James Forman Jr.Besprekingen

Recommended by Bryant Jackson Greene; read up to page 30 ( I think I am up to p62 now)

Interesting history, full of information new to me, showing how African American voters, politicians, judges, police officers and police chiefs tended to advocate for and implement tough-on-crime measures in response to the urban crime wave of the 1960-1990s. This was good detail to fill in one of the arguments in [b:Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America|13153693|Ghettoside A True Story of Murder in America|Jill Leovy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417410395s/13153693.jpg|18331880], to wit that African Americans in the inner city have as great a grievance about being under-policed as over-policed: over-policed in terms of harassment and abuse, but under-policed in terms of impunity for serious crimes. Unfortunately these communities' hopes that punitive repression of drugs and criminals would improve things proved very wrong. Where they hoped to marry these policies with others to improve opportunities and to rehabilitate addicts and criminals, too often the tough measures alone went into meaningful action. Coupled with the institutional racism demonstrated in [b:The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness|6792458|The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness|Michelle Alexander|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328751532s/6792458.jpg|6996712], these policies have contributed to ruining the lives and livelihoods of millions of young men especially, while doing little to aid them or their communities to prosper. This is a tragic story of unintended consequences and one that complicates our understanding of where these policies came from.

Like The New Jim Crow, this excellent book covers the rise of mass incarceration, but with a narrower focus. The author, once a public defender in Washington, D.C., asks: "How did a majority-black jurisdiction" – with so many black judges, black lawmakers, and black prosecutors – "end up incarcerating so many of its own?" It's "a story about what African Americans thought, said, and did," in the ever-present context of American racism and white supremacy. Chapters cover the last few decades' debates about marijuana decriminalization, gun control, mandatory sentencing, and policing policy. Many viewpoints are represented, always with respect for the humanity of those who hold them. The book interweaves political history, policy, and personal experience. And at the end, there is hope. Recommended.

I was a criminology major in college, later a lawyer. The criminilization of blackness is something I have been studying formally and informally since the early 80s. This book has a different POV than any I have read. I think all rational people can agree that in the US white people have rigged the system to keep those with more melanin down, and that the justice system has been the most efficient and devastating tool in that arsenal. This book though goes a bit farther and looks at the ways African Americans abetted that process. I have seen others indicate this was a response to The New Jim Crow -- I disagree with that descriptor. This book is a "yes and" follow up to The New Jim Crow. A solid piece of scholarship and social commentary . I do think the book could have been better organized, and that the final section should have used much more of the good research out there about recidivism rates for offenders who go to prison versus those given probation and job training. The author left the reader to fill in a lot of blanks. Still an exceptionally worthwhile read to start my 2020.½

A very interesting historical perspective on crime and criminalization in America and the overwhelming adverse effects on black communities. This is a topic that could easily be covered in heavily biased way. Though the thesis is clear (and one-sided), I thought the arguments and evidence were handled in a balanced and thorough way. A very good book that lays out some history that we all lived through but were not necessarily exposed to first hand. Eye opening.

I listened to this book on audio after hearing a compelling interview with the author. For me the importance of this book was the historical review of crime and punishment and its impact on the black community since the 1970’s. Forman devotes chapters to each new idea to solve the crime problems in Washington DC (and around the country as well). His focus on DC helps keep the narrative crisp forming a continuing trajectory through the book. We keep getting it wrong. I remember so many of the theories that were put forth, tried and failed. The Epilogue was one of the best parts of the book but Forman’s ideas are only as good as today. Time will tell whether this time we are getting closer to a fair and just solution for our high incarceration rate.½

How does a majority-black district in the US, with many in positions of power, end up locking up so many of its own? In this concise yet comprehensive book, James Forman Jr thoughtfully and convincingly backs up his hypothesis with both his own experience as a public defender and extensive historical, socio-political research. He manages the impressive task of presenting the statistical data of his research alongside more personal stories of his PD experiences, humanising the individuals caught up in this unfair, overly-punitive system while capturing the enormity of the issue.

We are shown how the vast racist punitive system that the US has come to be known for was not built in one day. How harsher and harsher punishments were introduced gradually in response to the crisis of the moment, until now where despite comprising only about five percent of the world's population, the US holds about a quarter of the world's prison population. How racism and classism reinforced and reinforces a systemic (self-)policing amongst the (black) people in power such that black people end up occupying the prisons at a much higher rate disproportional to their white counterparts.

An eye-opening book on the origin of how these discriminatory systems came to be, the consequences (either unforeseen at the time or deemed unimportant in the face of a greater perceived evil), and how these systems could eventually be dismantled even by those not affiliated with law enforcement.

Further readings/viewings as recommended by James Forman Jr. available here.

This is a thought provoking book about why there is such a high percentage of Blacks in various penal institutions across our country. What is interesting here is that Forman sees the decisions and impetus for this coming from the black populous - driving this phenomena. A majority favored stricter marijuana laws, mandatory sentences and police stopping drivers for minor infractions to search for guns (Eric Holder) but then arresting them for other crimes. Also, he argues black citizens were against gun laws because they feared white society and home invasions. Justly deserves all its plaudits.

Locking Up Our Own by James Forman Jr. After reading this book and Evicted last year, I'm determined to read more Pulitzer winning non-fiction. This book looks at how our high levels of incarceration got to where they are, specifically in the African American community and how 3-4 decades ago African Americans were often the loudest voice regarding tough on crime and minimum sentences. Forman's main thread through the book is how the complex long-term solutions got left behind (better schools, fighting systemic racism, job training etc) while fighting drugs and violent crime got all the resources both on the local level and national. He puts the decisions in the 70s-90s in historical perspective and shows how the shift has happened over time when communities realized the unforeseen repercussions of their policies.

Nuanced and complex take on the intersection of race and crime and law in twentieth-century America. Thought-provoking and challenging no matter where you are on the political spectrum. This should be a must-read for everyone.

Focusing on DC, where Forman lived and worked for a number of years, Forman tells a story that applies in many places in the US: the reasons that African-Americans supported, at least initially, harsh-on-crime policies that produced the New Jim Crow, exploding prison populations and ensuring that huge numbers of young African-Americans were involuntarily involved in the criminal justice system. Forman argues: (1) The pioneers who joined and rose in the police were often looking for good jobs, not to transform policing; you wouldn’t expect a rise in black firefighters to change the way fires were fought. (2) Class divisions in the African-American community made it easier for upper- and middle-class blacks to endorse policies that kept poor blacks overpoliced; it’s no accident that the policies they fought the hardest were the ones, like racially motivated traffic stops, that they were likely to experience, while policies that targeted poor neighborhoods got more of a pass. (3) Poor African-Americans were often underpoliced as well; there were huge crime and drug problems in poor communities, and while African-Americans asked for all kinds of resources—including education and economic development along with improved police presence—to fight them, all they got was the police presence. Then policies directed at those neighborhoods, often initially to combat violence, ended up criminalizing a lot of behavior that whites just wouldn’t be caught for, like possession of small amounts of pot. It’s a thought-provoking read.