Lest We Forget: White Hate Crimes: Howard Beach and Other Racial Atrocities

by Alphonso Pinkney

White Hate Crimes: Howard Beach and Other Racial Atrocities offers a timely examination of the barely discussed, but widely practiced phenomenon of white-on-Black Crime. Although the Civil Rights legislation of the 1950s and 1960s suggested a movement toward racial harmony, the rise of conservatism during the Ronald Reagan Administration helped to create a climate that not only reversed civil rights gains, but lead to a resurgence of hatred and violence toward people of color and the poor. Dr. Alphonso Pinkney presents a riveting, historical account of white racially motivated individual and mob attacks on Blacks during the 1980s. Documenting the striking parallels of these attacks as a return to Reconstruction Era and early 1900s race riot styled lynchings, Pinkney provides engaging profiles of the victims and their attackers, reviews the legal proceedings, analyzes the affects on the families and communities involved, and demonstrates the legal system's complicity in disrupting justice.

284 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dated, but interesting nonetheless. Pinkney's book gives detailed accounts of several hate crimes committed against African-Americans in the 1980s in New York City.