Race and Justice

JEWELLE TAYLOR GIBBS a clinical psychologist and consultant, is Zellerbach Family Fund professor of social policy at the School of Social Welfare, University of California at Berkeley. She is the coauthor of Children of Color (Jossey-Bass, 1989) and the editor of Young, Black, and Male in America: An Endangered Species (Greenwood Press, 1988).

"Gibbs' book, an in-depth analysis of the Rodney King and O.J. Simpson cases, is bold, courageous scholarship. Penned by a talented clinical psychologist, the study rises above superficiality and even now stands out from the large body of opportunistic, commercial Simpson-King literature. . . . An instant classic." "An excellent manual. . . . Offers constructive insights into both trials from intellectuals, educators and lawyers as well as social workers and community support counselors." "Gibbs finds context and meaning in this first serious, scholarly study of Rodney King and O.J. Simpson cases." ?Race and Justice penetrates the searing headlines of two of the most celebrated criminal trials in American history to ponder their broader implications for our society. Jewelle Taylor Gibbs, the wise and insightful author, offers trenchant observations about the future of race relations in Los Angeles that Americans everywhere should heed, and in a hurry.? -- Hugh B. Price, president, National Urban League ?Must reading for those who want to reinvent the jury system, improve race relations, and make sense of the Rodney King and O.J. Simpson verdicts and their racially polarized aftermaths. Drawing on history, sociology, and psychology, the author analyzes these controversial verdicts and concludes that they are the legacy of racial injustice and police violence.? --Eddie N. Williams, president, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies ?Sensitive and gripping. Essential for anyone who wants to understand police and racial tension in America.? --Joseph D. McNamara, retired police chief of San Jose, California, research fellow, Hoover Institution Stanford University ?Sensitive and gripping. Essential for anyone who wants to understand police and racial tension in America? --Joseph D. McNamara, retired police chief of San Jose, research fellow, Hoover Institution Stanford University "An important, thoughtful analysis." "This book is brilliant, dramatic and appalling....Her book is carefully documented, but written in an easy and attractive style." "Jewelle Taylor Gibbs, the wise and insightful author offers trenchant observations about the future of race relations in Los Angeles that Americans everywhere should heed, and in a hurry." --Hugh B. Price, President, National Urban League "Careful and provocative analyses . . . essential for anyone interested in a broader perspective of the issues." --Phillip Young Blue, New York State Supreme Court Criminal Branch Library, Library Journal

• ForewordPart One: Rodney King1. Los Angeles: from Watts to South Central2. Rodney King: Gentle Giant or Gorilla in the Mist?3. The Color of Justice, I: The Trial, the Victim, the Verdict4. Days of Rage: No Justice, No Peace5. Two Commissions and Three Trials: Community Conflict and Concepts of JusticePart Two: O. J. Simpson6. O. J. Simpson: The Man, the Myth, the Marriage7. The Crime, the Chase, the Arrest8. The People V. O.J. Simpson: The Trial Begins9. Ambushing the Prosecution: Playing the Race Card10. The Color of Justice, II: The Verdict, the Response, the AftermathPart Three: Race and Justice 11. ?Bad Blood?: Conspiracy Theories and the Black Community12. A House Divided: Healing the Wound, Restoring the DreamAppAndix A: Research NoteAppAndix B: People Interviewed