Racialized mass incarceration is not just cell blocks brimming with black bodies. It's a pervasive and deep-seated way of talking and thinking about morality, law, and politics in matters of blame and punishment; it's a punitive impulse and retributive urge that runs so strong and deep in most Americans that taming it will take a revolution in consciousness. Through radical critiques of conventional morality, conventional legal theory, and conventional politics in criminal justice matters, this book fuels this revolution. Drawing on the phenomenon moral philosophers call moral luck, Armour's book humanizes these most otherized, monsterized criminals by challenging the wide- spread belief that there is a deep and wide moral gulf between "them" and law-abiding, noncriminal, nonviolent "us." Legally, his book roots out where bias lives in the black letter law and adjudi- cation of just deserts; that is, it shows how murder- ers and other morally condemnable criminals are not merely "found" in criminal trials like discoverable facts of nature, but rather they are socially constructed, often by racially biased prosecutors, judges, and jurors. And politically, Armour both examines and exemplifies the way a transgressive word or symbol, like the troublesome and disreputable N-word itself, can, when wielded with care and precision by critical black writers and artists, signal a sharp rejection of respectability politics, promote political solidarity with the most reviled black criminals, and spark a revolution in consciousness about racialized mass incarceration.
Industry Reviews
"As a chief prosecutor, Jody pushes us to accept that the time has come to repair the broken criminal justice system and undo the harm caused to communities by ending the cycle of over-policing and over-incarceration that has destroyed communities. Prosecutors can be a force for good, for reform, for dismantling this system of racial injustice and mass incarceration. Justice is making sure that we treat people fairly within our criminal justice system, that we have one standard of justice regardless of creed or color or sexual orientation, that we recognize the flaws in our criminal justice system and try to correct them and, that we stay the course to right the wrongs of the past to create a justice system that we all believe in. Jody's narrative shines a light on these issues and reminds us all that when we invest in people - as mothers, daughters, husbands, brothers, and fathers - we can help them thrive and create safer and healthier communities for everyone." -- Marilyn J. Mosby * Baltimore City State's Attorney *
"N*gga Theory demands moral consistency that has been lacking in popular and academic narratives of mass incarceration." -- Abraham Gutman * Opinion Writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer *
"Jody's masterpiece should be a mandatory read for every police leader" -- Chief (Ret.) Brendan Cox * Director of Policing Strategies at LEAD Bureau *
"This hopeful and aspirational book reminds us to see individuals and their lives, including the details, however unexpected. He lets us see how within his beloved black community the politics of division do sweeping harm that no amount of success can shake." -- Larry Krasner * Foreword *
"This book is revolutionary." -- Matt Ferner * Editor-in-Chief at The Appeal *
"Real change like he calls for in N*gga Theory will happen only when we all get a lot more uncomfortable with the true state of our legal and carceral systems." -- Dan Satterberg * King County Prosecuting Attorney *
"A powerful exploration of race, class, and justice, particularly criminal justice, in today's America." -- James F. McHugh * Former Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court *
"N*gga Theory explores and applies the transformative practice of radical empathy with the most demonized members of society to guide us out of the current morass of mass imprisonment and racial oppression, and forward into a more just society." -- Eric J. Miller * Professor of Law and Leo J. O'Brien Fellow at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles *
"A battle cry to unite African Americans divided by class" -- Lara Bazelon * Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Juvenile Justice Clinic and The Racial Justice Clinic *
"N*gga Theory demands moral consistency that has been lacking in popular and academic narratives of mass incarceration." -- Abraham Gutman * Opinion Writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer *
"He's brilliant and a kindred spirit. Amazing." -- Frank Wilderson III * Chair of African American Studies at University of California-Irvine and author of Afropessimism *
"When Jody Armour invited me to write the foreword, his brilliance, commitment, and deep love for our people took precedent over my own discomfort with the N-word. His work has challenged me to be deeply introspective, to grapple with my identity, my beliefs, and my outward praxis. It has forced me to question and to grow. This volume is not about the word, but about the imposed dichotomy between 'black people' and 'n*****s.' It is about the strategic and ethical decision to align with n****s, especially when we have the option to be seen as 'good Negroes'." -- Melina Abdullah * introduction *
"This is not beach reading. After three decades of judging, I'm ready to go back to law school and take Professor Armour's classes." -- Justice Emily Jane Goodman * New York State Supreme Court (Ret.) *
"This critical and timely work, and the important personal and professional experience Professor Armour brings to it, is invaluable as we look to build a new paradigm that recognizes the humanity of every individual, regardless of wrongdoing. It is this starting point that will promote a truly just system that heals people and communities." -- Miriam Aroni Krinsky * Founder and Executive Director of Fair and Just Prosecution *
"N*gga Theory is a provocation, a poem, a lyric urging racial solidarity with every body caged in the American penal state, even or especially those classified as 'violent offenders.' Through riveting personal narrative and rigorous interdisciplinary research, Jody Armour gives us the transgressive penal theory necessary in this racially troubled era." -- Aya Gruber * Professor, author of The Feminist War on Crime: The Unexpected Role of Women's Liberation in Mass Incarceration *
"N* Theory is movement, N* Theory is Jody, N* Theory is a Twitter handle, N* Theory is what Jody shares with us and lives and then, of course, it's the book. It's a spectacular exploration of concepts in both tort and criminal law mixed with reality." -- Ed McCaffery * Robert C. Packard Trustee Chair in Law and Professor of Law, Economics and Political Science at USC *
