#jamesformanjr

[nnahry]

James Forman Jr has a background worth noting. Both his parents were in the SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, a young civil rights group which I actually wrote a mini lesson about on Instagram). He was a public defender in D.C.  in the 90s and I believe now he is a professor and a scholar at Yale Law.

"I have described mass incarceration as the result of a series of small decisions, made over time, by a disparate group of actors." Over representation of Black men in American prisons didn't happen over night, it took a bunch of different actors, many of them part of the African American community, to work hard towards it.  They didn't know they were inviting hyper policing into their neighborhoods when they fought for laws like mandatory minimum sentences for gun and drug related charges, stops and searches of cars, parole, etc. Directly out of Jim Crow era, Black people were eager to protect themselves and with Black communities in the country undergoing the highest crime rates they ever experienced, measures taken were unsurprisingly extreme. Prominent Black figures, and every day people too, were scared that the gains of the Civil Rights Movement would be undermined by crime and drugs. Forman Jr. reminds us that the same way this system was built piece by piece, it can be taken down and a new better one can be put up in its place- piece by piece.

In Locking Up Our Own, James Forman Jr gives a detailed history of America's mass incarceration with a specific focus on Washington D.C. He thoroughly explains the histories of the war on drugs in D.C. and the anti gun movement, the crack and heroin epidemics, de/criminalization of marijuana, school to prison pipeline, among other things. I love how he touches on topics such as representation, class, power, and the numerous unique perspectives found at every level of involvement in these different tough-on-crime movements because so often movements are homogenized. The first half of the book is basically all history, it's really rich in that way. In the second half of the book, Forman Jr. integrates more of his own experience as an African American public defender in D.C. Some of the stories he shares are so moving, I teared up at parts.

The most moving and reflective part of the work is towards the end when Forman Jr brings up the concept of nonviolent vs violent crime. Our criminal justice system is dichotomized into these two categories, giving more fair treatment/trial, leniency, judicial discretion, opportunity, (the list goes on) to some and neglecting to give it to others. Forman Jr gives anecdotal examples from his career showing how this polarization of the justice system is dangerous, specifically to Black people and other POC. He asks us to consider if our justice system is truly just. He asks us to consider if we are just in this same light. There's a lot to be discussed here. He motivates us towards change insisting on the importance of local government.  

It was a valuable read especially because it was a book about the law and mass incarceration coming from a Black lawyer. There's a bunch of political cartoons and photographs from old newspapers dispersed throughout the book, which is always enjoyable. All in all it was a fascinating book and I learned a lot about the law and about how I, we, interpret and unconsciously internalize it.

[budaallmusic]

Dizzy Gillespie And His Orchestra Featuring Chano Pozo ‎– Gene Norman Presents Dizzy Gillespie And His Orchestra Featuring Chano Pozo #GeneNormanPresents #DisquesVogue 1954 🇫🇷 France Bass – #NelsonBoyd Bongos – #ChanoPozo Drums – #TeddyStewart Piano – #JamesFormanJr Saxophone – #CecilPayne, #ErnieHenry, #JamesMoody, #JoeGayles, #JohnBrown Trombone – #AndyDuryea, #JesseRipTarrant, #WilliamShepherd Trumpet – #DaveBrown, #DizzyGillespie, #ElmonWright, #WillieCook https://www.instagram.com/p/CGcL9HMJR4h/?igshid=1qwcjiibpx3m2

[rainierbooks]

What is your personal favorite everyone should read during Black History Month? Here are some strong contenders: #beholdthedreamers #imbolombwe #jamesformanjr #lockingupourown #crimeandpunishmentinblackamerica #theturnerhouse #angelaflournoy #fridayblack #nanakwameadjeibrenyah #kileyreid #suchafunage #matthewdesmond #evicted #nafissathompsonspires #headsofthecoloredpeople #colsonwhitehead #thenickelboys #jesmynward #singunburiedsing #nicoledennisbenn #patsy #blackhistorymonth #bookpiles #bookpile #rainierbooks #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookish #booklove #pulitzer (at Stockholm, Sweden) https://www.instagram.com/p/B84sImNA-uv/?igshid=xiuo69prouhl

[mylesaway1988]

"When we ask ourselves how America became the world’s greatest jailer, it is natural to focus on bright, shiny objects: national campaigns, federal legislation, executive orders from the Oval Office. But we should train our eyes, also, on more mundane decisions and directives, many of which took place on the local level. Which agency director did a public official enlist in response to citizen complaints about used syringes in back alleys? Such small choices, made daily, over time, in every corner of our nation, are the bricks that built our prison nation." #jamesformanjr #lockingupourown https://www.instagram.com/p/B7U7NX2AvuZ/?igshid=xg3591d4rkld