Policing Black Bodies in the 21st Century

In Ferguson and many other American communities, social media has raised the visibility of police actions, leading to protests and social movements addressing white police treatment of African Americans. This is the first book to explore recent allegations of racial profiling in light of a longer history of white-black relations.

This concise text draws from critical race theory and criminology to critically examine the role of race in contemporary American policing. It shows that trust between black communities and police remain contentious due to institutional racism. The author offer a historical look at the ways in which American policing has served to reinforce racial order between whites and blacks--and more recently how ideologies of color blindness further complicate relationships between the police and the black community. What continuities and differences exist between current policing practices and those of the civil rights era? How does color-blind ideology undermine public discussions, police practices, and the American justice system? The book takes up these and many other timely questions.

Brittany C. Slatton is Associate Professor of Sociology at Texas Southern University and Visiting Scholar in the African American Studies Program at the University of Houston. Dr. Slatton’s recent publications include Mythologizing Black Women: Unveiling White Men’s Deep Frame on Race and Gender (2014), Hyper Sexual Hyper Masculine? Gender, Race, and Sexuality in the Identities of Contemporary Black Men (2014), and "Racial-Ethnic Issues: Critical Race Approaches in the United States" (co-authored with Joe R. Feagin).

Kamesha Spates is Assistant Professor in the department of Sociology at Kent State University. Her areas of specialization include the intersections of race, class, and gender; the African American experience; criminology; and suicidality. She has authored and co-authored articles in the Key Issues in Crime and Punishment series, The Encyclopedia of American Law and Criminal Justice, The Encyclopedia of School Crime and Violence, and the Sociology Compass Journal and book manuscripts What Don’t Kill Us Makes Us Stronger: American and Suicide, and Hyper Sexual Hyper Masculine? Gender, Race, and Sexuality in the Identities of Contemporary Black Men.