A Black Criminology Matters

This chapter presents the theoretical rationale for the development of a Black Criminology. A Black Criminology assumes that the United States has been and is a racialized society. Therefore, the history and current experiences of African Americans are inimitable. A Black Criminology also assumes that a minority of African Americans commit crimes because of their inimitable past and current racial subordination. In addition, a Black Criminology recognizes that there is substantial individual variation in how African Americans perceive, interpret, and respond to racial oppression. Thus, an intersectional race-specific understanding is required that recognizes that the experiences of racial oppression are embedded within other contexts such as place, gender, and class. We conclude that the synergy between a Black Criminology and the general theories of crime will cause criminology to develop a more holistic historically grounded understanding of why a minority of African Americans offend.