BOOK REVIEW: Black in Blue: Lessons on Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Racial Reconciliation

Hello!

I’d like to recommend Black in Blue (ISBN-13: 978-1400230617) , by Black-woman author, Carmen Best, former Seattle Chief of Police, supporter of Black Lives Matter, U.S. Army veteran, and mother. Whatever your position is on Black Lives Matter, defunding the police, and equity in law enforcement, former police chief Carmen Best shares the leadership lessons she learned as the first Black woman to lead the Seattle Police Department - a personal insider story that will challenge  your assumptions on how to move the country forward. 

In the words of Trevor Noah: 

 ”‘There are bad apples in these police departments who are doing these things. They use chokeholds that are not allowed. They use excessive force. They’re violent in their words and in their actions to the people they’re meant to be protecting and serving.’”

So, the nation's question is, are we dealing with bad apples or simply a rotten tree? In the wake of Derek Chauvin's case, we witnessed the 'blue wall of silence' crumble as officers spoke their truth on what they saw.

Two-thirds of black Americans don’t trust the police to treat them equally. Most white Americans do, though. According to a PBS NewsHour-NPR-Marist poll, nearly half of black Americans have very little or no confidence that police officers in their community treat people with different skin colors the same.

Black communities are often over-policed and over-profiled. Community trust in law enforcement has eroded, as police-involved killings of black people have come to national attention, prompting pain and outrage. 

Her book is available on am*zon on Oct. 26. What are your thoughts?

-Meredith LeJeune

PRecise Communications