Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence, and America’s Prison Nation

Black women in marginalized
communities are uniquely at risk of battering, rape, sexual harassment,
stalking and incest. Through the compelling stories of Black women who have
been most affected by racism, persistent poverty, class inequality, limited
access to support resources or institutions, Beth E. Richie shows that the
threat of violence to Black women has never been more serious, demonstrating how
conservative legal, social, political and economic policies have impacted
activism in the US-based movement to end violence against women. Richie argues
that Black women face particular peril because of the ways that race and
culture have not figured centrally enough in the analysis of the causes and
consequences of gender violence. As a result, the extent of physical, sexual
and other forms of violence in the lives of Black women, the various forms it
takes, and the contexts within which it occurs are minimized—at best—and
frequently ignored.

Arrested Justice
brings issues of sexuality, class, age, and criminalization into focus right
alongside of questions of public policy and gender violence, resulting in a
compelling critique, a passionate re-framing of stories, and a call to action
for change.