Color of Crime, Third Edition

How we can understand race, crime, and punishment in the age of Black Lives MatterWhen The Color of Crime was first published in 1998, it was heralded as a path-breaking book on race and crime. Now, in its third edition, Katheryn Russell-Brown’s book is more relevant than ever, as police killings of unarmed Black civilians—such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Daniel Prude—continue to make headlines around the world. She continues to ask, why do Black and white Americans perceive police actions so differently? Is white fear of Black crime justified?With three new chapters, over forty new racial hoax cases, and other timely updates, this edition offers an even more expansive view of crime and punishment in the twenty-first century. Russell-Brown gives us much-needed insight into some of the most recent racial hoaxes, such as the one perpetrated by Amy Cooper. Should perpetrators of racial hoaxes be charged with a felony? Further, Russell-Brown makes a compelling case for race and crime literacy and the need to address and name White crime. Russell-Brown powerfully concludes the book with a parable that invites readers to imagine what would happen if Blacks decided to abandon the United States. Russell-Brown explores the tacit and subtle ways that crime is systematically linked to people of color. The Color of Crime is a lucid and forceful volume that calls for continued vigilance on the part of scholars, policymakers, journalists, and others in the age of Black Lives Matter.

Russell-Brown’s new edition of The Color of Crime is essential reading for students and scholars of race, crime, and justice. It not only provides excellent overviews of concepts and issues for those who are newer to investigating this huge topic, but also presents stimulating material for those more steeped in conversations about race and crime. Be prepared to be wowed by her thoughtful and provocative final chapter–the 'Parable of the Soul Savers.', Katheryn Russell-Brownprovides plenty of food for thought, new information, and intriguing perspectives in the portrayal of race, crime and justice in the United States. This updated edition of The Color of Crime will be a valuable resource for a variety of audiences, providing a broader and more thorough treatment of race and crime than many other works, including attention to timely issues like racial hoaxes, White crime, and more., This book is a classic. When The Color of Crime was first released, Russell-Brown shook the worlds of criminology, penology, and a then-burgeoning sociology of punishment by centering anti-black images in the media in her study of what we would later understand as the rise of mass incarceration. Updated with chapters and case studies that account for new kinds of media and racism, as well as our broader understanding of the carceral state’s reach, this interdisciplinary, accessible, and ambitious work has proven, once again, that Russell-Brown’s trenchant analysis is indispensable for serious students of race and crime control in the United States and beyond.

Katheryn Russell-Brown is Levin, Mabie, and Levin Professor of Law and Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law. She is the author of Protecting Our Own: Race, Crime, and African Americans and Underground Codes: Race, Crime, and Related Fires, and has also written three children’s books, including She Was the First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm.