to “abolish” policing in the United States.
“For me, I think that it’s semantics, and the fact [is] that they know we mean ‘abolish.’ Right? When I’m talking about ‘defund,’ I mean I’ve never said that in my life, I’ve always said ‘abolish,’” Bell responded.
Bell argued that Americans are conditioned to accept policing by police procedural drama television programs.
“I’ve always said, ‘Why do we have so many CSI and cop shows?’ It’s a part of our conditioning,” Bell said, adding “We’re conditioned to think that [police] are supposed to serve and protect as well as be heroes,” Bell said.
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