Re-examining CCTV Footage and Re-imagining Justice through a Critical Black Gaze: The ‘Justice 4 Dea-John Reid’ Campaign’s Dark Sousveillance

Abstract

On 31 May 2021, a 14-year-old Black boy was racially abused, chased through the street by a white mob, and fatally stabbed in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Dea-John Reid’s family and friends had the hope that the trial in 2022 would result in a racially aggravated murder conviction. However, a jury with no Black members dropped the racism charges, acquitted most of the defendants and convicted the main suspect of manslaughter. As this article shows, the ‘Justice 4 Dea-John Reid’ campaign’s dark sousveillance challenged the jury’s white innocence by publicly re-examining and re-narrating key CCTV evidence used in the trial through a critical Black gaze. Driven by the critical hope for a more inclusive and diverse justice system, the JFDJR campaign is proposing concrete steps to improve how suspected racism cases in the UK are handled.