Images of Color, Images of Crime: Readings

The Second Edition of Images of Color, Images of Crime, a reader of 22 original essays edited by eminent criminologists Coramae Richey Mann and Marjorie S. Zatz, has been updated and improved from the previous edition.

This volume explores the dynamics of race, crime, and the criminal justice system in the United States today, giving equal attention to the linkages between images of color and images of crime. In their essays, the contributors stress the diversity of experiences within racial/ethnic groups based on gender, class, and national origin/heritage. Many books about crime and the criminal justice system ignore race when it comes to crimes by whites, much as they ignore gender when discussing crimes by men. In contrast, Mann and Zatz present a critical analysis of white privilege as a central feature.

The Second Edition has been reorganized, centering on substantive areas. Within each of the four substantive sections, readers will find essays describing and analyzing the experiences of American Indians, African Americans, Latinos and Latinas, Asian Americans, and Euro-Americans. New transitional pieces have been added that tie each section together, and the contributors have updated their essays with current information.

The book opens with a general discussion of race and racism as social constructions, clarifying how images of color are structurally linked to systems of oppression and domination and are reinforced by the media and politicians. Then there is a section on personal narratives from each major color category, followed by sections on stereotyping by politicians, stereotyping by the media, and crime and punishment on color lines.

Discussion questions at the end of each chapter encourage students to confront racism in its multiple guises.