My Brother Moochie
Regaining Dignity in the Face of Crime, Poverty, and Racism in the American South
Issac J. Bailey
- Part
- of
- Electric
- Literature’s
- “Reading
- List
- for
- Understanding
- the
- Prison
- Industrial
- Complex”A
- younger
- brother’s
- heartfelt
- memoir
- “speaks
- to
- the
- inequities
- of
- the
- criminal
- justice
- system
- and
- the
- damage
- done
- to
- family
- and
- community
- when
- loved
- ones
- are
- locked
- away”
- (USA
- Today).“Represents
- a
- much
- larger
- story
- about
- the
- deeply
- rooted
- effects
- of
- systematic
- racism,
- the
- Jim
- Crow
- South
- and
- how
- race,
- poverty,
- violence,
- crime,
- opportunity
- and
- drug
- abuse
- intersect.”
- —EbonyAt
- the
- age
- of
- 9,
- Issac
- J.
- Bailey
- saw
- his
- hero,
- his
- eldest
- brother,
- taken
- away
- in
- handcuffs,
- not
- to
- return
- from
- prison
- for
- 32
- years.
- Bailey
- tells
- the
- story
- of
- their
- relationship
- and
- of
- his
- experience
- living
- in
- a
- family
- suffering
- from
- guilt
- and
- shame.
- Drawing
- on
- sociological
- research
- as
- well
- as
- his
- expertise
- as
- a
- journalist,
- he
- seeks
- to
- answer
- the
- crucial
- question
- of
- why
- Moochie
- and
- many
- other
- young
- black
- men—including
- half
- of
- the
- 10
- boys
- in
- his
- own
- family—end
- up
- in
- the
- criminal
- justice
- system.
- What
- role
- do
- poverty,
- race,
- and
- faith
- play?
- What
- effect
- does
- living
- in
- the
- South,
- in
- the
- Bible
- Belt,
- have?
- And
- why
- is
- their
- experience
- understood
- as
- an
- acceptable
- trope
- for
- black
- men,
- while
- white
- people
- who
- commit
- crimes
- are
- never
- seen
- in
- this
- generalized
- way?My
- Brother
- Moochie
- provides
- a
- wide-ranging
- yet
- intensely
- intimate
- view
- of
- crime
- and
- incarceration
- in
- the
- United
- States,
- and
- the
- devastating
- effects
- on
- the
- incarcerated,
- their
- loved
- ones,
- their
- victims,
- and
- society
- as
- a
- whole.
- It
- also
- offers
- hope
- for
- families
- caught
- in
- the
- incarceration
- trap:
- though
- the
- Bailey
- family’s
- lows
- have
- included
- prison
- and
- bearing
- the
- responsibility
- for
- multiple
- deaths,
- their
- highs
- have
- included
- Harvard
- University,
- the
- White
- House,
- and
- a
- renewed
- sense
- of
- pride
- and
- understanding
- that
- presents
- a
- path forward.
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