--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Understanding African American attitudes…" description: "\"“Understanding African American attitudes and actions on matters of crime and punishment requires that we pay careful attention to another topic that i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/757/james-forman-jr-2-30625_african-american_understanding-african-american-attitudes_1240874.jpg" --- # Understanding African American attitudes and actions on… ![“Understanding African American attitudes and actions on matters of crime and punishment requires that we pay careful attention to another topic that is often overlooked in criminal justice scholarship: class divisions within the black community.21 Although mass incarceration harms black America as…” quote by James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/757/james-forman-jr-2-30625_african-american_understanding-african-american-attitudes_1240874.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/757/james-forman-jr-2-30625_african-american_understanding-african-american-attitudes_1240874.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/757/james-forman-jr-2-30625_african-american_understanding-african-american-attitudes_1240874.jpg) > ““Understanding African American attitudes and actions on matters of crime and punishment requires that we pay careful attention to another topic that is often overlooked in criminal justice scholarship: class divisions within the black community.21 Although mass incarceration harms black America as a whole, its most direct victims are the poorest, least educated blacks. While”” [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Black community experiences with crime are shaped by class, where the poorest suffer most from mass incarceration. **In simple terms:** Class divides the impact of crime on Black people. Key Takeaway Address economic inequality within reform. Themes justice class race policy Mood critical empathetic Type analytical activist When to use this quote - criminal justice reform - community support - education initiatives - housing policy Key Concepts structural inequality systemic racism Questions to Reflect On - How does class intersect with race in your community? - What policies can reduce class‑based disparities? A Different Perspective Class focus may overlook other intersecting identities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [African american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) [Black america](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-america/) [Black community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-community/) [Class Divisions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-divisions-3872691/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Crime and punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime-and-punishment/) [Criminal justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal-justice/) [Incarceration Harms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarceration-harms-3872690/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Mass incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-incarceration/) ## Related quotes > [“But class divisions influence criminal justice debates in black communities in less obvious ways as well: they explain, for example, why black elected officials…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr-2/but-class-divisions-influence-criminal-justice-debates-in-black/) [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) > [“Class divisions as clear as those between Harrington and myself always bring out my best, or at least my most petty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lashner/class-divisions-as-clear-as-those-between-harrington-and-myself/) [William Lashner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lashner/) > [“When presidential candidate Barack Obama presented himself to the black community, he was not to be believed. It strained credulity to think that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/when-presidential-candidate-barack-obama-presented-himself-to-the/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Mass incarceration is a policy that's kind of built up over the last four decades and it's destroyed families and communities, and something we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/mass-incarceration-is-a-policy-that-s-kind-of-built-up-over-the-last/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [“gun crime: it wasn’t equally distributed throughout black America. Rather, it was concentrated among the poorest blacks, who were forced into living conditions that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr-2/gun-crime-it-wasn-t-equally-distributed-throughout-black-america/) [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) > [“Today I wore a pair of faded old jeans and a plain grey baggy shirt. I hadn't even taken a shower, and I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-d-waters/today-i-wore-a-pair-of-faded-old-jeans-and-a-plain-grey-baggy-shirt-i/) [Sierra D. Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sierra-d-waters/) > [even Mademoiselle Neubahr can't make me believe in hell. It doesn't seem a very - witty - solution of the crime-and-punishment situation, does it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-noyes-hart/even-mademoiselle-neubahr-can-t-make-me-believe-in-hell-it-doesn-t/) [Frances Noyes Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-noyes-hart/) > [“Crack had a social logic to it, a specific kind of reasoning that drew from a vast well of common experience for its symbolic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitri-a-bogazianos/crack-had-a-social-logic-to-it-a-specific-kind-of-reasoning-that-drew/) [Dimitri A. Bogazianos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimitri-a-bogazianos/) > [A visionary company is like a great work of art. 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Punishment is a fruit that, unsuspected, ripens with the flower of the pleasure that concealed it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/crime-and-punishment-grow-out-of-one-stem-punishment-is-a-fruit-that/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Mathias remembered that once when he was a boy, he'd gone up to a pile of red apples that lay in the market cart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riccardo-bruni/mathias-remembered-that-once-when-he-was-a-boy-he-d-gone-up-to-a-pile/) [Riccardo Bruni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riccardo-bruni/) > [Capital punishment would be more effective as a preventive measure if it were administered prior to the crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/capital-punishment-would-be-more-effective-as-a-preventive-measure-if/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“‎" You think I am attacking them for talking nonsense? Not a bit! I like them to talk nonsense. That's man's one privilege over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-think-i-am-attacking-them-for-talking-nonsense-not-a-bit-i-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I read 'Crime and Punishment' years ago and don't recall the details of it, but I do retain a strong sense of the creeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-smith/i-read-crime-and-punishment-years-ago-and-don-t-recall-the-details-of/) [Arthur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-smith/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) ## More by James Forman Jr > [“As the tough-on-crime movement gathered force, those who had been arrested or convicted rarely participated in debates over criminal justice policy, in D.C. or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr-2/as-the-tough-on-crime-movement-gathered-force-those-who-had-been/) [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) > [“As the historian David Krugler explains, “African Americans were not so much rioting as fighting back, counterattacking, repelling violence; above all, resisting.”79”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr-2/as-the-historian-david-krugler-explains-african-americans-were-not-so/) [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) > [“But when they are carrying out investigatory or pretext stops, they are much more likely to stop black and other minority drivers: blacks are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr-2/but-when-they-are-carrying-out-investigatory-or-pretext-stops-they/) [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) > [“Keeping blacks subjugated required that they be unarmed. 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But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr-2/at-pds-we-often-lamented-that-there-were-never-waiting-lists-for/) [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) > [“Donald Trump, whose signature contribution to political debate had been his relentless propagation of the lie that Barack Obama is not an American citizen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr-2/donald-trump-whose-signature-contribution-to-political-debate-had/) [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) > [“The condescension was rooted in class. Those who fought for the hiring of black police occupied one stratum of black society; those who actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr-2/the-condescension-was-rooted-in-class-those-who-fought-for-the-hiring/) [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) > [“gun crime: it wasn’t equally distributed throughout black America. Rather, it was concentrated among the poorest blacks, who were forced into living conditions that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr-2/gun-crime-it-wasn-t-equally-distributed-throughout-black-america/) [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) > [“One victim, Harrison F. Finley, was a World War II veteran and the father of two young children. He was shot to death in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr-2/one-victim-harrison-f-finley-was-a-world-war-ii-veteran-and-the/) [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) [Explore all 17 James Forman Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) ## More African american quotes > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [I grew up in Synagogue in the boys' choir. We didn't listen to music in the house; only at temple. 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If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [“This popularity extended to Trump himself, who, according to private demographic research conducted at the time, was even more popular with African American and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/this-popularity-extended-to-trump-himself-who-according-to-private/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I know I'm more forgiving than most African Americans when it comes to second chances for White people who not only commit a racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-capehart/i-know-i-m-more-forgiving-than-most-african-americans-when-it-comes/) [Jonathan Capehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-capehart/) > [Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-mehlman/some-republicans-gave-up-on-winning-the-african-american-vote-looking/) [Ken Mehlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-mehlman/) > [It's unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that, don't have to do anything by default.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/it-s-unfortunate-that-a-lot-of-people-think-african-american-female/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allen/whereas-our-ancestors-not-of-choice-were-the-first-successful/) [Richard Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allen/) > [It may be changing, but still it's the one place, that total control of an institution, that African Americans have. So sometimes, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/it-may-be-changing-but-still-it-s-the-one-place-that-total-control-of/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [I think it's easier for African American and white comics to be praised than it is Latinos because they think our culture or our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lopez/i-think-it-s-easier-for-african-american-and-white-comics-to-be/) [George Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lopez/) > [“Alabama in 1927 alone, 27,701 men were arrested on misdemeanor charges and offered for sale by county sheriffs. 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And show them that we can get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-hardrict/i-m-just-trying-to-touch-the-world-and-touch-the-people-and-just-get/) [Cory Hardrict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-hardrict/) [Browse all 1,848 African american quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Understanding African American attitudes and actions on matters of crime and punishment requires that we pay careful attention to another topic that is often overlooked in criminal justice scholarship: class divisions within the black community.21 Although mass incarceration harms black America as a whole, its most direct victims are the poorest, least educated blacks. 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