Book Review: Alexander, R., Jr. (2005). Racism, African Americans, and Social Justice. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. ix, 149

• Published date: 01 March 2008
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016808314561
• Date: 01 March 2008
• Subject Matter: Articles

Last, this reviewer was pleased to come across several references to Compstat, although

this text does not fully develop Compstat as an organizational management tool. At any rate,

the examples that are structured into this text will show the reader that no law enforcement

organization is immune to failure. Most heartening, the author clearly encourages those

who do study law enforcement organizations and in particular aspiring law enforcement

executives to understand that managing structural, cultural, and institutional components of

law enforcement organizations is all about leadership and accountability. Although debates

about whether or not organizational failure is preventable might be legitimate, without failure,

there can be no success.

John M. Marks, Jr.

Sam Houston State University

Alexander, R., Jr. (2005). Racism, African Americans, and Social

Justice. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. ix, 149.

DOI: 10.1177/0734016808314561

Rudolph Alexander’s Racism, African Americans, and Social Justice examines race and

racism for African Americans in the United States. Though this topic is well researched and

its coverage is eclectic, it is a great read and makes a lively and compelling documentation

of the oftentimes horrific, and corrupt discriminatory practices toward African Americans

from the period of Reconstruction to present day.

In his quest for social justice, Alexander ensured that the aim of the book could not be

misconstrued as he effectively reiterates the sociohistorical context in which he writes. He

contends that “African Americans receive less justice—legal, social, educational, and econom-

ical. Moreover, Af rican Americans have not received due appreciation for their military

contributions, and this neglect implicates justice” (p. 119).

Using Federal Court documents, FBI statistics and Gallup Polls, peer reviewed journal

articles, and other documents, Alexander effectively validates the discriminatory practices

which still influence present-day African American culture. While African Americans were not

the only group to experience discrimination in the history of the United States, a distinction

was made regarding the origins of this practice. As Alexander points out, African Americans

are a unique group because they are the only group who were brought to the United States

involuntarily and had to fight their way through servitude, Jim Crow, Dred Scott, and lynching

laws. He demonstrates that these challenges were often perpetuated by a racist criminal justice

system which was supported by Federal Courts.

Alexander skillfully turns a critical eye toward the difference between African American

justice and White American justice. Addressing the issue of law as the oppressor, he writes

soundly about discrimination in regard to the criminal justice system, the juvenile justice

system, higher education, affirmative action reparations, economics, and employment. Each

of the nine chapters is well organized, beginning with an introduction to the issue being

addressed. Subcategories streamline the text, assisting the reader in breaking down each

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