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List Price: $20.99 | | Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Salesrank: 1432571
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
African-American males are being imprisoned at an alarming and unprecedented rate. Out of the more than 11 million black adult males in the U.S. population, nearly 1.5 million are in prisons and jails with another 3.5 million more on probation or parole or who have previously been on probation or parole. Black males make up the majority of the total prison population, and due to either present or past incarceration is the most socially disenfranchised group of American citizens in the country today. This book, which was penned by Boothe while he was still incarcerated, details the author's personal story of a negligent upbringing in an impoverished community, his subsequent engagement in criminal activity (drug dealing), his incarceration, and his release from prison and experiencing of the crippling social disenfranchisement that comes with being an ex-felon. The author then relates his personal experiences and realizations to the seminal problems within the African-American community, federal government, and criminal justice system that cause his own experiences to be the same experiences of millions of other young black men. This book focuses on the totality of how and why the U.S. prison system became the largest prison system in the world, and is filled with relevant statistical and historical references and controversial facts and quotes from notable persons and sources.
Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison? could not be timelier. The United States now has more people in prison than any other country in the world, and it is directly due to the disproportionate number of young African-American males that are incarcerated. Nearly 1.5 million Black families have a relative currently in prison or jail, and over 3 million Black households have a close relative presently or previously on parole or probation. Millions of Black males in the U.S. have had their voting rights terminated permanently due to criminal records. This is indeed a crisis. Many notable celebrities, activists, politicians, intellectuals, and national news programs have made extensive mention of this crisis and the devastation that it is causing within the African-American community and have wittingly and unwittingly made it a hot topic as of recent. Bill O'Reilly of "The O'Reilly Factor"; Former President Bill Clinton; Bill Cosby; President Barack Obama; author, political/social commentator Michael Eric Dyson; author, political/social commentator and news show host Tavis Smiley; award winning actor, film producer/director Charles S. Dutton; author, educator, scholar, and literary critic Henry Louis Gates Jr.; bestselling author Sister Souljah; bestselling author Nathan McCall; The Congressional Black Caucus; Rev. Jesse Jackson; hip-hop and apparel mogul Russell Simmons; Memphis Mayor W.W. Herenton; and Newark, New Jersey Mayor Corey Booker are some who have weighed in heavily on the subject of Black male criminalization and disenfranchisement.
The subject is also discussed in the classrooms of many Historically Black Colleges. Still, there are many elements involved that go unseen by those who have never actually been inside of a prison and had the opportunity to be privy to insights and information that can only be gathered from that direct experience. This book encapsulates that direct experience and relays it so that a complete understanding of the crisis is acquired during reading.This volume is the most comprehensive authority in print on the subject of Black male criminalization and disenfranchisement.
Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison? Reviews:
Vital, Sharp Perspective 
2009-12-18 - This is a necessary work. Boothe doesn't make excuses. He doesn't 'blame the white man'. But he does do a great job of linking our modern pathologies (and the perceptions of same) to historical circumstances. Some will be put off by the title alone. Fine, this isn't for you. This book is for those of us who are trying to understand the world in which we live. I urge the people who find value in this book to give a copy of it to a young black male in your life. And, if possible, send one to an inmate. A major part of solving the problems within the African American community involves first agreeing what they are (we're pros at this), determining why they occur (Boothe helps here), and proposing effective solutions. Get to work people. Thank you Demico Boothe for putting your thoughts to paper. Who knows how many lives you just saved. Readers, ask yourself why prisons are run as businesses with profit and loss projections. Ask yourself how and why the US prison population evolved from largely white to largely black in such a short run. Read this book. Read Douglas Blackmon's "Slavery by Another Name" Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. Read Kathryn Russell's "The Color of Crime". The Color of Crime (Second Edition): Racial Hoaxes, White Fear, Black Protectionism, Police Harassment, and Other Macroaggressions (Critical America). Force the tough questions, identify the real answers, and create effective solutions.
Why are so many Black Men in Prison?
2009-12-17 - Africans were stolen from thier Native land like a horse,cow,or chicken.Thier new home was Jamestown West Virginia in 1619.This is by far the most Horrific Tradgedy against the African People.Four Centuries have went by without a DIME of compensation.History is repeating itself Prison,Unemployment,Racism,Industries are constantly moving Jobs from the innercities.Im Retired from the Plantation at this time i have measure of Peace.Praise GOD of the Universe.I have retired the MULE and given the four legged animal back to MASSAH chicken wing.Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison? A Comprehensive Account of How and Why the Prison Industry Has Become a Predatory Entity in the Lives of African-American Men
I'm Hesitant to Even Read This Book. But I May Change My Mind 
2009-12-14 - I'm hesitant to even read this book because the title doesn't mention the role played by black males themselves. It doesn't even *allude* to it!
That may be covered inside the book. But since the title gives no indication of it, I'm not inclined to give the book a chance. If the title had been:
Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison? A Comprehensive Account of the Causes: From the Prison System to the American System to the Black Cultural System to Personal Responsibility
THEN I would have eagerly read it. I may read it anyway. But the title seems an indication of bias.
For example, the word *predatory* is used, but nothing is said about how black criminals prey on other black people. Nothing is said about how black gangs are responsible for destroying black communities and making it unsafe for black children to walk down the street.
Nothing is said about the fact that it is common in black culture to abuse kids who do well in school, by accusing them of being white. This surely affects their ability to get good jobs, which increases the poverty rate among blacks, which indirectly increases the crime rate in black neighborhoods.
Nothing is said about the fact that so much is made out of "police brutality" (where false cases are lumped in with the real cases) that police have given up patrolling many black neighborhoods, leading them to be taken over by the very worst black people, who have no regard for community and making the neighborhood a safe place to raise children. Community-wide partnerships with the police would help.
Black communities are violent because the black people who live in them are afraid to speak out against the violence. Why? The answer's simple:
THE SINGLE GREATEST FEAR OF ALL BLACK PEOPLE IS TO BE ACCUSED OF BEING UN-BLACK BY THEIR PEERS. BECAUSE ONCE THEIR BLACKNESS IS STOLEN FROM THEM, THEY FEEL THEY WILL HAVE NOTHING LEFT.
And it is these Judases of "black culture"---those who subtly threaten to steal the blackness from other black people---who are responsible for preventing positive change in black neighborhoods. Many prominent black leaders are guilty of the same crime. And black celebrities are terrified of having their blackness stolen from them. They know that if they make one slip, the black community can collectively steal their blackness from them by calling them white. And their lives will never be the same.
That's why when Oprah had many black celebrities on her show, during and after the L.A. riots, they all said the same thing: "I understand their anger." They were afraid to speak out. So they protected themselves with a comment that allowed them to not take sides.
There are BLACK "SLAVE MASTERS" throughout the black community, from pimps and gangstas on up to kids in the schoolyard and neighborhood and political leaders, whose prime means of acquiring personal power is to *intimidate other black people by subtly threatening to steal their blackness from them*. And this keeps needed change from happening in the black community. These people are the greatest enemies of black Americans---far greater than an white person could be---yet they hold exalted positions of power, for one reason alone: to challenge them is to run the risk of having your blackness stolen from you.
Maybe these kinds of issues are covered in the book. But from the title, I would be surprised if they were.
5 Star book if I ever read one
2009-11-16 - This is a great book that needs to be read by all; black, white, Asian and Latino. I love that this author had the courage to spill the beans about everything involved in the problem of black men getting incarcerated at crisis level rates. Very balanced perspective given in this book and not just a victimizational standpoint. It's about time that we as a country start to act like we really care about the problems and the future of the black male collective before it is too late.
A Hard Pill to Swallow 
2009-11-14 - I can't come down too hard on Mr. Boothe so I gave his book 2 stars simply for the fact that he actually wrote a book. But unfortunately, most of the information in his book is useless. The fact is that all too often, we as Black men have consistently failed our children. Its a hard pill to swallow but the reason so many of the men in American prisons are Black is because from birth many of us have been forced to raise ourselves and to seek guidance from peers rather than Pop - who is sometimes nowhere to be found.
How can a little boy logically assume the role of a man when he is literally being raised by other little boys who never learned to assume a role in manhood either? Somebody has to be there to train a child, direct his path, and show him where he needs to set his sights. If Dad does his job, the kid might actually avoid the criminal justice system, perhaps attend college, and someday have a decent life. When dad doesn't do his job, the criminal justice system BECOMES his college, and thats where he will likely SPEND most of his life.
This task falls squarely on our shoulders. If we step up and man up, we can put an end to this. It might take 15 or 20 years, but WE CAN END IT. If we don't, then (1) Crime rates among Black males (particularly murder) will continue to rise; (2) our sons will continue to roam the halls of correctional institutions rather than institutions of higher learning; and (3) Boothe and others like him will continue writing these kinds of books.
