Book Review: Kevin M. Beaver The Nature and Nurture of Antisocial Outcomes. El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC, 2008. 180 pp

• Author: Shannon Gibson
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016809356317
• Published date: 01 June 2010
• Date: 01 June 2010
• Subject Matter: Articles

justice agencies. However, we also need to assess how forms of privilege and difference are shaped

by Whiteness. Gabbidon and Higgins demonstrate scholars of color can and should also study

Whites.

The second chapter broadening the discussion of racial inequality within the criminal justice

system was written by Williams and Close, ‘‘Perceptions of Bias-Based Policing: Implications

for Police Policy and Practice.’’ Williams and Close build upon Fridell’s important theme of

unconscious racial bias in her chapter titled ‘‘Racially Biased Policing: The Law Enforcement

Response to the Implicit Black-Crime Association.’’ Fridell argues even well-meaning individuals

can participate and reproduce discriminatory treatment toward people of color. Williams and Close

develop this idea when they interviewed 9 African American police officers and 43 residents in a

large southern city. The interviews caught my attention by emphasizing how even well-meaning

individuals of any color can engage in maintaining racial and ethnic inequality in the administration

of the criminal justice system. The interviews highlight the intricacies of racism and how human

beings internalize societal stereotypes. Bonilla-Silva wrote a greatbook on these themes titled Racism

without Racists:Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States.In

this book, Bonilla-Silva found Blacks indirectly internalized an ideology of color blindness that could

taint explanations of behavior. Williams and Close concluded ‘‘The resulting analysis of the percep-

tions shared by officers and residents alikeelucidates the power, pervasiveness, and impact of stigma,

even when the stigma of race is shared by the agents of the government’’ (p. 81).

One of the central tenets of critical race theory includes the premise of a ‘‘unique voice of color,’’

which seeks to complement the existing perspective on race, crime, and justice. In curiosity,

I attempted to discern the race and ethnicity of the contributors and editors of this book by looking

at Web sites and vitas. The majority of the 18 contributors were White males (n¼6) and White

females (n¼6), whereas 4 contributors were African American and 2 of unknown descent

(Kavanaugh-Earl and E. Britt Patterson). Although, I am not sure any of the authors would agree

with my placement of themselves into a racial category as highlighted by the chapter written by

Mieczkowski titled ‘‘The Things that Pass for Knowledge: Racial Identity in Forensics.’’ From a

standpoint perspective, it can be important to remember human beings are stratified into a racial

hierarchy and this can influence what we research and how we interpret data.

A clear setback for Racial Divide is that none of the contributors or chapter themes appeared to

focus on Latinos, Native Americans, or Asians, which does not allow the discussion to move past the

White/Black dichotomy. A few of the chapters that did include ethnicity presented the data in the

form of ‘‘Minority Olympics’’ in which Latinos were portrayed as better off and Blacks oppressed.

Therefore, the secondary title, Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Criminal Justice System, is misleading.

My final criticism is a number of times certain theories were repeated throughout the chapters.

Racial Divide offers an additional contribution to the increasing number of publications on racial

inequality within the criminal justice system. It covers important themes of racial inequality involv-

ing theory, police, courts, corrections, and other unexplored areas. Together, the contributors exam-

ine an enormous number of studies pertaining to whether racism in the criminal justice system is a

myth or reality. The book could be improved by incorporating additional voices of color and expand-

ing beyond the Black/White dichotomy.

Kevin M. Beaver

The Nature and Nurture of Antisocial Outcomes. El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC, 2008. 180 pp.

Reviewed by: Shannon Gibson, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016809356317

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