NCJ Number
168364
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Education Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1996) Pages: 99-112
Date Published
1996
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The works of the renowned black scholar W.E.B. DuBois should be included in most textbooks on criminal justice and criminology.
Abstract
DuBois made significant contributions to the history and study of African Americans. He is not identified as a criminologist, but many of his writings included discussions about crime. In the Philadelphia Negro he related the migration of former slaves to unfamiliar cities as a cause of crime and suggested that Emancipation was another cause. He wrote of the disproportionate number of black persons represented in the criminal statistics and discussed how penitentiaries serve as breeding grounds for intelligent criminals. He also demonstrated that States used the convict lease system as a source of revenue. His writings also focused on solutions for crime. The works of DuBois preceded mainstream writings by white males, but criminal justice and criminology texts rarely cite or discuss the DuBois works. Like other early African American scholars, DuBois has not yet received wide recognition in the field of criminal justice and criminology. However, multicultural readings should be included in criminal justice and criminology courses so that persons of all races and ethnicities may take their deserved place in the field. Footnotes