Policing Black Bodies

Intended to provoke controversial and uncomfortable discussion, Hattery and Smith's book focuses on what they expose as America's deeply rooted culture, history and ideology of deliberately violating black bodies in the name of policing. In ten chapters, they concentrate not simply on exonerated police killings of unarmed black men but also on mass incarceration in what they report as a new plantation economy with a pipeline running from schoolrooms to prison cells in a prison-industrial complex. Their concerns reach the indignities and insults blacks suffer daily not only at the hands of law enforcement and the criminal justice system but in every aspect of life amid the fiction of colorblind racism. Well documented, passionately argued, and engagingly written, this powerful analysis of systematic racism describes how society supports white, male, patriarchal, heterosexual privilege while oppressing marginalized peoples. Verdict: An essential work that advances an acute awareness of our responsibility to make society equitable for all.

* Library Journal, Starred Review *

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It’s the only source that helped me see the full breadth of the policing of Black bodies - well beyond mass incarceration and law enforcement. The conversational tone of the book and the intellectual accessibility of the authors contribute to the public dialog in democratizing ways. The book is the means to gain insight to all aspects of how Black lives are being monitored, surveilled, devalued and harmed. And it’s a wakeup call for those of us who have been doing harm in the name of reform.

-- Cherise Fanno Burdeen, Executive Partner, Pretrial Justice Institute

It looks at the school-to-prison pipeline, mass incarceration, and how Black women and trans people are treated. Our global conversations around solutions have been shifting from individual to systemic, and this points out the systemic problem of policing Black bodies.

* Book Riot *

Finally we have a theoretically sophisticated, comprehensive book that examines the myriad ways in which Black bodies are surveilled in America. Policing Black Bodies considers mass incarceration, prison industries, the school to prison pipeline, the policing of both women’s and trans bodies, and the police killings of Blacks as part of continuum structured by systemic racism. Hattery and Smith cap this marvelous book with a provocative chapter discussing policy options. This is a book I will definitely assign to my students.

-- Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Duke University; author of Racism Without Racists

Policing Black Bodies presents a critical, deep dive into one of the most salient issues of our times. Hattery and Smith tie together theory, practice, and outcomes to both humanize the problems and inspire all readers to face these issues head on while finding ways to work to improve—and hopefully one day rectify—the web of consequences tied to social control, race/ethnicity, and public policy within the criminal justice system. It is a must read for every citizen, scholar, and student in the United States.

-- Danielle S. Rudes, Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence, George Mason University

A provocative explication of an outrageous situation. Hattery and Smith dissect the system of racism that runs like a red thread through centuries of harsh US punishment practices. In tough, engaging prose, they guide readers through the hidden histories and contemporary impact of urban riots, school inequality, private prisons, police killings, and exoneration procedures, with each link in the chain building a stronger case for their contention that these institutions largely serve and function to police Black bodies.

-- Chris Uggen, Regents Professor and Martindale Chair in Sociology and Law, University of Minnesota

In this updated edition of Policing Black Bodies, Hattery and Smith respond to the changing environment of criminal justice in the US. Four years after the book's initial publication, the authors revisit the theme in light of renewed interest in the controversy surrounding Colin Kaepernick, the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and a growing awareness of the systemic injustices transgender and disabled people face, making an already important book more current. The research and analysis are based on two theoretical threads: intersectionality and a theory of color-blind racism…Through these lenses, the authors examine such topics as the school-to-prison pipeline, mass incarceration, and the policing of disenfranchised and marginalized people's bodies. Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals.

* Choi