Locking Up Our Own by James Forman Jr. Summary

Locking Up Our Own examines how Black policymakers and community leaders in 1970s-1990s America supported harsh criminal justice policies that unintentionally fueled mass incarceration. Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Forman Jr. analyzes debates over drug laws, gun control, and policing, revealing how systemic racism and crisis-driven decision-making led to devastating consequences for Black communities.

This book is essential for criminal justice reformers, historians, and policymakers seeking to understand systemic racism’s role in mass incarceration. It also resonates with educators, social workers, and readers interested in African American history, offering critical insights into race, class, and the unintended consequences of well-intentioned reforms.

Yes—it won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for its groundbreaking analysis of racial inequities in the legal system. Forman combines legal expertise, historical research, and firsthand experience as a public defender to challenge conventional narratives about crime and punishment in Black America.

1. Black leaders supported punitive policies to address immediate crises like drug epidemics and gun violence, often underestimating long-term harms.
2. Systemic racism distorted policy outcomes, with “tough-on-crime” measures disproportionately targeting Black communities.
3. Mass incarceration resulted from cumulative choices by lawmakers, police, and courts—not just racial bias or federal mandates.

Forman argues Black leaders initially backed drug criminalization to protect communities from addiction and violence. However, aggressive policing and mandatory minimums—coupled with racial profiling—expanded incarceration rates while failing to address root causes like poverty and underfunded schools.

The book describes how some Black churches endorsed punitive measures, viewing strict laws as moral solutions to crime. This alliance between religious institutions and lawmakers often sidelined restorative justice approaches, exacerbating racial disparities in arrests.

Some scholars argue Forman underemphasizes the federal government’s role in mass incarceration. Others praise the book for humanizing Black policymakers while urging readers to confront systemic failures beyond individual choices.

While Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow focuses on structural racism in the legal system, Forman’s work highlights Black leaders’ complex agency in shaping punitive policies. Both books are critical for understanding intersectional approaches to criminal justice reform.

• “Black communities were fighting two wars: one against crime, another against police brutality.”
• “We ask the criminal justice system to solve problems it was never designed to address.”

These lines underscore the book’s exploration of policy trade-offs and institutional limitations.

As a DC public defender and co-founder of the Maya Angelou School for at-risk youth, Forman witnessed how education gaps and poverty funneled clients into the legal system—a perspective that grounds the book’s critique of carceral solutions.

The book provides historical context for modern movements like defunding police and ending cash bail. Its analysis of unintended policy consequences remains critical amid ongoing discussions about prison abolition and restorative justice.

Forman advocates for reinvesting in schools, mental health services, and economic opportunities instead of incarceration. He emphasizes community-led reforms and policies that address systemic inequities rather than punitive measures.