Did Someone Say Riot? James M. Jasper in Conversation with AK Thompson

On 30 October 2013, James M. Jasper and AK Thompson spoke at an event entitled 'Did Someone Say Riot?,' hosted by New York City's Brecht Forum (now sadly defunct). According to the promotional material for the event, despite being 'maligned in official accounts, the riot has in fact been a decisive feature of American politics.' Jasper and Thompson's comments thus aimed to highlight 'the central role that riots have played in the processes of race and class formation in America, the political ambivalence that radical left forces have often expressed toward riots, and the need to once again put the riot at the forefront of our political considerations.' The following is derived from a transcript of their conversation on that evening.