1st Edition
Over-Policing Black Bodies The Need for Multidimensional and Transformative Reforms
The 2020 deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor rekindled decades old concerns about the legitimacy of policing. They ignited the international recognition that Black people are subjected to forms of police violence that exceed the boundaries of formal law and human decency. This book confirms that the Floyd and Taylor cases are not isolated incidents and provides suggestions toward prevention.
The contributors to the book have served on both sides of the criminal legal system. They have been those who were tasked with enforcing the law and those who have been subject to law enforcement. Consequently, they are able to identify specific failures of a system that focuses on race, specifically Blackness, as a primary indicator of criminal propensity. Through these chapters, the authors suggest academically, morally and practically sound corrective measures for moving toward a goal of equal, rather than discriminatory and excessively harmful, treatment under the law.
This book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students of Criminology, Race and Ethnic Studies, Politics, Human Rights, and Political Sociology. It was originally published as a special issue in the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice.
Introduction
Delores D. Jones-Brown and Jason M. Williams
Remember their names
Janice Joseph
1. From the field: Why I founded Black Cops Against Police Brutality
De Lacy Davis
2. Understanding the role of race, gender and age in request to consent search drivers
Anthony G. Vito and George E. Higgins
3. "I’m afraid of cops:" black protesters’ and residents’ perceptions of policing in the United States
Jennifer Cobbina-Dungy
4. U.S. policing as racialized violence and control: a qualitative assessment of black narratives from Ferguson, Missouri
Jason M. Williams
5. Is it a rally or a riot? Racialized media framing of 2020 protests in the United States
Jonathan C. Reid and Miltonette O. Craig
6. Why we should stop using the term "Black-on-Black crime": an analysis across disciplines
Delores D. Jones-Brown, Kenethia McIntosh Fuller, Paul Reck, and Waverly Duck
7. Reform or Revolution: 'Community Policing' is not a Quick-fix
Myrna Cintron
Biography
Delores D. Jones-Brown, J.D., Ph.D. has written extensively on the intersection of race and injustice, with a particular focus on policing. She is Professor Emerita at the CUNY Graduate Center and is retired from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Her current affiliations include Howard University and Randolph-Macon College.
Jason M. Williams, Ph.D., has written extensively on matters of race and gender. His work underscores racialized social control's role in society's institutions, especially the criminal justice system. He has published widely on policing, re-entry, and communities. He is Associate Professor of Justice Studies at Montclair State University.
