Life and Death in Rikers Island, by Homer Venters
The selection of Life and Death in Rikers Island is important and timely as we are in the midst of alarmingly high COVID-19 rates across the country, especially in prisons.
We Keep Us Safe: Building Secure, Just, and Inclusive Communities. By Zack Norris
In June of 2008, on the eve of the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States, Yale University scholar Elijah Anderson published an astute collection of essays and writings on the condition of the young, black man in America.
The Second Chance Club: Hardship and Hope After Prison by Jason Hardy
As CPO is called to engage with more needs found in community reentry, Hannah and I chose to read The Second Chance Club this month. In a wide-eyed, self-deprecating way, the author Jason Hardy recalls his start as a parole officer in New Orleans.
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
Amidst the crisis of pandemic, which—because of the same racist policies Kendi outlines in his book—disproportionately affects Black and Brown lives, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd were murdered.
Against the Wall: Poor, Young, Black and Male by Elijah Anderson
In June of 2008, on the eve of the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States, Yale University scholar Elijah Anderson published an astute collection of essays and writings on the condition of the young, black man in America.
Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair
Amidst the crisis of pandemic, which—because of the same racist policies Kendi outlines in his book—disproportionately affects Black and Brown lives, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd were murdered.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, By Bryan Stevenson.
The men in Just Mercy are difficult for the reader to leave behind. A memoir written by attorney and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy tells the stories of men left behind in one of the most hopeless of places: death row.
