The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in America's Law Enforcement - Hardcover

Horace, Matthew; Harris, Ron

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316440086 ISBN 13: 9780316440080

Publisher: Legacy Lit, 2018

Synopsis

Longlisted for the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction
"A MUST-READ FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO UNDERSTAND THE INTERSECTION OF RACE AND POLICE BRUTALITY IN AMERICA."-CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS
During his 28-year career, Matthew Horace rose through the ranks from a police officer working the beat to a federal agent working criminal cases in some of the toughest communities in America to a highly decorated federal law enforcement executive managing high-profile investigations nationwide. Yet it was not until seven years into his service- when Horace found himself face down on the ground with a gun pointed at his head by a white fellow officer-that he fully understood the racism seething within America's police departments.
Through gut-wrenching reportage, on-the-ground research, and personal accounts from interviews with police and government officials around the country, Horace presents an insider's examination of archaic police tactics. He dissects some of the nation's most highly publicized police shootings and communities to explain how these systems and tactics have hurt the people they serve, revealing the mistakes that have stoked racist policing, sky-high incarceration rates, and an epidemic of violence.
"Horace's authority as an experienced officer, as well as his obvious integrity and courage, provides the book with a gravitas."-THE WASHINGTON POST
"The Black and the Blue is an affirmation of the critical need for criminal justice reform, all the more urgent because itcomes from an insider who respects his profession yet is willing to reveal its flaws."-USA TODAY

About this title

About the Author

MATTHEW HORACE spent three decades working in law enforcement and is a nationally recognized security expert. He has also served as a contributor to CNN and The Wall Street Journal.
RON HARRIS is a former reporter and editor for the Los Angeles Times and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Currently, he is a professor at Howard University.

Review

Advance praise for The Black and the Blue:

"This is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the intersection of race and police brutality in America. Telling this story demonstrates nothing but raw courage for a black police officer who wants the truth to prevail."

―John Lewis

"The heated debates surrounding the relationship between police and African Americans have tended to overlook one crucial part of the story: people who belong to both communities. Matthew Horace is a keen observer of the racial dynamics of policing, the often shameful history that contextualizes it and the implications for our current circumstances. A great deal has been said on this subject but very little of it [is as] perceptive and profound as The Black and the Blue."

―Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker

"Insightful, honest, and probing, The Black and the Blue is as thoughtful a book as has been published on American policing in recent years. Drawing on years of experience as an officer-and even more years of experience as a black man-Matthew Horace has written a book that everyone should read."

―Wesley Lowery, author of the New York Times bestseller They Can't Kill Us All

"Matt has compiled real life, inherent issues that we face as African American law enforcement professionals. I applaud his vision and for bringing into focus the discussion that somehow we were removed from the fabric of the black communities just because we took an oath, pinned on a badge and were issued a gun."

―Clarence E. Cox III, President, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE)

"Raw and riveting!... With an insider's perspective, Horace brings nuance and complexity to the policing issues on the front lines of U.S. racial tensions."

―Debby Irving, author of Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race

"Compelling. A critical look into law enforcement and the plethora of problems that exist within America's criminal justice system. The Black and Blue is full of hard truths-- truths that every American needs to hear, if we ever really want to consider reform. Horace is an informed, intelligent and extremely measured journalist. The Black and Blue is both well written and researched, I highly recommend."

―D. Watkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Beast Side and The Cook Up

"I have called on Matthew Horace as an expert so many times I can't count them. He offers insight like no other. This book is a must read!"

―Nancy Grace, Nancy Grace, HLN Nancy Grace Show

"The Black and the Blue is a necessary testimony from behind the blue wall of secrecy and silence that affirms the racist underpinnings and often deadly consequences of African American contact with law enforcement. This is an urgent conversation needed at every level in the criminal justice system.... Racism and white supremacy, the elephant in America's living room, running rampant through many police departments and courts, must be acknowledged, unpacked, and eradicated if America is ever going to live up her democratic ideals. This book is a step in the right direction towards truth and reconciliation."

―Liza Jessie Peterson, author of All Day: A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island

"Matthew Horace's fabulous book has enlightened me to understand that many African American officers are treated as unjustly as I am as a black man. The Black and the Blue is a powerful and courageous truth telling, and a must read for all of us who want criminal justice change-and not reform. The Black and the Blue is a clear statement of how white supremacy controls what is believed to be justice in America."

―Flores A. Forbes, American Book Award-winning author of Invisible Men and Will You Die With Me?

"Matthew Horace provides a no-holds-barred, insider's account of the conscious, unconscious, and institutional racism that continues to be a cancer in many police departments, resulting in explosive incidents [and] the deaths of both innocent citizens and law enforcement officers alike. [Horace] offers our police officers a better and smarter way to protect and serve all of our citizens, regardless of race, creed, or color."

―Jeffrey Gardere, Ph.D., best known as America s Psychologist on Good Morning America and The Real Housewives of Atlanta

"Horace has done an excellent job of weaving together his personal experiences as a law enforcement officer [and] the experiences of African Americans with the police....This book should be read by police officers and used in criminal justice courses."

―Elsie L. Scott, Ph.D., Director of the Ronald W. Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center, Howard University

"We love [Matt Horace] because he always brings a strong point of view."

―Chris Cuomo

"Every police officer, attorney, and civilian in American should read The Black and the Blue. There are lessons for us all... knowledgeable, passionate, instructive, and necessary."

―Joey Jackson, CNN Legal Analyst

"[T]his [is a] hard-hitting, convincing indictment of the biases in today's law enforcement.... The book skillfully weaves together Horace's own harrowing and enlightening experiences with the stories and reflections of those interviewed.... A must-read for anyone interested in understanding and solving these problems, which, Horace emphasizes throughout, start with unearthing our own implicit biases."

―Booklist (starred review)

"An impassioned memoir... Horace vividly depicts the surreal challenges faced by African Americans in law enforcement following a distinguished career... Writing with deep knowledge and concern, the author argues that unequal policing based on ingrained racial bias and the drug war is even more pervasive than the attention paid to the Black Lives Matter movement... An astute, unvarnished account that should stand out from the crowd of pro- and anti-law enforcement books."

―Kirkus Reviews

About this edition

• Publisher: Legacy Lit
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0316440086
• ISBN 13: 9780316440080
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256