12 Angry Men

Title:

12 Angry Men

True Stories of Being a Black Man in America Today

Author:

Parks, Gregory S.

Hughey, Matthew W.

Guinier, Lani

Subject:

Sociology

Nonfiction

Politics

Description:

"Beautifully written, painfully honest" first-person accounts of racial profiling, as experienced by a dozen black men from all over America (Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow). In an era of contentious debate about controversial police practices and, more broadly, the significance of implications of race throughout American life, 12 Angry Men is an urgent, moving, and timely book that exposes "a serious impediment to the collective American Dream of a colorblind society" (Pittsburgh Urban Media). In this "extraordinarily compelling" book, a dozen eloquent authors tell their own personal stories of being racially profiled. From a Harvard law school student tackled by a security guard on the streets of Manhattan, a federal prosecutor detained while walking in his own neighborhood in Washington, DC, and a high school student in Colorado arrested for "loitering" in the subway station as he waits for the train home, to a bike rider in Austin, Texas, a professor at a Big Ten university in Iowa, and the head of the ACLU's racial profiling initiative (who was pursued by national guardsmen after arriving on the red-eye in Boston's Logan airport), here are true stories of law-abiding Americans who also happen to be black men (Publishers Weekly). Cumulatively, the effect is staggering, and will open the eyes of anyone who thinks we live in a "post-racial" or "colorblind" America. "Powerful." —Jet "This is raw testimony intended to vividly capture the invasions of privacy and the assaults on dignity that always accompany unreasonable government intrusion." —Kirkus Reviews

Publisher:

The New Press

Date:

2011/01/11

Digital Format:

READ IN BROWSER

ADOBE EPUB

KINDLE

Language:

English

ISBN:

9781595586292

Summary

"Beautifully written, painfully honest" first-person accounts of racial profiling, as experienced by twelve black men from all over America (Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow).

In an era of contentious debate about controversial police practices and, more broadly, the significance of implications of race throughout American life, 12 Angry Men is an urgent, moving, and timely book that exposes "a serious impediment to the collective American Dream of a colorblind society" (Pittsburgh Urban Media).

In this "extraordinarily compelling" book, a dozen eloquent authors tell their own personal stories of being racially profiled. From a Harvard law school student tackled by a security guard on the streets of Manhattan, a federal prosecutor detained while walking in his own neighborhood in Washington, DC, and a high school student in Colorado arrested for "loitering" in the subway station as he waits for the train home, to a bike rider in Austin, Texas, a professor at a Big Ten university in Iowa, and the head of the ACLU's racial profiling initiative (who was pursued by national guardsmen after arriving on the red-eye in Boston's Logan airport), here are true stories of law-abiding Americans who also happen to be black men (Publishers Weekly).

Author Notes

Gregory S. Parks is an attorney in private practice and a co-editor of Critical Race Realism (The New Press). He lives in Washington, D.C. Matthew W. Hughey is an assistant professor of sociology at Mississippi State University, where he lives, and is the co-editor of The Obamas and a (Post) Racial America . Lani Guinier , a professor at Harvard Law School, was the first black woman ever to head the civil rights division of the Justice Department. She is the author of the critically acclaimed book The Miner's Canary and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Although there is some thematic repetition, these essays on racial profiling are extraordinarily compelling. Contributors include journalists, federal prosecutors, and hip-hop artists; diverse in background, age, and education, they share one identity-being black-and one rite of passage-"the silent reality most black men have to live with," the frequency with which the police demand they produce identity papers; search their bodies, their cars, and their homes; and even maim or murder them for any perceived threat, imaginary and real. Fortunately, these 12 live to tell twice-told tales that still seem new. The congressman, with means, time, and "faith in the judicial system," fights back in court; the sports commentator brings a successful lawsuit. One says, perhaps for all, "In tolerating these transgressions day in and day out, I sometimes feel like my humanity is being chipped away." Legal scholar Guinier's introduction provides a helpful statistical and political context as well as a vigorous argument against the entrenched police practices that undergird the brief potent individual vignettes. Bantamweight in size, this book packs a heavyweight wallop. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

The now famous encounter between Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and a policeman investigating a call of a break-in at Gates' home resonated with many black men, many equally as accomplished as Gates. Legal scholars Parks and Hughey offer a collection of essays by black men who have had their own Skip Gates moment with the police, subjected to racial profiling. Among the 12 stories of vulnerability to police mistreatment: a U.S. congressman from Illinois pulled over for a dubious traffic violation, an aspiring rap artist interrogated by police while in a park with his daughter, a New York Times reporter detained while on assignment in North Carolina. The cross section of victims of racial profiling young and old, high- and low-income, employed and unemployed illustrates the widespread practice by police and risk to black men, particularly inner-city youth. In the introduction, Harvard law professor Lani Guinier provides significant insight into the phenomenon of racial profiling and the continuing challenge in our post-racial society.--Ford, Vernon Copyright 2010 Booklist

Library Journal Review

These men make clear that we do not live in a "post-racial" America. Each tells of his experience of racism, reinforcing that what happened to Henry Lewis Gates Jr. on his own porch is not unique. Baseball hall of famer Joe Morgan is here, but most are not household names. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Excerpts

TK Excerpted from 12 Angry Men: True Stories of Being a Black Man in America Today All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.