FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Beth Workman
Phone: 301-405-4622 (O)
Phone: 410-757-3571 (H)
Email: [email protected]
The Color of Crime; Racial Hoaxes, White Fear, Black Protectionism,
Police Harassment and Other Macroaggressions
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Why do Black and White Americans perceive police actions so differently? Is White fear of Black crime justified? Do African Americans really "protect their own?" Should they?
These and other hard-hitting questions are explored in "The Color of Crime," a bold new book by University of Maryland criminology professor Katheryn Russell.
When Americans are asked what concerns them most about the direction of the country, crime and racial tensions invariably figure prominently in the answer, notes Russell. In the minds of many, these two problems are inextricably linked. And yet our opinions and beliefs about race and crime are often informed as much by myth and preconception as by fact and reality, she says.
In "The Color of Crime" (New York University Press, January, 1998), Russell attempts to sort the fact from the fiction to expose the realities of crime and race. To do this, she uses information gleaned from interviews with young Black men, an examination of the media's treatment of crime, a scientific look at the U.S. justice system, and lessons learned from cases that captured national attention.
Most notable among the higher profile cases was the O.J. Simpson criminal trial. Russell explores why so many Blacks supported Simpson, ultimately using the term "Black protectionism" to describe this phenomenon.
She also examines racial hoaxes--false allegations of crime based upon race--such as that in the Tawana Brawley case, now back in the news. Russell illustrates the racial hoax with two well-known cases--that of Susan Smith and Charles Stuart--and documents more than 70 additional racial hoaxes in the 10-year period between 1987-1996. Russell calls for harsher punishments for offenders in racial hoaxes, noting that "formidable and lasting damage occurs when racial stereotypes are manipulated and exploited for personal advantage."
"America's discussion of race and crime has to be expanded beyond Black crime," says Russell. Given that almost 70 percent of arrests in any given year are of Whites, she asks if we should refer to it as "White crime" or White-on-White" crime? And, armed with a J.D. from the University of California Hastings, as well as a Ph.D. in criminology from the University of Maryland, she offers new ways of measuring racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.
"More needs to be done to avoid the perpetration of half-facts about race and crime," she concludes.
#####
RSS