Samuel Emlen Walker (born December 19, 1942) is an American

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

, policing, and

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

expert. He specializes in

police accountability Police accountability involves holding both individual police officers and law enforcement agencies responsible for effectively delivering basic crime control services and maintaining order, while treating individuals fairly and within the bound ...

Early life and education

Walker was born in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, but grew up in

Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the c ...

. His father was an executive who worked for the railroad. In December 1964, Walker received a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in American Culture from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where he wrote film reviews for ''

The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'', also known as "''The Daily''", is the independent student newspaper of the University of Michigan published in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established on September 29, 1890, the newspaper is financially and editorially independe ...

'' student newspaper for a semester. In 1970, Walker received an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in American history from

University of Nebraska Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...

. In 1973, he earned a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in American history from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. His thesis was on

Terence V. Powderly Terence Vincent Powderly (January 22, 1849 – June 24, 1924) was an American labor union leader, politician and attorney, who was the Grand Master Workman of the Knights of Labor from 1879 to 1893. Born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, he was late ...

, and was called "Terence V. Powderly, "Labour Mayor": Workingmen's Politics in Scranton, Pennsylvania 1870-1884". His thesis advisor was K. Austin Kerr.

Career

Mississippi Freedom Summer

In the spring of 1964, civil rights activist Robert "Bob" Moses visited the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in a drive to recruit students like Walker to go to

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

as part of the

Council of Federated Organizations The Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) was a coalition of the major Civil Rights Movement organizations operating in Mississippi. COFO was formed in 1961 to coordinate and unite voter registration and other civil rights activities in the st ...

(COFO)'s

Mississippi Freedom Summer Freedom Summer, also known as Mississippi Freedom Summer (sometimes referred to as the Freedom Summer Project or the Mississippi Summer Project), was a campaign launched by American civil rights activists in June 1964 to register as many Africa ...

. After orientation/training in Ohio and raising US$500 for bail, for six weeks in the summer of 1964 starting in June 1964, Walker worked as a volunteer, going on door-to-door voter registration drives to encourage

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

citizens to register to vote. Part of the effort was to highlight the restrictions on voter registration and to establish a non-violent right to organize and empower in the face of institutional terrorism of the Black community in Mississippi. After graduating from college, Walker returned to Mississippi in January 1965 to continue the Mississippi Freedom Project. Walker was based in

Gulfport, Mississippi Gulfport ( ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, and its co-county seat. It had a population of 72,926 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Mississippi, second-most populous ...

until August 1966.

Teaching

From 1969 to 1970, Walker was a teaching assistant at the

(UNO) while earning his master's degree. From 1970 to 1973, he was a teaching associate at

while working on his PhD. In August 1974, Walker was hired as an assistant professor of

at UNO, eventually becoming a professor of criminal justice in 1984. From 1993 to 1999, he was Kiewit Professor, and then from 1999 to 2005, he was Isaacson Professor. Walker retired as a professor emeritus in 2005. He continues to work as a consultant. Walker has said that he started out with a focus on police-community relations. That expanded into the area of

citizen oversight Civilian oversight, sometimes referred to as civilian review or citizen oversight, is a form of civilian participation in reviewing government activities, most commonly accusations of police misconduct. Members of civilian oversight boards (variou ...

of the police, and eventually became a specialization of concentrating on

Civil liberties expert

In 2000, Walker was hired to work on a grant funded report for the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

called ''Early Intervention Systems for Law Enforcement Agencies: A Planning and Management Guide'', published in 2004. In 2013, Walker testified in New York City as an expert against the NYPD's policy of stop and frisk. From 2015 to 2016, Walker worked as a consultant to the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

on a project for the development of an Early Intervention System (EIS) for its police force. Walker has created the ''Police Accountability Resource Guide'', an online guide with links and resources for educators and organizers.

Membership

* 1964: Ann Arbor Friends of

SNCC The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and later, the Student National Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emer ...

, spokesman * 2001-2004:

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

, Panel Member for "Fairness and Effectiveness in Policing: The Evidence" * 2015-present:

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars limited to 3,000 elected members and established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and i ...

(ALI), Advisory Committee Member on ''Principles of Law: Police Investigations'' * 2015-2016: National Academy of Sciences, Consultant on "Project of Proactive Policing"

Awards

* 2012: Langum Prize, David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Legal History or Biography for ''Presidents and Civil Liberties From Wilson to Obama'' * 2018: Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska (AFCON), Academic Freedom Award * 2018:

American Society of Criminology The American Society of Criminology (ASC) is an international organization based on the campus of Ohio State University whose members focus on the study of crime and delinquency. It aims to grow and disseminate scholarly research, with members wo ...

(ASC) Division of Policing, Lifetime Achievement Award

Selected works and publications

Selected works

* * * – part of Garland Reference Library of Social Science, Organizations and Interest Groups v. 743, 3 * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

*
Today in Civil Liberties History
a daily calendar of civil liberties events
These Rights Are Our Rights
an anthem for the Bill of Rights *
Samuel Walker Papers, 1964-1966
' at the

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Samuel Living people Activists from Indianapolis People from Shaker Heights, Ohio People from Omaha, Nebraska University of Michigan alumni University of Nebraska Omaha alumni University of Nebraska Omaha faculty Ohio State University Graduate School alumni 1942 births Activists for African-American civil rights Activists from Nebraska American non-fiction writers