Imprisoned - (Sociology of Race and Ethnicity) by Cassi A Meyerhoffer & Brittany Leigh Rodriguez

About the Book

"Over the last several years, we have experienced a surge in bystander videos of incidents of police brutality directed largely at Black men. Public outrage surrounding police action continues to increase. As public discourse around police brutality and racial inequality largely centers on specific events, there is less information within the public discourse about systemic racism and how race and racism pervade every single aspect of American life. The ways in which Black and Brown people are often treated by law enforcement is reflective of larger historical racial inequities and injustices that extend far beyond the criminal justice system and intersect with how Black and Brown people access housing and occupy public spaces. Imprisoned focuses on contemporary systemic racism as it relates to the ways in which our criminal justice system intersects with our housing system to create a matrix of inequality for black and brown bodies. To illustrate the systemic nature of racism in American policing and communities, this book highlights the policies and practices that were put in place during slavery and after reconstruction that connect to instances of structural racism in contemporary America. This book demonstrates how foundational policies in American history continue to work to the detriment of black and brown Americans-tying the racist foundations of America to discrimination in our criminal justice system and neighborhoods"--

Book Synopsis

Over the last several years, the United States has experienced a surge in bystander videos that have captured incidents of police brutality and prejudice directed largely at Black people. Public outrage surrounding police brutality persists as these incidents continue to reach the public eye. As public discourse around police brutality and racial inequality largely centers on specific events, there is a dearth of information about systemic racism and how race and racism pervade every single aspect of American life. How Black people are often treated by law enforcement is reflective of larger historical racial inequities and injustices that extend far beyond the criminal justice system and intersect with how Black people access housing, occupy public spaces, and are treated in American public schools.

Imprisoned: Interlocking Oppression in Law Enforcement, Housing, and Public Educationfocuses on contemporary systemic racism as it relates to how the U.S. criminal justice system, housing system, and education system intersect to create a matrix of inequality for Black people. To illustrate the systemic nature of racism in American policing and communities, this book highlights contemporary policies and practices that intersect with residential segregation and public schooling that continue to affect Black people on a large-scale, structural level--demonstrating the extent to which the United States criminal justice system is tied to where people live and how they are treated and educated in public schools.

Review Quotes

Imprisoned makes an important contribution to the sociological literature on race and ethnicity, the criminal justice system, urban sociology, and racial residential segregation.

--Rachelle J. Brunn-Bevel "coeditor of Intersectionality and Higher Education"

A significant contribution to the study of racial and ethnic relations, Imprisoned will greatly assist readers in understanding the complexity of race relations in the United States. It also demonstrates that U.S. policing reform would need to consider entanglements with historically labeling black bodies as 'criminal' and the practice of segregating and patrolling black bodies very differently than any other racial and ethnic group in America.--Cameron D. Lippard "coeditor of Protecting Whiteness: Whitelash and the Rejection of Racial Equality"

About the Author

Cassi A. Meyerhoffer (Author)
CASSI MEYERHOFFER is an associate professor of sociology at Southern Connecticut State University and the editor of Race: Identity, Ideology, and Inequality.

Brittany Leigh Rodriguez (Author)
BRITTANY LEIGH RODRIGUEZ is a Latinx woman currently working as the director of Scholar Success at Hartford Youth Scholars, a non-profit, college-access organization located in Hartford, CT.