With the news of the sentencing of Michael Dunn for the murder of 17-year-old Jordan Davis, and with the continued protests in Ferguson, Missouri two months after the murder of 18-year-old Michael Brown, black families across America are having tough talks with their children about the criminal justice system and staying safe. One book aims to help families understand what they can do to protect our young black men.
“Justice While Black: Helping African-American Families Navigate and Survive the Criminal Justice System” by Robbin Shipp and Nick Chiles is described to be ” a must-read for every black family in America—and for everyone else who cares about the well being of young black men.” Shipp is an attorney based in Decatur, Georgia, and Chiles is an award winning journalist and reporter based in Atlanta, Georgia. The book is currently ranked on Amazon: #1 in Legal Services, #8 in Civil Rights, and #13 in Civil Procedure.
Justice While Black gives advice on legal circumstances that black men may, unfortunately, experience in life. From racial profiling, to avoiding arrest, to plea bargaining, this information could very well save a life before one is lost either by the hands of another or by the failure of the justice system. The book goes back into the history between black males and the police, while being honest about what we can expect and what should be done in the event that there are brushes with the law.
In a Q&A session, the authors gave suggestions on how readers should use the book:
They should read over the entire book to gain a thorough overview of how the system works. Then they should return to the chapters on racial profiling and the traffic stop and commit much of that information to memory—because these are often the situations where young African Americans will most likely succumb to the ploys used by law enforcement to get them in handcuffs. If we can instill in all of our young people a working knowledge of their rights, we might be able to start dismantling this country’s prison industrial complex.
With a chapter titled “Get Me Johnnie Cochran”, there’s instructions on what to do when you don’t have top-dollar lawyers on your case, which is usually the scenario for our young men. The Prison-Industrial Complex is discussed to give a broader overview on why black men are a target, and there’s a chapter dedicated to families and how crucial their support is.
Writing the book came at the heels of the Trayvon Martin trial, and seems to be ever more relevant as time goes on. Nick Chiles states that the goal of Justice While Black is “to arm teenagers with something even more dangerous than a firearm: Knowledge.”
Justice While Black is an essential read for individuals and families, and will give information that so many black men and women often don’t receive until it’s too late.
BMWK: How do you feel about the relationship between African American men and the police?