"Law Never Here": A Social History of African American Responses to Issues of Crime and Justice [Hardcover]

Frankie Y. Bailey (Author), Alice P. Green (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0275953033 | ISBN-13: 978-0275953034 | Publication Date: April 30, 1999

Shared racial and cultural experiences and the collective memory of those experiences play important roles in determining the responses of African Americans to issues of crime and violence. By examining American history through the prism of African American experience, this volume provides a framework for understanding contemporary issues regarding crime and justice, including the much-discussed gap between how blacks and whites perceive the fairness of the criminal justice system. Following a thesis offered by W.E.B. Du Bois with regard to African American responses to oppression, the authors argue that responses by African Americans to issues of crime and justice have taken three main forms--resistance, accommodation, and self-determination. These responses are related to efforts by African Americans to carve out social and psychological space for themselves and to find their place in America.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A valuable piece of work that is long overdue. All levels." -- Choice

About the Author

FRANKIE Y. BAILEY is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminal Justice, State University of New York at Albany.

ALICE P. GREEN is the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Law and Justice, a community-based organization that serves as a clearinghouse for information on legal and criminal justice systems for members of low-income communities and those of color.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Praeger (April 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275953033
• ISBN-13: 978-0275953034
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,318,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good setup, flawed delivery, December 9, 1999

By 

David Darlington "davied99" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: "Law Never Here": A Social History of African American Responses to Issues of Crime and Justice (Hardcover)

Law Never Here is an interesting book, and, as the authors say, certainly timely considering recent developments with relation to African Americans and law enforcement. However, as a historian, I was left wanting more from Bailey and Green.

The book's biggest flaw is its heavy dependence on the scholarship of other historians. It covers too broad of a time period, and as a result, Bailey and Green the criminologists are forced to rely on historians for any infomation. They quote other historians almost verbatum in early chapters. This detracts from their overall work, because they rely on other historians to deliver their own message. Anything before 1900 is exceptionally weak.

The author's arguments for twentieth century are strong, however. Here, I believe their criminology background serves them well, and gives a different perspective than one would get from a historian or sociologist, for example. The authors deserve credit for trying to fit events like Attica, Rodney King, and O.J. Simpson into a larger framework. These are events too recent for even modern historians to touch, and Bailey and Green handle them well.

I can't fully recommend this book because of the mentioned flaws, but it might be worthwhile just for the authors' analysis of recent events. I'd recommend Harvard historian Randall Kennedy's "Race, Crime, and Law" over this book.