Joshua Clark Davis

Author POLICE AGAINST THE MOVEMENT (2025) on civil rights activists vs. state violence, surveillance | Historian @ubaltmain | Bylines @thenation @jacobin @slate

[Joshua Clark Davis @JoshClarkDavis]

Wrote a preview of my book.

60 years ago today, the March on Washington captured America's attention--including the attention of police spies from NYC, Chicago, Birmingham + Philly.

Histories of the March should mention this surveillance.

https://t.co/3moi86PX65

[John J. Lennon @JohnJLennon1]

That the Guggenheim folks saw me worthy of a fellowship is, I hope, a testament to the idea that people in prison can create successful careers and we don't have to wait for someone to set us free before we make our mark. #guggfellows2026
https://t.co/RHSbSMUmCA

[Stuart Schrader @stschrader1]

Less than a week until the publication of Blue Power: How Police Organized to Protect and Serve Themselves! You can still preorder it from @BasicBooks with discount code BLUE20 at https://t.co/p9ZmpLUj0K.

[SAVE A SEAT FOR ME (Simon & Schuster, 2026) @NewBlackMan]

'In this excerpt from Joshua Clark Davis's new book Police Against The Movement, the author explains how "local law enforcement and their allies perpetrated a far-reaching erasure of history".'

Police Departments Tracked Activists in the 1960s and 70s — Then Erased Records
https://t.co/MP9BPRkBQV | @TeenVogue

[Piper French @PiperSFrench]

People usually associate law enforcement repression of black activism w/ the naked brutality of Birmingham or the Panthers vs the FBI. That's not the whole story. I reviewed a new book about local police surveillance of the civil rights movement for @newrepublic 's new issue:

[Stuart Schrader @stschrader1]

If you'd like to read more about this very point—how police veto elected officials' decisions—I've written a whole book on the topic, called Blue Power! It's now available for preorder from @BasicBooks, 20% discount with the code BLUE20. https://t.co/XJbHiWcW7K

[Joshua Clark Davis @JoshClarkDavis]

https://t.co/bWemgKyQhm

[Joshua Clark Davis @JoshClarkDavis]

My new Intercept piece on the NYPD’s targeting of MLK is up today, with never-before-published police surveillance photos of King.

[The Intercept @theintercept]

After J. Edgar Hoover cast the civil rights leader as a “liar,” NYPD’s spy unit heeded the call. https://t.co/8QPENKo3cX

[Joshua Clark Davis @JoshClarkDavis]

@stschrader1 @TheWordIsChange Ah thank you dude—that was a blast!

[Joshua Clark Davis @JoshClarkDavis]

I'll be in Brooklyn to discuss POLICE AGAINST THE MOVEMENT with Chenjerai Kumanyika this Thursday, 11/06 at The Word is Change!

[The SNCC Legacy Project @SNCCLegacy]

Politics & Prose Bookstore (5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW)
Saturday, October 18 at 3:00 – 4:00 pm

First come, first seated

@joshuaclarkdavis
@politicsprose

[Frances Goldin Literary Agency @GoldinAgency]

In a @TeenVogue excerpt from POLICE AGAINST THE MOVEMENT from @PrincetonUPress , @JoshClarkDavis reveals how police departments illegally spied on civil rights activists and then burned the records. https://t.co/CERoxaZy1i

[Joshua Clark Davis @JoshClarkDavis]

Article: https://t.co/KyLZpP7uzF

[Joshua Clark Davis @JoshClarkDavis]

Have a piece today in TEEN VOGUE from my new book POLICE AGAINST THE MOVEMENT about how the NYPD, LAPD, cops in Chicago and Memphis surveilled the civil rights movement—and then destroyed millions of surveillance files in the ‘70s, including ones likely on MLK’s assassination.

[Public Defenseless Podcast @PDefenselessPod]

Today, I spoke w @JoshClarkDavis about his new book, Police Against the Movement. In it, Joshua recounts how local police departments infiltrated, surveilled, and sabotaged civil rights orgs, how those orgs fought back, and what it means for modern police reform movements

[Joshua Clark Davis @JoshClarkDavis]

Pre-order from @PrincetonUPress: https://t.co/xIsW7svlfu

[Joshua Clark Davis @JoshClarkDavis]

My book, POLICE AGAINST THE MOVEMENT, comes out 10/7 and I'm going on a book tour!

10/07, SF: City Lights
10/09, LA: Skylight
10/16, Baltimore: Red Emma's
10/18, DC: Politics & Prose
11/06, NYC: The Word Is Change
12/02, Baltimore: Enoch Pratt
12/04, Atlanta: A Cappella

[John J. Lennon @JohnJLennon1]

I had the pleasure of meeting @realmattnadel a couple months ago. In this moving op-doc for the @nytimes, he discusses making videos for prisoners in New York who are seeking clemency from @GovKathyHochul, who has not kept her promise to overhaul clemency.
https://t.co/SUJxqTjKgd

[Joshua Clark Davis @JoshClarkDavis]

@stschrader1 I’m really glad you’re enjoying it! Your feedback on multiple chapters was seriously helpful.

[Stuart Schrader @stschrader1]

Today’s beach read: Police Against the Movement, by @JoshClarkDavis. It is SO good! Out in October.