Introduction

• Author: Shaun L. Gabbidon,James D. Unnever
• DOI: 10.1177/1043986215623765
• Published date: 01 February 2016
• Date: 01 February 2016
• Subject Matter: Editorial

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2016, Vol. 32(1) 4 –6

© 2016 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/1043986215623765

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Editorial

Introduction

It seems like every day another instance of the intersection of race, crime, and the crimi-

nal justice system is splashed across the social media. Also, we are continually con-

fronted by the incredulous disproportionalities in the arrests and mass imprisonment of

African Americans. Studies report that among prime-age Black men, around 15% of

those with no college and a third of high school dropouts were incarcerated on an aver-

age day in 2010 (Travis & Western, 2014). In addition, in 2014, the overall incarcera-

tion rate for African American males was approximately 2,724 per 100,000, and for

Black men, in the age range of 30 to 34, the incarceration rate spikes to 6,412 per

100,000 (Carson, 2015). Indeed, among recent cohorts of African American men, 70%

of those who dropped out of school served time in state or federal prison (Travis &

Western, 2014). Perhaps, the most glaring disproportionality is the official arrest statis-

tic showing that a small percentage of African American men were arrested for more

than half the robberies in 2013 (Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], 2014). Together,

these findings suggest that something profound is happening to some African Americans.

But, perhaps what is most disconcerting is that the prevailing general theories of

crime deny that the lived racialized experiences of African Americans are not uniquely

different than the more privileged lives of Whites. Thus, these hegemonic theories posit

that the only reason why some African Americans unduly offend is that they, for exam-

ple, are more likely to live in disorganized neighborhoods, have weaker social bonds,

associate more often with delinquent peers, have greater episodic strains, or exhibit less

self-control. In short, Hirschi’s (1969) long ago declaration that there is no need to

study the “Negro boy” still soundly reverberates throughout the science of crime.

We believe that the development of a vibrant African American/Black Criminology

is still necessary (Russell, 1992). Indeed, we argue that a Black Criminology is as

equally warranted as a Feminist Criminology given that women disproportionately

under-offend whereas African Americans disproportionately over-offend. We consider

the unique lived racialized experiences of being Black in a racist society as worthy of

study as is the inimitable lived experiences of being a woman in a sexist society.

The foundation of an African American/Black Criminology must rest upon the

acknowledgment that the historical and contemporary experiences of African

Americans are incomparable. In brief, being Black in the United States is a unique

experience. Built upon this foundation should be theoretically informed empirical

studies that detail the dynamic interplay between racial oppression and resiliency.

Our Theory of African American Offending begins the illumination of the innumer-

able forms of racial oppression and how they dynamically open up pathways to offend-

ing and resiliency (Unnever & Gabbidon, 2011). We detail how the everyday lived

experiences of being denied one’s humanity because of one’s skin color causes some

African American youths to feel anger and hostility and how these feelings lead to

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