The Loneliness of the Black Republican
Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4289935 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Corey D Fields (Stanford University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 130 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 794-796 |
| Publication date | 2015-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Science Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0032-3195 • E-ISSN: 1538-165X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1002/polq.12427 |
| OpenAlex | W2321271459 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
In pursuit of color-blind justice, Murakawa argues, Democrats debated how "best" to operate the carceral state rather than question its fundamental premises (p.17).When liberals reduced the disparity between the amount of crack cocaine and powder cocaine needed to trigger mandatory minimums from 100:1 to 18:1, reformers claimed victory, but reactions among my comrades at a southeast Kentucky prison were more muted-perhaps like Murakawa's."This s-isn't even retroactive," lamented my cellmate."Doesn't do s-for me."The legislation did not shrink mandatory minimums, did not apply to anyone already sentenced, and retained unequal treatment for those caught with powder (mostly white) and those with crack (mostly black).Giddy commentators herald the arrival of a criminal justice reform "moment."They cite encouraging state-level changes, federal directives instructing prosecutors to seek lighter sentences, and recently filed bipartisan legislation that would reduce mandatory minimums, add expungement opportunities, ban employment discrimination against ex-offenders, and restore voting rights.Many conservatives have embraced reform.All three main Republican factions-Wall Street, Main Street, and Easy Street-have reason to support reform.Fiscal conservatives realize how much we spend to incarcerate; religious conservatives seek to save souls; and libertarians chafe at intrusive surveillance and draconian drug laws.Democrats remain split, constrained by correctional employee unions that warily eye disruptive reforms.As Upton Sinclair said, "It is impossible to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it."Even some young progressive heroes such as California attorney general Kamala Harris, who was recently caught keeping eligible parolees incarcerated so they could fight forest fires, have mixed records.Murakawa's persuasive historical revision should remind anticarceral activists that with friends like these, they do not need enemies
Black Power · Loneliness · Physics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · Law · Psychology · Race, History, and American Society · Social Psychology
| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,11 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2025 (9) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |