If original author/publisher wants us to remove this summary, please contact us at In this summary key points are rewritten and recreated and no part/text is directly taken or copied from original book. We recommend, for in-depth study purchase the excellent original book. This summary is meant to preview and not to substitute the original book. Locking Up Our Own summary includes the key points and important takeaways from the book Locking Up Our Own by James Forman Jr. This legislation was in effect from 1970 until the late 1990s. It makes use of significant drug and gun legislation passed between the 1970s and the late 1990s, which shaped policing methods and influenced the targeting of crime in Black communities. The Summary of The documentary 'Locking Up Our Own' examines the impact that the United States' war on drugs has had on African-Americans in Washington, District of Columbia. The summary of Locking Up Our Own – Crime and Punishment in Black America presented here include a short review of the book at the start followed by quick overview of main points and a list of important take-aways at the end of the summary.

Locking Up Our Own enriches our understanding of why American society became so punitive and offers important lessons to anyone concerned about the future of race and the criminal justice system. He writes with compassion about individuals trapped in terrible dilemmas - from the men and women he represented in court to officials struggling to respond to a public safety emergency. A former public defender, Forman tells riveting stories of politicians, community activists, police officers, defendants and crime victims. But the policies they adopted would have devastating consequences for residents of poor black neighbourhoods. In the face of skyrocketing murder rates and the proliferation of open-air drug markets, they believed they had no choice. Many prominent black officials, including Washington, DC mayor Marion Barry and federal prosecutor Eric Holder, feared that the gains of the civil rights movement were being undermined by lawlessness - and thus embraced tough-on-crime measures, including longer sentences and aggressive police tactics. Forman shows us that the first substantial cohort of black mayors, judges and police chiefs took office amid a surge in crime and drug addiction. In Locking Up Our Own, he seeks to understand the war on crime that began in the 1970s and why it was supported by many African American leaders in the nation's urban centres. is a leading critic of mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact on people of colour. Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction Longlisted for the National Book Award One of the New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2017 Former public defender James Forman, Jr.

Locking up our own