THE BLACK DRAGON: RACIAL PROFILING EXPOSED
JOSEPH COLLUM
ISBN: 9781934340776/9781934340790
September 2010
Jigsaw Press
www.jigsawpress.com
Hardback/E Book
$26.99/$9.99
410 Pages
Nonfiction, Social Sciences, Civil Rights, Law
Rating: 4 Cups
The 1980’s saw this country hit with the largest drug epidemic ever to be recorded, and it has not stopped since. Trying to stem the tide of drugs being trafficked from the south, New Jersey State Troopers put the hammer down and began an all out war on the Jersey Turnpike.
This story illuminates the lengths that the troopers went to in order to cut off the drug trade into New York, and how something so worthwhile and righteous became one of the ugliest racial battles in history. Joseph Collum, an investigative reporter at the time and now an author, unveils this extensive and all too horrifyingly real report on the trooper’s actions, and the politics behind the scenes.
Millions upon millions of dollars worth of drugs and money are exchanging hands from Florida to New York City, and the main transit system for this happens to be the Jersey Turnpike. The Outfit, also known as the New Jersey State Troopers came up with a plan to target all out of state traffic and, most specifically, those vehicles driven by minorities. Their arrests and seizures immediately skyrocket, and in turn, it makes huge names for many troopers in the Outfit. Thousands of black and Hispanic motorists are illegally stopped and searched, and yet no matter how massive the problem becomes, lawmakers and politicians routinely turn a blind eye. It takes years for these atrocities to come to light, but even after two decades, can we really and truthfully say there has been any change or progress?
I guess we never really know what sheltered lives we lead until we read something like this. To put our faith and trust in men and women who take sacred vows to protect us is put to shame when you read such callous disregard for our most basic rights. Joe Collum cuts right to the heart with his no-holds-barred investigation of dirty cops, rotten politicians, and sickeningly lazy and incompetent supervisors, administrators, lawyers, and judges. I cannot even begin to imagine how these people look at themselves in the mirror every day and not wither with self-disgust. I feel like I need a shower just reading about them.
Lototy
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
