The fact is that if you’re Black—particularly if you’re a Black male, Attorney Shipp says—you are vulnerable to being a potential suspect in a crime. It doesn’t matter who you are, who your father is, or even if you’re innocent: as soon as you’re put in the back of a police car, you’re probably going to jail.
If that happens, the first thing to remember is to go against human nature and shut up. Be polite, answer questions succinctly, but don’t try to talk yourself out of anything. It won’t work; it could make things worse.
Know your Constitutional rights, laws of search & seizure, and other rules, and teach them to your children. Shipp says that the Nation of Islam has proven the propriety of this; rarely does she see Muslim clients, in or out of jail.
Know how to proceed when stopped while driving or walking. Learn to keep impulses in control when faced with arrest. Remember that the prison system is driven by economics. Don’t think that you can’t afford a private lawyer; talent doesn’t necessarily cost much. Ask questions and accept advice, but think hard before accepting a plea deal.
And above all: never stop hoping.
Turn on the news, pick up the paper, and you know that everything’s changed—or has it? A basic history of African-Americans, police, and prison is part of what you’ll find inside “Justice While Black.”
Like a gavel on a judge’s bench, author Robbin Shipp (with Nick Chiles) hammers home point after important point on each page, with information that will make you want to take notes (but you don’t have to; there’s a handy synopsis in the back). Her advice covers adults and children as young as 4 years old, male and female, and includes tips on minimizing trouble and finding the right attorney. I was astounded at this book (oh, those stats!) and at what can be learned in 160 short pages.
(“Justice While Black” by Robbin Shipp, Esq. and Nick Chiles, c.2014, Bolden, $14/$17.50 Canada, 160 pages.)
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