Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America, by Jill Leovy.
Where I learned more of what I already knew about the disproportionate murder of Black men in America, but less of what it takes to reach justice for the families still here. I learned of lawlessness and the importance of a gang’s role in combatting crime for the neighborhoods where laws don’t and won’t reach. I learned that homicide occurs less because of poverty than because of economic interdependence and immobility, and that these two factors characterize Blackness most and structurally. I learned that when there is no state monopoly on violence, the justice system teaches those most affected by that violence that the loss of their lives is not worth the resources required to figure out how those lives were lost. I learned that Jill Leovy is an incredible writer and journalist, and this book is one of my favorites that I’ve ever read.