Comments on: Social Justice Book Club: The New Jim Crow (Halfway Through!)

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 18:12:00 +0000

Without having any clue about the book or her arguments, I think your assessment so far is quite apt. Given the headlines about police bias and excessive violence, it amazes me that anyone thinks the justice system is fair and, well, just, yet as you say, there are so many options out there when it comes to police representation on TV and in movies that people can and do automatically gravitate towards the stories that best represent their own opinions of the justice system. That makes this type of book that much more important even though it might only change the mind of a small percentage of the population.

By: Shannon @ River City Reading

Shannon @ River City Reading — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 16:00:00 +0000

In reply to Jeanne. This book is so good, I second it!!

By: Stefanie@SoManyBooks

Stefanie@SoManyBooks — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 15:35:00 +0000

Sounds like an interesting and valuable book in spite of the flaws.

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 18:53:00 +0000

I am now reading Pushout by Monique Morris and it fills in some of the context gaps you mention

By: rhapsodyinbooks

rhapsodyinbooks — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 10:39:00 +0000

Two things: this 2014 story about media portrayal has some good insights: http://chicagoreporter.com/crime-coverage-media-perpetuates-racial-stereotypes/ . Also, I am now reading a book that has very good insights into social justice from a sort of secret, or maybe meta, or submeta (is that a thing?) perspective: Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil (Harvard mathematician) – how, inter alia, the algorithms used for law enforcement nefariously support these bad patterns, but no one questions the premises because “math.”