'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title.Ī New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Locking Up Our Own enriches our understanding of why our society became so punitive and offers important lessons to anyone concerned about the future of race and the criminal justice system in this country.

He writes with compassion about individuals trapped in terrible dilemmas―from the men and women he represented in court to officials struggling to respond to a public safety emergency. public defender, Forman tells riveting stories of politicians, community activists, police officers, defendants, and crime victims. But the policies they adopted would have devastating consequences for residents of poor black neighborhoods.Ī former D.C. In the face of skyrocketing murder rates and the proliferation of open-air drug markets, they believed they had no choice. mayor Marion Barry and federal prosecutor Eric Holder, feared that the gains of the civil rights movement were being undermined by lawlessness―and thus embraced tough-on-crime measures, including longer sentences and aggressive police tactics. Many prominent black officials, including Washington, D.C. In Locking Up Our Own, he seeks to understand the war on crime that began in the 1970s and why it was supported by many African American leaders in the nation’s urban centers.įorman shows us that the first substantial cohort of black mayors, judges, and police chiefs took office amid a surge in crime and drug addiction. is a leading critic of mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact on people of color.

Short-listed for the Inaugural Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justiceįormer public defender James Forman, Jr. One of The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2017 Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fictionįinalist, Current Interest Category, Los Angeles Times Book Prizes

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