"[...] One interpretation is that race defines economic opportunity, which is overly generous to how capitalism works. Whatever people's sentiments, slavery, convict leasing and Jim Crow had economic explanations. Some people, call them capitalists, make themselves rich by making and keeping other people poor. [...]
"The current focus on police violence is roughly analogous to explaining foreign entanglements like wars through the actions of foot soldiers and technicians rather than through the strategic and tactical goals of state leaders. And explanations of police power like police unions and white supremacy ignore modern history at the peril of their purveyors. The film 13th offers key insights into this history from a black liberal perspective. Richard Nixon created the carceral state to imprison the political enemies of capital."
-- Rob Urie, "Police Killings are a Political Tactic", Counterpunch, 2020-06-15
[I get the impression this author is one of those "class is the only thing that matters, the only axis of oppression that needs to be addressed" types, alas, but despite that flaw he manages to make some good points. (And maybe I read too much into the bits that gave me that impression, I dunno.)]