Book 2 Post 2
For Book 2 I chose to read Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color. I was originally attracted to this book because police brutality against people of color has been a center-stage issue recently. There has been a lot of light on cases of blatant police brutality against people of color. The cases in the news are shocking. It is hard to understand how this could happen in what we think to be an advanced, modernized and progressed society. It is equally hard to understand how these cases could happen more than once. The fact that a horrible police brutality injustice occurred once and immediate change wasn't made is hard to understand.
I liked this book because of its focus on women of color. In the media and even television and movies there is a heavy focus on police brutality against men. I liked that Ritchie forced readers to pay attention to the fact that women of color are disproportionally affected by police brutality. She gave several examples of violence, injustice, and sexual assault that have affected women of color. She argues that police brutality results from a combination of a lot of identities including race, gender, and sexuality. These identities make women more susceptible to police violence. Ritchie also shed light on the criminalization of women of color. Not only are women of color treated unfairly and harshly by the police, but they are targeted when they are not doing anything wrong.
I admire that Ritchie called out the criminal justice system for its failures. She argues that the system has not adequately recognized the injustices that happen every day. She explains how this system is not prepared to tackle the deep and systematic issues that are happening. I liked how she demonstrated the deep and unjust issues that are happening but did not just leave it there. She explains that systematic change is needed to address the issue of police violence against women of color. She says that change needs to happen at the root of the issue.
I was shocked and learned a lot while reading this book. I liked the demanding and strong tone that Ritchie used throughout the book. She did a great job capturing this difficult issue. I hope that my children can grow up in a world where we don't have to read about these ongoing issues in school or watch them on the news.
I'm glad you brought up how the book acknowledges the unique position women of color are in under criminalization and police brutality. I also agree with your last sentiment of not wanting your children to grow up in our current world, which is why I believe books and readings like this book is crucial in the education of our generation right now so we are well informed about injustices!
ReplyDeleteHi Ariya,
ReplyDeleteNot many news outlets talk about police brutality against women, so I'm happy to hear that more articles and books are being written about this. I'm glad you brought up that the criminal justice system and that it has systematic issues people don't notice. Similar reading materials like this should be shown to younger people, so they can have a better understanding of this injustice. Great post! .
Hi Ariya, Your post is the first one that I've read about this book. It sounds like it brings a lot of current social issues to light. Hopefully we can figure out some solutions soon. I feel like these issues are so nuanced and I wish there was more that we could actively do to help encourage change.
ReplyDeleteAriya, I really appreciated how you brought up the police treatment of women of color. Your post and this book touches on many issues and it makes me want to read it since it seems like an educational and well-done way of addressing and bringing up such serious issues.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very influential and interesting book to read. I agree with you when you touched on the fact that most of the press focuses on police brutality against men of color but fails to address the injustices against women of color, and I believe that skewed public perception of how it doesn't seem to affect women as much should be addressed. I would love to read this book!
ReplyDeleteHi Ariya, I really enjoyed reading your post! My friend and I wrote our research paper about how the criminal justice system fails women of color. This was back in 2017 and it is truly disheartening that not much has changed in six years.
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