The problem is the criminal process itself. Cops routinely hurt and humiliate black people because that is what they are paid to do. Virtually every objective investigation of a U.S. law enforcement agency finds that the police, as policy, treat African Americans with contempt…. The police kill, ...more
"The police kill, wound, pepper spray, beat up, frisk, handcuff, and use dogs against blacks in circumstances in which they do not do the same to white people. It is the moral responsibility of every American, when armed agents of the state are harming people in our names, to ask why."
I didn’t think that I would be saying this again so soon, but after having read “Just Mercy” a few months ago, I have to say again…this might be one of the most important book that I’ve read in years. To me, it completes a quartet of texts on policing and mass incarceration that include the likes of ...more
Chokehold was pitched this year as a book exposing police violence and targeting of black men in the same way that The New Jim Crow exposed prison violence and targeting of black men in America.
“A chokehold is a process of coercing submission that is self reinforcing… The Chokehold is a way of under ...more
Paul Butler writes an extraordinary book on the policing of black men. He is detailed, thorough and offers practical solutions to shift our society to the values Americans espouse.
This is a must read book for all. Thank you Paul Butler. ...more
Another excellent contribution to the growing canon of books that ask the tough questions and as is the case with this one, propose some answers. A formidable salvo to add to that canon of books that stress Black Lives Matter and discusses ways that those lives are interrupted. In Chokehold, former ...more
The history of abuse of power and how it has affected us as a people was thought provoking and made me wonder how we have come so far as a people. It's in our DNA as a people to want to be free. The author connects the dots of cause and effect well. You won't be the same after you read it... ...more
This book was a ride. In content, it is equal parts pragmatic and analytic: full of statistics and case notes and real-world advice, all of which are objectively horrifying and some of which defy belief. These are all offered to shore up his characterization of the criminal justice system as “not br ...more
This book was very educational and thought provoking. It gives so much insight about how our nation got to where we are with racial injustice and white supremacy. It takes you from slavery, convict leasing, to the segragation and mass incarceration that exists for African Americans today. It explain ...more
With candor, intellect, and wit, Professor Butler puts in very readable and personal language the lived experiences of African American men in America. His book is also extremely tragic and eye-opening and an indictment of our country's so-called justice system. Reading his book should be part of ou ...more
Chapter 7, which is a essentially a guide for African American men who get stopped by the police on how to behave in order to avoid arrest, prison time, etc, just broke my heart. We have two parallel justice systems in this country: one is the one white people are held to and which most white people ...more
Paul Butler gave people an extraordinary gift in the writing of this book. At every turn this former federal prosecutor hands us information about causes and effects that we overlook as the majority in the US.
Even as a person who sees racism apologists at every turn there were several issues that I ...more
Incredibly eye-opening and thorough. Butler said it best himself: “History will be your judge, as it has been of the freedom fighters before you.” ...more
This was a book review I wrote for Howard's Human and Civil Rights Law Review:
Book Review: Chokehold by Paul Butler Reviewed by Justin Hansford
When Mike Brown was killed on August 9th, 2014, few of the people who took to the streets in protest could explain in-depth the structural details of the syst ...more