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sydneybitz's review against another edition
5.0
Absolute game changer. There is so much that we think we know about the police force in America, but this books answers the tough questions that NEED to be asked. Would recommend to literally anyone who is frustrated with the he said she said that goes on after every act of police brutality. It left me wanting to dive deeper into this subject, and find out how I can help.
lpeterson's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Police brutality
alchabot09's review against another edition
5.0
Wow listened on audible. If your wanting to learn this is the book for you! If your not ready to learn what truly happens and what has led to the divide between African Americans and police then this is not for you.
amandarawsonhill's review against another edition
5.0
The book was illuminating and eye opening. A must read.
rnalexander's review against another edition
4.0
A couple of steps back in 'radicalness' from the other anti-racism reading I've been doing, but it still doesn't shy away from the weight of evidence of systemic racism in society and specifically in policing. The occasional pointing at the problem of Black on Black violence in the context of "communities need to step up" rankles to read but the author is a Black cop (and I'm neither) so it's 100% his call to make, and my liberal discomfort to deal with it. That said, I can see how some of the same aspects of the book being uncomfortably insufficiently radical to my mind would also probably make the book more palatable to people who are more at the start of struggling through their own process of accepting the greater problems.
It's a book about the problems of police and the BIPoc communities written by a BIPoc police officer who brings a hell of a lot of experience to the topic. It's probably a better book to hand to your more conservative-leaning blue-line-y friends than some of the other books out there on the subject if only in that it'll be harder for them to dismiss the words of a cop.
It's a book about the problems of police and the BIPoc communities written by a BIPoc police officer who brings a hell of a lot of experience to the topic. It's probably a better book to hand to your more conservative-leaning blue-line-y friends than some of the other books out there on the subject if only in that it'll be harder for them to dismiss the words of a cop.
lalunasecreta's review against another edition
4.0
I come to this book from the perspective of "we should dismantle the police."
Although Horace admits policing as an institution is quite flawed, he does not make robust suggestions to fix policing outside of culling corrupt police, implementing better training, and hiring individuals who know what their community looks like.
"On average, each day, one mentally ill or disabled person is killed by a law enforcement officer because these officers are being asked to do a job that they simply cannot and should not be assigned to do" (p. 215). I wish there had been more of a discussion of interaction with individuals who have mental illness, perhaps offering advice in terms of more having robust social programs (more funding for counselors, etc.). I suppose that was outside of the scope of this book.
Overall, some good insight into various police departments across the U.S. from the perspective of a former black officer and the injustices and brutalities within. 3.5 stars.
Although Horace admits policing as an institution is quite flawed, he does not make robust suggestions to fix policing outside of culling corrupt police, implementing better training, and hiring individuals who know what their community looks like.
"On average, each day, one mentally ill or disabled person is killed by a law enforcement officer because these officers are being asked to do a job that they simply cannot and should not be assigned to do" (p. 215). I wish there had been more of a discussion of interaction with individuals who have mental illness, perhaps offering advice in terms of more having robust social programs (more funding for counselors, etc.). I suppose that was outside of the scope of this book.
Overall, some good insight into various police departments across the U.S. from the perspective of a former black officer and the injustices and brutalities within. 3.5 stars.
bartendm's review against another edition
5.0
I'm surprised this book didn't become a huge best seller in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. It sent me and many others to reading lots of books about white privilege and racism. But it was this murder and that of Breonna Taylor that sparked the major protests of the Black Lives Matter movement and the national hunger for books on racism. It is probably a reflection of how controversial and polarizing the issue of police and racism is.
I wanted a book to give me a police officer's point of view, but tempered by an awareness of how it has affected black and brown communities. "The Black and The Blue" was everything I had hoped for and more. Matthew Horace has experience at the local, regional and national levels for 28 years and began his career during the War on Drugs when the militarization of the police began. As a black officer, he experienced all the tensions that racism adds to this discussion:
---Being seriously threatened by other police officers as a black man driving or walking
---Experiencing racism as a black man within the police force
---Feeling the need to apprehend black youth involved in drug trafficking who were causing violence and loss of life to addiction in poor black neighborhoods
---Being appalled at the levels of unprofessionalism and corruption in many different departments around the country
---Feeling a tension between Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter and the danger police are in during the execution of their jobs
---The conundrum of poor black and brown communities for the need for protection without the need for police violence and aggressive arrests to add to their troubles
---The roles that police are expected to fill that have little to do with their original mission to serve and protect... especially in dealing with the mentally ill and those with substance use disorders
---The call for politicians and communities to change the mandates of the police to allow health professionals and social workers rather than police to handle many of these societal problems
I found his extensive experience, the interviews he did with other enforcement professionals around the country, and his engaging writing style to make this book a valuable addition to the wider discussion on racism. Highly recommend.
I wanted a book to give me a police officer's point of view, but tempered by an awareness of how it has affected black and brown communities. "The Black and The Blue" was everything I had hoped for and more. Matthew Horace has experience at the local, regional and national levels for 28 years and began his career during the War on Drugs when the militarization of the police began. As a black officer, he experienced all the tensions that racism adds to this discussion:
---Being seriously threatened by other police officers as a black man driving or walking
---Experiencing racism as a black man within the police force
---Feeling the need to apprehend black youth involved in drug trafficking who were causing violence and loss of life to addiction in poor black neighborhoods
---Being appalled at the levels of unprofessionalism and corruption in many different departments around the country
---Feeling a tension between Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter and the danger police are in during the execution of their jobs
---The conundrum of poor black and brown communities for the need for protection without the need for police violence and aggressive arrests to add to their troubles
---The roles that police are expected to fill that have little to do with their original mission to serve and protect... especially in dealing with the mentally ill and those with substance use disorders
---The call for politicians and communities to change the mandates of the police to allow health professionals and social workers rather than police to handle many of these societal problems
I found his extensive experience, the interviews he did with other enforcement professionals around the country, and his engaging writing style to make this book a valuable addition to the wider discussion on racism. Highly recommend.
jlarach_19's review against another edition
4.0
"Change is good, but it's not necessarily progress."
wilsonthomasjoseph's review against another edition
5.0
This book will hit you hard.
Matthew Horace exudes goodness and equanimity and just immense intellectual and empathetic awesomeness.
Seriously.
This book does a heartbreaking and wonderful job of outlining the state of affairs today with respect to race, policing, crime, and all of the many other factors involved. And he makes a smart case for moving forward.
Ultimately, this book is about understanding the grey area, and that’s what makes it so good.
Matthew Horace exudes goodness and equanimity and just immense intellectual and empathetic awesomeness.
Seriously.
This book does a heartbreaking and wonderful job of outlining the state of affairs today with respect to race, policing, crime, and all of the many other factors involved. And he makes a smart case for moving forward.
Ultimately, this book is about understanding the grey area, and that’s what makes it so good.