The Scandal of White Complicity in US Hyper-Incarceration: A Nonviolent Spirituality of White Resistance

ISBN-13: 9781349433995 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 203 str.

Alex Mikulich; Laurie Cassidy; Margaret Pfeil

Opis

The Scandal of White Complicity and US Hyper-incarceration is a groundbreaking exploration of the moral role of white people in the disproportionate incarceration of African-Americans and Latinos in the United States.

Recenzje

Reviewer: Dawn Nothwehr, Associate Professor of Ethics at Catholic Theological Union; Chairwoman of the Department of Historical and Doctrinal Studies, Director of the Certificate in Healthcare Mission Leadership.

- A broad outline of the project
Over all I think the intent of this proposal is very good. In the descriptions there are references to 'Hyper-incarceration of African Americans and Latinos.' It is also implicit in the language of the introductory materials that the authors desire to address this total reality - African Americans AND Latinos. If the authors wish to do both- then the proposal needs to be reworked in its entirety to truly address both. As it stands it is very uneven - especially if Mikulich's chapter represents the inclusion/lack of inclusion the authors' intent. For Latino/a insights on all of this I recommend to the authors the work: Carmen Nanko-Fernández, theologizing en espanglish (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2010) and the other books in the Studies in Latino/a Catholicism series.
- Critical analysis of its strengths and weaknesses
In fact (see above) most of the descriptive material, especially Part II, but most blatantly chapter titles and content 1-4 name only 'Black man' and 'Blackness' (See pp.1-4 of the proposal).
My biggest hesitation in recommending this proposal is that it calls for some very advanced engagement on the part of the reader both in terms of general awareness and comprehension of 'white privilege,' dynamics and concepts of cultural, religious and moral formation, and most certainly in the final chapter that focuses on spirituality. At the very least, the authors need to be explicit about whether this book is targeted at experts, graduate students, or undergraduates.
I have strong hesitation about this text being all that useful for undergraduates. Most students at this level are just coming to basic awareness of racisms and whiteness as anything problematic at all, let alone moving to such a specialized area of study. (I find it very surprising that the authors think this material can be digested by undergraduates, when most theology departments don't even have basic courses on racial justice.)
- A recommendation on whether it deserves to be: 1)published as it stands or with minor revisions; 2) resubmitted after reworking; or 3) rejected.
Other important points to address are:
- The quality and significance of the project
Generally, Catholic theology and ethics has neglected both racism and the criminal justice system. I think this would be an excellent study for graduate students or experts.
- Its originality and relation to existing works in the field
There is no study that attempts to do this kind of integrative work with theology, ethics, and the social sciences.
- Structure, organization, and presentation of the material
If the authors wish to include undergraduates in this work - then more user-friendly charts, graphs, glossary, stories, photos, web-related interactive material should be included.
- Recommendations for revision (please indicate whether these are fundamental to the project's success or discretionary issues that should not affect a publication decision. Please specifically mention if any sections should be cut or expanded) See above
- Any problems regarding citations, terminology, accuracy, etc.
In the Chapter 2 by Mikulich similar treatment and lack of clarity of focus (See above) - i.e. explicit treatment /absence of data on Latinos continues. 'People of color' seems to be used synonymously with reference to African Americans. But, then we find terms like 'Hispanic' and 'Latinos' are also used, but no explicit data is given. Also - use of these various names for peoples have particular histories and synonymous use is not advisable generally. Certainly at the very least, some kind of notation and definition of each is in order early in the volume, and then repeatedly referenced for the reader. Incidentally - throughout, the terms are inco

Spis treści

Table of Contents
Series Editor Preface; Mary Jo Iozzio
Foreword; Sister Helen Prejean
Introduction: The Invisibility of White Complicity in Hyper-incarceration; Laurie Cassidy and Alex Mikulich
Acknowledgments

Part I: STRUCTURE
Chapter 1: Hyper-Incarceration of African Americans and Latinos in Historical Context; Alex Mikulich
Vital Prison Statistics
The Construction of Whiteness in U.S. Law
The Enduring 'Cultural Logic' of Lynching and Three White Myths
The Emergence of the 'New Jim Crow'
The Economic Perversity of 'Fortress America'
Chapter 2: White Complicity in U.S. Hyper-incarceration; Alex Mikulich
White Soul
The Pathology of White Segregation: An Enduring Marker of Race in America
The Historical Structuring of American Segregation
White Habitus and the Four Walls of White Imprisonment
Conclusion

Part II: CULTURE
Chapter 3: The Myth of the Dangerous Black Man; Laurie Cassidy
The Picture in Our Heads
Slavery and the Myth of the Dangerous Black Man
White Christian Amnesia and Anamnesis
Chapter 4: Hip Hop and the Seditious Reinvention of the Dangerous Black Man; Laurie Cassidy
The Prophetic Voice of Hip Hop
Hip Hop and the Reinvention of Nat Turner
Conclusion

Part III: SPIRITUALITY
Chapter 5: A Spirituality of White Non-violent Resistance to the Reality of Hyper incarceration; Margaret Pfeil
The Beatitudes: A Framework for a Nonviolent Spirituality of White Resistance
Chapter 6: Contemplative Action: Toward Nonviolent White Resistance to Hyper-
Incarceration; Margaret Pfeil
Making Whiteness Visible: Complicity
Accountability and Awareness
The Circle Process: A Public Space of Accountability
Systemic Change: Facing the Dark Night of Impasse
Conclusion

Index

O autorze

Alex Mikulich is Research Fellow on Race and Poverty at the Jesuit Social Research Institute of Loyola University New Orleans, USA. He is co-editor and contributor to Interrupting White Privilege: Catholic Theologians Break the Silence, which was awarded the College Theology Society's 2008 Book of the Year Award. Alex serves the Pax Christi USA Anti-Racism Team, is a leader of Catholics Committed to Repeal of the Death Penalty in Louisiana, and is immersed in anti-racist research and advocacy in New Orleans and Mississippi.

Laurie Cassidy is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. She is co-editor and contributor to Interrupting White Privilege: Catholic Theologians Break the Silence, which was awarded the College Theology Society's 2008 Book of the Year Award. She has been a spiritual director for over twenty years and is concerned with contemplation as a mystical political practice for personal and social transformation.

Margaret Pfeil is Assistant Professor of Theology and a Fellow of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. She is a founding member and resident of St. Peter Claver Catholic Worker House in South Bend. She organized and served as facilitator for the conference on 'White Privilege: Implications for the Catholic University, the Church, and Theology' held at the University of Notre Dame in March 2006.

Blurb

The Scandal of White Complicity and U.S. Hyper-incarceration is a groundbreaking exploration of the moral role of white people in the disproportionate incarceration of African-Americans and Latinos in the United States. Alex Mikulich, Laurie Cassidy, and Margaret Pfeil are white Catholic theologians developing understanding of how whiteness operates in the U.S. system of incarceration and witnessing to a Christian nonviolent way for whites to subvert our oppression of brothers and sisters of color.