Systemic Racism: Big, Black, Mad and Dangerous in the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

This chapter discusses the experiences of black men who encounter the phenomena of a mental health diagnosis, detention and death in a forensic setting in England. Although there are black women with mental health issues who have also died in forensic settings, the occurrence is significantly higher for men who become demonised as ‘Big, Black, Bad and dangerous’. The author discusses the historical over representation of mental ill health amongst black people in the general community and the plethora or reasons attributed to this. The author then discusses the various points of entry into the criminal justice system, where black men with mental health issues are over represented. The author explores some inquiries into the deaths of black men in custody and the recommendations that were subsequently made, which successive governments have failed to act upon. The author argues that the term ‘Institutional Racism’ is insufficient to explain this phenomenon; and offers her own theoretical interpretation which is a combination of systemic racism influenced by post-colonial conceptualisation

Citation

Walker, S. (2020), "Systemic Racism: Big, Black, Mad and Dangerous in the Criminal Justice System", Majors, R., Carberry, K. and Ransaw, T.S. (Ed.) The International Handbook of Black Community Mental Health, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 41-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-964-920201004