Three Steps Off the Beaten Path
Author: Asandra al'Terra
Take the blinders from your vision,
take the padding from your ears,
and confess you've heard me crying,
and admit you've seen my tears.
-Maya Angelou, “Equality”
Dear Tar Valon,
Fall is almost here, and the school year has begun for many. I’ve been stuck in the lab all summer, and look forward to beginning my second year of Japanese classes right after Labour Day.
In the interest of following a theme of education (who’d’ve thunk I’d go with that one for September, huh?), this month, I’ll be profiling three non-fiction works. I’ve read all three, and loved them all.
Most of my non-fiction reading this year has focused on the justice system, particularly in America. They’ve often been a hard reads, especially coming from a point of privilege (yes, there’s that word that so many people hate) – but they are important ones, and I highly recommend all of them to you.
For our international members: what books would you recommend about criminal justice and its strengths and weaknesses?
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Contents
Three Steps off the Path: September 2015
“Non-Fiction: Race and Criminal Justice” edition
Bad Feminist – Roxane Gay
(Female | POC | USA | Straight | 5*)
Bad Feminist is a series of essays by Gay, who is all-around brilliant. I recommend it to everyone – even if you think Feminism is a bad word. She explores racism and misogyny and sexual violence, but she also writes brilliant and funny essays about the media and – my favourite one – Scrabble. It was published just over a year ago, and it feels like everyone and their mother was talking about it, but I don’t care. Get it if you haven’t already.
The New Jim Crow – Michelle Alexander
(Female | POC | USA | Straight | 5*)
Jim Crow Laws, for those unfamiliar with the term, mandated racial segregation in America in the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. They were enforced until 1965 (which is a mind-blowing date). You can read more about them here.
Although Jim Crow laws are no longer in effect, systematic racism still exists in the US. In The New Jim Crow, Alexander looks at how the justice system helps perpetuate racism through various ways and in conjunction with other government branches, including subsidized housing, the prison-industrial complex, and electoral districts. It’s a particularly important read in the days of Ferguson, Emmanuel Nine, and countless other cases – as well as the Supreme Court’s preparations to hear Evenwel vs. Abbott.
It’s an incredible and difficult read. It’s also heart-breaking, and it took me a while to get through it, because a chapter would leave me fairly drained. My only qualm: the introduction gets fairly repetitive, and she often repeats points she made in earlier chapters (since the book can be read in pretty much any order). Please don’t let you turn that off of such an important book.
Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America – Jill Leovy
(Female | White | USA| ? | 5*)
There’s a key statistic to this book: black men make up 6% of the American population, but are victims of nearly 40% of homicides.
I was initially nervous about this book, because I associate the phrase ‘black-on-black’ crime with people who don’t care much about people of colour. However, I'm so glad I picked it up. Ghettoside explores the criminal atmosphere of Los Angeles – in particular, in South Central. By telling the story of a detective named John Skaggs as he investigates and, eventually, prosecutes one particular murder, Leovy shows us the history of, and flaws to, policing and justice in South Central.
Fair warning: I cried often reading Ghettoside. It’s heartbreaking and anger-inducing. Read it.
What books would you include in this list? What books or themes would you like to see featured? Post in the comments, or send an email to 3.steps.each@gmail.com!
As always, the criteria for this column involve books that meet at least one of the following: the author is not male, not white, not American, or not straight.
Key: (Sex [M/F/GQ/…] | Race [White/POC] | Country of Origin | Sexual orientation [L/G/B/Q/…] | Rating [X stars / TBR] )
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