White Men's Law: The Roots of Systemic Racism

White Men's Law is a book that explores how systemic white racism has kept Black Americans in their place from slavery to police and vigilante killings. It argues that African Americans have been held back by systemic racism in all major institutions that can hold power over them and that thousands of victims have been murdered by lynching, white mobs, and massacres. The book is based on a wide range of sources, from the painful words of former slaves to test scores that reveal how our education system has failed Black children. The author poses a foundational question: What historical forces preceded and followed this lynching to spark resistance to Jim Crow segregation, especially in schools that had crippled Black children with inferior education? The answers are rooted in the systemic racism that African Americans and growing numbers of white allies are demanding be dismantled in tangible ways.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 10 February 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

A profound and harrowing exploration of the legal and extralegal mechanisms that have perpetuated systemic white racism, from slavery to police brutality and the targeted killings of Black men and women, spanning from 1619 to the present. Throughout the four centuries since the arrival of the first English settlers in America, a small minority of white men have established, maintained, and reinforced their dominance over every significant institution in American society. African Americans, in particular, have borne the brunt of the harm caused by the laws enacted by white men, with legal punishment frequently substituted by extra-legal means. Throughout history, countless victims have been brutally lynched, subjected to white mobs, and subjected to horrific massacres. In White Men's Law, renowned scholar Peter Irons presents a compelling and convincing argument that African Americans have consistently faced systemic racism in all major institutions capable of exerting power over them. Drawing from a diverse array of sources, including the poignant testimonies of former slaves and the revealing data on educational disparities affecting Black children, this searing and sobering account of legal and extralegal violence against African Americans dismantles the false narratives propagated by white racists. At the heart of Irons' account lies a chilling episode from 1935, when a lynching took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This tragic event resulted in a photograph that captured the horrified gaze of a young blonde white girl, approximately seven years old, as she looked upon the hanging, bullet-ridden body of Rubin Stacy, who was accused of assaulting a white woman. By meticulously analyzing this gruesome murder and the visual evidence left behind, Irons raises a fundamental question: What historical factors preceded and followed this lynching to ignite resistance to Jim Crow segregation, particularly in schools that had hindered the growth and development of Black children?

Weight: 560g
Dimension: 243 x 164 x 33 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780190914943