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The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America
Comprehensive and balanced, THE COLOR OF JUSTICE is the definitive book on current research and theories of racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination within America's Criminal Justice system. The authors synthesize the best and the most recent research on patterns of criminal behavior and victimization, police practices, court processing and sentencing, the death penalty, and correctional programs, giving students the facts and theoretical foundation they need to make their own informed decisions about discrimination in the system. Uniquely unbiased, THE COLOR OF JUSTICE makes every effort to incorporate discussion of all major race groups found in the United States.
480 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1995
6 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
Samuel E. Walker
31 books7 followersSamuel Walker is Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, where he taught for 31 years before retiring in 2005. He is the author of 13 books on policing, criminal justice history and policy, and civil liberties. His current research involves police accountability, focusing primarily on citizen oversight of the police and police Early Intervention Systems (EIS). Originally trained as a historian, he is completing a book on U.S. presidents and civil liberties. His personal website, with information on police accountability is: http: //samuelwalker.net.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 18, 2010
Very comprehensive study of every stage of criminal justice and how issues of race/ethnicity are totally enmeshed in the American criminal justice system... we read this alongside Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Prison, The for my introductory Criminology class. They were a terrific combination. The authors are convinced of their thesis, yes, but the material is comprehensively considered from all sides. The case studies and introductions to each chapter are fascinating if you're even somewhat interested in the subject matter. I am so glad we read this instead of using a standard criminology textbook!
May 2, 2021
I read this about 2 months ago for one of my college classes. I rated it one star not because I did not like the book. I rated it one star because there was a lot of mistakes in the book. There is wrong information within the first 16 pages. Then throughout the book there is more.
I enjoyed the content within the book when it was correct but the majority of my time reading this book. I was fact checking just to make sure it was correct.
I have an issue with reading books like this and majority of the information on people they speak about is incorrect. It takes away from the overall book.
You find one mistake, you think okay someone didn't catch it, too easy. You see two, then three and more after that. Now you as a reader do not even know if the book is trustworthy and have to fact check every time they mentioned a name, date, location etc.
But overall it is a decent book. If and when i find another book like this, that is actually correct. I will come back and insert it here.
I enjoyed the content within the book when it was correct but the majority of my time reading this book. I was fact checking just to make sure it was correct.
I have an issue with reading books like this and majority of the information on people they speak about is incorrect. It takes away from the overall book.
You find one mistake, you think okay someone didn't catch it, too easy. You see two, then three and more after that. Now you as a reader do not even know if the book is trustworthy and have to fact check every time they mentioned a name, date, location etc.
But overall it is a decent book. If and when i find another book like this, that is actually correct. I will come back and insert it here.
June 18, 2023
This book is extremely verbose and arduous to read. It is clearly written from a very biased and liberal perspective. The majority of sources cited throughout the entire reading are also ardent liberals and even self avowed Marxists. The authors regularly misuse data to draw multiple conclusions that are simply nothing more than logical fallacies and false conclusions. If there was any kind of peer review for this book it only came from within their own echo chamber. The blatant and consistent misuse of statistics and data by the authors is nothing short of staggering! I have brought up these same points of contention to the director of the Criminal Justice department at my university and they are doing away with this textbook after this semester. This test is a tool of indoctrination, not education.
The authors relied heavily on numerical data but provided next to nothing that addresses why these numerical disparities exist or how they might be mitigated. Their only answer (as is typical with the leftist narrative) is that the disparities rest solely on cultural oppression, discrimination and white supremacy. Every chapter is full of manipulative language that deceptively pushes their social justice agenda. Add to this that the book could have literally been 10-20% the size of what it is now and would still have communicated the same message. A lot of the content is nothing short or race-baiting rhetoric born out of the current tumultuous social climate. The authors unabashedly use racial tensions to arouse the passion and ire of the reader to push their Marxist class-conflict narrative. Some of the writing does nothing more than attempt to generate a sense of self-doubt and self-disdain in the reader, especially if the reader is of an upper financial tier and/or white/Caucasian. The text is permeated with "reverse-racism," which is nothing more than overt racism, only by another name.
It was also interesting, and troubling, that the authors would make references about Middle Easterns, Arabs, and Muslims as "ethnicities." But there is not even ONE mention of Jews, Hebrews, or Israelis to be found throughout the entire text! We have nearly 8 million Jews in America, from many parts of the world who make up their own unique clusters in our society. Is not the exclusion of this entire people group from this book nothing more than a passive aggressive form of anti-semitism??
The authors relied heavily on numerical data but provided next to nothing that addresses why these numerical disparities exist or how they might be mitigated. Their only answer (as is typical with the leftist narrative) is that the disparities rest solely on cultural oppression, discrimination and white supremacy. Every chapter is full of manipulative language that deceptively pushes their social justice agenda. Add to this that the book could have literally been 10-20% the size of what it is now and would still have communicated the same message. A lot of the content is nothing short or race-baiting rhetoric born out of the current tumultuous social climate. The authors unabashedly use racial tensions to arouse the passion and ire of the reader to push their Marxist class-conflict narrative. Some of the writing does nothing more than attempt to generate a sense of self-doubt and self-disdain in the reader, especially if the reader is of an upper financial tier and/or white/Caucasian. The text is permeated with "reverse-racism," which is nothing more than overt racism, only by another name.
It was also interesting, and troubling, that the authors would make references about Middle Easterns, Arabs, and Muslims as "ethnicities." But there is not even ONE mention of Jews, Hebrews, or Israelis to be found throughout the entire text! We have nearly 8 million Jews in America, from many parts of the world who make up their own unique clusters in our society. Is not the exclusion of this entire people group from this book nothing more than a passive aggressive form of anti-semitism??
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October 28, 2021Publisher's Description: Comprehensive and balanced, THE COLOR OF JUSTICE is the definitive book on current research and theories of racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination within America's criminal justice system. The authors synthesize the best and the most recent research on patterns of criminal behavior and victimization, police practices, court processing and sentencing, the death penalty, and correctional programs giving your students the facts and theoretical foundation they need to make their own informed decisions about discrimination in the system. Uniquely unbiased, THE COLOR OF JUSTICE makes every effort to incorporate discussion of all major race groups found in the United States.
August 13, 2020
Overall extremely informative and the references I ended up purchasing separately for personal research. However, the consistent repetitive nature was a bit rough to get through. While what was being repeated is extremely valuable, it took away from other examples that could have been used as well and at times when paired with arguments against what the book was laying out, made certain cases seem like one-offs which is not the truth.
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December 4, 2021school
May 25, 2025
I read this in college as part of the required reading, but the contents of it have stuck with me to this day. I know some may find it arduously written, but personally I really enjoyed the format.
August 11, 2016
The books starts off with interesting statistical and informative insight on race and justice factors; however, most of the stats are based on 1996 which is 20 yrs prior.
Race is defined and categorized in 3 identified areas: white (Caucasian), black (Negroid), and Asian (Mongoloid). These three categories makes it difficult for mixed ancestry. I do like the fact that many people have protested on the requirement to choose one or another racial category; Assoc. of Multi Ethnic American (AMEA) has established to fight for the right of people with mixed heritage to acknowledged their full identity (Oct. 1997). There is supposed to be a multicultural category (but I rarely see it available; may say two or more races for example).
The term "black" refers to color, which is imprecise descriptor for a group of people becaue the skin ranges from very light yellow to very dark brown (p. 11). However, the prefer to use African American based on previous other ethnic groups like Irish Americans, etc.; but what about Africans who come from the continent and then become Americans? But I guess others would argue we were enslaved from our foreign country African and became Americans after no longer a slave or considered 3/5 of a person or mule.
further on the book speaks on US supreme cases on injustice, war on drugs, Rodney king riot and other acquired police incidents similar to Rodney's. it also covered female offenders serving long sentences for stillbirth and accused of manslaughter of these children due to stillbirth. i also read a couple cases similar in Bryan Stevenson's book "just mercy".
2.75 stars
Leisure read 2016.
Race is defined and categorized in 3 identified areas: white (Caucasian), black (Negroid), and Asian (Mongoloid). These three categories makes it difficult for mixed ancestry. I do like the fact that many people have protested on the requirement to choose one or another racial category; Assoc. of Multi Ethnic American (AMEA) has established to fight for the right of people with mixed heritage to acknowledged their full identity (Oct. 1997). There is supposed to be a multicultural category (but I rarely see it available; may say two or more races for example).
The term "black" refers to color, which is imprecise descriptor for a group of people becaue the skin ranges from very light yellow to very dark brown (p. 11). However, the prefer to use African American based on previous other ethnic groups like Irish Americans, etc.; but what about Africans who come from the continent and then become Americans? But I guess others would argue we were enslaved from our foreign country African and became Americans after no longer a slave or considered 3/5 of a person or mule.
further on the book speaks on US supreme cases on injustice, war on drugs, Rodney king riot and other acquired police incidents similar to Rodney's. it also covered female offenders serving long sentences for stillbirth and accused of manslaughter of these children due to stillbirth. i also read a couple cases similar in Bryan Stevenson's book "just mercy".
2.75 stars
Leisure read 2016.
March 9, 2009
This is my text book for my Race & Gender in Criminal Justice course. I've just started it, and it seems very interesting.
August 23, 2014
A page turner. Great reading about a city where I grew up and many old familiar places to revisit. Written in a gripping manner, with a twist at the end.
January 17, 2016
Walker presents an interesting look into the injustices that sometime occur through the social construction of crime. The author provides ample evidence to support his thesis.
March 26, 2016
Very good book. No an easy read but informative.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews