Students will become familiar with the history of how 
experiences and perspectives of criminality and justice in the 
United States are racially inflected. They will learn to look 
for the connections that have historically developed between 
race, politics, economics, and the criminal justice system. 
They will also learn to analyze primary and secondary sources, 
including scholarly publications, documentaries, and video 
news clips, and in the process to form their own arguments and 
conclusions; to write more clearly and effectively; and to 
discuss and debate respectfully, on the basis of historical 
evidence.

I.   Slavery and the origins of American capitalism
II.  Racial differences codified in the law
III. The end of slavery and the origins of “Jim Crow”
IV.  The convict-lease system: Slavery by another name
V.   Using the law to enforce America’s racial code: the Story 
of Jack Johnson
VI.  Using the “red scare” to silence black radicals: Paul 
Robeson and W.E.B. Du Bois
VII. The FBI’s war against black America and the civil rights 
movement
VIII. “Law and Order”: The Nixon era
IX.   The black militant response: The Black Panther Party and 
the Deacons for Defense
X.    Profiles: George Jackson (Soledad Brother) and Geronimo 
Pratt
XI.   Profiles: The Central Park Five and Kalief Browder
XII.  “When you’re white, you’re right”: The “affluenza” defense
XIII. The era of mass incarceration: “doing anything” while 
black (slide show)
XIV.  Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative
XV.   The resurgence of white nationalism and the presidency of 
Donald Trump
XVI.  From vilification to vindication and redemption: a 
personal story

Students are expected to adhere to the University's policy on
academic honesty (refer to the University's handbook on Academic
Honesty and the Honor Code).