Atlanta, Ga. - August 18, 2014 - The events in Ferguson, Missouri have cast harsh light on the excesses of the US criminal justice system when it comes to young black men. Every day, black men are stopped by police, arrested, and incarcerated at rates far beyond the national average. Too many, such as Michael Brown and Eric Garner, are being killed by police. Justice While Black provides clear-cut advice on handling specific legal circumstances such as searches, arrests, preparing for trials, and more. This is a must-read for African American families.

Justice While Black is a primer on how to navigate the US criminal justice system, explicitly addressing the struggles that face African Americans, especially young men. The book walks readers through the necessary steps to take during a stop-and-frisk, an arrest, and a trial, among other scenarios, and provides information useful not only to the accused but their families as well. Shipp and Chiles also delve into the long, bloody history between black males and the police, beginning with slave patrols and the KKK and ending with the drug-sentencing laws and racial profiling of today.

Justice While Black includes chapters on dealing with racial profiling, illegal searches, plea bargains, hiring attorneys, trial situations, and the navigating the prison-industrial complex as a whole. The straightforward, no-nonsense tone and clear language cut through the bureaucratic legalese that so often trips up the unprepared, giving readers information they need to know about their constitutional rights and advice on how to survive the system.

Robbin Shipp is an attorney in Decatur, Georgia, with almost 20 years of experience as a criminal defense lawyer. She lives in Atlanta with her daughter. She is a candidate for Labor Commissioner in Georgia. Nick Chiles has won more than a dozen major journalism awards, including a Pulitzer Prize as a newspaper reporter in New York City. He is the author or co-author of 12 books, including two New York Times bestsellers, one co-written with Rev. Al Sharpton and one with gospel superstar Kirk Franklin. He lives in Atlanta with his family.

Justice While Black, available October 14, 2014

978-1-932841-90-9, Law, Discrimination & Race Relations, $14 

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